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1997 was the eighth year of the Sports Car Club of America Pro Racing’s World Challenge series.
Last season, four categories were contested – Sport 1 and 2 and Touring 1 and 2. The high costs associated with the Sport division caused Pro Racing to eliminate the category. In 1997, titles were on the line for Touring 1 and Touring 2.
The schedule is consists of ten events beginning in February and ending in October.
Round eight of the 1997 World Challenge Touring championship was held at Mosport Park. Drivers in the Touring 1 and 2 classes would compete simultaneously around the ten turn 2.459-mile road course in a fifty-minute contest. |
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Rob Fellows scored his first World Challenge Touring 1 victory at Heartland Park, which was followed by his worst result of the season, an eighteenth-place at Trois-Rivieres. It appeared that Fellows’ bad luck followed him to his home track, Mosport, as he lost an engine in practice. The motor was replaced and Fellows was the fastest qualifier in the No. 4 Saleen Mustang. He was gridded second and led the race flag-to-flag. |
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Touring 2 teammates, Pierre Kleinubing and Michael Galati staged an epic battle. The points leader, Galati, in the No. 44 Acura Integra led from, the start but was passed by Johannes van Overbeek, who was first until he spun. Then the duel was between Galati and Kleinubing. Kleinubing took the top spot on lap-8, but lost it to Galati on the nineteenth circuit. Kleinubing regained the position and claimed the victory. |
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Vermont resident Kermit Upton III was only competing in the 1997 World Challenge Touring 1 class on a part-time basis. He took the No. 25 Mountain Auto Sport BMW M3 to victory in his first race of the season at Lime Rock Park and collected a third-place at Trois-Rivieres. At Mosport, Upton qualified third fastest and started fourth. He passed Lou Gigliotti on lap-3 and chased Rob Fellows to a runner-up result. |
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The Touring 1 points leader entering round eight was Peter Cunningham. Another commitment prevented Cunningham from participating at Mosport. The services of Boris Said were enlisted to drive the No. 42 Acura NSX. Said flat-spotted his tires in qualifying. They were replaced; however, the rules required him to start the race from the rear of the field. Said moved up the order and finished in third place. |
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Taz Harvey entered the Mosport round with a season-high runner-up result at Watkins Glen International and a third-place finish in the Touring 2 category at Minneapolis. Harvey recorded the eighth fastest time in qualifying for race eight, driving the No. 8 Redline Oil sponsored Honda Prelude Si. He fell to ninth place during the contest but battled back to capture the final spot on the class podium. |
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The defending Touring 1 champion, Lou Gigliotti, was second in the title chase, but the absence of Peter Cunnigham at Mosport was an excellent opportunity for him to close the points gap and possibly move into the championship lead. Gigliotti qualified second fastest and was gridded in the third position. He was running third in the race when an incident with Touring 2 competitors forced him to retire on lap-10. |
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LG Motorsports entered four Saleen Mustangs in round eight at Mosport. In addition to team principal Lou Gigliotti, the cars were driven by Simon Gregg, Doug Frazier and Ron Johnson. Gregg, the son of successful Porsche racer Peter Gregg, qualified fourth-fastest and drew the pole for the twenty-eight-lap contest. Unfortunately, his race ended at the midway point when he had an accident in the No. 59 Saleen Mustang. |
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| POS. | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Fellows | Saleen Mustang | McGraw Racing | 28 | - |
| 2 | Kermit Upton III | BMW M3 | MASR Autosport | 28 | - |
| 3 | Boris Said | Acura NSX | RealTime Racing | 28 | - |
| 4 | Sean Grosman | Chevrolet Camaro | SMG Motorsport | 28 | - |
| 5 | Duane Grahovec | Chevrolet Camaro | American Lock | 28 | - |
| 6 | Reese Cox | Chevrolet Corvette | MTI Chevy | 28 | - |
| 7 | Harry Bytzek | Porsche RSR | Bytzek Motorsports | 28 | - |
| 8 | Thomas Safar II | Chevrolet Corvette | TSUNANI | 28 | - |
| 9 | Grant Carter | Chevrolet Camaro | Redline Oil | 28 | - |
| 10 | Anthony Buso | Eagle Talon | Milano Biscuit | 26 | - |
| 11 | Doug Frazier | Saleen Mustang | LG Motorsports | 26 | - |
| 12 | Ron Johnson | Saleen Mustang | LG Motorsports | 25 | - |
| 13 | Chris Camadella | Chevrolet Camaro | Flat Four | 24 | - |
| 14 | Cameron Worth | Mazda RX-7 Turbo | Pettit Racing | 19 | Engine |
| 15 | Simon Gregg | Saleen Mustang | LG Motorsports | 14 | Accident |
| 16 | Walter Swick | BMW M3 | Tridelta Industries | 14 | Mechanical |
| 17 | Bob Schiesser | Ford Mustang | Advanced Automotive | 13 | Engine |
| 18 | Pierre Bareil | Ford Mustang LX | Bareil Racing | 11 | Mechanical |
| 19 | Lou Gigliotti | Saleen Mustang | LG Motorsports | 10 | Accident |
| 20 | Trevor Goddard | Ford Mustang | T.S.E. | 6 | Transmission |
| 21 | Bruno Buso | Eagle Talon | Milano Biscuit | 4 | Mechanical |
| - | Peter Kitchak | Porsche RSR | Toad Road Racing | 0 | Did Not Start |
| POS. | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pierre Kleinubing | Acura Integra | RealTime Racing | 27 | - |
| 2 | Michael Galati | Acura Integra | RealTime Racing | 27 | - |
| 3 | Taz Harvey | Honda Prelude | Dublin Honda | 27 | - |
| 4 | Jim Lovett | Honda Prelude | RealTime Racing | 27 | - |
| 5 | Paul Booher | Saturn SC | ICY Racing | 27 | - |
| 6 | Walter Puckett | Saturn SC | ICY Racing | 27 | - |
| 7 | Chuck Hemmingson | Oldsmobile Calais | Patent It | 27 | - |
| 8 | David Rosenblum | Saturn SC | ICY Racing | 27 | - |
| 9 | Alain Chebeir | BMW 328is | Last Minute Racing | 26 | - |
| 10 | Fred Pignataro | Mazda RX-7 | Autotrend Racing | 26 | - |
| 11 | Steve Lisa | Oldsmobile Achieva | Patent It | 26 | - |
| 12 | Fernando Maldonado | Mazda RX-7 | Autotrend | 26 | - |
| 13 | Michael Defontes | Mazda RX-7 | Casfab Racing | 25 | - |
| 14 | Dennis Baglier | Mazda MX-6 | Baglier Racing | 24 | - |
| 15 | Ronald Jesberger | Mazda RX-7 | Tangerine Racing | 23 | - |
| 16 | Fred Meyer | Honda Prelude Si | RealTime Racing | 23 | - |
| 17 | Manny Matz | Mazda RX-7 | Matco-Norco | 22 | - |
| 18 | Peter Schwartzott | Honda Prelude Si | Schwartzott Motorsports | 20 | Mechanical |
| 19 | Johannes van Overbeek | BMW 328 | Last Minute Racing | 13 | Radiator |
| 20 | A.J. Ashley | Mazda RX-7 | Autocraft Racing | 7 | Mechanical |
| - | Chris Reinke | Ford Contour | Sigma Motorsports | 0 | Did Not Start |
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