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Thompson Looks to Continue Upward Momentum with Strongest Effort of the Season at VIR

Jun 14, 2023

Thompson Looks to Continue Upward Momentum with Strongest Effort of the Season at VIR

Alton, VA

With each round of the 2023 Pirelli GT4 America series, Parker Thompson and Hanley Motorsports have shown steady improvements in performance. Piloting the No. 999 GR Supra GT4 EVO alongside rookie driver Daniel Hanley, the team secured their first podium and win at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) last month. As Hanley Motorsports heads to VIRginia International Raceway, Thompson knows that continuing the team’s upward momentum could be their greatest challenge to date. Races 7 & 8 of the 2023 season are scheduled at the historic 17-turn Virginia road course this Saturday and Sunday.

With over forty factory-backed GT4 race cars in the field, Pirelli GT4 America is among the most hotly contested sports car series on the globe. Amongst fierce competition, Thompson and Hanley endured early challenges but have begun to show great form as the season crosses its halfway point. At Circuit of the Americas and the prior round at NOLA Motorsports Park, Thompson placed second overall in Driver 2 qualifying sessions. He leveraged his P2 starting position in Austin to take an early overall race lead, lining the No. 999 up to earn its first class victory.

Now at VIRginia International Raceway this weekend, Thompson will look for a similarly strong performance, identifying that both he and his fellow Hanley Motorsports team members must continue seeking improvements.

“We had a great result at COTA, but at the same time, we’ll need an even greater effort than we showed there to earn our second win of the season! This Pirelli GT4 America series is fiercely competitive, and if we didn’t already, I think we have the attention of the other forty-something entries here. We’re going to give it our all! Daniel’s progress this season is commendable; from top to bottom, everyone at Hanley Motorsports continues to show a hunger for improvement. Our partners at Toyota Gazoo Racing North America and TRD USA have been instrumental in our success. The GR Supra GT4 EVO has proven to be very well-rounded and versatile. I expect it to suit this fast and fun VIR road course well.”

Event Information

Rounds 7 & 8 Pirelli GT4 America at VIRginia International Raceway

Friday, July 16, 2023
Practice 1 – 12:00 pm
Practice 2 – 5:15 pm

Saturday, July 17, 2023
Qualifying 1 – 10:20 am
Qualifying 2 – 10:40 am
Race 1 – 5:15 pm

Sunday, July 18, 2023
Race 2 – 10:55 am

*ALL TIMES EDT

Follow Parker and Hanley Motorsports throughout the weekend, with daily updates on social media channels and live streaming of all race action on YouTube and Twitch. Details are available at PTR Live.

Thompson Finishes on the Podium at VIR as 2021 Carrera Cup North America Nears Completion

Oct 12, 2021

Thompson Finishes on the Podium at VIR as 2021 Carrera Cup North America Nears Completion

ALTON, VA

The inaugural Porsche Carrera Cup North America visited VIRginia International Raceway this weekend for races 12 & 13 of the sixteen race schedule. The iconic track provided some spectacular racing action as the Pro-Class championship came into focus. Thompson and team JDX Racing entered the weekend holding third in the overall standings, looking to further improve on their position after a strong performance in Indianapolis last month. In each race, Thompson and the #9 of JDX Racing improved on their fifth-place starting position, earning fourth-place and third-place finishes on the weekend. 

Through winding esses and dramatic elevation changes, the high-speed VIR road course rendered tremendous bumper-to-bumper racing throughout the weekend. From his starting position on the third-row, Thompson was fully entangled in action early in the two races.  

In Race 1 on Saturday, a tough start dropped Thompson back to the sixth spot in the opening corners of the race. Through seven laps, he battled veteran drivers Leh Keen and Erik Johansson to regain his original position and then take fourth place. Finding a gap greater than eight seconds to the race leader, Thompson then managed his fastest laps of the race in an effort to close distance on a podium position. While that gap would narrow through the middle part of the contest, his pace began to fade as the laps added up. Neither the safety car nor a caution flag would offer any relief through 26 laps of the 3.27-mile circuit before the checkered flag fell.

On Sunday, an exciting start saw multiple exchanges among the top five cars through the opening corners of Race 2. A significant wreck resulted when fellow Junior driver Van Berlo edged across the nose of the JDX Racing #9 at the entrance of Turn 3. Van Berlo left the track and skidded across the grass into the barriers outside the high-speed left-hander. Thompson, who held forth at the time of the incident, took the final podium position while the safety crew collected the wrecked Porsche 992 and repaired damaged ARMCO barriers. 

After five laps behind the safety car, green flag action resumed. Thompson managed early pressure on the race leaders Dickinson and Priaulx but again faded as the race progressed. He maintained third place, unchallenged, until the end of the contest.

A third and fourth-place finish on the weekend provides Thompson with a solid gain in championship points. However, after narrowing the gap to championship leaders in races at Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, here Thompson saw the distance to the leader expand. Now, just three races remain on the schedule. All will come during a triple-header weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on November 10 – 12. There, Thompson will look to put an exclamation mark on what has been a strong season’s campaign by adding another win.

Parker Thompson
“It’s never a bad weekend when we can climb the podium. This was my first visit to the beautiful VIRginia International Raceway. Some testing issues meant we probably weren’t as prepared as we would have liked for the action this weekend. The crew had a late night yesterday trying to find us an edge, and it showed benefits! 

I hate to see anyone wreck a car out there. Van Berlo and I have raced each other hard and clean throughout the year. I was on the outside of him going into turn three and I don’t think he knew that I was there. I’m glad to see that he wasn’t seriously hurt.

Special thanks to our partners: Porsche Canada, Byers Porsche, and Renier Construction. Michael Wappler at Surgere and Yero Hilts at SSi Artificial Lift brought a great group of people here to VIR for the weekend. We had an incredible weekend together. I’m looking forward to another incredible weekend at the season finale in Atlanta next month!”

Images credit Bob Chapman / Autosport Image

IMSA 2021 CARRERA CUP NORTH AMERICA – Rounds 12 & 13, VIRginia International Raceway

Round 12 – Provisional (PDF)
Round 13 – Provisional (PDF)
Overall Standings – Provisional (PDF)

Complete results are available at results.imsa.com