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Doran Racing Set to Tackle VIR on Saturday

LEBANON, Ohio, Aug. 20 — This weekend Doran Racing and other IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge teams return to VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), a 3.27-mile, 18-turn road course and resort in Alton, Va. that "Car and Driver" magazine named as one of the top six road courses in North America.

The series hasn't raced at VIR since 2011, although for several years the facility was the site of its season finale. VIR was on the schedule in the series' inaugural season in 2001, and it's on the 2015 schedule too.

The track's famous oak tree died due to natural causes last summer, but the track has been repaved and widened a bit since the series' last visit here and Saturday afternoon's race is sure to be fast and furious.

B.J. Zacharias and Tim Bell drove a Doran Racing BMW 128i in the Street Tuner class here in 2011, but this year Zacharias and Brad Jaeger will tackle VIR in the Doran Racing Nissan NISMO 370Z #14 in the Grand Sport class.

Jaeger is fourth in the driver point standings and Zacharias is fifth going into this event, and they want to leave with as many points as possible. After this weekend's race at VIR, only two more events remain on the 2014 schedule.

The race is a timed event of two and a half hours, which is about the same time it takes to drive to the track from Jaeger's home in Charlottesville, Va. VIR is near the Virginia-North Carolina border.

Incidentally, earlier this week Jaeger started classes at the University of Virginia's business school, where he's pursuing his Masters in business administration.

Zacharias hails from Cincinnati, not far from the team's headquarters in Lebanon, Ohio.

The action starts with two practice sessions on Friday at 8 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Jaeger will qualify the car at 5:10 p.m. Friday. He'll also start the race at 2:05 p.m. Saturday and then hand the Nissan off to Zacharias.

Live streaming is scheduled for imsa.com, while Fox Sports 1 viewers can see the coverage on a tape-delayed basis at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31.

All times are Eastern.

For more information on Doran Racing, see DoranRacing.com and the team's Facebook page.

Driver pre-race quotes follow:

Brad Jaeger: "VIR is sort of my home track, since I live in Charlottesville, Va. I raced there in Skip Barber in 2003; I've tested Star Mazda cars there, and I raced a Daytona Prototype with Doran Racing there in 2008 and 2009.

"I haven't been on the track since it's been repaved though, and I'm anxious to see how it is this weekend. A smoother track will generate faster times, and I'm excited to see how it will work out with the Nissan.

"I think the Nissan 370Z is going to be very good at VIR. The combination of the track's esses and the car's lighter weight should make the tires last longer. Hopefully we'll have a great race!"

B.J. Zacharias: "I'm looking forward to VIR.

"The team looked into the data from Road America and we had some issues during the final 30 minutes of the race. I'm glad the guys dug into this and were able to find it.

"The season is coming down to the final three races for sure. It's been a wild season; up and down for everyone. To have a shot like this is exciting for the whole team.

"I think going forward the Doran team has a serious shot at capturing one of the top three spots in the team and drivers' championships."

For more information about the series, see imsa.com.
For more information on Doran Racing, see DoranRacing.com.
The team also has a Facebook page.

 

 
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