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The 2017 Pirelli World Challenge season is the twenty-eighth consecutive year for the championship.
There are eleven race weekends.
The Touring Car category title chase kicks-off in April at Virginia International Raceway.
This event is followed by races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Lime Rock Park and the Utah Motorsport Complex.
The penultimate rounds are held a Circuit of the Americas with the finale taking place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in mid-October.
As in the previous year, there were three Touring categories:
The opening rounds of the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car season took place during the Nissan Grand Prix of VIR weekend.
Fifty-three cars competed in the two forty-minute races around Virginia International Raceway’s seventeen-turn 3.270-mile road course.
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The 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car B podium for round two. Standing on the top of the rostrum is race winner and driver of the Indian Summer Racing Mini Cooper, Travis Washay. To Washay’s right is the runner-up, Jake Pipal. Completing the podium is Saturday’s TCB victor and third place finisher, Canaan O’Connell. |
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Former Pirelli World Challenge champion, Johnny O’Connell’s son, Canaan made a couple of starts in 2016 driving the Touring Car B Tech Sport Racing prepared Chevrolet Sonic. Canaan returned to the same team for the 2017 season and made his presence felt with a victory on Saturday and third place finish on Sunday. |
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In round one, second fastest Touring Car qualifier, Paul Holton was not feeling well. Despite being sick, Holton, driving a new Audi RS 3 LMS was able to pass the pole-sitter, Greg Liefooghie, and win by a margin of 0.878-seconds. On Sunday, the positions were reversed and the Compass 360 driver had to settle for the runner-up position. |
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The Touring Car A grid sits in pit lane for the season’s first race. On the pole is No. 74 Mazda MX-5 Cup prepared by S.A.C. Racing and driven by Matthew Fassnacht. Sharing the front row with Fassnacht is another Mazda entry which is raced by MX-5 Cup competitor, Dean Copeland. A total of fifteen TCA cars started round one. |
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Canadian Touring Car veteran, Nick Wittmer teamed up with fellow Canadian, Samantha Tan for 2017. In the first race, Wittmer qualified the No. 91 BMW235iR seventh. He made a great start and moved up the race order to finish third. Starting fifth on Sunday, Wittmer moved into the lead but with 10-minutes remaining, he was clipped by a slower car and did not finish. |
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Most of Greg Liefooghe’s experience is obtained competing in the IMSA Continental series driving BimmerWorld prepared BMWs. As a result, it was an easy transition to the Pirelli World Challenge series and the new BMW235iR. It showed in his performance, as Liefooghe captured a second place in Touring Car on Saturday and scored a victory on Sunday. |
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Matthew Fassnacht was one of six drivers to leave Virginia International Raceway with two wins (the other drivers were Nico Jamin in GTS, Aristotle Balogh / Greg Liefooghe in SprintX GTS and Yuki Harata / Allesandro Bressan in SprintX Cup). Driving the S.A.C. Racing prepared Mazda MX-5 in the TCA category, he also earned the pole position for both races and set a new lap record. |
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The No. 23 Mazda MX-5 was prepared by Tech Sport Racing and driven by Eric Powell. Powell, competing in Touring Car A - qualified thirty-ninth overall and eighth in class for round one. During the contest, he moved up the race order and captured the last spot on the podium. In race two, Powell started third in TCA and finished fifth. |
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Californian, Jake Pipal made his journey from the west coast worthwhile. Pipal was the fastest Touring Car B competitor in the first qualifying session. Driving the No. 9 Honda Fit, he was passed by teammates, Canaan O’Connell and P.J. Groenke in race one and finished third. In the weekend’s second event, he captured the runner-up position. |
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2016 Touring Car A champion, Elivan Goulart returned to defend his title. Goulart was back with S.A.C. Racing driving the No. 70 Mazda MX-5. His qualifying effort earned him the fourth starting position for the weekend’s first race but he was able to finish second in class. Goulart’s started round two in second and was fourth at the checkered flag after being passed by Dean Copeland and Brian Henderson. |
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Mini Cooper driver, Travis Washay qualified fourth in the very competitive TCB class. In race one, Washay finished fifth after he was passed by his teammate, Taylor Handwerk. The following day he started second last in TCB but made good progress during the contest. When the class leader, Canaan O’Connell, got blocked, Washay moved into first and took the win. |
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When Sunday’s race leader, Nick Wittmer, retired Cody Ellsworth driving the RacerInk Motorsports Porsche Cayman inherited the final spot on the podium. The previous day, Ellsworth started third but encountered problems and finished twenty-fourth in the Touring Car category and forty-fourth overall. |
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Dean Copeland put his Mazda MX-5 Cup series experience to good use by qualifying second in Touring Car A for the season’s first race. Unfortunately for Copeland, he finished forty-second overall and thirteenth in class driving the Copeland Motorsports Mazda Global MX-5 Cup car. In round two, Copeland redeemed himself by finishing second in TCA and twenty-third overall. |
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A veteran of Canadian and American B-Spec competition, P.J. Groenke joined Tech Sport Racing in 2016. Groenke was the early leader in the season’s opening round but was eventually passed by his teammate, Canaan O’Connell and finished second. In Sunday’s race, Groenke was fifth in TCB at the checkered flag. |
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Sunday’s overall and Touring Car podium. In the center is the victor and driver of the Stephen Cameron Racing BMW235iR, Greg Liefooghe. To Liefooghe’s right is round one winner and runner-up, Paul Holton. Rounding out the rostrum is Cody Ellsworth who drove the RacerInk Motorsports Porsche Cayman. |
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| FINISH | CLASS | CLASS | DRIVER | TEAM / CAR | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | TC | Paul Holton | C360R / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 5 |
| 2 | 2 | TC | Greg Liefooghe | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | TC | Nick Wittmer | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 4 | 4 | TC | Anthony Geraci | S.A.C. Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 5 |
| 5 | 5 | TC | Rodrigo Sales | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 6 | 6 | TC | Aristotle Balogh | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | TC | Karl Wittmer | Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord | 5 |
| 8 | 8 | TC | Jason Coupal | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 5 |
| 9 | 9 | TC | Robert Nimkoff | AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 10 | 10 | TC | Stefan Sajic | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 11 | 11 | TC | Cameron Maugeri | KRUGSPEED / Lotus Exige | 5 |
| 12 | 12 | TC | Anthony Magagnoli | Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 13 | 13 | TC | Justin Raphael | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 14 | 14 | TC | Henry Schmitt | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | TC | Chris Ohmacht | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 16 | 16 | TC | Mason Filippi | Winding Road Team TFB / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 17 | 17 | TC | Toby Grahovec | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 18 | 18 | TC | Randy Hale | Hale Motorsports / Mazda MX-5 | 5 |
| 19 | 19 | TC | Dennis Hanratty JR | KRUGSPEED / Lotus Exige | 5 |
| 20 | 20 | TC | Shea Holbrook | Shea Racing / Honda Accord | 5 |
| 21 | 21 | TC | Samantha Tan | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 22 | 22 | TC | Tony Rivera | Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z | 5 |
| 23 | 23 | TC | Gino Carini | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| 24 | 1 | TCA | Matthew Fassnacht | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 5 |
| 25 | 2 | TCA | Elivan Goulart | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 5 |
| 26 | 3 | TCA | Eric Powell | Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 5 |
| 27 | 4 | TCA | Spencer Patterson | Patterson Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 5 |
| 28 | 5 | TCA | Sarah Montgomery | Shea Racing / Honda Civic Si | 5 |
| 29 | 6 | TCA | Brian Henderson | Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car | 5 |
| 30 | 7 | TCA | Michael Johnson | Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 5 |
| 31 | 8 | TCA | Paul Whiting | PWR / Honda Civic Si | 5 |
| 32 | 9 | TCA | Tom O'Gorman | Shea Racing / Honda Civic Si | 5 |
| 33 | 10 | TCA | Glory Fernandez | Glory Racing / Honda Civic Si | 5 |
| 34 | 11 | TCA | Daniel Moen | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 5 |
| 35 | 12 | TCA | Kevin Anderson | Tech Sport Racing / Scion FR-S | 5 |
| 36 | 1 | TCB | Canaan O'Connell | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | 4 |
| 37 | 2 | TCB | P.J. Groenke | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | 4 |
| 38 | 3 | TCB | Jake Pipal | Jake Pipal Racing / Honda Fit | 4 |
| 39 | 4 | TCB | Taylor Handwerk | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 4 |
| 40 | 5 | TCB | Travis Washay | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 4 |
| 41 | 6 | TCB | Jasper Drengler | Drengler Racing / Honda Fit | 4 |
| 42 | 13 | TCA | Dean Copeland | Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car | 3 |
| 43 | 7 | TCB | Ted Sahley | Believeland Motorsport / Mazda 2 | 3 |
| 44 | 24 | TC | Cody Ellsworth | RacerInk Motorsports / Porsche Cayman | 2 |
| 45 | 14 | TCA | Jeff Sexton | Winding Road Team TFB / Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car | 2 |
| NC | - | TCA | Jason Connole | Rossini Racing Products / Mazda MX 5 | 1 |
| NC | - | TC | Jason Fichter | Shea Racing / Honda Accord | 0 |
| NC | - | TC | John Allen | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 0 |
| NC | - | TC | Chetan Puranik | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 0 |
| NC | - | TC | Joshua Foran | Team HMA / Honda Accord | 0 |
| NC | - | TC | John Weisberg | BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 0 |
| NC | - | TC | Steve Kholi | Parallax Racing / Honda Accord | 0 |
| NC | - | TC | Andrew Rains | Rains Racing / Honda Accord Coupe | 0 |
| FINISH | CLASS | CLASS | DRIVER | TEAM / CAR | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | TC | Greg Liefooghe | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 2 | 2 | TC | Paul Holton | C360R / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 14 |
| 3 | 3 | TC | Cody Ellsworth | RacerInk Motorsports / Porsche Cayman | 14 |
| 4 | 4 | TC | Anthony Geraci | S.A.C. Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 14 |
| 5 | 5 | TC | Stefan Sajic | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 6 | 6 | TC | Robert Nimkoff | AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 7 | 7 | TC | Aristotle Balogh | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 8 | 8 | TC | Cameron Maugeri | KRUGSPEED / Lotus Exige | 14 |
| 9 | 9 | TC | Rodrigo Sales | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 10 | 10 | TC | Jason Coupal | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 14 |
| 11 | 11 | TC | Chris Ohmacht | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 12 | 12 | TC | Anthony Magagnoli | Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 13 | 13 | TC | Henry Schmitt | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 14 | 14 | TC | Mason Filippi | Winding Road Team TFB / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 15 | 15 | TC | Toby Grahovec | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 16 | 16 | TC | Shea Holbrook | Shea Racing / Honda Accord | 14 |
| 17 | 17 | TC | Karl Wittmer | Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord | 14 |
| 18 | 18 | TC | Joshua Foran | Team HMA / Honda Accord | 14 |
| 19 | 19 | TC | Gino Carini | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 20 | 20 | TC | Dennis Hanratty JR | KRUGSPEED / Lotus Exige | 14 |
| 21 | 21 | TC | Samantha Tan | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 14 |
| 22 | 1 | TCA | Matthew Fassnacht | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 14 |
| 23 | 2 | TCA | Dean Copeland | Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car | 14 |
| 24 | 3 | TCA | Brian Henderson | Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car | 14 |
| 25 | 4 | TCA | Elivan Goulart | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 14 |
| 26 | 5 | TCA | Eric Powell | Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 14 |
| 27 | 6 | TCA | Paul Whiting | PWR / Honda Civic Si | 14 |
| 28 | 7 | TCA | Spencer Patterson | Patterson Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 14 |
| 29 | 8 | TCA | Jason Connole | Rossini Racing Products / Mazda MX 5 | 14 |
| 30 | 9 | TCA | Jeff Sexton | Winding Road Team TFB / Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car | 14 |
| 31 | 10 | TCA | Sarah Montgomery | Shea Racing / Honda Civic Si | 14 |
| 32 | 11 | TCA | Tom O'Gorman | Shea Racing / Honda Civic Si | 14 |
| 33 | 22 | TC | Andrew Rains | Rains Racing / Honda Accord Coupe | 14 |
| 34 | 12 | TCA | Glory Fernandez | Glory Racing / Honda Civic Si | 13 |
| 35 | 13 | TCA | Kevin Anderson | Tech Sport Racing / Scion FR-S | 13 |
| 36 | 14 | TCA | Daniel Moen | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 13 |
| 37 | 1 | TCB | Travis Washay | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 13 |
| 38 | 2 | TCB | Jake Pipal | Jake Pipal Racing / Honda Fit | 13 |
| 39 | 3 | TCB | Canaan O'Connell | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | 13 |
| 40 | 4 | TCB | Taylor Handwerk | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 13 |
| 41 | 5 | TCB | P.J. Groenke | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | 13 |
| 42 | 23 | TC | Justin Raphael | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 13 |
| 43 | 6 | TCB | Jasper Drengler | Drengler Racing / Honda Fit | 13 |
| 44 | 7 | TCB | Ted Sahley | Believeland Motorsport / Mazda 2 | 13 |
| 45 | 24 | TC | Steve Kholi | Parallax Racing / Honda Accord | 12 |
| 46 | 25 | TC | Nick Wittmer | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 11 |
| 47 | 26 | TC | Chetan Puranik | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 11 |
| 48 | 27 | TC | Tony Rivera | Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z | 10 |
| 49 | 28 | TC | John Allen | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 10 |
| 50 | 29 | TC | Randy Hale | Hale Motorsports / Mazda MX-5 | 8 |
| 51 | 15 | TCA | Michael Johnson | Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 8 |
| NC | - | TC | John Weisberg | BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 3 |
| NC | - | TC | Jeff Ricca | GenRacer / Genesis Coupe | 0 |
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