Welcome The Age Of Callaway Competition In America's 2018 Pirelli World Challenge

Sideview of the Corvette C7 GT3-R, designed, manufactured and homologated on behalf of General Motors by Callaway Competition. Image Credit: Callaway Competition (2017)

Welcome The Age Of Callaway Competition In America's 2018 Pirelli World Challenge

Thursday morning at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, Team owner Reeves Callaway and Pirelli World Challenge President and CEO Greg Gill opened the press event alongside a matte black carbon Corvette C7 GT3-R, one of two that will be entered as full season factory efforts in the GT class. The GT3-spec homologated Corvette C7 GT3-R will compete in the GT class in both the sprint races, as well as the two driver format SprintX races. Drivers for the SprintX events will be announced at a later date.

"We are proud to have Daniel and Michael on board for our 2018 effort," said Callaway. "Both drivers have won several championships and will be excellent brand ambassadors for the Corvette C7 GT3-R's debut year of American Competition. Daniel brings with him a wealth of knowledge about our team and the car, and Michael has years of experience on the tracks we'll be competing on. Together, with the team we're assembling, this will be an excellent program to show our future customers what the Corvette C7 GT3-R is capable of."

While Daniel Keilwitz may be new to competition in the United States, the 28 year old German is no stranger to sports car racing or Callaway Competition.

Keilwitz began his career in go karts in 2000, spending four years there before moving up to the German Production Car Championship in 2005. After finishing tenth in the championship, he competed in the ADAC Procar series, finishing second in the 2006 championship. In the three years to follow, he continued his driver development in the Mini Challenge, twice finishing in the top five championship results.

Image Credit: Callaway Competition (2017)

The first of three championship titles came in 2010 when he clinched the FIA GT3 European Championship with Callaway Competition.  Keilwitz joined the ADAC GT Masters series in 2011, and has risen to become the most successful driver in the series with 19 overall race wins.

Together, Keilwitz and Callaway clinched the 2013 championship, and have finished in the top three in the 2014, 2016, and 2017 championship standings. In 2017, Keilwitz earned the ADAC GT Masters team title, with teammate Jules Gounon also on the effort.

Although Keilwitz will be new to all the tracks on the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge calendar, his eight years of experience with Callaway Competition and two years behind the wheel of the Corvette C7 GT3-R will prove invaluable to Callaway Competition USA's North American Debut.

"I'm really looking forward to join Callaway Competition for the Pirelli World Challenge in 2018," said Keilwitz. "I have done a lot of races for them in Europe and now I'm really happy to join them also in the USA for my ninth year with the team. The car is really amazing and was performing really well in Europe against all the big manufacturers, so I'm sure that it will perform also well in USA. Of course we have to get some experience with the car on the new tracks, but we also bring a lot of experience from Europe to the USA from the past two years racing with this car. We clearly want to show that the Callaway C7 GT3-R is a great performing and winning car. I'm really proud to be part of this team."

Image Credit: Callaway Competition (2017)

Fresh off winning the 2017 SprintX Championship, American racer Michael Cooper joins the team, bringing with him four championship titles in six years of competition.

The 28 year old began his racing career in the 2010 Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge, earning two wins and three podiums in his rookie season. In 2011, he clinched the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup championship title, and the following year, the Pirelli World Challenge rookie again wheeled his way to the top of a championship, as the 2012 TC champion.

In the two years to follow, Cadillac racing twice tested with Cooper, and in 2015, made him a GM Factory driver in their Pirelli World Challenge efforts. Cooper wasted no time proving himself, earning the 2015 GTS championship title with Blackdog Speedshop, and finishing third in the 2016 GT championship with two wins and seven additional podiums representing Cadillac Racing.

Cooper returned to the GT class with Cadillac Racing in 2017, finishing second in the driver championship, and earning the inaugural SprintX Championship alongside Jordan Taylor.

"I'm very proud to be joining Callaway Competition USA for their factory effort next year," said Cooper. "The Corvette C7 GT3-R has already proven itself on track in Europe, and I'm eager to start testing. The team that is being assembled by Callaway is top-notch, and will no doubt put us in contention for the championship. This will be an exciting year for the car's debut in the Pirelli World Challenge."

Image Credit: Callaway Competition (2017)

Introduced to competition in 2016, the Corvette C7 GT3-R, designed, manufactured and homologated on behalf of General Motors by Callaway Competition GmbH produced a successful debut and sophomore season, winning the 2017 ADAC GT Masters Series Driver and Team Championships with Jules Gounon and Daniel Keilwitz.

Now available for competition in the United States, the Corvette C7 GT3-R will no doubt be a championship contender again in 2018. The American season will begin March 9-11, 2018 on the streets of Saint Petersburg, Florida ... along side of the season opener for the Verizon IndyCar Series.
[Reference Here]

Looking forward to having a local Southern California racecar manufacturer back in the saddle of competition on it's home turf - welcome the age of Callaway Competition in America's 2018 Pirelli World Challenge.

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Callaway Competition, Pirelli World Challenge, Corvette C7 GT3-R, Daniel Keilwitz, Michael Cooper, SprintX Championship, ADAC, Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, The EDJE

Pirelli World Challenge's 2017 "Roar By The Shore" Re-Titled To "A River Runs Through It"

Alvaro Parente, a 32-year-old driver from Porto, Portugal driving his No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S, held off a turn one challenge by local star Patrick Long of Manhattan Beach, Calif., driving the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-R and extended his winning margin at the checkered flag to 2.86 seconds in a wild event that saw flooding between turns eight and nine due to a fire hydrant incident from off track on Ocean Blvd.. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2017)

Pirelli World Challenge's 2017 "Roar By The Shore" Re-Titled To "A River Runs Through It" 

The Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) is noted to bring a level of competition in sport car racing that delivers strong yet unexpected results. This third race of the 2017 PWC series season follows two races in Saint Petersburg Florida when the Verizon IndyCar Series also opened its 2017 season ... also by the shore.

But, hey, The Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach is squarely based in the land of fruits and nuts ... and Hollywood productions, so why not just script something memorable into this special sportscar racing mix. After all, this event is the longest continuous running temporary street course on the IndyCar schedule which has become a "Rites Of Spring" hallmark event in American motor culture.

On Lap 10 of the 50 minute timed race, as if on cue to bring in a very unique course hazard, not too dissimilar to golf course sand traps, someone up the hill on Ocean Blvd. ran over and broke a fire hydrant causing a massive amount of water to flow across the back straight between Turn 8 and Turn 9, setting up a potential for additional destruction due to a hydroplaning kind of skim-boarding (aero-sealed racing undercarriages) at well over 100 mph.

How cool ... professional auto racing with the unexpected addition of a water feature.

Water hazard interrupts Round 3 PWC race course. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2017)

Alvaro Parente, who got off to a very tight start from his pole qualifying position, was leading the race at the time with Patrick Long, winner of round two at St. Petersburg, in his No. 58 911 GT3-R close in tow.

"That was a little crazy with the water on the track," said the Portuguese born Parente in the post race press conference. "I went into that turn [Turn 8] and all of a sudden there was a river in front of me, so I just went foot off throttle, and prayed that I wouldn’t crash or anything, and just skidded through the puddle. It was last-minute for me; you’re flat out on that straight and suddenly you see a black shadow there, the water from the fire hydrant."

As for longtime factory Porsche competitor and local racer Long running in P2, "It was probably 20 feet of running water and with slick tires at 140 mph, that’s not what you want to see. It’s one of those situations where you sort of just stay calm, sort of relax, and let it end. I’m happy we didn’t have an incident and everyone responded really well, so hats off to the track and World Challenge series for their handling of an unnatural disaster. But, that’s Long Beach and that’s street racing. This series is about sprint racing and everybody’s racing hard."

Jim Jordan, a manufacturer motorsports executive for over 25 years in various roles and currently is a part of the Pirelli World Challenge management posted this on his Facebook timeline:

My good friends know I have always valued collecting experiences more than anything else. This season I have taken on a new responsibility in race control for the Pirelli World Challenges races. Not particularly complicated but I serve as the communications link between Race Control and the TV production crew. Most times this means fairly simple communications.

Today not so much. During the middle of our GT/GTA race at Long Beach there was an accident on Ocean Blvd where a vehicle wiped out a fire hydrant. We did not know this of course, but the corner workers quickly reported a "flood" coming down to the track!

All hands on deck! Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2017)

It was a weird situation, and the team did an amazing job of reacting without over reacting, fixing, communicating, and only losing 1 minute total of racing [Red Flag - 15 minutes]. It was very impressive to see the way the group worked together, from the track crew, to IndyCar [Holmatro Safety Team], to SCCA Cornerworkers, IMS Productions, and the WCVision staff. Very fun to have been a part of, and I imagine it will go down in "racing lore," the Long Beach Flood!

Full Race Results >>>

Naw, this 43 year old Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach venue deserves a water feature hazard incident with the verve of a Hollywood title - "A River Runs Through It."

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Pirelli World Challenge, Long Beach, roar by the shore, a river runs through it, Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach, Alvaro Parente, K-PAX Racing, Patrick Long, Wright Motorsports, Bryan Sellers, Jim Jordan, Holmatro Safety Team, Water, The EDJE

“Roar By The Shore” Shootout Expected This Sunday In Long Beach.

World’s Most Exotic Sports Cars Featured in Premier U.S. Street Race

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 3, 2017) – The annual trek to the streets of Long Beach is always brought with enthusiasm for the Pirelli World Challenge GT and GTA teams and drivers and the 2017 “Roar by the Shore” is no different with the 43^rd edition of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach set for April 7-9 in the PWC Grand Prix of Long Beach presented by Optima Batteries. 

Featuring the fine line of precision driving between the concrete walls and aggressive all-out pursuit to win, the PWC competitors thrill the large contingent of racing fans each year over the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary road circuit around the Long Beach Arena and Convention Center complex with North America’s premier GT Production-based road racing campaign. 

This weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge field is another outstanding list of sports car stars and their exotic machinery from Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren, Cadillac, Mercedes, Audi, Bentley, Aston Martin and Acura, which features the all-new NSX GT3.    

GT Preview – Superb GT field of drivers and cars should give fans thrills in 50-minute sprint race 

The most important street race in the United States – the 43^rd annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach – brings another stellar GT field this weekend with the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix presented by Optima Batteries and some of the world’s finest sports car drivers and their wild machines. 

Leading the list of contenders for Sunday’s 50-minute sprint race will be the defending Long Beach winner and reigning PWC GT champion Alvaro Parente of Porto, Portugal in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S.  Parente, a six-race winner in 2016, had never seen the tight Long Beach temporary course before his 2016 appearance but the personable factory McLaren racer left little doubt in qualifying with a track-record pole position speed. 

In the 50-minute event, Parente led early before four-time PWC GT champion Johnny O’Connell took his red No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R. to the front on lap 15.  O’Connell took the checkered flag that day but lost the win in post-race tech inspection.  It was Parente taking his first PWC GT victory when all was said and done.  And O’Connell, the four-time Le Mans winner from Flowery Branch, Ga., was penalized to second. 

Both drivers will return for another street fight this weekend along with the 2011 PWC GT champion and local star Patrick Long of Manhattan Beach, Calif., in his No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Long and Parente won the opening GT races in 2017 in the streets of St. Petersburg last month. 

Joining O’Connell, the 2014 Long Beach GT winner, on the Cadillac Racing team will be young Michael Cooper of Syosset, N.Y., in the blue No. 8 Cadillac ATS-V.R., who finished third in the 2016 GT points and scored two race wins. 

A strong list of veteran contenders will be in the mix at Long Beach including Ryan Dalziel of Scotland and Bryan Sellers of Braselton, Ga., who’ll handle double duty in the PWC and IMSA events. Dalziel will pilot the No. 2 CRP Racing/DeVilbiss Mercedes AMG GT3 in Sunday’s feature, while Sellers will drive the No. 6 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S.   

Joining Dalziel and Sellers in the veteran lineup will be former sports car champion Jon Fogarty of Bend, Ore., in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Stallings Racing “Red Dragon” Porsche 911 GT3 R, Pierre Kaffer of Germany in the No. 4 Magnus Racing Audi RS 8 LMS, Ryan Eversley of Atlanta, Ga., in the No. 43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3, Peter Kox of the Netherlands in the No. 93 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 and Daniel Mancinelli of Italy, St. Pete GT pole winner, in the No. 31 TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3. 

Another Ferrari challenger at Long Beach will be St. Pete Round 2 pole winner Alex Riberas of Spain in the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3. Riberas was impressive in his PWC GT debut with third and fourth place finishes at St. Petersburg. 

Young GT star Adderly Fong of Hong Kong brings the popular No. 88 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 to Long Beach as Fong attempts to repeat his podium performances from 2016.  Also entered in the Sunday PWC main event is the No. 11 Dime Racing entry with the driver and car to be name this week. 

Alec Udell Moves Up to GT Category for Long Beach Pirelli World Challenge Weekend

Alec Udell, the 21-year-old Clemson University mechanical engineering student, captured the 2016 GT Cup title with 12 wins and moved to the GTA division at St. Petersburg last month.  And The Woodlands, Tex., driver didn’t disappoint with two impressive pole positions and two class victories.  

In fact, Udell recorded the fourth fastest lap time overall in the GT/GTA/GT Cup Round 2 event at St. Pete and ran in the Top 5 for the first half of the 50-minute sprint contest.  Due to that sensational performance, it has been determined by the PWC stewards and PWC race director Dorsey Schroeder that Udell will compete in the GT division at this weekend’s Long Beach GT Round 3.  

Udell drives for the local Southern California-based team of GMG Motorsports and will wheel the No. 17 GMG/Euroworld Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. 

GTA Preview – Solid lineup of veterans and youngsters should have great races in 2017

A great contingent of veterans and youngsters will make up the GTA class this weekend at Long Beach including two-time Long Beach PWC winner James Sofronas of Villa Park, Calif., in the No. 14 GMG Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.  Sofronas captured PWC honors in the 2009 and 2013 Long Beach contests. 

Michael Schein, a six-time 2016 winner, is expected to battle the GTA at Long Beach with the sister car to Long’s Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Schein drove the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche to two second place finishes at St. Petersburg. 

Joining Sofronas and Schein in the veteran GTA listings for Long Beach will be Mike Hedlund of Redwood City, Calif., in the pretty No. 98 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S, Tim Pappas in the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 and John Potter in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS.

Other young drivers entered in the GTA division at Long Beach include personable Jorge de la Torre of McAllen, Texas, in the No. 04 De la Torre Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, local driver Yufeng Luo of Arcadia, Calif., in the No. 78 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 and former Indy Lights racer Pablo Perez Companc of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the No. 69 Champ 1 Mercedes AMG GT3.

Event/Circuit: 
Streets of Long Beach, Calif: 14-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street course

  

Practice:  
Friday, April 7 3:30 -- 4:30 p.m., GT-GTA Practice 

Practice:  
Saturday, April 88:45 – 9:00 a.m., GT-GTA Practice 

Qualifying:  
Saturday, April 89:10 – 9:25 a.m., GT-GTA Qualifying (Group 1)

9:30 – 9:45 a.m., GT-GTA Qualifying (Group 2)

Race Length: 
50 minutes (GT/GTA)

  

Sunday, March 12

10:00 – 10:50 a.m. GT-GTA Race 

All times listed above are Pacific Daylight Time

  

Television (on CBS Sports Network, Same-Day Coverage):  

GT/GTA: April 9, 2:30 p.m. (EDT) 11:30 a.m. (PDT)

Story Courtesy: Tom Blattler of PWC.

43rd Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach Media Day Track Ride With GMG's James Sofronas

43rd Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach Media Day Track Ride With GMG's James Sofronas
In A Race Prepared Pirelli World Challenge No. 14 Porsche GT3-R

A two-lap trip around the Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach temporary street circuit by Managing Editor of Performance & Racing Tech Talk, Edmund Jenks with Global Motorsports Group (GMG) team owner/competitor James Sofronas driving the GMG race prepared Porsche 911 GT3-R. Video Credit: Edmund Jenks (2017)

GMG’S JAMES SOFRONAS COMMITTED TO FULL SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP; VANTHOOR FOR SELECT SPRINTX EVENTS

Returning for his 15th season of Pirelli World Challenge competition, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) team owner James Sofronas will arrive at next week’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg fully committed to the series’ sprint rounds, continuing his commitment with Porsche Motorsport North America and the venerable Porsche 911 GT3 R. Beyond the five-race sprint championship, however, the team is proud to announce the addition of Porsche Motorsport works driver Laurens Vanthoor for the opening two rounds of the series’ SprintX championship, co-driving with Sofronas in pursuit of overall victory.

“It’s great to be back in the Pirelli World Challenge for another season,” stated Sofronas. “It’s incredible to think of how the series has grown over the years, and it’s been an honor to be a part of it. Our business has grown with it of course, and 2017 looks to be a great continuation of that. Last year we really enjoyed working with the current iteration of the Porsche 911 GT3 R in its first year of development, and headed in to this year we have a very good understanding of what to expect. Of course a big part of that is our relationship with Porsche Motorsport North America, and the addition of Laurens Vanthoor for our opening two SprintX events is a huge demonstration of our mutual commitment to one another. Porsche has been a big part of our business over the years, and bringing in such a talented co-driver is a great opportunity for everyone.
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As a team with a rich history of competing with Porsche machinery, GMG and Sofronas’ return to the marque is part of a partnership that has been synonymous with the team’s growth. Not only did Sofronas take his first victory, as well as his best championship finish under the Porsche Motorsport umbrella, but the team also played a critical role in the 2008 and 2009 Manufacturer’s Championship won by the brand. In 2016, GMG also held the unique distinction of being the top sales team for the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, selling more cars than any other in North America.
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Of course, beyond the team’s on-track performance, Sofronas and company will continue to use the series as a development for their expanding street tuning business. As the leading performance tuning shop in Southern California, the team has used their trackside experience with Porsche and a number of other marques to give them a unique advantage in understanding the characteristics of their street counterparts. In such, no other organization in the area has a deeper understanding of the dynamics and engineering to make their vehicles perform, which has translated to a number of street car performance products. In addition, the racing environment has created an incredible learning ground for team personnel, with the team offering the same championship-winning experience on the track for a client’s daily driver.

In addition to Sofronas’s full efforts behind the wheel of the No. 14, the team owner will also maintain a busy racing schedule with the team’s three car program. Beyond running Alec Udell and Preston Calvert in another Porsche 911 GT3 R, the addition of George Kurtz’s McLaren 570S GT4 GTS program will add another dynamic in the form of experiential entertainment, with Kurtz bringing on CrowdStrike as a primary sponsor. On any given weekend, CrowdStrike will use the team and series as an opportunity to host several dozen partners, clients, and guests, the type of program that Sofronas relishes in, fully aware of what the series has to offer.
(ht: GMG)

... notes From The EDJE



TAGS: 43rd, Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach, Media Day, Track Ride, GMG, James Sofronas, Pirelli World Challenge, Global Motorsports Group, Porsche, GT3-R, The EDJE

Great Start Takes Patrick Long to Pirelli World Challenge GT Victory

Young Alec Udell Wins Second GTA Race; 

Preston Calvert Takes GT Cup Again.

Porsche Takes Three GT/GTA/GT Cup Class Titles in Wheel-to-Wheel Action

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 12, 2017) – Veteran Patrick Long of Manhattan Beach, Calif., took advantage of a wild first turn skirmish Sunday and drove his No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R to victory in the GT Round 2 of the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Case●It on the harborside 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit. Young Alec Udell of The Woodlands, Tex., captured his second straight GTA title Sunday and Preston Calvert of Potomac, Md., scored a second GT Cup win.

Long, 34, started third in the 24-car lineup and followed Saturday GT winner Alvaro Parente into turn one in the 50-minute sprint race when reigning GT champion Parente went wide on the slippery Albert Whited Airport front straightaway. When Parente’s No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S slid wide at the end of the long straight, Long dove into turn one and grabbed the top position.  From that point, Long never looked back in scoring his ninth career Pirelli World Challenge GT triumph and taking the early GT class point lead.

Long, who raised $81,000 Wednesday evening with co-host and St. Pete IndyCar Series winner Sebastien Bourdais for All Children’s Hospital in the annual “Karts4Kids” charity event, had to hold off the challenge late in the 39-lap GT feature of four-time GT champion Johnny O’Connell of Flowery Branch, Ga., in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R., pole sitter Alex Riberas of Spain in the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari 488 GT3 and Parente. Long’s victory margin was 1.475-seconds.

The factory Porsche driver used that initial turn one move on the first lap to gain a five-car length advantage over O’Connell, the 20-time race winner in PWC, and actually extend his lead to 3.4 seconds by lap 30.  A late race caution period caused by Saturday’s runner-up finish, Australian JD Davison of Miami, Fla., closed up the field and put pressure on Long’s margin. On the lap 37 restart, Patrick pulled out a 1.8-second lead before taking the checkered flag. Long currently leads the provisional GT points with 46.

O’Connell finished second, Riberas third, Parente fourth and young Michael Cooper of Syosset, N.Y., in the No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R bringing up the fifth position.

“I thought that I had a (Porsche) 911 that was capable of winning all weekend,” said Long. “We went back and did our homework after our P3 qualifying position yesterday and we talked about how it was going to be to go out after IndyCar. The jury was out on if the clean race track and a lot of rubber was going to bode well for us. I think we all learned what the answer was going down into turn one. It was slick and it was just a train wreck basically, cars going in all directions. Luckily I was able to learn from my mistake yesterday and keep the car on the line and from there it was just clean air and I was able to reach the potential of what I thought the car had in it all weekend. We were running pretty hard. Johnny (O'Connell) had the capability of reeling me in when he had the pressure from Riberas in the Ferrari so I was actually pushing as hard as I could. I've been with Porsche for close to 15 years, I'm still a factory driver.  The head of Porsche North America asked me what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to win this championship. I wanted to come in rested and hungry like the rest of these guys that I'm up against. We have more competition than ever this year.”

The popular O’Connell dodged the wild first turn mayhem and challenged Long throughout the GT event, while fighting with Riberas and Parente in a spirited battle that saw bumper-to-bumper action.  

“At the start, you always expect guys to get in this Turn One hot and run a little long,” O’Connell said. “Alvaro (Parente) and the Ferrari (Riberas) went way long and that opened up the opportunity for me to fall right into second. In the early couple of laps, I thought I may have had something for Patrick, but, by half distance, my rear tires were just not there. The last 90-degree corner here just does not suit our car. We are great under braking and overall handling, but, that last corner, I just couldn’t match his speed through there this weekend. I couldn’t be more proud of this team to come away with a second and a fourth place finish. A good start to the year for us.”

Riberas, the young sports car star with European racing experience, was impressive in his first Pirelli World Challenge competition including a pole position and third and fourth place finishes in the return of the famed No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari 488 GT3. Alex moved his machine up alongside O’Connell once in turn two in an attempt for the second spot but couldn’t get by the cagey veteran.

"I went on throttle when the green flag went and I already had three cars by my side,” said Riberas. “After that, the car was great. R. Ferri Motorsports guys did a fantastic job, Ferrari Competizione guys did a fantastic job. The car is magnificent. I believe we are strong enough to win this championship. The St. Pete course is hard, especially when you get really close to the walls. It's hard to get the confidence to be on the limit and qualifying was a real challenge to be on top without damaging the car. This is definitely one of the nicest tracks I've driven so far but I think I like all of the U.S. tracks so I'm looking forward to the season.”

Parente came charging back from the first turn slide and pressured Riberas and O’Connell but had to settle for fourth with Cooper fifth. The leading GTA driver, Clemson University mechanical engineering student Udell, in the No. 17 GMG/Euroworld Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R finished sixth overall. It marked Udell’s second GTA class win of the weekend.

Following Udell on the GTA podium Sunday were Michael Schein of Glen Cove, N.Y., in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R and Mike Hedlund of Redwood City, Calif., in the No. 98 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S.  Calvert took his No. 77 Calvert Dynamics Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to a second consecutive win in the GT Cup category.

“I was able to come out clean in fourth down the straight,” said Udell. “In a situation like that, survival just takes over and you just look for the open space. This year jumping up into the sprint series which is the bread and butter of World Challenge for us to this date there's obviously a lot of very strong guys - Patrick (Long), of course - and getting out there and being able to run with them is quite a good thing for me."

"It's great to be back out there,” said Calvert. “It's fun to drive with drivers that are so able. When you're the slow car in the race because of class difference it's fun to race with these folks and just make sure you don't interfere with their race. It's a short track, there's a lot of cars, and it's very important to keep watching your mirrors."

All Pirelli World Challenge results are provisional until the stewards review and technical inspection are completed.

Sunday’s GT/GTA/GT Cup feature will be highlighted next Saturday (March 18) at 2 p.m. EDT on the CBS Sports Network. The Pirelli World Challenge GT and GTA classes move to another street circuit next month at the legendary Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 7-9 in Southern California for Round 3 in the 2017 tour, North America’s top GT Production-based road racing series. GT Cup competitors next hit the track in the championship-opening SprintX action at VIRginia International Raceway on April 28-30.

Of note, the following awards were issued:

The Optima Batteries Best Start award was issued to Tim Pappas in the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 for his move to capture eight positions at the start of the race.

The Cadillac Best Move of the Race was given to race-winner Patrick Long for his jump at the start of the race to take the race-long lead from P3.

VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award was given to Daniel Mancinelli of Italy for taking the No. 31 TR3 Racing Italian Shoemaker Ferrari 488 GT3 to a sixth place finish from a P15 start, a gain of nine positions in the race overall.

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St. Petersburg, FL – Provisional results from Sunday, Mar 12, 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Championship GT/GTA/GTC Round 2. All results are Provisional until posted Final.

Pos,PIC,Class,Name,Hometown,Car,Laps,Status

1,1, GT,Patrick LONG,Manhattan Beach, CA,Porsche GT3R,39,Running

2,2, GT,Johnny O'CONNELL,Flowery Branch, GA.,Cadillac ATS-V.R,39,Running

3,3, GT,Alex RIBERAS,TBD,Ferrari 488 GT3,39,Running

4,4, GT,Alvaro PARENTE,Porto, Portugal,GT,39,Running

5,5, GT,Michael COOPER,Huntington, NY.,Cadillac ATS-V.R,39,Running

6,6, GT,Daniel MANCINELLI,Italy,Ferrari 488 GT3,39,Running

7,1, GTA,Alec UDELL,The Woodlands,Porsche GT3R,39,Running

8,7, GT,Ryan DALZIEL,Windermere, FL,Mercedes AMG,39,Running

9,8, GT,Ryan EVERSLEY,Atlanta, GA,Acura NSX GT3,39,Running

10,9, GT,Bryan SELLERS,Braselton, GA,GT,39,Running

11,2, GTA,Michael SCHEIN,Glen Cove,Porsche GT3R,39,Running

12,3, GTA,Mike HEDLUND,Redwood City, CA,GTA,39,Running

13,4, GTA,Pablo Perez COMPANC,Buenos Aires,Mercedes AMG GT3,39,Running

14,5, GTA,James SOFRONAS,Villa Park, CA,Porsche GT3R,39,Running

15,10, GT,Pierre KAFFER,German,Audi R8,39,Running

16,6, GTA,Yufeng LUO,CA,Bentley Continental GT3,39,Running

17,7, GTA,Tim PAPPAS,Boston, MA,Mercedes Benz AMG GT3,38,Running

18,8, GTA,John POTTER,Salt Lake City,Audi RS 3 LMS,38,Running

19,9, GTA,Jorge DE LA TORRE,McAllen, TX,Aston Martin Vantage GT3,37,Running

20,1, GT Cup,Preston CALVERT,Potomac, MD,Porsche 911 GT3 Cup,36,Running

21,11, GT,James DAVISON,St Petersburg, FL,Aston Martin Vantage GT3,32,Not Running

22,12, GT,Adderly FONG,Hong Kong,Bentley Continental GT3,4,Not Running

23,13, GT,Jon FOGARTY,Bend Oregon,Porsche GT3R,0,NC

24,14, GT,Peter KOX,Eindhoven, Netherlands,Acura NSX GT3,0,Not Running

25,2, GT Cup,Marko RADISIC,Belgrade, Serbia,Ferrari Challenge Evo,0,NS

(Story courtesy of: Tom Blattler of SCCA)

43rd Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach Issues Swintal Poster For Event

Jim Swintal captures 2016 Verizon IndyCar Champion and Penske Racing driver Simon Pagenaud coming out of Turn 9 off of the back straight as he goes on to win his first Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.  Image Credit: Jim Swintal via GPALB (2017)

43rd Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach Issues Swintal Poster For Event

The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach announced today that Jim Swintal has been named Official Artist of the 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. As such, Swintal has created the artwork that will adorn not only the official race poster but also the souvenir program, Fan Guide and other materials.

From his childhood in South Bend, Ind. to his days in race control for CART, Champ Car and the Verizon IndyCar Series, motor racing has been a focal point in Jim Swintal’s life, just as it is the focal point of his art.  His work captures the excitement of some of racing’s most memorable moments, and this year’s Grand Prix race poster art certainly qualifies.

Swintal made his first journey to the Indianapolis 500 at age 13 and was instantly enthralled. After graduation in 1979 from Notre Dame, Swintal settled in Chicago as an architect and joined the Sports Car Club of America as a volunteer corner marshal until 1990, when he stepped in as Indy Lights starter at the season's first race in Phoenix.

Official artist for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Jim Swintal works in his studio as he develops the travel post card inspired images that will grace and commemorate Southern California's motor culture rite of spring . Image Credit: GPALB (2017)

He was named CART starter in 1993 and started every race in Long Beach until 2002 when he was promoted to Clerk of the Course. In 2010 he joined race control staffs of both the Verizon IndyCar Series and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. On race weekend Swintal, who lives in Irvine, will handle a variety of communications duties for both series.

“I’ve always enjoyed the exciting atmosphere at Long Beach and I had some interesting honorary starters help me here: Jay Leno, Tommy Lasorda, John Elway, just to name a few,” Swintal said.

For 2017, his second commission for the race, Swintal has created a piece that depicts every series racing here in a classic travel postcard format.

"The postcard captures the energy and excitement of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach - an event that is the envy and benchmark of all other street races,” said Swintal.

The official Grand Prix poster will cost $10 and be available online at gplb.com in the coming weeks, as well as at merchandise booths throughout the Grand Prix venue on race weekend.

Alvaro Parente, Porto Portugal, McLaren 650S GT3 coming out of Turn 6 as he races at the 2016 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in the Pirelli World Challenge sports car event. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2016)

The 2017 Grand Prix will be headlined by the second round of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series, as well as the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix, featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and its all-new prototype cars. In addition, the weekend will include the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights; SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks, and the powerful sports cars of the Pirelli World Challenge.

Ticket prices for the three-day event range from $32 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $142 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday reserved seating in grandstand upper levels. Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, Verizon IndyCar Series Paddock access passes, Super Photo tickets and an array of VIP Club packages.

Fans can select and pay for their 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach seats, parking and paddock passes online at gplb.com. Ticket orders can also be placed by calling the toll-free ticket hotline, (888) 827-7333.  A printed ticket brochure that includes a circuit map, ticket prices, order form and other information is also available.

Fans can also follow the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook at GrandPrixLB, Twitter @ToyotaGPLB, Instagram at ToyotaGPLB and Snapchat at ToyotaGPLB.
(ht: GPALB)

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Jim Swintal, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 43rd, #TGPLB43, Verizon IndyCar Series, BUBBA burger, Sports Car Grand Prix, IMSA, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Pirelli World Challenge, SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks, Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge, The EDJE

Touring Car Racing Gets A Boost Through Expanded 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Field

2017 Audi RS3 LMS - as shown at the Paris Auto Show. PWC and Audi hope that a detuned version compliant with 2017 competition rules will make the field by April when the first race of the season will be run at VIR.  Image Credit: Caricos (2016)

Touring Car Racing Gets A Boost Through Expanded 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Field

The popular Touring Car categories in the Pirelli World Challenge put on quite a show in 2016. It was some of the best sedan racing in North America.

Last corner passes for victories, four and five-wide battles into the first turns and bumper-to-bumper drafting for consecutive laps made up the 12-race TC, TCA and TCB competition.

And the 2017 season is expected to produce more cars and better action in the TC classes.

That wasn’t the case a few years ago in the TC divisions before the PWC Competition and Technical departments revamped the rule books and presented a new TC look to the auto manufacturers and racing teams. Now the Touring Car paddock is booming.

Toby Grahovec, driving the No. 26 BMW M235iR, leads the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car field at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on his way to a season championship in 2016. Image Credit: WC Vision (2016)

Over 40 TC machines and drivers started the two season finale races last October at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and the racing continued in sensational style including series titles coming down to the last checkered flag.  Variety was a key to TC racing in 2016 with a BMW (Toby Grahovec) taking the Touring Car crown, a Mazda (Elivan Goulart) winning in TCA and a Honda (Tom O’Gorman) scoring the championship in TCB.

“There is no doubt that the Touring Car classes were suffering four years ago,” said Greg Gill, President/CEO of WC Vision, producers of the Pirelli World Challenge. “However, led by our series' Marcus Haselgrove (Vice President, Competition) and Dan Goodman (Touring Car Technical Director), the Touring Car paddock grew dramatically and we see more growth for 2017 and 2018. Additional auto makers have interest in the TC divisions as well.”

Tom O’Gorman in the No. 96 Honda Fit rounding Turn 10 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on his way to capturing the 2016 season crown in the Pirelli World Challenge TCB Class. Image Credit: WC Vision (2016)

In 2016, Gill recruited long-time racing executive Jim Jordan to join the Pirelli World Challenge staff as Manager of Business development including the expansion of the Touring Car ranks.

“PWC wanted to increase entries as well as bring in new auto manufacturers to the TC classes,” said Jordan, who has served as manufacturer representative, team owner, team manager and driver during his racing career. “Greg and his staff made decisions to allow certain cars like the Mazda MX-5, a popular race car, into the TC classes. And I saw huge opportunities with TC too.”

With cars like the BMW M235iR, Mazda MX-5, Nissan 370Z, Honda Accord and Porsche Cayman in the TC action, Jordan believes the Touring Car contingent can produce one of the premier classes in motorsports.

“I saw a huge potential with the Touring Car classes and we have made an analysis of what is working in TC and I put together a 30-month vision of the class,” said Jordan. “I shared that with the competitors in August and we have a strong TC plan for 2017 and 2018. We want newer cars in the TC too, with the average age of three years or so.”

The direction of the top class of Touring Car is changing too. Jordan sees an influx of new machinery into the TC divisions including the TCR vehicles like the Audi RS3 LMS and the Honda Civic Si in TCA.

“We plan to put the “touring car” back to the Touring Car class at the upper end,” said Jordan. “In the TCA class, we’re keeping it an entry level class and we’re going to keep where the competitors could run popular cars in the marketplace. That also will include the ND Mazda MX-5 Cup Car.

In 2018, we are going to welcome TCR cars to Pirelli World Challenge. The top TC class is moving in that direction. That specification is used worldwide and it is, in spirit, similar to the worldwide adoption of the GT3 and GT4 rules. The manufacturer, or specific tuner for that manufacturer, builds a specification and they submit the car. Then the series does a Balance of Performance on the car and in essence every car has a relatively equal chance to win.”

PWC explains that it wants cars to be commercially available in that body style in the U.S. for TC competition.

“Audi has already talked with Marcus and Dan about their RS3 LMS car running this year in PWC,” he said. “The version we are recognizing for 2017 is a detuned TCR car and be competitive with cars like the BMW M235iR. And that thinking from manufacturers recognizes Pirelli World Challenge as being an important series within when you have companies like Audi building a specification just to match our class.”

“Several manufacturers already build cars for the TCR category,” explained Jordan, “including Ford, Volkswagen, Honda, Audi, Alfa Romeo, and Subaru, along with several brands that don’t sell their cars in the U.S. We can’t absorb those cars immediately in current Pirelli World Challenge regulations, but they will be in their own sub-category in PWC beginning in 2018.

“In 2018, we will welcome TCR cars into Pirelli World Challenge as a standalone class within Touring Car. There is enough interest from current manufacturers that I think we’re going to have a good field of TCR cars.”

Jordan also emphasized that manufacturers can bring many things to the TC divisions including ready-built race cars like the BMW M235iR this year that Grahovec drove to winning the TC title.

The new generation of Touring Car in the Pirelli World Challenge has gained strong interest from racing fans as well. With the extremely-competitive on-track product and the new TC models coming to PWC in 2017, the TC classes will continue to engage in some of the best wheel-to-wheel action in all of motorsports.

“We are very excited to see new cars and teams coming to Touring Car in 2017 and 2018,” said Jordan. “And I believe the racing fans will have plenty to watch at the track and on the telecasts.”

The opening doubleheader for the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car divisions is set for April 28-30 at VIRginia International Raceway at Acton, Va.  Those two rounds will be televised on CBS Sports Network on a taped-delayed basis.
(ht: wcvision)

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Pirelli World Challenge, Touring Car, BMW M235iR, Mazda MX-5, Nissan 370Z, Honda Accord, Porsche Cayman, Audi RS3 LMS, TCA Class, TCB Class, CBS Sports Network, VIRginia International Raceway, The EDJE,