2001 Mosport International Raceway

The inaugural Women’s Global GT Series (WGGTS) was held on April 18, 1999, at Road Atlanta. The championship was the first professional women’s auto racing series in North America. The series ran its course and ended with the 2000 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 2001, the Panoz Racing Series replaced the WGGTS, which allowed both genders to participate.

The Panoz Racing Series has two classes, each with separate schedules and formats. The Panoz GT Series consists of five events and there will be three races for the Panoz GTS competitors.

The GT class cars are "spec" vehicles fielded by the Panoz Motor Sports Group. All are equally-prepared Panoz Esperantes. The GTS category is for privately entered cars. They are also built by Panoz Auto Development. The GTS and GT cars race together at three Panoz Racing Series events but are scored separately.

The competitors drive the Panoz Esperante sports cars. The race version of the Esperante, the Panoz GT-RA, is a tube-frame chassis powered by a Ford DOHC 4.6-liter engine, which produces 320-horsepower. Fitted to the motor is a five-speed Tremec T-45 transmission. Stopping the 2,680-pound cars are four-piston AP calipers with 13-inch vented rotors on the front and 12-inch on the rear.

Round two for the Panoz GTS division and race six for the GT class were conducted at Mosport International Raceway during the 2001 Gran Turismo 3 Grand Prix weekend. Drivers would compete on the ten turn 2.459-mile road course in a sixteen-lap contest.

In road racing, rain can be the great equalizer, which was the case at Mosport International Raceway. The fifth-place starter and fastest qualifier in the GT category, Barry Davison, claimed the overall and class victory. Davison, who finished third in his group at Sebring, was chased to the checkered flag by local open-wheel racer Matt White in the No. 18 Panoz Esperante. White was second by a margin of 1.032-seconds.

There were only four GTS competitors entered at Mosport, whereas the Sebring event drew thirteen participants. Most notably absent were the father and son team of Rocky and Brian Angen that finished first and second at Sebring. Unfortunately, the younger Angen died in a boating mishap. The victory at Mosport went to the No. 59 Panoz of Rod Strub, who benefitted from the retirements of Scott Loftfield and Gary Curtis.

Qualifying sixth overall and second in the GT category at Mosport International Raceway was former Women’s Global GT Series competitor Audrey Zavodsky. Zavodsky competed in all six rounds of last year’s championship and finished fifth in the final standings. During the wet race at Mosport, the driver of the No. 4 Visteon Panoz lost positions to Matt White and David Donner for a fourth-place finish.

The No. 1 Panoz Esperante GTS was piloted by Bill Todd in round one, but at Mosport International Raceway, the driver’s seat was occupied by Kirt Wightman. Wightman was the fourth fastest in the qualifying session but started last in the GTS category. During the wet race, he was a beneficiary of the incidents suffered by the leaders, Scott Loftfield and Gary Curtis, and finished second in class.

Scott Loftfield driving the No. 41 Panoz Esperante GTS was fastest in practice two and the qualifying session, but it came at a price. The crew was able to make repairs and Loftfield started the sixteen-lap event on the pole. Unfortunately, his race came to a premature end when he had his second accident of the weekend on lap-4. In the final results, Loftfield was classified twelfth in the fifteen-car field.

POS.	START	CLASS	DRIVER	SPONSOR/CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	5	GT	Barry Davison	Labor Management Services / Panoz GT	16	-
2	7	GT	Matt White	Young Drivers / Panoz GT	16	-
3	8	GT	David Donner	Panoz GT	16	-
4	6	GT	Audrey Zavodsky	Visteon / Panoz GT	16	-
5	3	GTS	Rod Strub	Scadapack / Panoz GTS	16	-
6	9	GT	Gavin Riches	Best Buy / Panoz GT	16	-
7	11	GT	Mike Griffiths	Panoz GT	16	-
8	15	GT	Randy Wars	Panoz GT	16	-
9	4	GTS	Kirt Wightman	Panoz Auto Development / Panoz GTS	16	-
10	14	GT	Brad Nyberg	Panoz GT	13	-
11	12	GT	Jeff Wade	Showtime Networks / Panoz GT	10	Accident
12	1	GTS	Scott Loftfield	Panoz GTS	4	Accident
13	13	GT	Dave Colledge	Panoz GT	4	Accident
14	2	GTS	Gary Curtis	Donnybrooke / Panoz GTS	0	Accident
15	10	GT	Milka Duno	MRW-CANTV/Solera/PDV / Panoz GT	0	Accident