Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams doubled-up on race wins Sunday in Pirelli World Challenge SprintX competition at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) where CRP Racing scored the overall and Pro-class victories, and Black Swan Racing won the Pro/Am division, finishing 10th overall. The pair of victories were the first for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Pirelli World Challenge competition and came in just the third race weekend of the year.
Ryan Dalziel and Daniel Morad co-drove the winning No. 2 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen shared the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3s set the pace from the start in Sunday’s second and final 60-minute SprintX race, with Morad edging overall polesitter Bleekemolen for the early race lead.
Both Morad and Bleekemolen were well in control of their class leads by the time they handed off to their respective teammates, Dalziel and Pappas, just past the race’s halfway mark. Dalziel led by as many as 12 seconds before the race ultimately ended under caution in the closing minutes.
A third Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team also participated in the VIR SprintX races. The No. 92 MCC Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, driven by the father-and-son team of Alexandre Negrao and Alexandre Negrao Sr. Negrao Jr., had their new race car delivered to the track on Thursday. After shaking off a Friday practice incident, the father-son team finished sixth in the Pro/Am class in Saturday’s race.
