20-02-2025
Virginia International Raceway Grand Course Map
On paper, the Grand Course is 24 turns over 4.1 miles, but there are more like 30 saws at the wheel for every lap. The methodology we employ over three days to tackle this test largely mirrors the advice in Dr. Leo Marvin's book, Baby Steps.
DAY ONE is devoted to getting up to speed and learning the idiosyncrasies of each car. Entering the Climbing Esses—corners that would be accompanied by a 35-mph speed-limit sign on the street—at over 100 mph isn't something you wake up angry and just do, so it takes a few laps and endorphin bursts to build confidence there and in VIR's other hairy points [see map annotations below]. The key to day one is learning how the car and the track interact.
DAY TWO starts with an earnest attempt at a lap in the morning when the track is quickest. Nail braking points and clean up lines in the slow, patience-trying corners, such as Left Hook, Oak Tree, and Bitch.
DAY THREE starts on fresh tires. After a night spent visualizing the perfect lap, go out and get that fast lap before air temperatures rise. You get, at most, three laps in each car. And it can always rain. One step at a left looks easy but tests a driver's mettle and a car's stability, as it demands you to brake deep into the turn-in point. The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Manthey clips this apex at 69.4 mph while pulling 1.25 g's.
Following the NASCAR Bend's stress is a throwaway corner that you sacrifice to maximize exit speed for the straight leading to the Climbing Esses. Get too aggressive with the throttle in Left Hook, and you have to lift before clobbering the exit curbing.
Uphill, winding, and unforgiving. Get it wrong, and the runoff area is essentially nonexistent. The Lucid Air averages 131.2 mph here.
It's off-camber, meaning water would flow away from the apex, with a blind entry and a downhill exit. If it were flat, the corner might just be a kink. The GT4 RS Manthey kisses 94.1 mph while gripping at 1.19 g's. As with the Climbing Esses, the grass off the track is littered with ruts dug by the unfortunate.
The corner at the end of the Back Straight is slow, which usually means you go in too fast. It also goes off-camber as you leave the corner, so be patient with the throttle on corner exit.
This fast right-hander runs down a hill and empties onto the Front Straight. Strike the curbing on the left under braking and then turn in toward the curbing on the right. Get back on the throttle early to get the most out of the long straight that follows. Running wide here could mean mowing a lot of to lightning lap 2025
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