by RaceCanada / Chris Jameson
August 21, 2014
Three races to go - Championship Battles down to the wire
This is not your usual TUDOR United SportsCar Championmship weekend as the premiere Prototype class (P2s and Daytona Prototypes) will not be racing this weekend at Virginia International Raceway. Instead, the Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR will feature two 45-minute races combining Prototype Challenge with the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites (same as in Kansas earlier in the season) and a 'regular' two-hour forty-five minute race for the GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes. The weekend also include races in the North America Lamborghini Blancpain SuperTrofeo and the Maserati Trofeo series.
First things first - all qualifying and race sessions for PC, Lites, GTD & GTLM will be available via live streaming. The Continental Tire race and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo races will also be available via live streaming. Note: while the GTLM/GTD race is scheduled for television broadcast on Fox Sports One (and SPEED in Canada), IMSA has removed the geo-blocking for Canada since the race at CTMP back in July so we are expecting that race to also be available via live stream. We will advise if there are any changes on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RaceCanada.ca) and via Twitter (www.twitter.com/RaceCanada_ca) A complete set of timing & scoring and live streaming links is included in the article.
The TUDOR and Continental Tire series have not been to VIR in a few years and the 5.26 km (3.27 mile), 17-turn has had a few upgrades, the most imprtant of which include new pavement and some track widening around the course. This should make for some very quick lap times and many more passing zones on what was already a very fast circuit. There have also been a number of paddock improvements (my last trip there was in 2010 and can only imagine how quick the course is now). There is a very full schedule for the weekend with Thursday being a promoter test day and official practice getting underway on Friday. A complete on-track schedule is copied below.
Now let's get to a breakdown of how things are shping up in each class/division>
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (TUDOR Championship)
As noted, the TUDOR United SportsCar Championhsip will be running a split race format with Prototype Challenge and Lites running together iun two separate 45-minute races. As a concession, PC entries are not required to have two drivers compete this weekend - although most will in terms of recording championship points. While there are two separate "races", the PC class will run two "segemts" each worth half points combining to make one race. Protoype Lites will conduct business as usual counting each race (and points) separately. Confused?
There are ten (10) entries in PC and twenty-two (22) in Lites (19 - L1, 3-L2) and the championship battles are tight in both series. In Lites, Vancouver's Mikhail Goikhberg has a 55-point lead going into this race on the strength of six wins and two second-place finishes over ten races so far (there are four races left including this weekend's double-header). He should be able to lock up the championship with a couple of strong finishes this weekend. Goikhberg has had only two DNFs all season.
In Prototype Challenge, Alex Tagliani returns to co-drive with Chris Cumming (Vancouver, BC) in the #08 RSR Racing entry. Cumming sits fifth in the PC championship, just twenty points back of second place. There are three races left for this class (including VIR).
Following is a list of Canadian entries (highlighted in yellow) for PC and Lites:
Prototype Challenge (PC) - 10 entries
38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10
David Ostella / Toronto, Canada
James French / Sheboygan, WI
08 RSR Racing AutomaxUSA.com ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10
Chris Cumming / Vancouver, Canada
Alex Tagliani / Lachenai, Quebec, Canada
Cooper Lites L1 = 19 L2 = 3 TOTAL = 22
10 Mikhail Goikhberg, North Vancouver, Canada JDC Motorsports JDC Motorsports Elan DP-02
31 Michal Chlumecky, Windsor, Canada (M) Eurosport Racing Contractglaziers.com Elan DP-02
Meanwhile the GT cars will have the track all to themselves on Sunday afternoon with only the GTLM and GTD classes competing at VIR and there are battles in both driver and team championships. The ones to watch this weekend will be the Team SRT #93 SRT Viper of Kuno Wittmer (Montreal, QC) and Jonathan Bomarito, The pair currently sit second in the driver's championship just eight points back of the leading Corvett (Garcia/Magnussen) and thirteen ahead of their SRT team mates Farnbacher and Goosens in the #92 Viper. (They are in the same positions for the NAEC championship with one race to go - Petit LeMans in October)
Over in GTD, Woodbridge, Ontario-based AIM Autosport (Ferrari) leads both the TUDOR and NAEC championships going into the weekend - although this is a very btight battle with just a three point lead over Alex Job Racing (Porsche). The drivers of the AIM Autosport #555 Ferrari 458 Italia, Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell, lead both championships by the same margin.
Following is a list of Canadian entries (highlighted in yellow)
GT Le Mans (GTLM) - 10 entries
93 Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R Viper V10 Michelin IMSA
Jonathan Bomarito / Monterey, CA SRT Motorsports
Kuno Wittmer / Montreal, Quebec, Canada
GT Daytona (GTD) - 19 entries
555 AIM Autosport REVO/Robert Graham/Royal Purple/Motegi Ferrari 458 Italia Ferrari
Bill Sweedler / Wesport, CT
Townsend Bell / San Francisco, CA
CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTSCAR CHALLENGE (CTSC)
CTSC is also down to the final three races (including this weekend) and there are some notable changes in the Canadian entry list as well as some championship battles. To start, the entry list is missing a few of the regulars such as the John Farano/David Empringham NIssan 370Z and the CKS Autosport #00 Camaro of Ashley McCalmont (Ancaster, ON) and Bob Michaelian. A schedule conflict with Pirelli World Challenge has Mark Wilkins out in Sonama where he is looking to lock down the GTS driver's championship but his 'regular' seat in the Mantella Autosport #08 Aston Martin Vantage has been filled by another Canadian - Sasha Anis (Toronto, ON) who has experience in Canadian Touring Car (Super Class) ans well as GT Challenge. Over in ST, Rebel Rock Racing will have Gary Browne (Toronto, ON) in the Porsche Cayman (Browne debuted with the team at CTMP). After a strong race at Road America with one-off co-driver Katherine Legge, Jon Miller is back in the Compass 360 Racing Honda with James Vance (Stouffville, ON)
On the championship hunt we have the Multimatic Motorsports #15 Ford Mustang Boss 302.R of Jade Buford and Scott Maxwell in sixth place (GS) - 46 points back of the leaders. The battle here (with a good finish) would be to move up and hopefully finish top three on the season (the gap to third is 31 points but only three points to fourth). In ST, the leading Canadians are Remo Ruscitti and Adam Isman in the Autometrics #04 Porsche Cayman. The pair sits seventh going into this race but withna long climb to the top. They do have a good chance to move up with another strong performance which they have proven is possible.
Following is a list of Canadian entries (highlighted in yellow)
Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge – 49 Entries
GS – 21 Entries
8 Mantella Autosport Powered by Spyder/ Gulf Lubricants Aston Martin
Anthony Mantella, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sasha Anis, Toronto, ON, Canada
15 Multimatic Motorsports Multimatic Motorsports/ Ford Racing Mustang Boss 302R
Jade Buford, Brentwood, TN
Scott Maxwell, Toronto, ON, Canada
76 Compass360 Racing Touge Tuning/ Ligon Industries Subaru WRX STI
Ray Mason, Columbus, OH
Ryan Winchester, Mason City, IA
08 Rebel Rock/MBPR Racing K&N/ The Sports Lab/ Vitargo/ The Garage/Jackson Transportation Systems/ All Ontario Recycling Porsche 997
Martin Barkey, Huntsville, ON, Canada
Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, ON, Canada
158 Multimatic Motorsports Multimatic Motorsports/ Ford Racing Mustang Boss 302R
Ian James, Phoenix, AZ
Billy Johnson, Mooresville, NC
ST – 28 Entries
74 Compass360 Racing Bionic Enviorments/ LoudBasstard/ Be The Match/ Expo Systems Honda Civic
James Vance, Stouffville, ON, Canada
Jon Miller, San Francisco, CA
75 Compass360 Racing Cure NF with Jack/ CTF/ HPD Honda Civic
Kyle Gimple, Minden, NV
Ryan Eversley, Lithonia, GA
87 Rebel Rock Racing Porsche Cayman
Gary Browne, Toronto, Canada
Kevin Wheeler, Boca Raton, FL
93 Honda Racing HPD/ Honda of America Mfg. Honda Civic
Chad Gilsinger, Marysville, OH HART
Michael Valiante, Burnaby, BC, Canada
04 Autometrics Motorsports BBA Accounting/ DE Labs Porsche Cayman
Remo Ruscitti, Burnaby, BC, Canada
Adam Isman, Vancouver, BC
LAMBORGHINI BLANCPAIN SUPER TROFEO SERIES (LBST)
The North America Lamborghini Blancpain SuperTrofeo series is becoming quite popular and this weekend will see a record eighteen (18) entries for the series. Should be exciting to watch on the very fast VIR circuit. We do not have a full entry list but we expect John Farano (Toronto, ON) to be on hand to add to his second-place points in the driver's championship. We are hoping to also see Aaron Povoledo at the wheel this weekend. AS noted, the North America Lamborghini Blancpain SuperTrofeo races will be broadcast via live streaming - the direct link is posted below in the LIVE Broadcast section
Maserati Trofeo (MT)
The Maserati Trofeo series is making its lone stop in North America for 2014. The series has made a single North American stop each of the last two years (Infineon/Sonoma 2012 & 2013). There are a total of twenty entries for the races at VIR. Race one is 30-minutes (Saturday) with race two schedule for 60-miinutes (Sunday) There are two Canadians on the entry list - Robert Herjavec and Damon Ockey. Regular competitors in the Ferrari Challenge, this appears to be a one-off entry for both.
Following are the complete weekend on-track schedule, timing & scoring links and live streaming links for all events.
Weekend On-Track Schedule:
Friday, August 22, 2014
8:00 am - 8:45 am PRACTICE #1 - CTSC
9:00 am - 9:50 am PRACTICE #1 - LBST
10:00 am - 10:30 am Practice #1 - MT
10:45 am -11:45 am PRACTICE #1 - TUDOR Championship (PC/LITES)
12:45 pm - 1:30 pm PRACTICE #2 - CTSC
1:45 pm - 2:35 pm PRACTICE #2 - LBST
2:50 pm - 3:20 pm Practice #1 - TUDOR Championship (GTLM/GTD)
3:35 pm - 4:20 pm PRACTICE #2 - TUDOR Championship (PC/LITES)
4:40 pm - 4:55 pm QUALIFYING - CTSC ST
5:10 pm - 5:25 pm QUALIFYING - CTSC GS
5:40 pm - 6:40 pm Practice #2 - TUDOR Championship (GTLM/GTD)
6:50 pm - 7:25 pm Qualifying - MT (2x15')
Saturday, August 23, 2014
8:15 am - 9:45 am Practice #3 - TUDOR Championship (GTLM/GTD)
10:00 am - 10:30 am Race #1 - MT - 30 Minutes
10:50 am -11:10 am Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (LITES)
11:15 am -11:30 am Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (PC)
11:45 am - 12:15 pm QUALIFYING - LBST
12:30 pm -12:45 pm Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (GTD)
12:50 pm - 1:05 pm Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (GTLM)
2:05 pm - 4:35 pm RACE - CTSC - 150 MINUTES
5:15 pm - 6:00 pm Race - Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR for the TUDOR Championship PC/LITES (PC Segment 1/LITES Rnd 11) - 45 Min.
6:30 pm - 7:20 pm RACE #1 - LBST - 50 MINUTES
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Race #2 - MT - 30 Minutes
Sunday, August 24, 2014
8:15 am - 8:35 am Warm Up - TUDOR Championship (GTLM/GTD)
8:50 am - 9:10 am Warm Up - TUDOR Championship (PC/LITES)
10:45 am -11:30 am Race - Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR for the TUDOR Championship PC/LITES (PC Segment 2/LITES Rnd 12) - 45 Min.
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Race #3 - MT - 60 Minutes
1:45 pm - 2:35 pm RACE #2 - LBST - 50 MINUTES
4:05 pm - 6:50 pm Race - Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR for the TUDOR Championship GTLM/GTD - 2 Hours 45 Minutes
LIVE Broadcast:
Saturday August 23, 2014
PC/Lites Qualifying at 10:50 AM ET
GTLM/GTD Qualifying at 12:30 PM ET
Continental Tire Challenge Race at 2:05 PM ET (2 hours 30 minutes)
PC/LITES Race 1at 5:15 PM ET
Lamborghini Super TrofeoRace 1 at 6:30 PM ET
Sunday August 24, 2014
PC/Lites Race 2 at 10:45 PM ET
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 2 at 6:30 PM ET
GTLM/GTD Race at 4:00 PM ET (2 hours 45 minutes)
Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge live stream:
http://www.imsa.com/camera/sportscar-challenge/race-central
TUDOR United Sports Car Championship live stream:
http://www.imsa.com/camera/united-sportscar/race-central
Lamborghini Super Trofeo live stream:
http://squadracorse.lamborghini.com/EN/LIVE-USA
Timing & Scoring links
TUDOR: http://scoring.imsa.com/
Continental: http://scoring.imsa.com/sportscar-challenge/
Lites: http://scoring.imsa.com/prototype-lites/