Randy Pobst, Tom Long join Taggart Racing for 13-hour race at VIR

Taggart Autosport will return to competition this weekend, racing in the 13-hour at VIRginia International Raceway. Jim Taggart will share driving duties with sports car veterans Tom Long and Randy Pobst in the No. 6 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry, part of the SCCA ITE class and going for the overall win in Virginia.

Taggart last raced back in August, also at VIR, but in a Maserati Cup car, while the team last campaigned at Mid-Ohio in a Pirelli World Challenge race, with a strong second place finish in the rain.

“Our goal this weekend is to win the overall. With Tom and Randy at the wheel of our Porsche Cup car, I feel this is very attainable. If it should work out, it will help ease some of the disappointment we had two years ago in the Lotus,” said Taggart.

In 2012, the team was winning the overall race and was hit by a Spec Miata with only two hours to go.
Key to victory in a 13 hour race will be staying out of trouble. With the race running into darkness, traffic management will play a pivotal role as the entry list currently shows some 48 cars expected.

The Taggart Autosport crew chief, Eric Arms, has worked a tremendous number of hours preparing the car for the 13-hour marathon. Also, race strategy will be handled by Steve and Matthew Kuekes joining the team for this race.

ITE entries

Other cars in the fast ITE class include BMWs and Mustangs.

With a shop at VIR, Taggart Autosport should have some home-field advantage at the track.

Apart from the Maserati Cup race in August, Taggart ran the Ultimate Track Car Challenge in July, and won the SCCA Majors race in April at VIR, and has thousands of laps around the circuit, as do his co-drivers.

Long last shared Maserati driving duties with Taggart in August, charging through the field, while Pobst and Taggart last paired at the Daytona 24 Hours in January, where they shared a Porsche in the classic road race.

The race runs from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 25, and will feature pitstops for tires and fuel, along with regularly scheduled driver changes.

Taggart, Long and Pobst make up one of the stronger driver pairings entered for the end-of-season event at the 17-turn VIR.

Taggart Racing