Bryan Sellers Picks His Classic Corner at a Classic Track: Turn Three at VIR

Entering each TUDOR United SportsCar Championship weekend, Bryan Sellers, driver of the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR, has been outlining his favorite turns. This weekend, the Braselton, Georgia-resident and longtime teammate Wolf Henzler (Germany) travel to one of North America’s truly classic tracks, VIRginia International Raceway (VIR).

The Alton, Virginia facility is nestled in the hills, valleys and woods of the Old Dominion and enjoys a history almost as deep as the country around it. For Sellers, the classic turn at a track of classic turns – including the event namesake corner for the Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR – is Turn Three. The “NASCAR Bend”, as it is nicknamed, is the linchpin of the 17-turn, 3.27-mile facility. The long lefthander is Sellers’ favorite corner at the track which will play host to the only GT Le Mans (GTLM)/GT Daytona (GTD) stand-alone race of the season on Sunday, August 24.

“VIR is a very famous old-school racetrack. It’s the kind of place that just feels ‘natural’ because it is natural! It’s a classic American track with a number of corners that were laid organically through the terrain. Out of all the great corners, it is difficult to pick the best one. But, if forced to choose, my favorite corner of the 17 to drive the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche is Turn Three. 

Turn Three is a challenging corner because the approach is so different to most others anywhere in the TUDOR Championship calendar. It is a third-gear corner with an approach that has a consistent bend making the braking difficult. The important thing about this turn is carrying the speed through the center of the corner and, with the approach being so difficult, it is easy to over-slow or overshoot the corner entry. The car has a lot of dynamic issues in this corner. You are braking and turning, which means you need a car with good platform and support. However you also use some curbing in this corner meaning you need compliance as well. It’s a fine line between having a car that is too soft and a car that is too stiff. It is also very difficult to get a proper balance through the entire turn because, from a mechanical perspective, the car is doing so many different things. In my experience, when you have a car that is good in Turn Three, and a car that you can be aggressive with there, it means you will be fast at VIR. Get Three right and you get the lap right. Get it wrong and it will be a long weekend.”

 The two-hour, 45-minute Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR can be seen on FOX Sports 1 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, August 24. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the race live on its network of stations beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. The two-hour and 45-minute race for GTLM and GTD class cars will also have live timing and scoring available at IMSA.com. Streaming of qualifying is available on the IMSA web site beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 23.  

 

Adam Sinclair