2011 Saint Petersburg - World Challenge

In 2011, the Pirelli World Challenge Championship kicked off its season at Saint Petersburg, Florida, in March as a support event for the IndyCar series. Saint Petersburg was followed by a race on the temporary street circuit at Long Beach, California. The remaining contests were conducted on traditional road courses beginning with Miller Motorsport Park in late April and then a trip to Canada for rounds at Mosport Park. The series did not reconvene until August at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Races nine and ten were held at Infineon Raceway in California. The penultimate event took place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with the finale at Road Atlanta during the Petit Le Mans weekend.

The 2011 season opened with two big news items.

First, was the return of Cadillac to the series after a four-year absence.
Secondly, Toyo was replaced by Pirelli as the series tire supplier. Competitors would now compete on slicks rather than DOT performance street tires.

The series also introduced a new class in 2010 – Grand Touring Sport. The series also introduced a new class in 2010 – Grand Touring Sport. The additional category resulted in changes to the rules for Touring Cars. Vehicle rules remained basically unchanged for 2011. The three groups were:

Grand Touring (GT) – This group included the series quickest cars: Cadillac CTS-V, Porsche 911 GT3, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Nissan GT-R and Volvo S60. The preparation rules remained unchanged from the previous year for these vehicles.
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – The cars in this category are similar to the GT vehicles but have additional preparation restrictions. This class is mainly comprised of the Acura TSX, Ford Mustang FR500S, Ford Mustang Boss 302S and Chevrolet Camaro.
Touring Car (TC) – Touring Cars were not allowed many of the modifications. The preparation of the vehicles was closely aligned with the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series and the Sports Car Club of America’s Improved Touring classes. Makes competing in the category included the Volvo C30, Scion tC, Mazda RX-8, Honda Civic Si, Volkswagen Jetta and Golf.

As in 2010, all classes competed in the same fifty-minute contest – 1996 was the last time that categories raced together.

Rounds one and two of the 2011 Pirelli World Challenge championship were conducted at Saint Petersburg, Florida. Competitors in the Grand Touring, Grand Touring Sport and Touring Car classes would race in two fifty-minute contests around the fourteen-turn 1.800-mile temporary street course.

The class winners for the opening round of the 2011 Pirelli World Challenge championship at Saint Petersburg. On the left is the Touring Car victor and 2006 Grand Touring champion, Lawson Aschenbach. In the center of the podium is Porsche driver and the Grand Touring race winner, Patrick Long. Completing the rostrum is Jason von Kluge, the winner of the Grand Touring Sport category.

Patrick Long returned to the Pirelli World Challenge series driving the Truspeed Porsche 911 GT3. Long led round one flag-to-flag but it wasn’t easy; he fended off challenges from Randy Pobst and Mike Skeen. The following day, Long was gridded second and at the start followed the pole-sitter, Pobst and James Sofronas. On lap-3, he passed Pobst and with three laps remaining he took the lead and win from Sofronas.

The 2006 World Challenge GT champion and former Saint Petersburg race winner, Lawson Aschenbach was entered in the Touring Car category driving a Honda Civic Si. He started the weekend’s first contest third in class. Flat tires eliminated first and second fastest qualifiers, Tristan Herbert and Chip Herr which allowed Aschenbach to take a comfortable victory. In round two, he inherited second when Herr retired.

Eric Foss joined the GTS ranks in a Ford Mustang FR500S. Foss qualified first in class for the season opener. He finished fourth after battling with Peter Cunningham, Paul Brown and the winner, Jason von Kluge. At the start of Sunday’s race, Foss moved from his fourth starting position to second and chased the pole-sitter, Paul Brown, until Brown had to pit with a flat tire – despite pressure from Cunningham he took the win.

Former Mustang Challenge competitor, Jason von Kluge adapted quickly to the Pirelli World Challenge series. In Saturday’s contest, von Kluge started fifth in the GTS category. On the lap-18 restart, he passed Peter Cunningham, Eric Foss and Paul Brown and maintained first to the checkered flag. Von Kluge started second for the weekend’s final race but could not match the pace of the leaders and finished fifth.

Starting on the Touring Car pole for the season’s first round was Tristan Herbert. Herbert was leading the race when he had to pit for a flat tire – Herbert finished thirteenth in class. Despite some confusion during a caution period in the weekend’s second contest, Herbert moved from his third starting position to take the victory in the No. 33 Brimtek Motorsports prepared Volkswagen GTI.

RealTime team principal and the defending GTS champion, Peter Cunningham qualified fourth in his Acura TSX and finished third after a heated fight with Jason von Kluge, Paul Brown and Eric Foss. The following day, Cunningham was gridded fifth and chased Paul Brown and Eric Foss until Brown made contact with a slower car. In the runner-up position, Cunningham put pressure on Foss but could not gain the position.

Paul Brown drove the No. 50 Lucas Oil/K&N Filter sponsored Ford Mustang Boss 302S and was the second fastest Grand Touring Sport qualifier. After dicing with Peter Cunningham, Jason von Kluge and Eric Foss in race one, he finished second. Brown started round two on the pole and led until contact with slower Touring Car resulted in a flat tire. He pitted and finished thirty-fourth overall and twelfth in class.

GMG Porsche 911 GT3 driver; Dino Crescentini found himself in fifth place just before the last caution. But Crescentini nailed the restart and shot past Randy Pobst and his GMG teammate, James Sofronas. Mike Skeen’s incident of the last lap elevated him to a second place finish. On Sunday, a spin in turn one on the first lap dropped Crescentini to last place. He charged through the field and finished ninth.

Florida resident and first time World Challenge entrant, Ron Zitza finish second in the Touring Car class driving the No. 60 Zotz Racing Volkswagen Jetta. Zitza was gridded eighth but flat tires for Tristan Herbert and Chip Herr allowed him to capture the runner-up spot. In the weekend’s second event, he encountered problems and finished thirty-seventh overall and twelfth in class.

In race one, series veteran, James Sofronas qualified third in the No. 14 Porsche 911 GT3. Sofronas battled with the Corvette of Mike Skeen, Randy Pobst in a Volvo and his teammate, Dino Crescentini. Some shuffling on the last lap resulted in a third-place finish. In Sunday’s race, Sofronas jumped from his second starting position to lead the contest. Lapped traffic allowed Patrick Long to slip by for the win.

Mike Skeen driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 qualified on the outside of the first row for race one. On the final lap, Skeen was battling Patrick Long for the victory. The Honda S2000 of Tom Felt spun in front of the leaders. Long cleared Felt but Skeen hit him and finished ninth. An engine change overnight meant Skeen had to start from the rear of the grid on Sunday. He charged through the field and finished third.

In race one, Ray Mason benefitted from the misfortune of the Touring Car leaders, Tristan Herbert and Chip Herr, to grab the final position on the podium. The following day a consistent performance netted Mason and his TLMUSA.com/Columbus Truck sponsored Honda Civic Si a fifth-place at the checkered flag.

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	GT	Patrick Long	Porsche 911 GT3	23	-
2	2	GT	Dino Crescentini	Porsche 911 GT3	23	-
3	3	GT	James Sofronas	Porsche 911 GT3	23	-
4	4	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	23	-
5	5	GT	Randy Pobst	Volvo S60 AWD	23	-
6	6	GT	Steve Ott	Nissan GT-R	23	-
7	7	GT	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Corvette	23	-
8	8	GT	Patrick Lindsey	Chevrolet Corvette	23	-
9	9	GT	Mike Skeen	Chevrolet Corvette	23	-
10	10	GT	Rob Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	23	-
11	11	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	23	-
12	12	GT	Tomy Drissi	Porsche 911 GT3	23	-
13	13	GT	Fred Roberts	Dodge Viper	23	-
14	1	GTS	Jason von Kluge	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	23	-
15	2	GTS	Paul Brown	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	23	-
16	3	GTS	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	23	-
17	4	GTS	Eric Foss	Ford Mustang FR500S	23	-
18	5	GTS	George Winkler	Ford Mustang FR500S	23	-
19	6	GTS	Nick Esayian	Acura TSX	23	-
20	7	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang FR500S	23	-
21	8	GTS	Richard Golinello	Ford Mustang FR500S	23	-
22	1	TC	Lawson Aschenbach	Honda Civic Si	23	-
23	9	GTS	Chris DeSalvo	Ford Mustang GT	23	-
24	2	TC	Ronald Zitza	Volkswagen Jetta	23	-
25	3	TC	Ray Mason	Honda Civic Si	23	-
26	4	TC	Aaron Povoledo	Volvo C30 FWD	23	-
27	5	TC	Patrick Seguin	Honda Civic Si	23	-
28	6	TC	Charlie Solomon	Mazda RX-8	23	-
29	14	GT	Jason Carter	Porsche 911 GT3	23	-
30	10	GTS	Ardee Toppe	Chevrolet Camaro	23	-
31	7	TC	Devin Cates	Volkswagen GTI	23	-
32	8	TC	Carl Hober	Honda Civic Si	22	-
33	9	TC	Robb Holland	Volvo C30 FWD	22	-
34	10	TC	Carolyn Kujala	Volkswagen Jetta	22	-
35	11	TC	Colin Cohen	Volkswagen GTI	23	-
36	12	TC	Thomas Ehlen	Honda Civic Si	22	-
37	15	GT	Jason Daskalos	Dodge Viper	22	-
38	13	TC	Tristan Herbert	Volkswagen GTI	22	-
39	11	GTS	Ernie Jakubowski	Porsche Cayman S	22	-
40	12	GTS	William Ziegler	Mitsubishi EVO	21	-
41	13	GTS	Tom Felt	Honda S2000CR	20	Accident
42	14	TC	Don Istook	Volkswagen GTI	18	-
43	15	TC	Chip Herr	Mazda RX-8	17	Mechanical
44	14	GTS	Ben Crosland	Ford Mustang FR500S	17	Mechanical
45	15	GTS	Alec Udell	Chevrolet Camaro	5	Mechanical
46	16	TC	Brett Sandberg	Honda Civic Si	5	Accident
47	17	TC	Eric Meyer	Mazda RX-8	5	Accident
48	18	TC	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	5	Accident
49	16	GT	Tony Rivera	Nissan GT-R	2	Accident

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	GT	Patrick Long	Porsche 911 GT3	32	-
2	2	GT	James Sofronas	Porsche 911 GT3	32	-
3	3	GT	Mike Skeen	Chevrolet Corvette	32	-
4	4	GT	Jason Daskalos	Dodge Viper	32	-
5	5	GT	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Corvette	32	-
6	6	GT	Rob Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	32	-
7	7	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	32	-
8	8	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	32	-
9	9	GT	Dino Crescentini	Porsche 911 GT3	32	-
10	10	GT	Tomy Drissi	Porsche 911 GT3	32	-
13	11	GT	Fred Roberts	Dodge Viper	32	-
6	12	GT	Steve Ott	Nissan GT-R	32	-
17	1	GTS	Eric Foss	Ford Mustang FR500S	31	-
16	2	GTS	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	31	-
23	3	GTS	Chris DeSalvo	Ford Mustang GT	31	-
18	4	GTS	George Winkler	Ford Mustang FR500S	31	-
14	5	GTS	Jason von Kluge	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	31	-
19	6	GTS	Nick Esayian	Acura TSX	31	-
21	7	GTS	Richard Golinello	Ford Mustang FR500S	31	-
20	8	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang FR500S	31	-
21	9	GTS	Ben Crosland	Ford Mustang FR500S	30	-
22	10	GTS	Ardee Toppe	Chevrolet Camaro	30	-
23	11	GTS	William Ziegler	Mitsubishi EVO	30	-
24	1	TC	Tristan Herbert	Volkswagen GTI	30	-
25	2	TC	Lawson Aschenbach	Honda Civic Si	30	-
26	13	GT	Randy Pobst	Volvo S60 AWD	29	Accident
27	3	TC	Patrick Seguin	Honda Civic Si	29	-
28	4	TC	Devin Cates	Volkswagen GTI	29	-
29	5	TC	Ray Mason	Honda Civic Si	29	-
30	6	TC	Robb Holland	Volvo C30 FWD	29	-
31	7	TC	Carl Hober	Honda Civic Si	29	-
32	8	TC	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	29	-
33	9	TC	Thomas Ehlen	Honda Civic Si	29	-
34	12	GTS	Paul Brown	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	28	Mechanical
35	10	TC	Aaron Povoledo	Volvo C30 FWD	27	-
36	11	TC	Charlie Solomon	Mazda RX-8	27	-
37	12	TC	Ronald Zitza	Volkswagen Jetta	27	-
38	13	TC	Chip Herr	Mazda RX-8	25	Mechanical
39	14	TC	Don Istook	Volkswagen GTI	22	Mechanical
40	14	GT	Patrick Lindsey	Chevrolet Corvette	17	Accident
41	13	GTS	Ernie Jakubowski	Porsche Cayman S	9	Mechanical
42	15	TC	Carolyn Kujala	Volkswagen Jetta	7	Accident
43	15	GT	Jason Carter	Porsche 911 GT3	4	Mechanical
44	16	TC	Colin Cohen	Volkswagen GTI	4	Mechanical
45	14	GTS	Alec Udell	Chevrolet Camaro	3	Mechanical
46	17	TC	Eric Meyer	Mazda RX-8	1	Retired
47	15	GTS	Tom Felt	Honda S2000CR	0	Did Not Start
48	16	GT	Tony Rivera	Nissan GT-R	0	Did Not Start
49	18	TC	Brett Sandberg	Honda Civic Si	0	Did Not Start

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