First VP Racing Challenge Win Would Make for Happy Homecoming
via IMSA
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Francis Selldorff has come tantalizingly close to capturing his first win in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. He’s hopeful it could happen this weekend at Lime Rock Park.
Through the first six races of the series’ debut season, Selldorff has finished in the top five on four occasions. In the doubleheader round two weeks ago at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the 22-year-old from Boston guided the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 (G82) to a second-place GSX class finish in the opening race, attaching his car to the bumper of eventual winner Michael Cooper throughout the 45-minute sprint. The following day, Selldorff recovered from a drive-through penalty for an improper race start and bolted through the field to wind up fourth.
While frustrated not to come away with a win, Selldorff was emboldened by the progress displayed.
“It was the highlight of my year so far,” Selldorff said. “Sebring (the previous round) was when I made a pace improvement. I qualified third for both of those races but in the races, I was still pretty nervous.
“At CTMP, to be honest I was kind of bummed that I didn’t win. I had a faster car (in the first race) but I also knew I was racing Michael Cooper, who’s a really good driver. … When I had the drive-through (in the second race) and I went to 10th or whatever, I was like chalked, but it was cool that I made it up as far as I did. It was good learning and a confidence builder.”
Halfway through the season, Selldorff is entrenched in a three-way battle atop the GSX standings – with all three drivers still in search of their first series victory. Sebastian Carazo (No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport) leads by 20 points over Moisey Uretsky, who isn’t among the 11 GSX drivers entered this weekend.
Selldorff trails Carazo by 80 points and could think of nothing better than to collect his maiden series win at Lime Rock Park, the track he considers his home circuit for its proximity to Boston and the same track where his passion for racing was reignited by participating in a track driving day in 2020.
Selldorff’s father raced for Turner Motorsport in the early 2000s, with son Francis dabbling in karting until drifting away from the sport. That changed following the Lime Rock track day. The younger Selldorff competed in another IMSA-sanctioned series, Ferrari Challenge North America, for six races last year before hooking up with Turner for the inaugural VP Racing Challenge campaign featuring multiclass racing between Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) and GT4 (GSX class) cars.
“It’s like a full circle going back (to Lime Rock),” Selldorff said. “My parents usually come to every race but my extended family will come, and I think that will be pretty cool. I’m super excited.”
Meanwhile, the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class has become a two-horse race. With three wins thus far, Dan Goldburg (No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08) has edged to a 50-point lead over two-time winner Bijoy Garg (No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320). Six LMP3 cars are entered at Lime Rock.
The VP Racing Challenge schedule is unique this weekend, with both races taking place on the same day. Following practice and qualifying on Friday, Race 1 starts at 9:05 a.m. ET Saturday and Race 2 at 3:05 that afternoon. Both races stream live on Peacock in the U.S. and on IMSA.com/TVLive elsewhere.