VIR Fast Facts

Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix

Round 8 of 10 of the 2025 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge

Bryan Herta Autosport

Racetrack: Virginia International Raceway | 3.27-mile road course with 18 corners

Race: Saturday, August 23rd, 2025, at 2:20pm EST (2-hour race)

TV: Live on Peacock: www.peacock.com

Listen: Live radio commentary for every session at www.IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com. Live timing and scoring from each session available at www.IMSA.com. Live updates are available throughout the weekend on BHA social media and www.bryanhertaautosport.com

Fast Facts:

Last Time at VIR: In 2024, Bryson Morris secured his first ever IMSA pole position for the #77 Elantra N TCR. Since then, he has scored four more pole positions. Also in 2024, Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens podiumed with third place, and Mason Filippi and Mark Wilkins finished behind them in fourth.

VIR Statistics: The last win at VIR for BHA was in 2022 with Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis. BHA has finished with at least one car on the podium every time they have raced at VIR.

Leading The Championship: BHA cars have lead the championship the entire season. Currently, the #98 car of Gottsacker and Filippi is leading, and the #76 car of Denis Dupont and Preston Brown is only 20 points behind.

Brown Back Home: Brown is looking forward to fighting for the championship lead at his home track in Virginia. Since joining BHA and the Hyundai family in 2024, he has already achieved three wins and five podiums alongside co-driver Dupont.

Hyundai Hope on Wheels: For every lap led by a Hyundai, Hyundai Hope on Wheels (HHOW) will donate $100 to a local children’s hospital. Levine Children’s Hospital will be the beneficiary of Saturday’s race. So far this year, $36,700 has been donated to various children’s hospitals.

Photos and Driver Quotes Below

Bryson Morris’ first pole at VIR

Brown is ready to take on his home track

#9 Elantra N TCR

Maddie Aust (R) and Suellio Almeda (R)

2025 Stats: Best Start: 6th Best Finish: 4th

Championship Points Standings: 7th – 1,680 pts

Maddie Aust: “Heading into VIR with Bryan Herta Autosport, I’m excited to keep building on everything I’ve learned this season in the Elantra N TCR. VIR is such a technical, fast-flowing circuit that really rewards commitment and precision, and since I’ve raced here before, I’m looking forward to applying my past experience with what I’ve learned this year.”

Suellio Almeida: “VIR will be a blast! The high speed roller coaster and elevation changes make this track exhilarating! I can’t wait to endure the heat in this 2-hour race.”

#33 Elantra N TCR

Bryson Morris and Mark Wilkins

2025 Stats: Best Start: 1st Best Finish: 1st

Championship Points Standings: 4th – 1,800 pts

Bryson Morris: “We’re back racing at VIR and coming off of our first win of the season we have a lot of momentum behind us. VIR is also where I got my first ever pole position in any IMSA competition so I have great history here. It’s a very fun track and should suit the Hyundai Elantra N TCR very well, so hopefully we can start our winning streak!”

Mark Wilkins: “Coming off the win at Road America, our goal at VIR will be to keep up the momentum and chase another great result. The circuit suits our car well so if we can execute a clean run with solid strategy and great stops I think we have a good shot at it. VIR is both mentally and physically challenging. It’s always hot and that certainly plays a factor. Three races left this season, plenty of opportunity to finish the season on a high!”

#76 Elantra N TCR

Denis Dupont and Preston Brown

2025 Stats: Best Start: 7th Best Finish: 1st

Championship Standings: 2nd – 2,040 pts

Denis Dupont: “Excited to head to VIR this week — one of the most iconic tracks on the calendar. Seven races in, we’re still right in the championship fight, and the goal is to keep pushing all the way to the very end.”

Preston Brown: “VIR is my home track and I’m very excited to be headed there again with my Hyundai Elantra N TCR. With only a few races to go and the championship battle being as tight as it is, the stakes are high, but I’m confident we can achieve a good result.”

#98 Elantra N TCR

Harry Gottsacker IV and Mason Filippi

2025 Stats: Best Start: 2nd Best Finish: 1st

Championship Points Standings: 1st – 2,060 pts

Harry Gottsacker IV: “VIR is one of the coolest facilities we visit all year because of the flowing track and the elevation changes. Mason and I have had some really strong runs there throughout our careers so we always have this one marked on the calendar. I’m hoping we can use the cornering strength of our Hyundai Elantra N TCR to get back on the podium this weekend.”

Mason Filippi: “VIR is always a great challenge and one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. We’ve had a strong season so far, and it’s a good feeling to come into the weekend leading the TCR points in the #98 Elantra N TCR. The car has been performing really well, and VIR’s high-speed sections and technical corners make it a fun place to drive. Our focus is on executing cleanly, maximizing points, and keeping our championship momentum going.”

#18 Elantra N TCR

Jon Miller and Lance Bergstein

2025 Stats: Best Start: 8th Best Finish: 5th

Championship Points Standings: 12th – 1,260 pts

Jon Miller: “VIR is one of my favorite tracks in North America! Our Hyundai Elantra N TCR will be pretty sporty around the high speed, technical turns and I can’t wait to continue building toward a result after our first very encouraging outing at Road America with BHA.”

Lance Bergstein: “VIR is one of the most fun and challenging tracks we race at all year. The Elantra N TCR should navigate the roller coaster of a track really well. Excited to get back out on track with BHA.”

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian:

Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single-car Indy-Lights team into a multi-championship-winning auto racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rallycross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the late Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the American Sports Car scene beginning its immensely successful partnership with Hyundai. Together, BHA and Hyundai have won five consecutive team and driver championships, and five consecutive (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024) manufacturer’s titles in IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge. In 2024, BHA and Hyundai took on a new challenge, the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with the IONIQ 5 N. Setting a time of 9 minutes and 30.852 seconds in the IONIQ 5 N TA Spec, Hyundai World Rally Championship driver Dani Sordo finished first in the modified production electric SUV category and third overall. For more information, visit: www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.

BHA/Hyundai Customer Support: Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and part support representative of Hyundai TCR race cars for customer teams. The BHA/Hyundai Customer Support Team offers trackside engineering support, setup and tuning advice, and part and order fulfillments for the Hyundai Veloster N TCR and TCA teams and drivers from the BHA’s headquarters in Speedway, IN. in 2024, there are five BHA Customer Support Teams racing Elantra N TCR cars in Canada, The USA and in Mexico.

Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles, while supporting Hyundai Motor Company’s Progress for Humanity vision. Hyundai has significant operations in the U.S., including its North American headquarters in California, the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama assembly plant, the all-new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, and several cutting-edge R&D facilities. These operations, combined with those of Hyundai’s 835 independent dealers, contribute $20.1 billion annually and 190,000 jobs to the U.S. economy, according to a recent economic impact report. For more information, visit www.hyundainews.com.

Images: www.BHAMedia.com – Image copyright @LATUSA

Video: Subscribe to the BHA YouTube channel for video updates, Interviews and features from each race weekend: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdpjGo7dEuzYazs2ioBMVPQ/videos

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Katie Brannan

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