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In 1999, the successful Canada GT Challenge Cup entered its third season.
Sanctioned by ASN Canada FIA, it was a twelve-round series of races one-hour in length.
Drivers competed at Mosport International Raceway, Shannonville Motorsport Park and Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant.
A wide range of vehicles was eligible for the series FIA GT, Professional Sportscar GTS & GT, SCCA Improved Touring, GT1, GT2 & Trans Am and ASA Stock Car. The list of ineligible cars was much shorter Sports Racers, Ground Effects Cars and Showroom Stock. There were two classes (GT1 and GT2) based on qualifying and race lap times: Mosport International Raceway
Shannonville Motorsport Park
If a GT2 driver broke out of the time bracket, they would be moved to GT1. One or more drivers could compete in a car. However, the second driver had to complete either twenty minutes or one-third of the total race laps to earn points. The races also included a mandatory one-minute pit stop during green flag conditions. The penultimate round of the 1999 Canada GT Challenge Cup was held at Mosport International Raceway during the BEMC Indian Summer Trophy Race weekend. Drivers would compete in a one-hour contest around the ten turn 2.459-mile road course.
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The start of the penultimate round of the 1999 Canada GT Challenge Cup. Leading the field of twenty-sixth competitors into Mosport International Raceways corner one is the pole-sitter, James Holtom, in the No. 93 Georgian Bay Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. Behind Holtom is the other front-row starter, John Brenner, driving the No. 81 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. In third place is the No. 00 Porsche of Klaus Bytzek. |
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The third-fastest time in qualifying would result in Klaus Bytzeks worst starting position of the year. Bytzek was gridded behind his main rival James Holtom and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo of John Brenner. However, the always quick Holtom encountered mechanical issues and Brenner retired with a differential failure. The driver of the No. 00 Porsche 911 GT1 Evo dominated the event and won by a three-lap margin. |
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An accident early in the season prevented Kirk Spencer from defending his Canada GT Challenge Cup GT2 title. It took several rounds before the No. 24 Spencer Racing Chevrolet Camaro was competitive and he started collecting podium results. Spencer scored his first class victory of the year in race ten. At the BEMC event, Spencer qualified second in GT2 and won the category; he finished third overall. |
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The final GT1 race result sheet at the BEMC Indian Summer Trophy Races looked quite different from those earlier in the year. The high attrition rate allowed some unfamiliar faces to step on the podium. As usual, Klaus Bytzek stood on the top step of the rostrum. He was joined by second-place finisher Keith Carter. Carter, driving the No. 30 Chevrolet Camaro, qualified sixth fastest on the way to his runner-up result. |
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Round nine GT2 category winner, Blaise Csida, stepped aside to allow Mark Swain to pilot the No. 7 Martini sponsored Chevrolet Corvette. Swain was a regular in CASC Ontario Regional events, but this was his first start in the Canada GT Challenge Cup. He qualified eighteenth in the twenty-six car field. The one-hour contest gave Swain plenty of time to move to the front and he finished second in class. |
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Canadian endurance veteran Gunter Schmidt and Peter Carpenko campaigned the No. 36 Greenbelt Motors Volkswagen Corrado VR6. They often finished in the top ten, with their best result being a pair of fourth-place results in GT2 and Shannonville Motorsport Park and Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. The duo started round eleven twentieth and finished fifth overall, which earned the final spot on the class podium. |
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The two biggest beneficiaries of the high attrition rate in the GT1 category were Rudy Bartling and Rick Franczak. They shared the No. 39 Porsche 911 and started the season in the GT2 class, where the duo collected a pair of third-place results at Shannonville. However, they went under the GT2 lap time and were bumped to GT1. They finished third in class at the penultimate race, albeit five laps behind the winner. |
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| FINISH | START | CLASS | DRIVER | CAR / ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GT1 | Klaus Bytzek | Porsche 911 GT1 Evo / BMS Race Team | 42 | - |
| 2 | 6 | GT1 | Keith Carter | Chevrolet Camaro / Strudwick Motorsports | 39 | - |
| 3 | 9 | GT2 | Kirk Spencer | Chevrolet Camaro / Spencer Racing | 38 | - |
| 4 | 18 | GT2 | Mark Swain | Chevrolet Corvette / New York Fries | 38 | - |
| 5 | 20 | GT2 | G. Schmidt / P. Carpenko | VW Corrado VR6 SC / Greenbelt Motors | 38 | - |
| 6 | 16 | GT2 | Larry Barcza | Pontiac Grand-Prix / - | 37 | - |
| 7 | 8 | GT2 | Ted Martin | Pontiac Firebird / Georgian Bay Motorsports | 37 | - |
| 8 | 15 | GT1 | R. Bartling / R. Franczak | Porsche 911 / - | 37 | - |
| 9 | 12 | GT2 | Duane Hoo | Mazda RX-7 / Can-Jam Auto | 37 | - |
| 10 | 24 | GT2 | Lew MacKenzie | Chevrolet Camaro / Roger AT&T | 37 | - |
| 11 | 22 | GT2 | Ray Arbesman | Porsche 968 / Heimrath Porsche | 36 | - |
| 12 | 23 | GT2 | Blair Killoran | Porsche 911 / - | 36 | - |
| 13 | 14 | GT2 | T. Meecham / P. Pires | Chevrolet Corvette / - | 34 | - |
| 14 | 10 | GT2 | Ludwig Heimrath | Porsche 968 / Heimrath Porsche | 33 | - |
| 15 | 19 | GT2 | D. Colivaris / S. Colivaris | Porsche 924 / - | 33 | - |
| 16 | 7 | GT1 | B. Coons / J. Beaton | Oldsmobile Cutlass / Century Mechanical | 32 | - |
| 17 | 1 | GT1 | James Holtom | Chevrolet Camaro / Scadapack | 32 | - |
| 18 | 4 | GT1 | Charlie Webster | Chevrolet Camaro / C.J. Webster | 30 | - |
| 19 | 13 | GT1 | Steve Hummel | Chevrolet Corvette / - | 30 | - |
| 25 | 26 | GT1 | Sandy McNie | BMW 325i Turbo / - | 29 | - |
| 21 | 2 | GT1 | John Brenner | Chevrolet Monte Carlo / Hoosier Tire | 20 | Did Not Finish |
| 22 | 21 | GT2 | Ahmad Khodkar | Datsun 240Z / Quest-Tech | 16 | Did Not Finish |
| 23 | 5 | GT1 | Paul Fix | Ford Mustang / - | 12 | Did Not Finish |
| 24 | 11 | GT2 | Peter Klutt | Chevrolet Corvette / Country Style | 12 | Did Not Finish |
| 17 | 10 | GT2 | Greg Clifton | Chevrolet Corvette / Strudwick Motorsports | 8 | Did Not Finish |
| 26 | 26 | GT2 | Robert Pacione | Ford Mustang Cobra / Pacione Motorsports | 2 | Did Not Finish |
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