Westin Workman will arrive at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on the verge of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX championship after another dominant weekend for RAFA Racing Team at VIRginia International Raceway.
Workman swept both 45-minute GSX races at VIR, taking his season tally to nine victories aboard the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 and putting himself in position to secure the title at the season finale.
Workman’s ninth victory also put him alongside the benchmark established by Kiko Porto in the same No. 8 RAFA Racing entry last season..
Porto won nine of the 12 GSX races in 2025 on his way to the championship, clinching the title at Road Atlanta before adding his ninth victory in the season finale. Workman has now matched that nine-win total before arriving at the circuit where Porto wrapped up last year’s crown.
Starting from pole on Saturday, Workman led all 22 laps around the 3.27-mile VIR circuit. Before a late full-course caution erased his advantage, he had built a lead of more than 14 seconds.
Rather than chasing outright speed throughout the race, Workman’s focus was on producing the same performance lap after lap while learning to manage the car as conditions and tire performance changed.
“Consistency and managing the gap is key,” Workman said. “I was pretty proud of myself in terms of being able to manage the tire fall-off and keep up the same lap time.
“We’ve won by a good margin now for a few races, so it was time to work on the consistency. I always come out here and try to give 110 percent.”
Sunday presented an entirely different challenge.
Workman was again due to start from pole, but a spin on the pace lap dropped him to the rear of the GSX field. The setback lasted only a matter of corners.
By the time the field reached the Esses on the opening lap, Workman had already worked his way back into the lead. From there, he again controlled the race and eventually won by 30.983 seconds.
“The mistake on the first lap was pretty embarrassing, honestly, but it’s always good experience to come through the field like that,” Workman said.
“I haven’t really got much experience passing GT4 cars this year, so that was pretty fun. Thankfully, the team didn’t make me feel too bad about my mistake in the beginning. I was able to put it behind me and just keep chipping away.”
Once back at the front, the race became another opportunity for Workman and RAFA Racing Team to develop skills aimed beyond the short-format VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races.
Fuel-saving, tire management, and maintaining consistent lap times were all part of the program as Workman continued preparing for his goal of advancing to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2027.
“We were working on fuel saving that session,” Workman said. “I give 100 percent every time I’m out there because I want to be better and I want to be in Pilot Challenge next year.
“There are different techniques required to do that – fuel saving, managing the tires and all the things that come along with longer races.”
That development work was reflected in Workman’s lap-to-lap consistency. Using the lap-time delta displayed on the Toyota’s steering wheel, he adjusted his pace depending on whether he was ahead of or behind his target.
“If it says I’m a few tenths up on my lap, I back it down a little bit and manage the tires,” he said. “If I’m a few tenths down, I’ll push a little bit harder in some of the areas that won’t hurt me too bad.
“It’s always about trying to get better.”
Martinez still in Bronze championship fight
RAFA Racing Team will also arrive at Road Atlanta with a second championship still in play.
Rafael Martinez remains firmly in contention for the GSX Bronze Drivers title after VIR. With 14 of 16 rounds complete, Martinez sits second in the standings with 2,980 points, just 110 behind.
The Bronze championship unresolved with 700 points still potentially available from the final two races.
The battle means RAFA Racing Team heads to Road Atlanta with an opportunity to complete a major championship double: Workman chasing the outright GSX crown and Martinez fighting for the Bronze title.
