DragonSpeed Ferrari Flies Early In VIR IMSA Practice

Albert Costa in action for DragonSpeed at Virginia Int'l Raceway. (Jake Galstad/Lumen Digital for IMSA photo)

ALTON, Va. – Benchmark times were set at the very start of Friday’s 90-minute practice session for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors in preparation for Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.

Albert Costa continued DragonSpeed’s strong showing in the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 with a quick lap precisely half a second better than the next Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class entry.

Second fastest overall and leading the GTD class was points leader Russell Ward in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Both Costa and Ward set their times on their fifth lap, about 13 minutes into the session and just prior to a brief red flag for debris.

The rest of the session ran uninterrupted, but nobody came close to matching the leaders’ initial pace.

Costa’s fastest lap was timed at one minute, 45.032 seconds (112.079 mph) around the 17-corner, 3.27-mile VIR layout.

Costa and co-driver Giacomo Altoè have notched four podium finishes in the last five races, including a victory six weeks ago at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Costa ranks second in the GTD PRO point standings, entering the weekend 30 markers behind leaders Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

DragonSpeed was not one of the teams that used a private test day at VIR. In fact, Costa revealed that most of his preparation for Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race came on the iRacing simulator.

“To be honest, the Ferrari is very similar on iRacing and in real life – it’s no joke,” Costa said. “We completed the first laps and straight away the car was on the pace.

“The key to having a good car straight away is the chats with the engineers before this week,” he added. “Already on Monday after Road America we were talking. They gave me the car I want. I’m very happy with the job the team has been doing at home and I’m proud of them. So far so good.”

Andrea Caldarelli made it a one-two for the Italian manufacturers in GTD PRO by setting the second fastest time of 1:45.532 (111.548 mph) in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, with Neil Verhagen third at 1:45.604 (111.472 mph) in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Championship leader Sims was sixth in class.

Continuing a year-long trend, the Winward Mercedes-AMG shared by Ward and Philip Ellis bested many of the GTD PRO runners. But qualifying, the race start, and restarts will all be split by class.

Ward’s one minute, 45.471-second (111.613 mph) lap was 0.169-seconds better than the 1:45.640 (111.434 mph) effort produced by Frederik Schandorff in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.

Daniel Serra was third in another Ferrari, the No. 34 prepared by Conquest Racing.

Winward – who has a 112-point lead in the GTD standings – was another team that did not use a private test day at VIR.

“We rolled this thing out of the trailer, and that’s what it’s got,” said Ward, who has two victories so far in 2025 (at Sebring International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca). “It feels great. We’ve got a really fast machine here. I love this track, I love this facility and the fans here, so really looking forward to qualifying and the race.”

Ward noted that the basic setup of the Mercedes-AMG had not significantly changed since the last race at Road America.

“They’re pretty similar tracks in a way - both high-speed,” he said. “Really from Road America onward, it changes very little.”

WeatherTech Championship competitors will take part in another 90-minute practice session Saturday morning before wrapping up the day’s activities with qualifying.

Time trials will air live on Peacock and IMSA.tv in the U.S., and internationally on IMSA’s official YouTube channel from 4:50-5:35 p.m. ET.