By: Pirelli World Challenge
August 14 2016
Grantsville, Utah – In TC / TCA / TCB Round 9 Competition at the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Utah Motorsports Campus presented by Energy Solutions, Adam Poland of Ft. Worth, Texas converted a P2 starting position to a race win in the TC class. TCA driver Jason Wolfe of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, made a triumphant return to PWC competition by capturing the class win in the TCA while TCB saw another Ohioan, Tom O'Gorman from Mason, Ohio, capture the win in that field.
Poland, driving the No. 13 Doghouse Performance Mazda MX-5, took the lead from the onset, just prior to a full-course yellow in the beginning of the first lap, and steadily grew the lead throughout the race's eighteen laps to a 12-second margin of victory. Pole position qualifier Patrick Gallagher of Thornville, Ohio, maintained his second-place position in the No. 54 Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX-5 and managed a track-record-setting lap while also creating a 9-second differential to the third place competitor. Claiming that last spot on the TC podium was the No. 26 Classic BMW Motorsports BMW M235iR driven by Toby Grahovec, the TC point leader.
"Finally! The team worked really long and hard hours to get the car together and it is amazing," Poland remarked. "I may have not had the fastest pace out there but I'd say I was probably the most consistent and it felt great. It was a great feeling being able to drive away in the lead. It's great to get our first win of the season and it's been long awaited."
In the hotly contested TCA class, defending series champion Wolfe drove the No. 12 Kinetic Motorsports Kia Forte Koup to a victory in his first return appearance since COTA earlier in the season. Second place on the TCA podium went to Moorpark, Calif.'s Joey Bickers in the No. 49 Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX-5 who had provisionally set the fastest lap in TCA qualifying but lost that lap time to a post-qualifying decision, placing him in P4 on the TCA qualifying grid. TCA third-place honors went to Elivan Goulart (Shelton, Conn.) in the No. 70 S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup.
TCA winner Wolfe explained, "The different cars do better in certain places on the track, so it's a big thinking game for Joey (Bickers) and I. It's a good first race back in PWC. His car is like a little go-kart. So there is no way I can stay with him in the corners. We have a little more on the straightaways which gives us a buffer as we towards the end of the lap. We have to have a strategy where to pick up a gap on each other. In turn three, my Kia was struggling a bit. Then he was right on my bumper going into turn five. But it feels great to be back racing and to win again. Just tremendous."
O'Gorman's victory in the TCB No. 94 Black Armor Helmets Honda Fit follows his sweeping victory at the Road America events. O'Gorman stated, "It was an awesome race. I know it was going to be hot and I knew I was going to pushing it hard. I wanted to conserve the tires and save them until the end of the race. I was am to take the lead with about 15 (minutes) to go. At that point, I had enough tire left to pedal the car as hard as I needed. I had a couple of traffic moments that worked to my advantage. That's how it goes in TCB. It was a blast. I couldn't thanking Black Armor Helmets enough for the support as well as Carbotech. The brakes were amazing. And of course, KTuner, Track Night in America and Honda for the great car. I feel like I have the best compromise of everything for the car. It seems to have the best balance overall. I have enough straightline speed, enough momentum, enough of everything to hold the lead."
Second place in the equally competitive TCB class was won by first-time competitor Canaan O'Connell of Chandler, Ariz., son of four-time PWC GT Champion Johnny O'Connell and driver of the No. 24 TechSport Racing Chevrolet Sonic. Third-step on the TCB podium belonged to Henry Morse in the No. 14 Hale Motorsports Mazda Mazda2, who had also provisionally qualified in P1 for the class but was penalized with loss of those lap times in a post-qualifying decision.
TC class drivers next take to the track on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MDT for the 40-minute Round 10 competition. Live timing will be available at LiveTiming.net/PWC while the event will be streamed live at MotorTrendOnDemand.com.
Results from Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 Pirelli World Challenge Championship TC TCA TCB Round 9 part of the Grand Prix at UMC presented by Energy Solutions. All results are provisional until posted Final.
Pos. PIC, Class, Name, Hometown, Car, Laps, Status
1. 1, TC, Adam Poland, Ft. Worth TX, Mazda MX-5, 18, Running
2. 2, TC, Patrick Gallagher, Thornville OH, Mazda MX-5, 18, Running
3. 3, TC, Toby Grahovec, Little Elm TX, BMW M235iR, 18, Running
4. 4, TC, Nick Wittmer, Montreal Canada, Honda Accord V-6 Coupe, 18, Running
5. 5, TC, Anthony Geraci, Glen Head NY, Mazda MX-5, 18, Running
6. 6, TC, Steve Burns, San Antonio TX, Ford Mustang, 18, Running
7. 7, TC, Kristian Boodoosingh, San Fernando Trinidad, Nissan 370Z, 18, Running
8. 8, TC, Max Fedler, Denver CO, BMW M235i, 18, Running
9. 9, TC, John A. Weisberg, Webster NY, Mazda MX-5, 18, Running
10. 10, TC, Kevin Krauss, Fishers IN, Porsche Cayman, 18, Running
11. 11, TC, Brian Lift, Crestwood IL, Porsche Cayman, 18, Running
12. 12, TC, Tony Rivera, Vista CA, Nissan 370Z, 18, Running
13. 13, TC, Jason Fichter, Jupiter FL, Honda Accord V-6 Coupe, 18, Running
14. 14, TC, Daniel Moen, Rindge NH, Mazda MX-5, 18, Running
15. 15, TC, Vesko Kozarov, Salt Lake City UT, Nissan 370Z, 17, Not Running
16. 1, TCA, Jason Wolfe, Mt. Vernon OH, Kia Forte Koup, 17, Running
17. 2, TCA, Joey Bickers, Moorpark CA, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 17, Running
18. 16, TC, Dinah Weisberg, Webster NY, Mazda MX-5, 17, Running
19. 3, TCA, Elivan Goulart, Shelton CT, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 17, Running
20. 4, TCA, Johan Schwartz, Huntersville NC, Honda Civic SI, 17, Running
21. 5, TCA, Daniel Williams, Scottsbluff NE, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 17, Running
22. 6, TCA, Forrest Landy, Great Falls VA, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 17, Running
23. 7, TCA, Paul Whiting, Las Vegas NV, Honda Civic SI, 17, Running
24. 8, TCA, Eric Powell, Orlando FL, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 17, Running
25. 9, TCA, Spencer Patterson, Pittsburgh PA, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 17, Running
26. 10, TCA, Mason Filippi, Alamo CA, Mazda MX-5, 17, Running
27. 11, TCA, Kevin Anderson, Huntington NY, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 17, Running
28. 12, TCA, Samantha Tan, Gormley ON, Honda Civic SI, 17, Running
29. 1, TCB, Tom O'Gorman, Mason OH, Honda Fit, 16, Running
30. 2, TCB, Canaan O'Connell, Chandler AZ, Chevrolet Sonic, 16, Running
31. 3, TCB, Henry Morse, Redondo Beach CA, Mazda 2, 16, Running
32. 4, TCB, James Wilson, Kyle TX, Mazda 2, 16, Running
33. 5, TCB, P.J. Groenke, Richmond Hill ON, Chevrolet Sonic, 16, Running
34. 13, TCA, Kris Wright, Pittsburgh PA, Kia Forte Koup, 16, Running
35. 14, TCA, Jay Salinsky, Miami FL, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 16, Running
36. 17, TC, Shea Holbrook, Orlando FL, Honda Accord V-6 Coupe, 14, Running
37. 18, TC, Steve Kohli, Iowa City IA, Honda Accord V-6 Coupe, 11, Not Running
38. 6, TCB, Ted Hough, Farmington MN, Mazda 2, 6, MissedSeveralLaps
39. 15, TCA, Steven Streimer, Sherwood OR, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 4, MissedSeveralLaps
40. 7, TCB, Jasper Drengler, Shawano WI, Honda Fit, 0, MissedSeveralLaps
Canadians In BOLD