Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Team Winward Racing Secures Fifth-Straight North American Racing Series Victory with Comeback Win from the Pole in Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team Winward Racing continued to roll in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) competition Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway where co-drivers Russell Ward and Philip Ellis scored their second victory in a row in the Michelin GT Challenge. Ward started the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 from the pole position but a wheel-gun issue in the team’s first pit stop to hand off to Ellis set the stage for a hard-earned comeback victory in the race’s final two hours. The win followed the team’s first IMSA GTD victory of the season earlier this month at Road America. Winward has also gone undefeated in the last three Fanatec GT World Challenge America races to give the team a combined North American racing series win streak of five races dating back to July.

At VIR, Ward led the first 26 laps from the start of the two-hour and 40-minute race, but Ellis had to deal with issues from the moment he took the wheel of the No. 57.

Ellis returned to the race well out of the GTD top five and was challenged in his nearly two-hour race-ending driving shift to make up track position, save fuel and endure the extremely hot temperatures that were a factor all weekend at VIR.

The climb back into contention was further hampered when a GTD competitor forced Ellis off the track and he collected a foam-board sign that stayed stuck to the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the better part of a lap.

Ellis still managed to work his way back to the lead and the difference maker in Winward’s eventual victory was a flat-out charge up front in the race’s final stages. The team asked Ellis to build a gap on the field big enough to make a seven-second pit stop for fuel.

After several flying laps in the lead, Ellis dashed to the pits for the “splash and go” and returned to the race in second place. He began to reel in the GTD leader and pulled off the race-winning pass two minutes from the finish.

After starting the race on the outside of row five in 10th, Cooper MacNeil and Jules Gounon co-drove to a sixth place GTD finish in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3. Gounon would have likely moved into the top five or higher but was foiled by the tactics of a two-car team just ahead that made passing for position difficult.

Winward wasn’t the only Mercedes-AMG GT3 team that had to recover from an early issue on Sunday. The championship-leading No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports (TKM) Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mike Skeen and Stevan McAleer had a well-executed first pit stop only to see McAleer slow a few laps later with a loose rear wheel while running third.

McAleer slowly drove the No. 32 back to the pits where the TKM team checked both rear wheels before sending the car back into the race a lap down. The team got the No. 32 back on the lead lap during a caution period but could only climb to as high as eighth place before the finish.

The No. 32 team and McAleer remain in the GTD points battle heading into the Motul Petit Le Mans season finale in little over a month but leave VIR trailing the new championship leader by 45 points. Winward has also moved into the championship conversation and is now fourth in the GTD team and driver championship standings 140 points out of first place.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, September 28 – October 1.

Russell Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It is our first time here with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. I love this track, but we make it so difficult for ourselves sometimes. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 was great, especially on old tires, and we just nailed the strategy. The team did a great job because that last pit stop was just so critical. Philip just came in and it all worked out. It’s an awesome feeling.”

Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We were so far out of track position after the first pit stop problem and it was really hard to read what the other teams were doing, fuel saving or pushing. We wanted to make up position, but at the same time we wanted to take care of the fuel and, of course, the heat was pretty crazy. Not a lot of cooling out there. This was my toughest race, and the couple of laps we did flat out to get as much time as we could before the last splash was super tough to keep the concentration up. But everybody has put their heart and soul into the car. Everything didn’t come together this year until last month really. It’s not like we are doing anything else, we just don’t have that bad luck or no luck at all any longer. It’s great to give the guys what they actually deserve and have earned.”

Stevan McAleer, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Obviously, I am super disappointed. We had a really strong race car today and Mike did a really good job starting in fifth. He held his position and then the team did a rocket pit stop and we picked up some positions. Then I got up to pace really quickly and got by some good cars. I thought we had it today. I really banked on it. This is the first time we have been out of the championship lead for quite some time, but we are clearly still in the fight. Lots to play for at Petit Le Mans, I am up for it, and no prisoners when we get there.”

Mike Skeen, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “You always want more, especially when you know you had a strong run going. We were third after the first pit stop and had some advantages on the cars ahead. We were looking really good, but just like some other recent races, potential podiums or wins went down the tubes. It’s frustrating, but we are still in the hunt, we are still there and left here with some points. We will certainly go after them at Petit Le Mans, and endurance races have been good to us in the past.”

Cooper MacNeil, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It was a decent finishing position considering where we started. Without getting held up for almost a half hour we could’ve been fighting for a podium position. Obviously, they were covering their sister car. Our Mercedes-AMG GT3 is clean, we had good pit stops and now we will look forward to Petit Le Mans in a month. Hopefully we will see cooler temperatures there.”

Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We tried today with a little different strategy which seemed to be working. I got blocked by a GTD Pro car for most of my last stint which stopped us from competing for a podium. When I got past him it was too late to get to the two in front of me for the podium. Cooper had a great stint, and the WeatherTech Racing Proton team did a great job with the pit stops and the car. We were hoping for a bit more. I wish the team the best of luck at Petit Le Mans next month.”

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