MEDIAGUIDE
GT GT Rd. 1+2 X X X
Rd. 3+4
Rd. 1+2
PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE at the NISSAN GRAND PRIX of VIR SprintX GT / SprintX GT Cup / SprintX GTS Rd. 1+2 TC / TCA / TCB Rd. 1+2 Alton, VA. APR. 28-30, 2017 VIRMEDIAKIT
WHAT: The 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Championships will be contested in its 28th consecutive season with the Nissan PWC Grand Prix of VIRginia International Raceway. The weekend will have doubleheader races in seven divisions (SprintX -- GT, GTA, GT Cup; GT4/GTS and Touring Car, TCA and TCB).
TELEVISION (on CBS Sports Network): GT: Sunday, May 7, 5:00 p.m. EDT GTS: Sunday, May 14, 5:00 p.m. EDT TC: Saturday, May 18, 4:00p.m. ET
(All races on a streaming basis on www.motortrendondemand.com and www.world-challenge.com)
RACE LENGTHS: PWC race lengths for the SprintX GT/GTA/GT Cup will be 60 minutes (two drivers) and GT4/GTS class will be 50 minutes. The Touring Car/TCA/TCB classes will be 40 minutes.
TRACK RECORDS: GT: Qualifying: 1:56.086 / 101.407 m.p.h., Andy Pilgrim, Volvo S60, 2010 Race Lap: 1:56.927 / 100.678 m.p.h., Kuno Wittmer, Dodge Viper, 2010 GTA: Qualifying: To Be Determined, 2017 | Race Lap: To Be Determined, 2017 GT Cup: Qualifying: To Be Determined, 2017 | Race Lap: To Be Determined, 2017 GT4/GTS: Qualifying: 2:06.936 / 92.739 m.p.h., Peter Cunningham, Acura TSX, 2010 Race Lap: 2:08.757 / 91.428 m.p.h., Peter Cunningham, Acura TSX, 2010 Touring Car: Qualifying: 2:05.650 / 93.688 m.p.h., Chip Herr, Mazda 6, 2008 Race Lap: 2:06.646 / 92.952 m.p.h., Seth Thomas, BMW 325i, 2008 TCA: Qualifying: To Be Determined, 2017 | Race Lap: To Be Determined, 2017 TCB: Qualifying: To Be Determined, 2017 | Race Lap: To Be Determined, 2017
Recent Race Winners at VIRginia International Raceway 2002: John Young (GT) Pierre Kleinubing (TC) 2008: Kuno Wittmer (TC) 2010: Race 1, Randy Pobst (GT) Nick Esayian (GTS) Todd Buras (TC) Race 2, Andy Pilgrim (GT) Peter Cunningham (GTS) Robert Stout (TC)
Media Overview 3
Weekend Schedule 4
Entry Lists 6
Advance Race Media Release 10
Driver Features 16
Series Features 18
2017 Current Point Standings - GT / GTA Classes 20
2017 Current Point Standings - GTS Classes 22
2017 CBS Sports Network Television Broadcast Schedule 26
02 PWCMK MEDIAOVERVIEW
Pirelli World Challenge NISSAN Grand Prix of VIR VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, VA | April 28-30 Event hashtag: #PWCVIR Event schedule (subject to change): http://files.world-challenge.com/events/2017-04-vira/2017-PWC-VIRA-Schedule.pdf 2017 Media Guide: http://files.world-challenge.com/press-media/guides/2017-PWC-MediaGuide.pdf
PWC PR & Social Overview: Erica Baldwin (Social Media) 678.708.1419 – [email protected] Tom Blattler (Public Relations) – 317.525.5692 - [email protected] Arnold Eugenio (Website) – [email protected] Jeff Lepper (Marketing / Television / Video) – 916.749.5404 – [email protected] Melissa Sinclair (Photographer) – 813-739-9775 [email protected]
Social Channels: Twitter @WCRacing Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pirelliworldchallenge Instagram @PirelliWC -Series hashtag: #PirelliWC -Event hashtag: #PWCVIR
Pirelli Social Overview: Pirelli contacts: Brooklyn Trammel ([email protected]) Cecilia Fassina ([email protected]) -Social channels: Twitter @PirelliUSA Facebook: www.facebook.com/PirelliUSA Instagram @PirelliTireNorthAmerica -Hashtag: #FindPirelli
VIRginia International Raceway Social Media Overview: Website: virnow.com -Social channels: Twitter: @VIRNOW Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virnow Instagram: @VIRNOW Circuit Map: http://virnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Track-Map-Registration.pdf
Event Notes: Timing and Scoring Link: www.tsl-timing.com/Event/171706 • Suggested that public is sent to http://world-challenge.com/race/2017-04-28-vira/ for T&S links Live Stream Link: See PWC Event page for live stream links
MKPWC 03 EVENTSCHEDULE
VIRginia International Raceway Tentative Schedule
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM Truck Parking GT Promoter Test Day Entrants ONLY 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM PWC Trailer Set up Thursday, April 27, 2017 7:45 AM - 8:00 AM Promoter Test day Drivers briefing by VIR staff - Pit Suite Driver Mtg Room 8:00 AM - 8:20 AM Track inspection golf carts, road cars NO Pedestrians Max 30mph 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM GT Parking for GT cars not entered in Promoter Test Day 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM FRP Support Series 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Registration in Paddock at PWC Transporter 9:05 AM - 9:55 AM Promoter Test Session GTS 10:00 AM - 10:55 AM Promoter Test Session SprintX 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM PWC Senior Staff Meeting - Stewards Trailer 11:00 AM - 11:25 AM FRP Support Series 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM FRP Support Series 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch/Media Rides 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM TC parking - Teams may also park Fri 7am-12pm if not participating in TC test 1:00 PM - 1:55 PM Promoter Test Session GTS 2:00 PM - 2:55 PM Promoter Test Session SprintX 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM SprintX/GTS inspection by appointment 3:00 PM - 3:25 PM FA practice 1 3:30 PM - 4:15 PM Promoter Test Session GTS 4:20 PM - 5:05 PM Promoter Test Session SprintX 5:10 PM - 5:30 PM F2000 Practice 1 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM Timing Software (TID) Training - 1 person / team (bring laptop) location TBD 5:35 PM - 6:00 PM F1600 Practice 1 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM Crew Chief Meeting SprintX/GTS - Pit Suite Driver Mtg Room 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Track Walk - Golf Carts, Walking or Tuggers Only. No two wheeled vehicles Friday, April 28, 2017 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM Registration - VIR Gate D, at Ryan's Way and Raceplex Road 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM TC Paddock Parking for teams not participating in TC Test 8:15 AM - 8:30 AM SprintX/GTS Driver Briefing - Pit Suite Driver Mtg Room 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM TC TEST Session Group Only 9:40 AM - 10:20 AM GTS Practice 1 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM SprintX Practice 1 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM FA Pract 2 11:40 AM - 11:50 AM TC Crew Chief Meeting - Pit Suite Driver Mtg Room 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM TC Driver Meeting - Pit Suite Driver Mtg Room 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch/ Hot Laps 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM TC Practice 1 1:40 PM - 2:30 PM GTS Practice 2 2:40 PM - 3:10 PM F2000 Practice 2 3:20 PM - 4:20 PM SprintX Practice 2 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM TC Practice 2 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM TC TEST Session Group Only 5:30 PM 6:00 PM F1600 Practice 2
04 PWCMK EVENTSCHEDULE
Saturday, April 29, 2017 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM Registration - VIR Gate D, at Ryan's Way and Raceplex Road 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM FRP (F1600 Practice/Qualify 2) 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM FRP (F2000 Practice/Qualify 2) 9:00 AM - 9:20 AM FA Qualify 9:30 AM - 10:05 AM Qualifying TC 15 mins, TCA/B 15 Mins 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM Qualifying GTS 10:40 AM - 10:55 AM SprintX Qualifying - AM 11:05 AM - 11:20 AM SprintX Qualifying - PRO 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM FRP (F1600 Race 1) 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch/ Hot Laps 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM Touring Car Pre Race pit lane (no engines running) 1:05 PM - 1:45 PM Touring Car Race 1 1:55 PM - 2:10 PM Pre Race GTS 2:10 PM - 3:00 PM GTS Race 1 3:10 PM - 3:30 PM SprintX Pre Race 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM SprintX Race 1 4:40 PM - 5:20 PM FRP (Atlantic Race 1) 5:30 PM 6:00 PM FRP (F2000 Race 1)
Sunday, April 30, 2017 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM Registration - VIR Gate D, at Ryan's Way and Raceplex Road 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM FRP (F1600 Race 2) 9:10 AM - 9:50 AM FRP (Atlantic Race 2) 10:00 AM - 10:40 AM Media Activities on Track 10:00 AM - 10:40 AM Autograph Session - PWC Paddock 10:50 AM - 11:10 AM Pre Race GTS Race 2 11:10 AM - 12:00 PM GTS Race 2 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch/ Hot Laps 12:45 PM - 1:15 PM Pre Race SprintX Race 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM Race SprintX Race 2:25 PM - 2:40 PM Pre Race TC Race 2 2:40 PM - 3:20 PM Race TC Race 2 3:40 PM - 4:10 PM FRP (F2000 Race 2) 4:20 PM - 5:00 PM FRP (F1600 Race 3)
MKPWC 05 ENTRYLISTS
GT 110 Entries: SprintX: 36; GTS: 9; GTSA: 10; TC:32; TCA:15; TCB:8 X
CLASS CAR# DRIVER HOMETOWN TEAM MAKE/MODEL SPONSORS SprintX - GT Ryan Dalziel Windermere, FL CRP Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 DeVilbiss/ Emkay Pro/Pro 2 Daniel Morad Toronto, ON
SprintX - GT Johnny O'Connell Flowery Branch, GA Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R Cadillac Pro/Pro 3 TBD -
SprintX - GT Pierre Kaffer Germany Magnus Racing Audi RS 8 LMS Pro/Pro 4 Spencer Pumpelly Atlanta, GA
SprintX - GT Jonny Kane Comber, Northern Ireland K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3 Pro/Pro 6 Bryan Sellers Braselton, GA
SprintX - GT Michael Cooper Syosset, NY Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R Cadillac Pro/Pro 8 TBD -
SprintX - GT Alvaro Parente Porto, Portugal K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3 Pro/Pro 9 Ben Barnicoat Chesterfield, UK
SprintX - GT Andrea Montermini Italy TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Italian Shoemaker Pro/Pro 31 Daniel Mancinelli Italy
SprintX - GT Ryan Eversley Atlanta, GA RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Acura/ HPD/ RealTime Pro/Pro 43 Tom Dyer Corte Madera, CA
SprintX - GT Patrick Long Manhattan Beach, CA Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Pro/Pro 58 Joerg Bergmeister Germany
SprintX - GT Alex Riberas Barcelona, Spain R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari of Ontario/Toronto/Alberta Pro/Pro 61 Kyle Marcelli Barrie, ON, CA
SprintX - GT Adderly Fong Hong Kong Absolute Racing/Bentley Motorsports/ 88 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 Pro/Pro Vincent Abril Monaco Spark/MIS Motorsport
SprintX - GT Peter Kox Eindhoven, Netherlands RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Acura/ HPD/ RealTime Pro/Pro 93 Mark Wilkins Toronto, ON
SprintX - GT Laurens Vanthoor Belgium GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R GMG/ Spyder/ Mobil 1 Pro/Am 14 James Sofronas Villa Park, CA
SprintX - GT Jan Heylen Tampa, FL Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Wright Motorsports Pro/Am 16 Michael Schein Glen Cove, NY
SprintX - GT David Ostella Vancouver, BC Tampa Bay Jaw Surgery/ Surgery Centers 23 M1GT Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra Pro/Am James Dayson Toronto, ON of America/ Global Precast
SprintX - GT Henrique Cisneros Miami, FL MOMO/NGT Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT3 Momo Pro/Am 30 TBD
SprintX - GT Marco Seefried Germany Magnus Racing Audi RS 8 LMS Pro/Am 44 John Potter Salt Lake City, UT
SprintX - GT Jeroen Bleekemolen Monte Carlo, Monaco Black Swan Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 Pro/Am 54 Tim Pappas Boston, MA
SprintX - GT Aaron Povoledo Toronto, ON DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 Usalco/ DXDT Racing Pro/Am 63 David Askew Salt Lake City, UT
SprintX - GT Ricardo Sanchez Toluca, Mexico Always Evolving/AIM Autosport 75 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Pro/Am Frank Montecalvo Highlands, NJ Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3
SprintX - GT Alec Udell The Woodlands, TX Calvert Dynamics/ Phoenix Performance/ 77 Calvert Dynamics Porsche 911 GT3 R Pro/Am Preston Calvert Potomac, MD Brett King Design/ Boys Republic
SprintX - GT Alexandre Imperatori Geneva, Switzerland Absolute Racing, Bentley Motorsports/MIS 78 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 Motorsport/Spark/Golf Travel/Blue Bay Pro/Am Yufeng Luo Arcadia, CA International Vacation Resort SprintX - GT Mike Skeen Charlotte, NC McCann Racing Audi RS 8 LMS McCann Racing Pro/Am 82 Michael McCann North Canton, OH
SprintX - GT Alexandre Negrao Campinas, Brazil MCC Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 Pro/Am 92 Alexandre Negrao Sr
SprintX - GT Michael Lewis Laguna Beach, CA K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3 Pro/Am 98 Mike Hedlund Redwood City, CA
SprintX - GT Jonathan Summerton San Francisco, CA Lamborghini Huracan 111 Dime Racing (Alternate) Dime Racing Pro/Am Michael Macs Austin, TX GT3
SprintX - GT Cedric Sbirrazzuoli Monaco Lamborghini Huracan 07 Dream Racing Motorsport Pro/Am Lawrence Degeorge Jupiter, FL GT3 06 PWCMK Find the latest entry list at - http://files.world-challenge.com/events/2017-04-vira/2017-PWC-VIRA-EntryList.pdf
Last Update: 4/24/2017 GT GT X X X CLASS CAR# DRIVER HOMETOWN TEAM MAKE/MODEL SPONSORS
SprintX GT Martin Fuentes Mexico City, Mexico 7 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 GT3 Hublot Am/Am Stefan Johansson Van Nuys, CA
SprintX GT Kris Wilson Littleton, CO 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin GT3 Lasalle Solutions/Adobe Road Winery Am/Am Drew Regitz Denver, CO
SprintX GT Cup Allesandro Bressan Italy Lamborghini Huracan 55 Dream Racing Motorsport Pro/Am Yuki Harata Japan Super Trofeo
SprintX GT Cup Joe Toussaint Houstan, TX 90 Autometrics Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup National Ability Center/ PRISMS Am/Am Cory Friedman Charleston, SC
SprintX GTS Kyle Tilley Bath, Somerset Aston Martin Vantage 09 TRG-AMR Lasalle Solutions/Adobe Road Winery Pro/Am Jerry Kaufman Charlotte, NC GT4
SprintX GTS Adam Merzon Greenwich, CT Porsche Cayman GT4 017 Case-it Racing Case-It Pro/Am Trent Hindman West Long Branch, NJ Clubsport MR
SprintX GTS Jason Hart Flower Mound, TX Porsche Cayman GT4 47 NOLAsport NOLAsport Am/Am Matt Travis Woodlands, TX Clubsport MR
SprintX GTS Cameron Cassels Coldstream, BC Porsche Cayman GT4 018 Case-it Racing Case-It Am/Am Philip Bloom New York, NY Clubsport MR
SprintX GTS Greg Liefooghe San Francisco, CA 019 Stephen Cameron Racing Aston Martin GT4 ART RACING Am/Am Aristotle Balogh Palo Alto, CA
CLASS CAR# DRIVER HOMETOWN TEAM MAKE/MODEL SPONSORS Porsche Cayman GT4 GTS 3 Rodrigo Baptista Barcelona, Spain Flying Lizard Motorsports Clubsport MR Gulf/APR/ MBRP/ NKPR/ Piloti/ The Mantella Autosport KTM Xbow GT4 GTS 8 Anthony Mantella Toronto, ON Machine Works
GTS 10 Lawson Aschenbach Palm Beach Gardens, FL Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4 Blackdog Speed Shop
GTS 13 Nico Jamin Rouen, France ANSA Motorsports KTM Xbow GT4
Porsche Cayman GT4 GTS 14 Nate Stacy Tulsa, OK Flying Lizard Motorsports Clubsport MR
GTS 32 Andrew Aquilante Chester Springs, PA Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 Phoenix Performance/ Hawk/ Penske
GTS 50 Ian James Paradise Valley, AZ Team Panoz Racing Panoz Avezzano GT
GTS 80 Martin Barkey Huntsville, ON Mantella Autosport KTM Xbow GT4 MBRP Performance Exhaust
GTS 99 Jeff Courtney Milwaukee, WI JCR Motorsports Maserati GT4 RecStuff.com, Kenda
GTSA 2 Jason Bell Tampa, FL Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4 SIN CARS Racers Edge Motorsports
GTSA 11 Tony Gaples Libertyville, IL Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4 Blackdog Speed Shop
GTSA 25 Ricco Shlaimoun Irvine, CA ANSA Motorsports KTM Xbow GT4
GTSA 45 Chris Beaufait Freeland, WA Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4 SIN CARS Racers Edge Motorsports
GTSA 62 Mark Klenin Lone Tree, CO KPR McLaren 570S GT4 Tender Belly
GTSA 89 Fred Roberts Toronto, ON JCR Motorsports Maserati GT4
GTSA 04 George Kurtz Paradise Valley, AZ GMG Racing McLaren 570s GT4 Crowdstrike, GMG
Porsche Cayman GT4 GTSA 017 Adam Merzon Greenwich, CT Case-it Racing Case-It Clubsport MR Porsche Cayman GT4 GTSA 018 Cameron Cassels Coldstream, BC, CA Case-it Racing Case-It Clubsport MR Aston Martin Vantage GTSA 019 Aristotle Balogh Palo Alto, CA Stephen Cameron Racing ART Racing GT4 MKPWC 07 ENTRYLISTS
110 Entries: SprintX: 36; GTS: 9; GTSA: 10; TC:32; TCA:15; TCB:8
CLASS CAR# DRIVER HOMETOWN TEAM MAKE/MODEL SPONSORS
TC 1 Toby Grahovec Celina, TX Classic BMW BMW M235iR Classic BMW.com
TC 2 Gino Carini Milwaukee, WI Classic BMW BMW M235iR Classic BMW.com
TC 4 Dennis Hanratty JR Mechanicsburg, PA KRUGSPEED Lotus Exige KRUGSPEED
REDCOM Laboratories/ Micro Precision Components/ Permatex/ John Weisberg Webster, NY BERG Racing Mazda MX-5 TC 5 Red Line Oil
TC 7 Jason Fichter Jupiter, FL Shea Racing Honda Accord Turn 7 Motor Sports, Revant
TC 8 Rodrigo Sales Sonoma, CA Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M235iR Shogun Spirits
TC 11 Cody Ellsworth Jupiter, FL RacerInk Motorsports Porsche Cayman RacerInk
TC 12 Mason Filippi Alamo, CA Winding Road Team TFB BMW M235iR Shmib and Motorized Shade
TC 17 Randy Hale Haddam, CT Hale Motorsports Mazda MX-5 Hale Propeller/Transaero
ZIMA Motorsports/ Laurel BMW Of Westmont/ Centers For Pain Stefan Sajic Belgrade, Serbia Zima Motorsports BMW M235iR TC 18 Control
TC 19 Aristotle Balogh Palo Alto, CA Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M235iR ART Racing
TC 20 Greg Liefooghe San Francisco, CA Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M235iR ART Racing
Wildlife Direct/ AutoTechnic Racing/ Nimmer Racing/ BMW of Robert Nimkoff Newton, CT AutoTechnic Racing BMW M235iR TC 28 Ridgefield "Raphael and Associates, Raphael Racing/ Ironshore Insurance Co./ Bass Justin Raphael Franklin Lakes, NJ Classic BMW BMW M235iR TC 29 Underwriters/HWI Motorsports Insurance/ Total Dollar Insurance/ ES Health"
TC 34 Tony Rivera Oceanside, CA Brass Monkey Racing Nissan 370Z Tiburon Motorsports/Nissan/Hawk/SPL Parts/OS Giken
ZIMA Motorsports/ Laurel BMW Of Westmont/ Centers For Pain Chetan Puranik Belgaum, India Zima Motorsports BMW M235iR TC 36 Control
GPI Inc./ Food Gums Distribution, Inc./ Laurel BMW of Westmont/ Samantha Tan Gormley, Ontario, CA ST Racing BMW M235iR TC 38 Quality Powder Ltd.
Billion Honda Elizabeth Martin Jewelry/ Honda/ Elite Motorsport/ Steve Kholi Iowa City, IA Parallax Racing Honda Accord TC 40 National Dance Academy
APEX Pro/ PLK Investment Partners/ National Bank of Com- Andrew Rains Birmingham, AL Rains Racing Honda Accord Coupe TC 44 merce/ Ktuner/ Krause and Associates
"BUBBABurger/ LucasOil/ Koni/ HPD/ CCW/ Hendrick Honda/ TC 67 Shea Holbrook Orlando, FL Shea Racing Honda Accord StopTech/ CoolShirt/ Heeltoe/ Eibach Springs/ Momo/ Honda Generators/ Bell Helmets/ K&N Filters/ RacerInk" Audi RS 3 LMS Club TC 69 Anthony Geraci Glen Cove, NY S.A.C. Racing S.A.C. Racing Sport
Audi RS 3 LMS Club Pfaff Audi/ Audi Genuine Parts/ AERO Paint/ Race Day Founda- TC 71 Paul Holton Orlando, FL C360R Sport tion
TC 72 Cameron Maugeri Ormond Beach, FL KRUGSPEED Lotus Exige KRUGSPEED
TC 78 Jeff Ricca Milford, CT GenRacer Genesis Coupe Genracer.com, Enthuspec
TC 80 Anthony Magagnoli Dexter, MI Rooster Hall Racing BMW M235iR FCP Euro
TC 87 Henry Schmitt San Francisco, CA Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M235iR BMW of San Francisco
Montreal, Quebec, GPI Inc./ Food Gums Distribution, Inc./ Laurel BMW of Westmont, Nick Wittmer ST Racing BMW M235iR TC 91 CA IL
TC 92 Chris Ohmacht Franklin Lakes, NJ Classic BMW BMW M235iR
08 PWCMK ENTRYLISTS
CLASS CAR# DRIVER HOMETOWN TEAM MAKE/MODEL SPONSORS
"Honda/HPD/ Fikse/ Honda Generators/ Megan Racing/ RV6 TC 93 Joshua Foran Odenville, AL Team HMA Honda Accord performance/ Garage 56/ PR2/ Swift springs / KTuner/ Carbotech/ Red Line oils"
Montreal, Quebec, Karl Wittmer Honda Ste-Rose Racing Honda Accord KW Suspension, Fast Wheels, Cobalt TC 99 CA
Audi RS 3 LMS Club JARacing, Red Line Oil, REDCOM Laboratories, Micro Precision TC 007 John Allen Denver, CO BERG Racing Sport Components, Permatex
Audi RS 3 LMS Club Micro Precision Components (MPC)/ REDCOM Laboratories/ Red TC 009 Jason Coupal Rochester, NY BERG Racing Sport Line Oil/Permatex/ Racing Radios/ OMP/ BERG Racing
TCA 21 Michael Johnson Austin, TX Tech Sport Racing Mazda MX-5 Tech Sport Racing
Huntington Station, Kevin Anderson Tech Sport Racing Scion FR-S Tech Sport Racing/ 86Racing.com TCA 22 NY
TCA 23 Eric Powell Orlando, FL Tech Sport Racing Mazda MX-5 Tech Sport Racing
TCA 51 Paul Whiting Las Vegas, NV PWR Honda Civic Si Honda West in the NW/ Piloti/ MCS/ Aero
TCA 52 Glory Fernandez Carolina, Puerto Rico Glory Racing Honda Civic Si DBA USA
TCA 65 Sarah Montgomery Lafayette, LA Shea Racing Honda Civic Si Lemon of Love/Lafayette Travel
TCA 70 Elivan Goulart Shelton, CT S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5 S.A.C. Racing/ SCDA1.com
TCA 73 Daniel Moen Rindge, NH S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5 S.A.C. Racing
TCA 74 Matthew Fassnacht Madison, NJ S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5 S.A.C. Racing
TCA 79 Spencer Patterson Pittsburgh, PA Patterson Racing Mazda MX-5 Regent Square Rentals
Mazda Global MX-5 TCA 89 Jeff Sexton Austin, TX Winding Road Team TFB Winding Road Racing Cup Car
Honda Racing/HPD/ Black Armor Helmets/ Gridlife/ Eibach/ Tom O'Gorman Mason, OH Shea Racing Honda Civic Si TCA 94 Carbotech
Mazda Global MX-5 TCA 97 Brian Henderson Falmouth, MA Copeland Motorsports Copeland Motorsports/BDL Motorsports Cup Car
TCA 155 Jason Connole Raleigh, NC Rossini Racing Products Mazda MX 5 Rossini Racing Products/ Long Road Racing
Mazda Global MX-5 TCA 07 Dean Copeland Grasonville, MD Copeland Motorsports Copeland Motorsports Cup Car
TCB 6 Jake Pipal Oakdale, CA Jake Pipal Racing Honda Fit Carbotech Brakes
TCB 24 Canaan O'Connell Chandler, AZ Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet Sonic Tech Sport Racing
Verax.ca/ Tundra Technical Solutions/ Prestone/ Cabano's Com- Richmond Hill, ONT. fort Food/ Clairhaven Ltd/ Martinrea International Inc./ Pelto Agri P.J. Groenke Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet Sonic TCB 25 CA Investments/ Ro-Ro Proprty Management Corp./ Warp Speed Computers Inc.
"INDIAN SUMMER RACING/ BIMMERTOOLS.COM/ Travis Washay Milford, CT Indian Summer Racing Mini Cooper TCB 30 Northern Cross LLC./ Endless Details LLC."
TCB 37 Blake Thompson Oak Creek, WI ISellMiataParts Mazda 2 ISellMiataParts.com/ TheMiataStore.com
Bimmertools.com/ Indian Summer Racing/ Bertil Roos Racing Taylor Handwerk Jim Thorpe, PA Indian Summer Racing MINI Cooper TCB 77 School
TCB 01 Jasper Drengler Shawano, WI Drengler Racing Honda Fit Route 29 Racewear/ Chimney Mechanix
TCB 02 Ted Sahley Cleveland, OH Believeland Motorsport Mazda 2 Choice Privileges Rewards/ ChoiceHotels.com/ Atlantic
MKPWC 09 ADVANCERACEMEDIARELEASE Superb SprintX, GTS and Touring Car Fields Set for Picturesque VIR Road Circuit this Weekend
Over 105 Entries to Battle including GT of Manhattan Beach, Calif., a multi- Huge Touring Car Lineup GT time endurance race winner, will bring X X X ALTON, VA. – An outstanding field the potent No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R to VIR for the Pro/ of drivers and machines are primed Thirty-six Two-Driver Teams Pro category with another Le Mans, for the 2017 SprintX season opener Prepared for Challenging VIR circuit Daytona and Sebring winner, veteran as part of the Pirelli World Challenge – SprintX Preview Nissan Grand Prix of VIR this weekend Jörg Bergmeister of Germany, teaming The initial 2017 presentation of the (April 28-30) at the beautiful VIRginia up for a challenge team. SprintX format should provide some of International Raceway with over 105 The Cadillac Racing SprintX lineup the wildest and most-competitive action entries to battle on the 3.27-mile, 17- brings the current Rolex 24 at Daytona seen in the PWC series in a long time. turn road circuit. and 12 Hours of Sebring winners to However, it’s tough to beat last year’s VIR with Ricky and Jordan Taylor of In addition to the 36 SprintX entries, GT final at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Florida matching up with PWC regulars fifty-five entries are set for the Touring which took the series championship right Johnny O’Connell of Flowery Branch, Car opening rounds of the 2017 PWC down to the final lap. campaign including 32 in the popular Ga., the four-time GT champion, and Here is some of the driving talent ready TC division which features auto makes Michael Cooper of Syosset, N.Y., the for this weekend’s SprintX competition such as Audi, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, two-time PWC titlist. Needless to say, in the Pro-Pro, Pro/Am and Am/Am Lotus, Mazda, Nissan and Porsche. the Cadillac Racing quartet will be a divisions. factor in the red No. 3 Cadillac ATS- Speaking of auto manufacturers, the Reigning GT champion Alvaro V.R. and the blue No. 8 Cadillac ATS- SprintX 60-minute, two-driver format Parente of Portugal is no stranger to V.R. this weekend at VIR. will feature sports cars from Acura, a two-driver race setup, having been Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Cadillac, Former Daytona champion Ryan successful in the SRO Blancpain GT Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Dalziel of Scotland will be teaming with series in Europe. Parente, winner of Mercedes, Nissan and Porsche in a Daniel Morad of Canada, a Daytona two 2017 GT races already in the No. doubleheader weekend that features class winner in 2017, in the No. 2 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S, will one of the strongest driver lineups in CRP Racing/DeVibliss Mercedes AMG team up in the Pro/Pro class at VIR Pirelli World Challenge history. GT3, while Italy’s Daniel Mancinelli will with young sports car Ben Barnicoat team with veteran Andrea Montermini SprintX competitors will race in Round of England as the two racers have also of Italy in the No. 31 TC3 Racing 1 and 2 at VIR this weekend as will the driven together in the past for McLaren Ferrari 488 GT3. Touring Car divisions, while the GTS GT. K-PAX Racing also has entered Another Ferrari entry that should category will contest Round 3 and 4 in another solid pairing with veterans expect to battle at the front of the VIR the 2017 PWC championship. Bryan Sellers of Braselton, Ga., and field is the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Jonny Kane of Northern Ireland in the The PWC’s return to the popular Ferrari 488 GT3 with Spain’s Alex No. 6 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S. Virginia permanent road course marks Riberas and Canada’s Kyle Marcelli as Parente and Sellers finished 1-3 in the its first appearance at VIR since North a strong tandem. Riberas, who ranks most recent Toyota Grand Prix of Long America’s top GT Production-based third in the PWC GT points currently, Beach. road racing series competed there in won a pole position at St. Petersburg 2010. St. Petersburg GT winner Patrick Long and has finished 3-4-5 in his first three 10 PWCMK ADVANCERACEMEDIARELEASE
PWC starts in 2017. Marcelli won Fuentes of Mexico City returns to MCC Motorsports Mercedes AMG the SprintX finale last year at Mazda Pirelli World Challenge action with the GT3; Jonathan Summerton/Michael Raceway. No. 7 Hublot/Scuderia Corsa Ferrari Macs in the No. 111 Dime Racing The all-new Acura NSX program with 488 GT3 with former F1 and IndyCar Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and Cedric RealTime Racing has been developing driver Stefan Johansson of Sweden as Sbirrazzuoli/Lawrence Degeorge in the new GT3 machine throughout the his teammate at VIR, while Henrique the No. 07 Dream Racing Motorsport opening two races at St. Petersburg Cisneros of Miami, Fla., also returns Lamborghini Huracan GT3. and Long Beach. The two regular to PWC at VIR in Pro-Am with the The No. 007 Lasalle Solutions/Adobe RealTime Racing drivers, Ryan MOMO/NGT Motorsports Ferrari 458 Road Winery/TMG-AMR Aston Martin Eversley of Atlanta and Peter Kox of GT3 and the co-driver is still yet to be GT3 entry of Kris Wilson of Littleton, The Netherlands, will have Tom Dyer announced. Colo., and Drew Regitz of Denver, of Corte Madera, Calif., in Eversley’s Another former GTA series champion Colo., lead the GT Am/Am category at No. 43 Acura NSX GT3 at VIR, while Frankie Montecalvo of Highlands, VIR. Canada’s Mark Wilkins will team up in N.J., will team with Mexico’s Ricardo Others scheduled to compete in SprintX Kox’s No. 93 Acura NSX GT3. Sanchez in the No. 75 Always at VIR this weekend include GT Cup The Audi stable has a strong two- Evolving/AIM Autosport Nissan GT-R racers Allesandro Bressan/Yuki Haratz driver effort for Magnus Racing in Nismo GT3 in the Pro/Am class along in the No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsport the Pro/Pro division with Germany’s with former PWC GT race winner Mike Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Pierre Kaffer and Spencer Pumpelly Skeen of Charlotte, N.C., driving the and Joe Toussaint/Cory Friedman in of Atlanta in the No. 4 Audi RS8 LMS No. 82 McCann Racing Audi RS 8 the Autometrics Motorsports Porsche sports car at VIR, and Bentley brings LMS with team owner Mike McCann 911 GT3 Cup, plus GTS competitors PWC regular Adderly Fong of Hong of New Canton, Ohio. Kyle Tilley/Jerry Kaufman in the No. 09 Kong and sports car star Vincent Abril Other contenders this weekend at VIR Lasalle Solutions/Adobe Road Winery/ of Monaco in the No. 88 Absolute in the Pro/Am division will be Laurens TMG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4; Racing Bentley Continental GT3. Vanthoor/James Sofronas in the No. Adam Merzon/Trent Hindman in the In the big Pro/Am class, 2016 GT 14 GMG Motorsports Porsche 911 No. 017 Case-It Porsche Cayman Cup champion Alec Udell of The GT3 R; Jan Heylen/Michael Schein in GT4 Clubsport MR; Jason Hart/ Woodlands, Tex., and two-time SprintX the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche Matt Travis in the No. 47 NOLAsport winner Preston Calvert of Potomac, 911 GT3 R; David Ostella/James Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR; Md., will be one of the contending Dayson in the No. 23 M1GT Audi Cameron Cassels/Phillip Bloom in the pairs at VIR in the No. 77 Calvert R8 LMS Ultra; Marco Seefried/John No. 018 Case-It Porsche Cayman GT4 Dynamics/GMG Motorsports Porsche Potter in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Clubsport MR; and Greg Liefooghe/ 911 GT3 R, along with another two- Audi RS 8 LMS; Jeroen Bleekemolen/ Aristole Balogh in the No. 019 Stephan time SprintX winner Michael Lewis of Tim Pappas in the No. 54 Black Swan Cameron Racing Aston Martin GT4. Laguna Beach, Calif., and his partner, Racing Mercedes AMG GT3; Aaron Mike Hedlund of Redwood City, Calif., Povoledo/David Askew in the No. in the No. 98 K-PAX Racing McLaren 63 Uaslco/DXDT Racing Mercedes 650S. AMG GT3; Alexandre Negrao/ Alexandre Negrao Sr. in the No. 92 Last year’s GTA champion Martin MKPWC 11 ADVANCERACEMEDIARELEASE
570S GT4. Another McLaren 570S GT4 in the GTS field will be George Kurtz of Paradise Valley, Ariz., in the New GT4 Machines Take on Proven The Canadian-based Mantella No. 04 Crowdstrike/GMG sports car. GTS Cars at VIR – GTS presented by Autosport team of Anthony Mantella PWC newcomer Jason Bell of Tampa, Case-It Overview of Toronto in the No. 8 Mantella Fla., turned in an impressive weekend The wild and highly-competitive GTS Autosport KTM Xbow and Martin in his GTS debut in the streets of St. presented by Case-It class has always Barkey of Huntsville, Ont., in the No. Petersburg with an eighth overall in featured some of the best wheel–to– 80 MBRP Performance Exhaust KTM the No. 2 Racers Edge Motorsports wheel action through a race weekend Xbow are expected to race for the lead SIN R1 GT4 machine, and Bell will and the VIR collection of cars and at VIR after each scored GTS wins team up on Racers Edge Motorsports drivers will again produce spectacular last year. The KTM Xbow, introduced effort with Chris Beaufait of Freeland, competition. last year in GTS, won the GTS drivers Wash., in the No. 45 SIN R1 GT4. Fred championship with ANSA Motorsports Roberts of Toronto is also entered in Pacing the charge for Chevrolet is and Nico Jamin of France will pilot the the GTS Am division in the No. 89 JCR four-time series and two-time GTS No. 13 ANSA Motorsports KTM Xbow Motorsports Maserati GT4 as well as champion Lawson Aschenbach at VIR. Ricco Shlaimoun of Irvine, Calif., in the piloting the No. 10 Blackdog Speed No. 25 ANSA Motorsports KTM Xbow. Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4R. Veteran PWC racer Jeff Courtney of Aschenbach just missed out in winning Milwaukee, Wis., will bring his always- The GTS presented by Case-It events the 2016 GTS title despite scoring four popular No. 99 Kenda/RecStuff. will be 50-minute sprint contests on race wins. Now, he comes to VIR after com Maserati GT4 to VIR for JCR Saturday and Sunday at VIR. Motorsports this weekend. an impressive debut of the Camaro GT4R at St. Petersburg last month In the GTS Am class, Aschenbach’s with two second place finishes. Black Dog Speed shop teammate, 2016 Champion Grahovec Set To The Flying Lizard Motorsports duo of Tony Gaples will lead the contenders in the No. 11 Blackdog Speed shop Defend TC Title at VIR – Touring Car Spain’s Rodrigo Baptista and 17-year- Preview old Nate Stacy of Owasso, Okla., Chevrolet Camaro GT4R. The veteran figure to be prime contenders at VIR placed eighth in last year’s final GTS The off-season whirlwind of Touring with their No. 3 and No. 14 Flying standings and record ten top-ten Car activities has produced a stellar Lizard Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR finishes. field of TC machines and drivers for sports cars, respectively. The Case-It Racing teammates Adam this weekend at VIR including some 32 entries for the TC season opener Another exciting new machine to Merzon of Greenwich, Conn., and Cameron Cassels of Coldstream, BC, for Round 1 and 2 on Saturday and the GTS ranks in 2017 is the popular Sunday. No. 50 Team Panoz Racing Panoz Canada, figure to be in the GTS Am mix Avezzano GT with veteran sports car at VIR with their No. 017 and No. 018 A strong contingent of BWM M235iR racer Ian James of Paradise Valley, Case-It Porsche Cayman Clubsport cars are set to invade the pretty VIR Ariz., at the controls. The new Panoz MR machines, as well as veteran racer landscape led by defending TC class has shown potential in its initial outing Mark Klenin of Lone Tree, Colo., in champion, Toby Grahovec of Celina, at St. Petersburg. the No. 62 KRP/Tender Belly McLaren Tex., in the No. 1 Classic BMW 12 PWCMK ADVANCERACEMEDIARELEASE
Motorsports BMW M235iR. Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport sedan. Road Team BMW M235iR; Randy The former SCCA national champion Geraci finished sixth in the 2016 TC Hale, in the No. 17 Hale Propeller/ was the model of consistency last points and won his first PWC TC race Transaero Mazda MX-5; Stefan Sajic, year with two victories and 12 top-five last year at Lime Rock Park. in the No. 18 ZIMA Motorsports BMW finishes and the personable Chicago Another top New York-based M235iR; Aristotle Balogh, in the No. native plans to repeat the 2016 racing team is BERG Racing led 19 ART Racing BMW M235iR; Greg performance in 2017 with a strong by team owner John Weisberg of Liefooghe, in the No. 20 ART Racing showing at VIR. Grahovec tested Webster, N.Y., who campaigns the BMW M235iR; Robert Nimkoff, in the earlier at the VIR facility and will be a No. 5 REDCOM Laboratories/Micro 28 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M325iR; challenger this weekend. Precision Components/BERG Racing Justin Raphael, in the No. 29 Classic BMW Motorsports BMW M235iR; Contending with Grahovec will be Mazda MX–5. Joining the BERG last year’s series third place finisher, Racing team in 2017 is John Allen Tony Rivera, in the No. 34 Brass Montreal’s Nick Wittmer, who moves of Denver., Colo., in the No. 007 JA Monkey Racing/Tiburon Motorsports over to drive the new No. 91 ST Racing/ Racing/ Micro Precision Components/ Nissan 370Z; Chetan Purank, in the No. GPI Inc./Laurel BMW of Westmont, REDCOM Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport 36 ZIMA Motorsports BMW M235iR; Ill., BWM M235iR along with his and Jason Coupal of Rochester, N.Y., Steve Kholi, in the No. 40 Parallax teammate, college student Samantha in the 009 REDCOM Laboratories/ Racing/Billion Honda Honda Accord; Tan of Gormley, Ont., Canada, in the Micro Precision Components/BERG Andrew Rains, in the No. 44 Rains No. 38 ST Racing/GPI Inc./Laurel Racing Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport. Racing/APEX Pro/PLK Investment BMW of Westmont, Ill., BWM M235iR. A young driver to watch at VIR is Paul Partners Honda Accord Coupe; Wittmer scored two TC victories in Holton of Orlando, who has been Cameron Maugeri, in the No. 72 2016. competing in Touring Cars in Europe, KRUGSPEED Lotus Exige; Jeff Ricca, and now returns with the TC debut of in the No. 78 GenRacer.com Hyundai Another strong two-car effort will come Genesis Coupe; Anthony Magagnoli, from Orlando-based Shea Racing with the No. 71 C360R Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport. Holton is a three-time PWC in the No. 80 Rooster Hall Racing team owner/driver Shea Holbrook of BMW M235iR; Henry Schmitt, in the Orlando and college student Jason race winner and expects to be in the fight for the TC title in 2017. No. 87 in the BMW of San Francisco Fichter of Jupiter, Fla., in their Honda BMW M235iR; Chris Ohmacht, in the Accords. Holbrook, a six-time PWC The 32-car field also features No. 92 Classic BMW Motorsports race winner, has been busy in the off- Gino Carini, in the No. 2 Palermos BMW M235iR; Joshua Foran, in the season with a four-car operation (two Screaming Sicilian Pizza/Marenzo No. 93 Team HMA Honda Accord and in TC, two TCA) but figures to be a Construction Group/Classic BMW Karl Wittmer, in the No. 99 Honda Ste- series title challenger in the popular Motorsports BMW M235iR; Dennis Rose Honda Accord. No. 67 Bubba Burgers/Lucas Oil Hanratty Jr., in the No. 4 KRUGSPEED Honda accord, while Fichter, 19, will be Lotus Exige; Rodrigo Sales, in the No. piloting the No. 7 Turn 7 Motorsports/ 8 Shogun Spirits/Stephen Cameron Revant/DonateLife Honda Accord. Racing BMW M235iR; Cody Ellsworth, Returning in 2017 is TC ‘Rookie of the in the No. 11 Racelink Porsche Year” Anthony Geraci, of Glen Cove, Cayman; Mason Filippi, in the No. 12 N.Y., in the new No. 69 S.A.C. Racing Shmib and Motorized Shade/Winding MKPWC 13 ADVANCERACEMEDIARELEASE
Fassnacht won the TCA “Rookie of the Year” in 2016 and finished fourth in the 2016 Champion Goulart returns in A wide-open title fight expected in TCA standings. TCA against a strong field at VIR – 2017 in TCB – TCB Class Preview Eric Powell, in the No. 23 Tech Sport TCA Class Preview Touring Car B–Spec or TCB features Racing Mazda MX–5 Cup, returns with The TCA class action has always been the most cost-effective class but the Tech Sport Racing after placing third exciting in the Pirelli World Challenge racing is some of the best in all of the in last year’s TCA points with one win, and the 2017 version should be Pirelli World Challenge with door–to– eight top-fives and ten top-tens. Powell no different with defending series door racing and drafting bumper-to- teams with Michael Johnson of Austin, champion Elivan Goulart returning to bumper Tex., in the No. 21 Tech Sport Racing defend his crown. Mazda MX–5 Cup, and team principal With O’Gorman, the 2016 champion, Goulart, in the No. 70 S.A.C. Racing/ Kevin Anderson of Huntington Station, moving to TCA in 2017, the series SCDA1.com Mazda MX–5, had a N.Y., in the No. 22 Tech Sport Racing battle for the point title will be wide- dominating 2016 season with five of Scion FR-S. open from Round 1 at VIR to the final 12 TCA races and 12 top-five placings. at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Another TCA contender could be the Goulart’s performance also helped October. Las Vegas-based Paul Whiting and Mazda clinch the class Manufacturer’s his No. 51 PWR/Honda West in the Canadian P.J. Groenke of Richmond Championship. NW Honda Civic Si. Whiting was a Hill, Ont., raced O’Gorman right down Battling Goulart at VIR will be the 2016 contender in several TCA races in the final race before settling for second TCB series champion Tom O’Gorman 2016 and placed ninth in points. in the championship. Groenke scored of Mason, Ohio, who’ll drive the all-new six podium (top-three) finishes and Others to watch in the 15–car TCA field No. 94 HPD/Black Armor Helmets/ ten top-five placements in 2016. He’ll include Glory Fernandez of Carolina, Gridlife Honda Civic Si for Shea compete at VIR this weekend in the P.R., in the No. 52 Glory Racing/ Racing. O’Gorman was impressive in No. 25 Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet DBA USA Honda Civic Si; Spencer the Honda Fit in 2016 and hopes to Sonic. Groenke’s teammate at VIR will Patterson of Pittsburgh, Pa., in the No. continue his winning ways in the TCA be Johnny O’Connell’s son, Canaan, 79 Patterson Racing/Regent Square division. Teaming up with O’Gorman who’ll pilot the No. 24 Tech Sport Rentals Mazda MX-5 Cup; Jeff Sexton on the Shea Racing effort will be young Racing Chevrolet Sonic. Canaan of Austin, Tex., in the No. 89 Winding woman racer Sarah Montgomery of scored a podium finish last year at Road Team Mazda MX-5 Cup; Brian Lafayette, La., in the No. 65 Lemon of Utah in his TCB class debut. Henderson of Falmouth, Mass., in Love/Lafayette Travel Honda Civic Si. the No. 97 Copeland Motorsports Other contenders in TCB at VIR Joining Goulart in the S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup; Jason Connole of this weekend include Jake Pipal of team in 2017 will be Daniel Moen of Raleigh, N.C., in the No. 155 Rossini Oakdale, Calif., in the No. 6 Carbotech Rindge, N.H., in the No. 73 S.A.C. Racing Products/Long Road Racing Brakes MINI Cooper; Travis Washay Racing Mazda MX-5, and Matthew Mazda MX-5 Cup; and Dean Copeland of Milford, Conn., in the No. 30 Indian Fassnacht of Madison, N.J., in the No. of Grasonville, Md., in the No. 07 Summer Racing MINI Cooper; Blake 74 S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup, Copeland Motorsports Mazda MX-5. Thompson of Oak Creek, Wis., in the 14 PWCMK ADVANCERACEMEDIARELEASE
Event/Circuit: 17-turn 3.27-mile road course No. 37 ISellMiataParts.com Mazda Qualifying: (All times listed are EDT) 2; Taylor Handwerk of Jim Thorpe, Pa., in the Indian Summer Racing/ Saturday, April 29, 2017 Bimmertools.com MINI Cooper; 9:30 AM - 10:05 AM Pirelli World Challenge TC (15 min.) TCA-TCB (15 min.) Jasper Drengler of Shawano, Wis., in the No. 01 Drengler Racing/Chimney 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM Pirelli World Challenge GTS Mechanix Honda Fit; and Ted Sahley 10:40 AM - 10:55 AM Pirelli World Challenge - Sprint X AM of Cleveland, Ohio, in the Believeland 11:05 AM – 11:20 AM Pirelli World Challenge – Sprint X PRO Motorsport Mazda 2. Races: Live Internet Telecast (on motortrendondemand.com and www.world-challenge.com): Saturday, April 29, 2017 (All times listed are EDT) 1:05 PM - 1:45 PM Pirelli World Challenge – Touring Car Race 1 (40 minutes) 2:10 PM - 3:00 PM Pirelli World Challenge – GTS Race 1 (50 minutes) 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Pirelli World Challenge – SprintX Race 1 (60 minutes) Sunday, April 30, 2017 (All times listed are EDT) 11:10 AM - 12:00 PM Pirelli World Challenge – GTS Race 2 (50 minutes) 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM Pirelli World Challenge – SprintX Race 2 (60 minutes) 2:40 PM - 3:20 PM Pirelli World Challenge – Touring Car Race 2 (40 minutes) Race Lengths: 60 minutes (SprintX) 50 minutes (GTS) 40 minutes (TC/TCA/TCB) Television (on CBS Sports Network): All times listed are EDT. SprintX: May 7, 6 PM Touring Car: May 14, 4 PM GTS: May 14, 5 PM
MKPWC 15 DRIVERFEATURE Woman Racer Holbrook Makes Ambitious 2017 Effort with Team’s 4-Entry Effort
Young Businesswoman busy on and off the race track, Ready for VIR
Alton, VA. – At age 27, Shea Holbrook is much more than a pretty face in the Pirelli World Challenge. She might gain attention as a female driver in a predominantly male motorsports world, but this business-minded University of Central Florida graduate is just as busy off the track as on it. The Orlando, Fla., racing entrepreneur has expanded her Shea Racing operation to four cars in 2017 and she still plans to battle for the PWC Touring Car championship behind the wheel of her No. 67 Bubba Burgers/Lucas Oil Honda Accord sedan. “We are extremely ambitious this year in the Pirelli World Challenge with four cars running out of the Shea Racing stable,” said Holbrook, a six-time race winner in PWC during her seven-year career. “When we started our team a few years back, we were a very small team like a ‘mom and pop effort.’ But it was always my goal to expand to a multi-car effort and, with help of my sponsors and Honda, we have gone from a two-car team last year to a four-car operation in 2017. There was a lot of opportunity this year and I’m very excited to get started racing.” Holbrook and her four-car team makes its 2017 Pirelli World Challenge debut this weekend (April 28-30) in the Nissan PWC Grand Prix of VIR at the beautiful 3.27-mile, 17-turn VIRginia International Raceway when some 110 entries battle in seven different racing categories. Shea will be competing against 30 other drivers in the Touring Car division. Holbrook finished fifth in last year’s Touring Car final point standings and the personable racer seeks her first TC title in 2017. But she knows it won’t be easy with a stellar field of drivers and machinery that includes Audi, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Lotus, Nissan and Porsche. “I can’t believe how competitive the Touring Car class has become in the Pirelli World Challenge,” admitted Holbrook. “The Series has done a great job in expanding with new cars 16 PWCMK DRIVERFEATURE
and this class should provide some of the best road racing team’s and this year we have some very talented drivers in in the country. I know the TC class had some last lap Shea Racing,” Shea said. “Tom and I have worked together passes for wins last year and I would expect that again in in many coaching situations and is a great colleague as a 2017.” teammate. I see a lot of me in Sarah in personality, drive and Along with Holbrook’s No. 67 Honda Accord in the VIR talents and Jason is learning very fast despite his young age field, Shea Racing also brings three other cars to the (19).” paddock area this week with young college student Jason The young Fichter started his racing career as a teenager Fichter of Jupiter, Fla., in the No. 7 Turn 7 Motorsport/ and has been a great asset to the Shea Racing operation Revant/Donate Life Honda Accord, young woman racer over the winter. Sarah Montgomery of Lafayette, La., in the No. 65 Lemon “I have been very impressed with Jason ‘s fine-tuning of our of Love/Lafayette Travel Honda Civic Si and the 2016 TCB Honda race car this past year,” said Holbrook. “Despite his class champion Tom O’Gorman of Mason, Ohio, in the No. age, he has been huge for our team in the development of the 94 HPD/Black Armor Helmets/Gridlife Honda Civic Si. cars at testing. I might be busy with the business elements Montgomery and O’Gorman will compete in the TCA of the team and Jason has been involved in many on-track category with their respective Honda Civic Si cars. things.” Holbrook, a nationally-ranked competitive water skier in her The popular Touring Car classes will pack into the VIR racing early teens, jumped at the chance to drive in the Richard facility this weekend with 55 drivers and machines already Petty Driving Experience and age at 16 and never looked entered in the three categories, Touring Car, TCA and TCB. back. She moved into the Sports Car Club of America Practice for the Pirelli World Challenge VIR weekend (including (SCCA) and quickly proceeded to the pro divisions in the the season-opening SprintX events) begins on Friday (April Pirelli World Challenge, winning at the prestigious Toyota 28) with racing on Saturday (April 29) and Sunday (April 30) Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2011, one of only four female and the weekend’s PWC races to be live streamed on www. drivers to capture a race at Long Beach. motortrendondemand.com and www.world-challenge.com. “Lyn St. James has been my mentor over the years and All of the PWC competition at VIR will be televised on CBS greatly appreciate her assistance with my racing career,” Sports Network on a taped-delay basis. said Holbrook. “Now I have a little bit of that mentoring The Touring Car Round 1 and 2 from VIR will be shown on side with Jason, Sarah and Tom being younger and I can CBS Sports Network on Sunday, May 14 at 4 p.m. EDT. help them with their race craft. I’m only 27 and age is just a number, but age is experience too. I hope my experience will help the whole team this year.” Holbrook has been a coach to a variety of drivers in the SCCA ranks in recent years and she says she is always looking for young talent to move into the professional divisions. “I’m always trying to develop my racing brand as well as the
MKPWC 17 SERIESFEATURE SPAA05.COM LED Displays Prove Popular with Fans; Tracking Positions, Pit Stops and Classes during the Races
The telemetry company is a worldwide within the PWC scoring systems and leader in motorsports The SPAA05.com Race Position the race cars. Display system fits all GT class race AUSTIN, Tex. – WC Vision, producer cars with two large (300 mm by 210 “We have been excited with the new of the Pirelli World Challenge, has mm) displays with bright colored LED system in the opening two PWC announced an exciting new partnership lights that show a number of indicators telecasts this year,” said Jeff Lepper, in 2017 with the SPAA05.com Race including race position, pit stop timing PWC television coordinator and on- Position Display lighting system that and track status (e.g. Safety Car). The air talent. “The feedback from the features multi-color LED lights to show SPAA05.com system is easy to install television viewers has shown that the race position, pit stop timing and class for the racing teams. SPAA05.com system is a great asset recognition on each race car. for the viewers watching through PWC Specifically for the SprintX 60-minute, outlets including CBS Sports Network, PWC began working with SPAA05. two-driver format, a secondary MotorTrendonDemand.com and the com in December with a roll out to the 3-lights display will provide additional PWC website, world-challenge.com.” GT teams initially at the St. Petersburg spectator information. It indicates if and Long Beach rounds this year. The the mandatory pit stop has been taken Practice for the Pirelli World Challenge industry leading position indicator (blue) and whether a Pro (red) or an Am headliner event at VIR begins on company based in The Netherlands is (green) driver is currently behind the Friday (April 28) with racing on also used by IndyCar and other leading wheel of the respective race car. Saturday (April 29) and Sunday global motorsports series. (April 30) and the weekend’s PWC “We have already received a races to be live streamed on www. Now, this week for the 2017 SprintX tremendous amount of positive motortrendondemand.com and www. season opener at VIRginia International feedback on the new SPAA05.com world-challenge.com. Additionally, all Raceway, Pirelli World Challenge LED lighting system for the events of the PWC competition at VIR will be and SPAA05.com will debut another at St. Petersburg and Long Beach,” televised on CBS Sports Network on a feature of the system a Pit Stop timer. said David Caldwell, PWC Director taped-delay basis. This will give fans at the track, as well of Operations. “Now, coming into the as TV broadcast and Live Stream VIR SprintX opener, we will have more viewers the opportunity to monitor information for the fans on the race SprintX pit stop status in real time cars with the pit stop timer.” directly on the car. The Pro/Pro class will have no minimum stop time while Caldwell also indicated that additional Pro/Am and Am/Am class will have a information can be distributed on the 60-second minimum. lights as the program is developed
18 PWCMK SERIESFEATURE 2017 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX GT Series Explodes with 36 Cars and Great Driver Lineups Set for VIR this Weekend
Eleven Auto Manufacturers in the Mix for Season Opener at VIR Entering the 2017 PWC campaign, At VIR this weekend, the SprintX teams ALTON, Va. (April 26, 2017) – After Pirelli World Challenge officials are required to pit in a time window three race-weekend launch in 2016, the added the SprintX races to the series’ between the 25 and 35 minute marks Pirelli World Challenge SprintX division five headliner events including this of the two 60-minute contests with a has exploded as the season-opening weekend’s VIR events (with 110 overall single driver change. Rounds 1 and 2 this weekend (April entries), Canadian Tire Motorsport In qualifying at VIR, the Pro/Pro and 28-29) at the VIRginia International Park (May 19-21), Lime Rock Park AmAm divisions will have one driver Raceway will see 36 two-driver teams (May 26-27), Utah Motorsports from each team selected to qualify and entered for the two 60-minute features. Campus (August 11-13) and Circuit of each qualifying driver will start Round Due to race length restrictions of 60 the Americas (COTA on Sept. 1-3). 1 on Saturday. In the Pro/Am class, the minutes, only 35 teams will be allowed The SprintX program includes three amateur driver must qualify the car. to start each race at VIR. types of driver classifications – Pro/ Qualifying for Round 2 will be WC Vision, producers of the exciting Pro, Pro/Am and Am/Am – according determined by the fastest lap of each Pirelli World Challenge, announced the to the driver’s FIA worldwide rating. car in Round 1. Then the finisher in new two-driver, one pit stop, one-hour A Pro/Pro category must have a Round 1 must start the Round 2 event format last year with a slow growth in driver combination lineup with an FIA on Sunday. entries until the season finale at Mazda Platinum, Gold or Silver (Pro) rating. Raceway Laguna Seca saw a 24-car A Pro/Am driver lineup can include field. But the racing was excellent from a Gold or Silver (Pro) with a Bronze the start and two of the 2016 SprintX (Am) driver rating, and the Am/Am races were decided on last lap pass combination will have two Bronze (Am) for the victory. rated drivers. Working closely with the SRO The Pro/Pro class will have no Blancpain GT3 Series in a variety minimum driver changing time on of elements, Pirelli World Challenge the pit stops while Pro/Am and Am/ officials witnessed the growth with Am divisions will have a 60-second a similar format in Europe and made minimum driver change requirement. the decision to include the SprintX There will be no refueling or mandatory races as part of the 2017 overall GT tire change during the single pit stop in championship. the SprintX races. MKPWC 19 2 017GTCURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP STPT LBGP RDAM MDOH SONO TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 1 Alvaro Parente 70 25 19 26
2 Patrick Long 69 21 25 23
3 Alex Riberas 54 15 22 17
4 Bryan Sellers 50 17 12 21
5 Johnny O'Connell 43 19 23 1
6 Alec Udell 41 12 15 14
7 Daniel Mancinelli 38 8 11 19
8 Michael Cooper 38 14 17 7
9 Ryan Dalziel 34 5 14 15
10 James Sofronas 26 8 7 11
11 Michael Schein 25 9 10 6
12 James Davison 24 23 1 0
13 Ryan Eversley 23 0 13 10
14 Jon Fogarty 23 11 0 12
15 Peter Kox 21 13 0 8
16 Pierre Kaffer 21 2 6 13
17 Mike Hedlund 15 6 9 0
18 Pablo Perez Companc 11 0 8 3
19 John Potter 11 3 3 5
20 Adderly Fong 10 10 0 0
21 Jonathan Summerton 9 0 0 9
22 Yufeng Luo 9 0 5 4
23 Tim Pappas 8 4 4 0
24 Jorge De La Torre 5 1 2 2
2 017GTACURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP STPT LBGP RDAM MDOH SONO TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 1 Michael Schein 69 23 23 23 2 James Sofronas 63 21 17 25 3 Mike Hedlund 53 19 21 13 4 Alec Udell 50 25 25 0 5 John Potter 49 15 13 21 6 Yufeng Luo 47 13 15 19 7 Tim Pappas 45 17 14 14 8 Jorge De La Torre 41 14 12 15 9 Pablo Perez Companc 36 0 19 17
20 PWCMK 2 017 GT/ACURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP STPT LBGP RDAM MDOH SONO TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 1 K-PAX Racing 69 25 19 25
2 Wright Motorsports 69 21 25 23
3 R. Ferri Motorsport 53 15 21 17
4 Cadillac Racing 49 19 23 7
5 GMG Racing 41 12 15 14
6 TR3 Racing 37 7 11 19
7 Real Time Racing 36 13 13 10
8 CRP Racing 34 5 14 15
9 TRG 24 23 1 0
10 Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing 23 11 0 12
11 Magnus Racing 22 3 6 13
12 Absolute Racing 19 10 5 4
13 Champ 1 11 0 8 3
14 Black Swan Racing 8 4 4 0
15 De La Torre Racing 5 1 2 2
16 Dime Racing 9 0 0 9
2 017 GT/ACURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
MANUFACTURER CHAMPIONSHIP STPT LBGP RDAM MDOH SONO TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 1 McLaren GT 27 10 6 11 2 Porsche 25 7 10 8 3 Ferrari 19 5 8 6 4 Cadillac 14 6 8 0 5 Mercedes-Benz AMG 7 0 3 4 6 Acura 4 2 2 0 7 Audi 2 0 0 2 8 Bentley 0 0 0 0 9 Dodge 0 0 0 0 10 Nissan 0 0 0 0
MKPWC 21 2 017GTSCURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
DRIVER STPT VIR CTMP LIME RDAM MDOH UTAH COTA SONO CHAMPIONSHIP TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 r10 r11 r12 r13 r14 r15 r16 r17 r18 1 Andrew Aquilante 51 25 26
2 Lawson Aschenbach 47 24 23
3 Rodrigo Baptista 34 19 15
4 Frankie Montecalvo 31 12 19
5 Tony Gaples 28 14 14
6 Nate Stacy 27 15 12
7 Martin Barkey 27 17 10
8 Parker Chase 25 4 21
9 George Kurtz 22 9 13
10 Jade Buford 21 21 0
11 Harry Gottsacker 20 3 17
12 Jason Bell 19 13 6
13 Adam Merzon 17 8 9
14 Cameron Cassels 16 5 11
15 Cameron Maugeri 14 7 7
16 Bill Ziegler 14 6 8
17 Anthony Mantella 11 11 0
18 Mark Klenin 10 10 0
19 Ian James 0 0 0
2 017GTSACURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
DRIVER STPT VIR CTMP LIME RDAM MDOH UTAH COTA SONO CHAMPIONSHIP TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 r10 r11 r12 r13 r14 r15 r16 r17 r18 1 Tony Gaples 46 23 23
2 Martin Barkey 42 25 17
3 George Kurtz 38 17 21
4 Harry Gottsacker 36 11 25
5 Jason Bell 33 21 12
6 Cameron Cassels 31 12 19
7 Adam Merzon 30 15 15
8 Cameron Maugeri 27 14 13
9 Bill Ziegler 27 13 14
10 Mark Klenin 19 19 0
22 PWCMK 2 017GTSCURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
TEAM STPT VIR CTMP LIME RDAM MDOH UTAH COTA SONO CHAMPIONSHIP TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 r10 r11 r12 r13 r14 r15 r16 r17 r18 Phoenix 1 50 25 25 Performance Blackdog Speed 2 46 23 23 Shop Flying Lizard 3 34 19 15 Motorsports ANSA Motorsports 4 31 12 19
Racers Edge 5 27 21 6 Motorsports Mantella Autosports 6 27 17 10
Performance 7 25 4 21 Motorsports Group GMG Racing 8 22 9 13
Case-it Racing 9 19 8 11
10 KRUGSPEED 14 7 7
11 KPR 10 10 0
12 Team Panoz Racing 0 0 0
2 017GTSCURRENTPOINTSTANDINGS
TEAM STPT VIR CTMP LIME RDAM MDOH UTAH COTA SONO CHAMPIONSHIP TTL r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 r10 r11 r12 r13 r14 r15 r16 r17 r18
1 Ford 20 10 10
2 Chevrolet 16 8 8
3 Porsche 10 6 4
4 Ginetta 7 0 7
5 - - - -
MKPWC 23 TVBROADCASTSCHEDULE
TRACK/CLASS DATE TIME (Duration)
St. Petersburg GT Sprint 18-Mar 2:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes) St. Petersburg GT4/GTS 22-Mar 10:30 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Long Beach GT Sprint 9-Apr 2:30 p.m. ET (90 minutes) VIRginia International Raceway GT SprintX 7-May 6:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes) VIRginia International Raceway Touring Car 14-May 4:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) VIRginia International Raceway GT4/GTS 14-May 5:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, GT SprintX 28-May 6:30 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, GT4/GTS 31-May 9:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Touring Car 31-May 10:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Lime Rock Park, GT SprintX 4-Jun 5:30 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Lime Rock Park, Touring Car 7-Jun 8:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Lime Rock Park, GT4/GTS 7-Jun 9:00 p.m ET (60 minutes) Road America, GT Sprint 25-Jun 3:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Road America, GT4/GTS 5-Jul 8:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, GT Sprint 30-Jul 2:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, GT4/GTS 9-Aug 7:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Utah Motorsports Campus, GT SprintX 20-Aug 4:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Utah Motorsports Campus, Touring Car 23-Aug 8:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Utah Motorsports Campus, GT4/GTS 23-Aug 9:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Circuit of the Americas, GT SprintX 10-Sep 3:30 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Circuit of the Americas, Touring Car 13-Sep 7:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Circuit of the Americas, GT4/GTS 13-Sep 8:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Sonoma Raceway, GT Sprint 17-Sep 3:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes) Sonoma Raceway, GT4/GTS 27-Sep 8:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes) Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Touring Car 25-Oct 8:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes)
24 PWCMK