Just outside the humble city of Danville, Virginia, there is a road course lined with green ARMCO that offers an unbeatable mix of speed, cornering, and braking. Virginia International Raceway (VIR) is arguably America’s most challenging race circuit this side of Germany’s Nürburgring, and for 16 years we’ve put the newest high-performance cars to their limits in an annual week of track time we call Lightning Lap.
In May, more than 60 of our readers joined us at VIR to conquer the exact 4.1-mile Grand Course configuration we’ve used to set benchmarks for production cars, from the Honda Fit to the McLaren Senna. Using our price-based categories, from LL1 (up to $35,000) to LL5 ($250,000 and above), readers had over two hours of track time during the day to battle for the quickest times. (We stuck with last year’s price categories, since the registration for this event started before the increases we put in place in 2023 to reflect the ever-increasing price of new vehicles.)
We instantly recognized the cars and faces of those who have devotedly attended our past two reader track days. The cool Virginia morning kicked off with a reminder of track etiquette. The folks at Kaizen Autosport handed out transponders and offered instruction and track car rentals, as they oversaw timing and scoring for three groups of racers. New for this year was an Enthusiast group designed to get the unaccustomed more acclimated to track driving.
Three Car and Driver staffers also attended, to log some laps on a portion of our long-term fleet. Out on track with our readers ran our long-term Porsche 718 Cayman GTS and Subaru BRZ and our Honda Civic Si track rat.
The competition was fast and the cars were awesome this year, but ultimately only one from each category gets to exit the paddock with a trophy. Thank you to all our loyal readers that joined us for our third Lightning Lap public track day. Here are the results.
Enthusiast
By far the largest faction at this year’s event was the Enthusiast group of beginner track drivers, many of whom had never been on a race circuit before, let alone one as long and daunting as VIR’s Grand Course. Their experience began with lead-follow laps behind instructors, followed by solo laps as their comfort levels improved. Fun was had and teeth were cut. Vehicles ranged from Trisha Radocaj’s 2023 Toyota GR86 to Leigh Potts’s 1987 Chevy Monte Carlo SS to Rob Wald’s 2020 BMW M2 Competition. Setting a quick lap time was not the priority, but Cameron Kennedy did strap a transponder to his 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S to record a time of 3:32.7, while his wife, Kristen, was wheeling a 2019 McLaren 570S Spider. Given the smiles we saw around the paddock, we’ll be surprised if a few drivers don’t return next year for more serious runs against the clock.
LL1 (under $35,000)
Duane Black once again made the trek to VIR in his trusty V-6 automatic Mustang with the speed limiter removed, towing a set of track wheels and tires behind, to take top honors in LL1. While his time wasn’t quite as speedy this time around—previously he was flirting with a 3:00 flat—the well-used Mustang was wearing lesser tires. Still, the fact that his 3:03.8 in this humble V-6 Mustang—it bears repeating that it’s his daily driver—beat most of the LL2 entries proves that Black knows his way around the Grand Course.
LL2 ($35,000 to $64,999)
The next-up class had a good mix of competitors: a pair of Civic Type Rs, a Tesla Model 3, and a Challenger Hellcat. The Model 3 and Hellcat were neck and neck in the 3:14s, while the better of the two Civics got down to a 3:07. But none could hang with the 2021 Toyota Supra adorned with an aggressive aero kit driven by Nathan Bunn. Now Bunn was at a distinct advantage, having formerly worked for VIR’s home driving-instruction shop and our partner in this track-day endeavor, Kaizen Autosport, and has no shortage of time at VIR. While his 2:58.3 handily beat everything else in the class, it’s a few seconds off our quickest from a Supra, a manual, last year. Bunn said his fresh set of R-compound tires didn’t arrive in time, so he was nursing a well-used set.
LL3 ($65,000 to $124,999)
The LL3 class saw plenty of action this year, with David Hunt in a 2022 Porsche Cayman GT4 ultimately taking the win with a time of 3:02.6. Close behind was Stephen Fayette in another GT4, a 2016 model, who posted a 3:04.6 lap. A few seconds back, Gabe Rich and his 2022 Chevy Camaro SS 1LE battled it out with Jonathan Lucas in a second 2016 Porsche 718 GT4, with Rich’s 3:11.394 lap just edging out Lucas’s 3:11.502. Fred Barasoain set a 3:18.3 time in his 2019 BMW M4, while Bradley Lucas turned in a 3:27.5 in a 2021 C8 Corvette.
LL4 ($125,000 to $249,999)
It sure was lonely in the $249,000 and under club. Its only competitor, Matthew Einstein in a 2022 Porsche 911 GT3, set a tasty lap to the tune of 2:45.7. Of course, he won. His 2023 time improved over last year by nearly a second, making Matthew the quickest dude of the day. We managed a 2:40.6 in our attempt last year, but we also had the PDK-automatic advantage over his six-speed manual. We suspect Matthew could return to slice another second or two off his time next year. Among previous reader track day competitions, Matthew is a little behind the 2:40.9 lap set by Corey Radcliff’s 2017 Dodge Viper ACR Extreme. Great work, Matthew, and major props for using that rocket as Stuttgart intended.
LL5 ($250,000 and above)
Deep Sran’s 2018 Ferrari 488 GTB set a 3:18.1 and is the first Ferrari to dive into our pool of track-going readership. Its twin-turbo V-8 packs 661 horsepower from the factory, and the paddle shifters for its seven-speed dual-clutch automatic had Deep’s fingertips dancing. When we tested the 488GTB, it hit 60 mph in 3.0 seconds flat. While Deep’s time was significantly off the pace of the 2:45.1 we set in 2016, we can’t fault the guy for making sure his car was able to drive home in one piece.
LLR1 (under $65,000)
Normally a hotbed for competition, this class saw just two drivers set times this year. John Cuellar took home the trophy in a modified 2007 Chevy Corvette Z06 with a solid time of 2:50.3, cutting eight seconds off the lap in a stock version we set when the car was new. Robert Lamere recorded a respectable 2:57.3 time in another Z06, a 2011 model with the Z07 package, to claim second place.
LLR2 ($65,000 to $124,999)
Mostly populated by Ginetta G56 GTA race cars operated by Kaizen Autosport—a 2400-pound racer with a British chassis and Mustang V-6 power—a C5 Corvette that got bumped to the race class with a modified engine and a BMW M240i rounded out the class. The Ginettas were more than 10 seconds quicker than the other two and tightly clustered between 2:48.0 and 2:49.5. Kaizen boss Peter Heffring ended up in second with a 2:48.5 while Bertus van Jaarsveld brought home the win by a half-second, and we don’t think just because he’s a paying customer.
LLR3 ($125,000 to $249,999)
This class saw another small but by no means quiet contingent of Porsches. Honors ultimately went to Jean-François Lemay, who set a 2:52.5 time in a 2017 911 GT3 Cup car. Hot on his heels was Stéphane Bouvier’s 2020 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, which logged a 2:56.8.
LLRP1 (prototype)
After an unfortunate wreck at our last track day, Garry Gray was back with his 2013 Radical SR8 for another go. And go he did, turning a best 2:46.1, which is quicker than the Tatuus from our last event by the very narrow margin of 0.3 second. Nice work.
Associate Editor
Yes, he’s still working on the 1986 Nissan 300ZX Turbo project car he started in high school, and no, it’s not for sale yet. Austin Irwin was born and raised in Michigan, and, despite getting shelled by hockey pucks during a not-so-successful goaltending career through high school and college, still has all of his teeth. He loves cars from the 1980s and Bleu, his Great Pyrenees, and is an active member of the Buffalo Wild Wings community. When Austin isn’t working on his own cars, he’s likely on the side of the highway helping someone else fix theirs.
Technical Editor
Mike Sutton is an editor, writer, test driver, and general car nerd who has contributed to Car and Driver‘s reverent and irreverent passion for the automobile since 2008. A native Michigander from suburban Detroit, he enjoys the outdoors and complaining about the weather, has an affection for off-road vehicles, and believes in federal protection for naturally aspirated engines.
Director, Vehicle Testing
Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver‘s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism.
Source: www.caranddriver.com