Over 120 Drivers Set to Compete in 2016 PWC finale
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| Alvaro Parente's McLaren |
SALINAS, Calif. (Oct. 3, 2016)
— An incredible GT sports car point title battle between veterans Alvaro Parente and Patrick Long headline the Pirelli World Challenge Championships presented by Nissan this weekend (Oct. 7-9) at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the 2016 season finale.One-hundred and twenty-two Pirelli World Challenge drivers are entered for the 2016 series finale this coming weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Champions across the series' eight classes will be officially crowned October 7-9 as part of the Pirelli World Challenge Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Grand Prix presented by Nissan. GT and GTA drivers will race Round 20, while GT Cup pilots are set to race in Round 19. SprintX Rounds 5 and 6 will run, while Rounds 18 and 19 are scheduled in GTS. TC, TCA and TCB classes will run Rounds 11 and 12. The weekend marks the 15th time the series will race at the 11-turn 2.238-mile road course.
Long Versus Parente for the Championship — GT Preview
With over 10 world–renowned manufacturers represented by some of the top drivers in the world, the GT class features some of the best sports car racing on the planet. Sixteen drivers are entered for this weekend's season finale race.
With only one race left in the 2016 GT season and only nine points separating the two main protagonists in the battle for the class driver's championship, it all comes down to this coming weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. McLaren Factory driver Parente enters the weekend with 1554 points and will look to add to an already impressive trophy mantle that includes the 2005 British Formula 3 Championship, the 2007 World Series by Renault Championship and the 2015 International GT Open Championship — he will drive the No. 9 K–PAX Racing McLaren 650S.
Parente leads over Porsche factory driver Long, the former PWC 2011 GT Driver's Champion, who comes into the weekend second in GT driver's points with 1545. Long will pilot the No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports. Long also looks to help Porsche repeat as GT Manufacturer's Champions in 2016 — Porsche comes into the weekend only one point behind McLaren 131–130.
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| Patrick Long in front |
K–PAX Racing also brings two McLaren 650S GT3s for McLaren GT Academy Driver and 2015 GT Cup Driver's Champion Colin Thompson, and young up–and–comer Austin Cindric. Thompson dominated in GT Cup last year winning 13 of 18 class races and will pilot the No. 13 K–PAX Racing machine. Cindric has raced in a number of series previously including Mazda's Road to Indy's USF2000 series and the Global Rally Cross Championship and will pilot the No. 6 K–PAX Racing McLaren 650S. Cindric scored his first career PWC pole earlier this season at Mid-Ohio, and scored two more poles at Sonoma. In addition, Cindric recently captured the ARCA stock car race at Kentucky Speedway.
If Parente and Long falter, Cadillac teammates Johnny O'Connell and Michael Cooper will be ready to pounce. Four–time and defending 2015 GT Driver's Champion O'Connell sits only 104 points behind Parente. The Cadillac Factory driver comes into the weekend on a roll after winning both races at Sonoma and he will need to match that performance if he hopes to win his fifth series championship. He will pilot the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS–V.R GT3. O'Connell's teammate Cooper also has a shot at the championship — the 2015 GTS Driver's Champion, comes into the weekend tied with O'Connell with 1451 points. Cooper will drive the Cadillac Racing No. 8 ATS–V.R GT3.
Nissan Motorsports and Always Evolving enter two GT–R GT3s for JD Davison and Bryan Heitkotter. Heitkotter will drive the No. 05 Always Evolving/Replay XD/Nissan Nismo GT3 GT–R and comes into the weekend 5th in the championship points standings. Heitkotter won back to back races earlier this season at Utah. Davison comes into the weekend 10th in Driver's Championship points — he will pilot the No. 33 AE Replay XD Nissan GT Academy Nissan GT–R GT3.
RealTime Racing comes into the weekend with two cars entered. Seven-time series Driver's Champion Peter Cunningham owns almost every statistical record in PWC, but he moved out of his seat earlier this season to allow another accomplished sportscar veteran to race his Acura/HPD/RealTime Racing's Acura TLX-GT. Spencer Pumpelly will pilot the No. 34 car. Teammate Ryan Eversley has been on a late season charge winning both races at Road America, and finishing second in Round 15 at Mid-Ohio. He sits 6th in the championship standings and will pilot the No. 43 Acura/HPD/Red Line Oil/RealTime Acura TLX–GT.
Up–and–coming sportscar racer Kyle Marcelli has been in the mix all season long and comes into the weekend 8th in the championship with 1179 points. He will drive the No. 2 CRP Racing Audi R8.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Sports car veteran Jon Fogarty is in his second year in PWC and will pilot the No. 99 Gainsco Auto Insurance /Bob Stallings Racing McLaren 650S. Fogarty's impressive racing resume includes 16 career Rolex Series victories, while being the 2007 and 2009 Grand–Am Rolex Sports Car Series Co–Champion. Fogarty's best finish of the season so far was a 3rd in Round 2 at COTA — he comes into the weekend 12th in the championship standings.
Calvert Dynamics Racing enters the No. 98 Calvert Dynamics/CurbAgajanian/Phoenix Performance/Brett King Designs/Boys Republic Porsche 911 GT3 R for Michael Lewis. Lewis joined the Calvert Dynamics team after his previous team, EFFORT Racing, announced a hiatus from competition in 2016. Lewis won back-to-back races earlier this year at St. Petersburg and sits 11th in the driver's championship.
Absolute Racing enters a Bentley Continental GT3 with 21-year-old Fabian Hamprecht piloting the No. 88 machine. Hamprecht's resume includes races in the 2016 ADAC GT Masters series and the 2016 GT Asia series. He is set to make his first career PWC start this weekend.
Alex Job Racing recently joined the series and will field the No. 97 Porsche 911 GT3 R for accomplished sportscar racer Gunnar Jeannette. In 2011, Jeannette won the LMPC Championship in ALMS. He has a long history at LeMans after becoming the youngest finisher on record in 2000 at the age of 18.
Rounding out the 16-car GT field is Jonathan Summerton in the No. 66 DIME Racing Mercedes AMG SLS GT3. Summerton makes his first career PWC start. Summerton is a former winner of the 12hr race at Sebring.
Champion Fuentes Looks to Add to an Impressive 2016 Campaign — GTA Class Preview
At Sonoma, Martin Fuentes scored his seventh second place finish of the season to secure the GTA Driver's Championship and the Sportsman Cup presented by B.R.M Chronographes. Along with the cup, Fuentes will collect a B.R.M championship chronograph at the awards banquet following the finale weekend at Laguna Seca. Fuentes will look to add to an impressive season having already scored nine wins. He will pilot the No. 07 Hublot/Under Armour/Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia.
Michael Schein, in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, has spent the second half of the season on a charge closing the gap on Fuentes winning eight of the last 12 races. Schein has locked up a second place finish in the GTA Driver's Championship and will look to close out the season with a strong result.
Jorge De La Torre returns to the series after injuries sustained in an incident in a warm-up session at Lime Rock put him on the sidelines. De La Torre will pilot the No. 4 Delgac LLC/De La Torre Racing Motor Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3.
Rounding out the 10–car GTA field is Brent Holden in the No. 14 GMG/Spyder/Mobil 1/Thermal Club GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, Drew Regitz in the No. 19 iRACERCOACHING.com Stephen Cameron Racing Audi R8 LM GT3, Andy Wilzoch, in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche GT3R, Tim Pappas in the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Porsche GT3R Papent.com/Fine Art Enterprises/Boston Athletic Club, Andrew Kim in the No. 78 Bentley Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3, 79 Cooper MacNeil Hinsdale, IL WeatherTech/Alex Job Racing Porsche 991 GT3R, 82 Michael McCann North Canton, OH McCann Racing Dodge Viper GT3 Yeti GT3R/McCann Racing/Dodge Viper.
Bragging Rights All That's Left in GT Cup — GT Cup Preview
GT Cup is a spec class with drivers piloting the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup — the 2016 season has featured a tremendous battle between two young, up–and–coming sportscar talents.
Alec Udell posted an impressive 12 wins this season behind the wheel of his No. 17 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and mathematically clinched the class championship at Sonoma. He moves over this weekend to compete in SprintX.
Sloan Urry has put together another tremendous campaign in Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup competition and will, for the second year in a row, finish second overall in the championship. He will pilot the No. 20 Security National Mortgage/Avasis TruSpeed Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup this weekend and looks to try to notch his sixth win of the season.
Corey Fergus, the 2015 TC Driver's Champion, will pilot the No. 00 Byers Porsche/US LED/Motul/ Motorsports Promotions machine. Fergus had an impressive 2015 campaign scoring three TC wins and 13 top 5 finishes. He sits 3rd in class driver's championship points with 1486.
Rounding out the four-car GT Cup field is Alex Welch, in the No. 08 GMG/Red Beard Racing/Morgan Adams Foundation/Torque Branding Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and Chris Thompson, in the No. 17 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Mills and Riddle Lead Championships Heading into MRLS — SprintX Preview
The SprintX class featuring GT/GTA, GT Cup and GTS teams debuted earlier this season at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. The final two SprintX races, Rounds 5 and 6 are set for this upcoming weekend.
Races are 60 minutes in length and feature mandatory driver and tire changes. Driver pairings are based on FIA driver criteria. For example, FIA listed Bronze drivers can drive with other bronze drivers as well as Silver, Gold and Platinum, while Silver drivers can be matched with Bronze, Silver and Gold drivers. Gold drivers can pair with Bronze and Silver drivers, while Platinum drivers can only be paired with Bronze level drivers.
In SprintX GT, Michael Mills and John Edwards are set to share duties on the No. 46 Mills Racing/Airtech Vacuum BMW Z4 GT3. Mills is the former 2014 PWC GTA Driver's champion, while Edwards has been competing in sportscar racing for the last number of years and won the 2008 Star Mazda Championship. Mills comes into the weekend leading the GT Sportsman Driver's Championship with 396 points. The Mills Racing team also leads in the Team Championship with 786 points.
David Ostella and Dion Von Moltke team up on the No. 23 M1 GT Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra. Ostella is a former Indy Lights driver and was the 2013 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Champion, while
Von Moltke has 12 wins, 28 Podiums, and 94 top 10 finishes out of 109 sports car races in the years spanning 2008 to 2015. Ostella trails Mills by 34 points in the battle for the Championship. M1 GT Racing trails Mills Racing by 38 points in the battle for the Team Championship.
Global Motorsports Group has entered the No. 14 Spyder/ Mobil 1/ Thermal Club Porsche 911 GT3 R for the 2016 GT Cup Champion Alec Udell and Sportsman Driver Championship contender Brent Holden. Udell makes his first career GT SprintX start while Holden comes into the weekend third with 356 points.
Rounding out GT SprintX field are Lars Viljoen and Caesar Bacarella in the No. 24 Delgac LLC/De La Torre Racing Motor Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3, Andy Wilzoch and Darren Law in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche GT3 R, Tim Pappas and PWC veteran Andy Pilgrim in the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Porsche GT3R, Cooper MacNeil and Gunnar Jeannette in the No. 79 WeatherTech/Alex Job Racing Porsche 991 GT3R, Michael McCann and Jim McCann in the No. 82 Yeti GT3R/McCann Racing/Dodge Viper McCann Racing Dodge Viper GT3, and Preston Calvert and Michael Lewis in the No. 98 Phoenix Performance/Brett King Designs/Boys Republic Calvert Dynamics Porsche 911 GT3R.
In the GTS SprintX category, the No. 07 Adobe Road Winery/LaSalle Solutions/TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4 will be driven by Max Riddle and Kris Wilson. Riddle leads the GTS SprintX Championship with 440 points. TRG-AMR also has the No. 09 BRM Chronographes/Rebounderz/Rohnert Park/Racing for Cancer/Pirata Della Strada/Simon Ward TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4 entered for Derek DeBoer and Jason Alexandridis. DeBoer sits second overall with 416 points while Alexandridis sits 3rd overall with 392 points. TRG-AMR also leads the team championship with 880 points coming into the weekend. TRG-AMR also has the 04 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 entered for George Kurtz and Kenton Koch and the No. 77 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Greg Milzcik and former PWC GT Driver's Championship Brandon Davis.
Performance Motorsports Group will enter a team with Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker piloting the No. 29 Ginetta GT4.
Rounding out the GTS SprintX field are Aristotle Balogh and Greg Liefooghe in the No. 5 ART Racing/ Stephen Cameron Racing LLC Aston Martin Vantage GT4, the No. 54 X Border Foods and Wines Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4 to be piloted by Scott Heckert and Chris Beaufait, and Jeff Courtney and Greg Palmer in the No. 66 JCR Motorsports Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo.
In SprintX GT Cup, Jeff Burton and Enrique Bernoldi will pilot the No. 10 DXDT Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo, Ludovico Manifredi and Jonathan Summerton will drive the No. 27 ANSA Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, while David Askew and James Burke will pilot the No. 63 USALCO, LLC/DXDT Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo.
Sandberg Leads Aschenbach, Chase and Stacy in Title Battle — GTS Class Overview
The GTS class has featured some of the best wheel–to–wheel competition seen in racing in recent years. And 2016 has been no different with nine different drivers piloting machinery from five different manufacturers scoring GTS race wins thus far this season.
Brett Sandberg comes into the weekend leading the GTS Driver's Championship with 1473 points after winning his third race of the season in Round 17 at Sonoma. He will pilot the No. 13 ANSA Motorsports X-Bow GT4. Teaming up with Sandberg is two-time TCA Driver's Champion Jason Wolfe in the No. 12 ANSA Motorsports X-Bow GT4, and Bill Ziegler who will drive the No. 9 ANSA Motorsports X–Bow GT4. Wolfe will make his first career GTS series start this weekend.
Leading the charge for Chevrolet is four-time series and two-time GTS champion Lawson Aschenbach piloting the No. 10 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Z28. Since 2013, a Blackdog Chevy has claimed the GTS Championship — Aschenbach did so in 2013 and 2014, with Cooper winning in 2015. Aschenbach started off the season with a win at COTA in Round 1, and has since been victorious three more times including in Round 13 at Mid-Ohio. He comes into the weekend 111 points behind Sandberg with 1362. He will team with series veteran Tony Gaples who will pilot the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Z28 — Gaples sits 8th in the class championship with 865 points.
Fifteen–year–old Rookie Parker Chase sits third in the GTS driver's championship and will pilot the No. 19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta GT4. He's had an impressive rookie season and sits third overall in the championship with 1327 points. Parker's best PWC finish of the season has been a second — a result he achieved in Round 6 at Barber, Round 8 at CTMP and Round 16 at Sonoma. He will look to score his first PWC career series win this coming weekend. Parker will team with Harry Gottsacker, in the No. 29 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta GT4.
Jack Roush Jr. in the No. 60 ROUSH Road Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302, and 16-year-old phenom Nate Stacy in the No. 14 Rehagen Racing/Stacy Racing machine team up to lead the Ford charge. Stacy won his first career GTS win at Sonoma in Round 16 and sits fourth in the battle for the championship. Roush won back–to–back races at St. Petersburg and comes into the weekend 10th in the standings with 801 points. Roush Jr. and Stacy are also looking for good results this weekend to help Ford win the class manufacturer's championship — Ford leads Chevrolet 105 to 97.
Scott Dollahite, piloting the No. 46 SDR Motorsports Lotus Evora, comes into the weekend 6th with 980 points. Dollahite has been a model of consistency this season recording eight top 5 finishes in 13 starts.
Scott Heckert, who won Round 15 at Utah, will pilot the No. 54 SIN Cars/Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4. Teaming with Heckert is Jade Buford who has won three races in six starts this season in the No. 45 SIN Cars SIN R1 GT4. Heckert sits 5th in the championship, while Buford sits 13th.
Canadian team Mantella Autosport Inc. brings a two–car effort to Laguna Seca with Anthony Mantella in the No. 8 Gulf X–Bow GT4, and teammate Martin Barkey in the No. 80 MBRP Sportlab/Sawmill Creative car. Mantella secured his first career PWC win earlier this year at Utah in Round 14 and he finished second in Round 17 at Sonoma. He comes into the weekend in 9th with 825 points while teammate Barkey is in 11th with 800 points.
TRG–AMR brings three Aston Martin Vantage GT4s to Laguna Seca. Max Riddle, will pilot the No. 07 Adobe Road Winery, LaSalle Solutions machine — he won Round 8 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. George Kurtz, will drive the No. 04 Crowd Strike TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4, while Greg Milzcik will race the No. 77 TRG-AMR North America Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
The 24-car GTS field includes PWC veteran James Sofronas in the No. 4 GMG Racing Porsche Clubsport GT4, Aristotle Balogh in the No. 5 ART Racing/Stephen Cameron Racing LLC Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Kevin Marshall, in the No. 44 VSA Motorsports Lotus GT4; Mark Klenin, in the No. 62 Schomp/Premiere Copy Klenin Performance Racing Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4; Jeff
Courtney in the No. 99 RecStuff.com/Kenda/JCR Motorsports Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo; Ron Ballard in the No. 93 AK&J Sealants/RT Motorsports, LLC Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo and Andrew Aquilante in the No. 37 Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302.
Grahovec Leads Wittmer in Race for Championship — Touring Car Preview
Toby Grahovec, in the No. 26 Classic BMW Motorsports BMW M235iR comes into the weekend first in the TC driver's championship with 960 points. Grahovec has two wins this season — in Round 2 at COTA, and Round 4 at CTMP and has yet to finish outside of the top 5 in 10 races this year. Grahovec is also helping BMW in the battle for the Manufacturer's Chamiponship with 78 points, only one behind Mazda coming into the weekend.
Montreal's Nick Wittmer will drive the No. 91 Honda Ste–Rose Racing Honda Accord. He brings an impressive resume having previously won a number of sports car racing championships including back–to–back Canadian Touring Car Championships in 2009 and 2010. Wittmer won Round 3 at CTMP and Round 5 at Lime Rock Park and sits second in the driver's championship with 765 points.
Patrick Gallagher comes into the weekend 3rd with 673 points and will drive the No. 54 Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX–5.
Shea Holbrook will pilot the No. 67 Shea Racing Honda Accord V–6 Coupe — she sits fourth in class with 617 points. In 2014, Holbrook won five races in TCA and finished second overall in class. Teammate Jason Fichter in the No. 7 Shea Racing Honda Accord V–6 Coupe comes into the weekend 8th in the championship.
Anthony Geraci, in the No. 69 S.A.C. Racing/European Granite & Marble Group, Inc. Mazda MX–5 recorded his first career Pirelli World Challenge win at Lime Rock in Round 6 and sits 5th with 600 points. Gallagher and Geraci are helping Mazda to challenge BMW for the Manufacturer's Championship — Mazda currently sits first with 79 points.
The 23-car field also features Tony Rivera, in the No. 97 Brass Monkey Racing/Tiburon Motorsports Nissan 370Z, Vesko Kozarov, in the No. 3 Nissan/Nismo/Stance CA Sport Nissan 370Z, a to-be-named driver in the No. 34 Nissan/Nismo/Stance CA Sport Nissan 370Z, Daniel Moen, in the No. 73 S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX–5; Dinah Weisberg in the No. 50 REDCOM Laboratories/Red Line Oil/Power Brake BERG Racing Mazda MX–5; Gino Carini, in the No. 27 Palermos Screaming Sicilian Pizza/Marenzo Construction Group/Classic BMW Motorsports BMW M235iR; John Weisberg, in the No. 5 Power Brake/REDCOM/Red Line Oil/Powerflex/Mann's/Miller/MCS BERG Racing Mazda MX–5; Steve Burns, in the No. 43 VP Racing Fuels/Works Garage/Ian Lacy Racing Ford Mustang; Kevin Krauss, in the No. 88 Alyses Light.com Outlier/Scion Group Porsche Cayman; Paul Street, in the No. 93 Honda/HPD/Megan Racing/RV6 Performance/Gargae 56 Performance/SPEC Clutch/PR2/MOMO Team HMA Honda Accord V-6 Coupe; Brian Lift, in the No. 99 Call One Outlier/Scion Group Porsche Cayman; Max Fedler, in the No. 05 PLENCO Molecule/Summit of Everest Motorsports BMW M235iR; Adam Poland, in the No. 33 Edge Addicts Doghouse Performance Mazda MX-5; Henry Schmitt in the No. 87 BMW of San Francisco/MINI of San Francisco/Clear Guard Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M235R; Aristotle Balogh in the No. 19 ART racing Stephen Cameron Racing LLC BMW M235iR, and Randy Hale in the No. 17 TransAero, Inc Hale Motorsports Mazda MX-5.
Goulart Looks to Close out TCA Championship at Laguna Seca — TCA Class Preview
Elivan Goulart, in the No. 70 S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX–5 Cup, has had a dominating 2016 season thus far winning five of 10 TCA races, and he's finished in the top 5 in each of the other five races. He leads the TCA Driver's Championship heading into the weekend with 1039 points. Goulart's performance has also helping Mazda clinch the class Manufacturer's Championship.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Joey Bickers, in the No. 49 Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX–5 Cup, comes into the weekend sitting 2nd with 791 points. He won back-to-back races earlier this year at Road America.
Eric Powell, in the No. 23 Tech Sport Racing Mazda MX–5 Cup, enters the weekend 3rd in the driver's championship with 711 points with his best results coming at Lime Rock (two 2nds). Powell teams with Warren Dexter, in the No. 22 Tech Sport Racing Mazda MX–5 Cup, and Perry Richardson in the No. 21 Tech Sport Racing Mazda MX–5 Cup.
Matthew Fassnacht will pilot the No. 74 S.A.C. Racing/Equity Residence Mazda MX–5 Cup sits 4th with 665 points.
Others to watch in the 13–car TCA field include Jay Salinsky, in the No. 16 Fuse Lenses/Regenexx Cayman/Red Line Oil/Redcom/BERG Racing Mazda MX–5 Cup; Daniel Williams, in the No. 36 S.A.C Racing Mazda MX–5 Cup; Samantha Tan, in the No. 38 GPI Global Samantha Tan Racing Honda Civic SI; Mason Filippi, in the No. 48 Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX–5; Paul Whiting in the No. 51 PWR & LDL Speed Shop Honda Civic SI; Daryl Harr, in the No. 71 Mobil 1 WestWorld Motorsports Inc. Toyota FR-S and Forrest Landy, Atlanta Motorsports Group/Excitations.com, in the No. 9 Mazda MX-5 Cup.
Groenke, Morse and O'Gorman Vie for Championship — TCB Class Preview
Touring Car B–Spec or TCB is the most cost-effective class category of the series and features some of the most entertaining door–to–door racing on the planet.
Canadian P.J. Groenke in the No. 25 Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet Sonic enters the weekend leading in the championship with 858 points. As the most experienced competitor in class — Groenke finished 6th overall in the TCB championship last year and is set to make his 59th and 60th PWC career starts in California. While he hasn't yet recorded a race win in the series, he has come very close in the last nine races finishing each of them in the top 5 to score valuable championship points. Teaming with Groenke is Michael Johnson, in the No. 24 Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet Sonic.
Rookie Henry Morse, age 15, in the No. 14 Hale Motorsports MorseGPS powered by CalAmp/MazdaSpeed/FreeM USA/Corksport Performance/Rolling Hills Prep Mazda2 recorded his first career series win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Round 3. He comes into the weekend trailing Groenke by only 13 points.
Tom O'Gorman, in the No. 94 TNIA/Black Armor Helmets Honda Fit, vaulted up into third in the Championship standings with back-to-back wins at Road America and Utah. He comes into the weekend with 796 points.
Ted Hough in the No. 68 Breathless Racing Mazda 2 scored a win earlier in the season at Circuit of the Americas and comes into the weekend 4th in the TCB Driver's Championship with 644 points, while Jasper Drengler, in the No. 01 Drengler Racing/Chimney Mechanix Honda Fit comes into the weekend 5th in the standings with 636.
Rounding out the 10-car TCB field are James Wilson, in the No. 55 Black Armor Helmets/Mazdaspeed Motorsports Mazda 2 and Patrick Wilmot, in the No. 18 MyBamaHome.com/Track9 The Precision Motorsports Group Honda Fit, Nic Lougee in the No. 29 4R Motorsports MINI Cooper and Will Rodgers in the No. 65 Solvang Brewing Co/Kelly Benefit Strategies/Foundation Fighting Blindness Hale Motorsports Mazda 2.
Event/Circuit:
11-turn 2.238-mile road course
Qualifying:
Friday, October 7, 2016
12:30 PM – 12:45 PM TCA-TCB Qualifying
12:50 PM – 1:05 PM TC Qualifying
3:35 PM – 4:05 PM Pirelli World Challenge – Sprint X Qualifying
Saturday October 8, 2016
9:00 AM – 9:25 AM Pirelli World Challenge – GTS Qualifying
10:25 AM – 10:45 AM Pirelli World Challenge – GTA-GT Cup Qualifying – Group 1
10:50 AM – 11:10 AM Pirelli World Challenge – GT Qualifying – Group 2
Race Lengths:
60 minutes (SprintX)
50 minutes (GT/GTA/GT Cup, GTS)
40 minutes (TC/TCA/TCB)
Live Internet Telecast (on motortrendondemand.com):
Saturday October 8, 2016
11:45 AM — 12:35 PM Race # 1 TC-TCA-TCB
1:55 PM — 2:55 PM Race # 1 GTS
4:00 PM — 5:00 PM Race # 1 SprintX
Sunday, October 9, 2016
8:45 AM — 9:25 AM Race # 2 TC-TCA-TCB
10:50 AM — 11:50 AM Race # 2 GTS
1:05 PM — 2:05 PM GT-GTA-GT Cup Race
3:15 PM — 4:15 PM Race # 2 SprintX
All times listed above are Pacific
Television (on CBS Sports Network):
GT: Oct. 16, 3 PM
TC: Oct. 23, 3 PM
GTS: Oct. 23, 4 PM
SprintX: Oct. 23, 5 PM
All times listed re: CBS broadcasts are Eastern.