2014 Sonoma - World Challenge GT

The 2014 World Challenge season was the twenty-fifth consecutive year for the series. There were eleven race weekends – the series kicked-off in March at St. Petersburg, Florida and ended at Miller Motorsports Park in September.

A new class was introduced in 2014 – TCA. There were now three categories for GT and Touring cars:

Grand Touring (GT) – This is the series quickest group. Examples of vehicles racing in this class include: Porsche 911 GT3 R, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, McLaren 12C GT3, Cadillac CTS-V R, Lamborghini Gallardo FL2, Audi R8 and Ferrari 458 GT3.
Grand Touring Sportsman (GTA) – This class includes the same vehicles as GT. However, the drivers are not considered professionals. Competitors in this category are evaluated after each event and based on their performance may be elevated to the GT class.
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – The cars in this category are similar to the GT vehicles but have more preparation restrictions. This class includes the Ford Mustang Boss 302, Chevrolet Camaro, Aston Martin GT4 and Porsche Cayman S.
Touring Car (TC) – This division is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are permitted some performance modifications. Examples of vehicles competing in this category include: Honda Accord, Kia Forte, Mazda MX-5 and Porsche Boxster.
Touring Car A (TCA) – Many of the cars competing in this category are the same as those found in Touring Car. What sets them apart are the minimum amount of modifications that can be made – most changes are to improve the safety of the vehicles.
Touring Car B (TCB) - The slowest of all the World Challenge categories is based on the Sports Car Club of America’s B-Spec class. Examples of vehicles competing in this group include: Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Mazda 2 and Mini Cooper.

During the 2014 season, the GT cars would compete in sixteen fifty-minute races. The Touring Cars had fourteen forty-minute events. Results from these races would determine Driver and Manufacturer Champions in the six classes.

Sonoma was the second last race weekend of the 2014 season for the GT classes and many of the Driver and Manufacturer titles were yet to be decided.

Race morning, the area suffered a 6.1-magnitude earthquake. But the 2.385-mile, 12-turn facility was not damaged and the events took place as scheduled.

Saturday afternoon and forty-three GT and GTS competitors sit on the grid waiting for the start of round thirteen. On the pole is Mike Skeen driving the Hawk Performance Audi R8 Ultra. Starting second and third on the grid are the Bentley Continentals of teammates Butch Leitzinger and Guy Smith. Fourth-fastest qualifier was the Remo Ferri Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia driven by Anthony Lazzaro.

Round thirteen was a near perfect race for Mike Skeen. Skeen started from the pole position and led flag to flag to win by 4.110-seconds. The only stat he did could not lay claim to was the fastest race lap. The win was Skeen’s third of the 2014 season. During Sunday’s event, Skeen got locked in a battle for fourth with Johnny O’Connell. On lap-21, he got a flat tire and pitted which dropped him to a nineteenth place finish.

Lawson Aschenbach was the second fastest GTS qualifier in round thirteen. The driver of the Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro held this position during the race and finished 1.956-seconds behind the class winner Jack Baldwin. The following day Aschenbach jumped into the class lead after GTS pole-sitter Jack Baldwin was delayed by a stalled GT competitor. The Chevy driver was able to hold off a hard-charging Baldwin and won the GTS category by 1.471-seconds.

GT category point’s leader Johnny O’Connell qualified tenth for Saturday’s event. During the race, O’Connell moved up the order and was fifth at the checkered flag – which was the most positions gained in the GT class. In round fourteen, O’Connell battled with the previous day’s winner Mike Skeen. The two fought for position until lap-21 when Skeen pitted with a flat tire. O’Connell finished eighth and retained his lead in the driver’s championship.

The No. 31 Effort Racing Porsche GT3R was driven by Ryan Dalziel. Dalziel started from the sixth grid position in round thirteen. He made an excellent start and by the end of the first lap was in second place. Despite pressure from Butch Leitzinger, Dalziel held on to finish second. The following day Dalziel repeated his performance – starting in sixth and taking the runner-up spot at the checkered flag.

Butch Leitzinger drove one of two Bentley Continental GT3s entered by Bentley and maintained by Dyson Racing. In the weekend’s first event Leitzinger qualified second but was passed at the start. He ran in fourth place until lap-7 when he passed Anthony Lazzaro. Leitzinger held the position and earned the final spot on the podium. A poor start on Sunday forced Leitzinger to work his way through the field and by the end of the race he had moved up to fifth.

Ryan Dalziel’s teammate was Michael Mills who competed in the GTA division for sportsman drivers. Mills qualified fourteen overall and second in class for round thirteen. He dropped to eighth at the start but moved up the race order and with the demise of the class leader, Albert von Thurn und Taxis, took the category victory. On Sunday, Mills finished twelfth overall and fourth in class – he left Sonoma with the points lead still intact.

Saturday’s GTS podium. In the center is Jack Baldwin who piloted the RESET-MD Porsche Cayman S to the class victory. To Baldwin’s right is second place finisher Lawson Aschenbach who kept the pressure on Baldwin but was unable to pass. The final spot on the podium belonged to Joey Atterbury. This was Atterbury’s best performance of the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge season.

Anthony Lazarro qualified fourth in round thirteen driving the Remo Ferri Motorsports entered Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia. At the start, Lazarro moved to third but was passed on lap-7 by Butch Leitzinger. The next circuit it was evident that something was wrong with the car and he limped back to the pits with a flat tire. Sunday proved much better for Lazarro as he took the lead on the first lap and won by 2.519-seconds.

Round thirteen was a ‘clean sweep’ for Jack Baldwin. Baldwin the driver of the No. 73 Porsche Cayman S started from the GTS pole position, led every lap to take the class victory and set a new lap record in the process. In Sunday’s race, Baldwin was on the pole but he fell to fifth while avoiding a GT competitor that stalled on the starting line. During the weekend’s final event he set the fastest race lap on the way to a second place finish.

In the first event of the weekend, Andy Lee qualified thirty-first overall and seventh in the GTS group. During the race, he made some progress and finished sixth in class. Lee fared much better on Sunday. He was able to capitalize on Jack Baldwin’s misfortune and moved up nine positions on the first lap to earn the ‘Optima Batteries Best Standing Start’ award. At the checkered flag, he was third in class.

Joey Atterbury was competing in his first season of Pirelli World Challenge competition. Atterbury brought a wealth of experience obtained in the Grand Am’s Continental series. Driving the Capaldi Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302S, he finished third in Saturday’s GTS race. Gridded third in class for round fourteen he dropped a few positions during the race and finished fifth.

Qualifying fifth overall and in the GT category for Saturday’s race was K-PAX driver Robert Thorne. Thorne dropped down the order and finished tenth in his McLaren 12C GT3 – he had the consolation of being one of six drivers to break the previous lap record. In round fourteen, Thorne redeemed himself – he started from the third spot on the grid and remained in that position all the way to the checkered flag.

Canadian, Mark Wilkins was the GTS point’s leader entering the Sonoma event. In race one, Wilkins driving the PutOnTheBrakes.org Kia Optima started third in class and finished fourth. He produced the same results in round fourteen – fourth in GTS. On the basis of consistency, he maintained the points lead but Baldwin and Aschenbach narrowed the gap.

Driving the No. 88 Bentley Continental GT3 was Guy Smith. Smith qualified third behind his teammate Butch Leitzinger for the weekend’s first event. On the first lap, Smith spun and dropped to the back of the field. He put on a charge that took him to a ninth place finish and in the process set the fastest race lap. Smith’s lap time from the previous day gave him the pole for Sunday’s race but he had a poor start and finished sixteenth.

In qualifying for round thirteen, Albert von Thurn und Taxis was the quickest GTA competitor and started from the eleventh grid position. Unfortunately, von Thurn und Taxis pulled the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 off course at corner three on lap-21 and retired. For Sunday’s event, the mechanical issues were corrected and he finished seventh overall and scored his first class victory.

Saturday’s GT podium. In the center is the driver of the Hawk Performance Audi R8 Ultra and race winner Mike Skeen. To Skeen’s right is second place finisher Ryan Dalziel earning his third podium in three 2016 Pirelli World Challenge starts. In his debut at Mid-Ohio, he scored two victories. And, rounding out the top three is Bentley competitor Butch Leitzinger.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GT	Mike Skeen	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
2	GT	Ryan Dalziel	Porsche GT3R	26	-
3	GT	Butch Leitzinger	Bentley Continental GT3	26	-
4	GT	Andrew Palmer	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
5	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac CTS-V R	26	-
6	GT	Mike Hedlund	Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia	26	-
7	GT	James Sofronas	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
8	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Cadillac CTS-V R	26	-
9	GT	Guy Smith	Bentley Continental GT3	26	-
10	GT	Robert Thorne	McLaren 12C GT3	26	-
11	GTA	Michael Mills	Porsche GT3R	26	-
12	GTA	Jeff Courtney	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
13	GTA	Marcelo Hahn	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	26	-
14	GTA	Brent Holden	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
15	GTA	Dan Knox	Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R	26	-
16	GTA	Christina Nielsen	Aston Martin GT3	26	-
17	GTA	Bill Ziegler	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
18	GTA	Henrik Hedman	Ferrari 458 GT3	25	-
19	GT	Alex Figge	McLaren 12C GT3	25	-
20	GTA	Albert von Thurn und Taxis	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	21	Mechanical
21	GT	Anthony Lazzaro	Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia	19	Mechanical
22	GT	Peter Cunningham	Acura TLX-GT	0	Mechanical
23	GTS	Jack Baldwin	Porsche Cayman S	25	-
24	GTS	Lawson Aschenbach	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
25	GTS	Joey Atterbury	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
26	GTS	Mark Wilkins	Kia Optima	25	-
27	GTS	Alec Udell	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
28	GTS	Andy Lee	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
29	GTS	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
30	GTS	Jack Roush Jr.	Ford Mustang Boss 302R	25	-
31	GTS	Mitch Landry	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
32	GTS	Nick Esayian	Aston Martin GT4	25	-
33	GTS	Erik Davis	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
34	GTS	Drew Regitz	Aston Martin GT4	24	-
35	GTS	Derek DeBoer	Aston Martin GT4	24	-
36	GTS	Brian Kleeman	Nissan 370Z	24	-
37	GTS	Geoff Reeves	Chevrolet Camaro	24	-
38	GTS	Buzz McCall	Porsche Cayman S	24	-
39	GTS	Jorge De La Torre	Aston Martin GT4	22	-
40	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	15	Mechanical
41	GTS	Nic Jonsson	Kia Optima	10	Mechanical
42	GTS	Dean Martin	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	0	Accident
43	GTS	Santiago Creel	Aston Martin GT4	0	Accident

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GT	Anthony Lazzaro	Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia	25	-
2	GT	Ryan Dalziel	Porsche GT3R	25	-
3	GT	Robert Thorne	McLaren 12C GT3	25	-
4	GT	Mike Hedlund	Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia	25	-
5	GT	Butch Leitzinger	Bentley Continental GT3	25	-
6	GT	James Sofronas	Audi R8 Ultra	25	-
7	GTA	Albert von Thurn und Taxis	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	25	-
8	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac CTS-V R	25	-
9	GTA	Marcelo Hahn	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	25	-
10	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Cadillac CTS-V R	25	-
11	GTA	Christina Nielsen	Aston Martin GT3	25	-
12	GTA	Michael Mills	Porsche GT3R	25	-
13	GTA	Henrik Hedman	Ferrari 458 GT3	25	-
14	GTA	Jeff Courtney	Audi R8 Ultra	25	-
15	GTA	Dan Knox	Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R	25	-
16	GTA	Guy Smith	Bentley Continental GT3	25	-
17	GT	Alex Lloyd	Chevrolet Corvette	25	-
18	GT	Alex Figge	McLaren 12C GT3	24	-
19	GT	Mike Skeen	Audi R8 Ultra	24	-
20	GTA	Brent Holden	Audi R8 Ultra	11	-
21	GTA	Bill Ziegler	Audi R8 Ultra	7	-
22	GT	Andrew Palmer	Audi R8 Ultra	0	Mechanical
23	GTS	Lawson Aschenbach	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
24	GTS	Jack Baldwin	Porsche Cayman S	25	-
25	GTS	Andy Lee	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
26	GTS	Mark Wilkins	Kia Optima	25	-
27	GTS	Joey Atterbury	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
28	GTS	Alec Udell	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
29	GTS	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
30	GTS	Nick Esayian	Aston Martin GT4	25	-
31	GTS	Erik Davis	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
32	GTS	Brian Kleeman	Nissan 370Z	25	-
33	GTS	Derek DeBoer	Aston Martin GT4	24	-
34	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	24	-
35	GTS	Buz McCall	Porsche Cayman S	24	-
36	GTS	Jorge De La Torre	Aston Martin GT4	24	-
37	GTS	Santiago Creel	Aston Martin GT4	23	-
38	GTS	Dean Martin	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	22	Accident
39	GTS	Nic Jonsson	Kia Optima	16	Mechanical
40	GTS	Mitch Landry	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	15	-
41	GTS	Drew Regitz	Aston Martin GT4	14	-
42	GTS	Jack Roush Jr.	Ford Mustang Boss 302R	6	Mechanical
43	GTS	Geoff Reeves	Chevrolet Camaro	4	Mechanical
44	GTS	Ric Bushey	Nissan 370Z	3	-

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