2017 Utah Motorsports Campus - World Challenge

Introduced in 2016, the SprintX Championship for GT competitors is based on the very successful Blancpain Sprint Series in Europe.

There are a total of five rounds with the championship kicking off in April at Virginia International Raceway. This event is followed by races in May at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Lime Rock Park. The penultimate rounds are at Utah Motorsports Campus and the season ends at Circuit of the Americas on the Labour Day weekend. The races are 60-minutes in length and require a mandatory pit-stop for a driver change between the 25 and 35-minute mark of the contest.

The SprintX Championship has three classes:

Grand Touring X (GT-X) – This is the series quickest class and includes cars that predominantly fall into the FIA GT3 category. These are two-wheel drive vehicles that may use normally aspirated or turbocharged engines which produce approximately 500 horsepower. Examples of cars competing in this category include: Porsche 911 GT3 R, Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3, Mercedes AMG GT3, McLaren 650S GT3, Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3, Acura NSX GT3, Bentley Continental GT3 and Ferrari 488 GT3.

Grand Touring Sport X (GTS-X) – The cars in this class are similar to the GT vehicles but have more preparation restrictions. Drivetrain layouts include all-wheel-drive and front and rear-wheel drive. These cars can be powered by forced induction or normally aspirated motors. In previous years, the GTS class was mainly comprised of Ford, Chevrolet and Porsche products. In 2016, this category witnessed an influx of FIA GT4 vehicles which proved to be very competitive – Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, KTM X-bow GT4, Ginetta G55 GT4 and SIN R1 GT4.

Grand Touring Cup X (GTC-X) – The GT Cup class was originally for 2015-2016 Porsche 991 GT Cup cars. It now includes vehicles from other spec series – the Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Ferrari Challenge championships.

These cars are prepared to the same rules as those competing in the 50-minute sprint races.

As the championship features a two-driver format which includes professional and sportsman racers, there was a need to categorize competitors. Within the three classes the driver combinations are grouped as Pro/Pro, Pro/Amateur or Amateur/Amateur – points are awarded accordingly.

Rounds seven and eight of the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX season took place during the Grand Prix of Utah weekend. Presented by Security National Mortgage, thirty-one SprintX teams competed in the two sixty-minute races around the fifteen-turn 3.048-mile ‘Outer Course’.

The first lap of Saturday’s event and the pole-sitter, Peter Kox in the RealTime Racing prepared Acura NSX GT3 leads the field into ‘The Attitudes’. Behind Kox is the Ferrari 488 GT3 of Daniel Mancinelli. Mancinelli was gridded second and could not beat the NSX to corner one and settled for the second position. In third place is the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Patrick Long.

Daniel Mancinelli and Niccolo Schiro shared the TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3. Mancinelli won the opening round at Virginia with Andrea Montermini. The pair qualified on the outside of the front row in the weekend’s first race and finished just 0.228-seconds behind the winning Acura. On Sunday, they started on the pole as a result of turning the fastest lap the previous day and went onto score the victory.

Texans, Jason Hart and Matt Travis drove the No. 47 NOLAsport Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR. The pair competed in the Grand Sport Touring SprintX (GTS-X) category and were classified as amateurs. Despite being their first Pirelli World Challenge event, they start on the class pole and won the race. The next day they were gridded second in GTS and scored another victory.

There were a couple of firsts for the new Acura NSX GT3 at Utah Motorsports Campus. Peter Kox was driving the No. 93 RealTime Racing entry and captured the car’s first pole by just 0.039-seconds. Sharing the driving duties with Kox was Canadian, Mark Wilkins. The duo also gave the NSX its maiden victory in round seventeen. The following day, they started on the outside of the front row and finished eleventh after making an extra stop for a flat tire.

Quickest in the Grand Touring SprintX AM/AM category was the No. 30 NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 of Henrique Cisneros and Jonathon Ziegelman. Heading into the Utah Motorsports Campus weekend, Cisneros had victories in all the events except round one at Virginia International Raceway. In both races at Utah, they were out qualified by the R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari but took victories in rounds seven and eight.

Grand Touring SprintX championship leaders, Jordan Taylor and Michael Cooper were gridded seventh for the weekend’s first race. At the checkered flag, the No. 8 Cadillac ATS-V.R was eighth. In round eight the duo fared much better, capturing the last spot on the podium. However, their main rival for the title, Daniel Mancinelli, reduced their lead from forty-two to twenty-seven-points.

Erich Joiner teamed up with veteran Grand Touring Sport driver, Andy Lee. The pair shared the No. 95 Tool Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and competed in the Grand Touring Cup SprintX (GTC-X) PRO/AM category. They started round seven, second in class but took the victory. On Sunday, the duo was gridded third and captured the runner-up spot in GTC-X PRO/AM.

The SprintX Grand Touring PRO/AM championship leaders were the drivers of the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R, Michael Schein and Jan Heylen. In the weekend’s first event the car started on the class pole and at the end sixty-minutes of racing, they captured the win. On Sunday, the duo was first to the checkered flag but they were penalized thirty-two-seconds for not meeting the ninety-second pit lane requirement – they were classified sixth.

At the Utah Motorsports Campus, World Challenge veteran, James Sofronas was paired with the French Porsche works driver, Mathieu Jaminet. The GMG Racing prepared Porsche 911 GT3 R was gridded second in the Grand Touring PRO/AM category for round seven. Despite a late charge by Jaminet, the pair was classified second in class. In Sunday’s race, they were the beneficiaries of the Wright Motorsports pit lane violation and inherited the victory.

The second RealTime Racing entry was driven by Ryan Eversley and Tom Dyer. To date, the duos best result was a pair of fifths at Lime Rock Park. In race one, they were gridded fourth and racked up another fifth place finish after being passed by the Ricky Taylor/Johnny O’Connell Cadillac. In round eight, they started third but when their teammates Peter Kox and Mark Wilkins encountered a puncture, they took the runner-up spot on the podium.

The highlight of Patrick Long’s season was a victory in round five at Lime Rock Park but poor results in the second race at Virginia International Raceway and Lime Rock meant that he was fourth in the championship standings. At Utah, he was paired with Jorg Bergmeister. They started third and held the position taking the final spot on the podium. In Sunday’s race, Long was third but on the final re-start, he slid back to a sixth-place finish.

Frank Montecalvo and Mexican, Ricardo Sanchez teamed up to drive the Always Evolving/AIM Autosport Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3. The pair were competing in the Grand Touring PRO/AM category. Starting first in class, Montecalvo was leading when he had to pit to replace the left rear tire. The following day, they were gridded eighteenth overall and were third in class at the checkered flag but inherited the runner-up spot when the Wright Motorsports Porsche was penalized.

Heading into Utah, co-drivers, Alessandro Bressan and Yuki Harata had a perfect record. In five races, the pair had five Grand Touring Cup SprintX PRO/AM victories driving the Dream Racing Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo. But this was about to change as they had to settle for third in round seven when they were beaten by the Porsches of Autometric Motorsports and Tool Racing. On Sunday, they returned to their winning ways.

Magnus Racing had two Audi RS 8 LMS’s in the SprintX Grand Touring division of 2017 Pirelli World Challenge series. The No. 44 Audi was driven in the PRO/AM group by Marco Seefried and John Potter. Potter was fourth in the standings while Seefried was eighth after skipping the Lime Rock rounds for other commitments. At the Utah Motorsports Campus, they scored third and fourth-place finishes.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS
1	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Kox / Wilkins	RealTime Racing / Acura NSX GT3	32
2	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Schiro / Mancinelli	TR3 Racing / Ferrari 488 GT3	32
3	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Long / Bergmeister	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	32
4	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	O'Connell / Taylor	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R	32
5	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Eversley / Dyer	RealTime Racing / Acura NSX GT3	32
6	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Parente / Barnicoat	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	32
7	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Fong / Abril	Absolute Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	32
8	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Cooper / Taylor	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R	32
9	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Dalziel / Morad	CRP Racing / Mercedes AMG GT3	32
10	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Lewis / Sellers	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	32
11	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Heylen / Schein	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	32
12	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Jaminet / Sofronas	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	32
13	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Seefried / Potter	Magnus Racing / Audi RS 8 LMS	32
14	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Kim / Stevens	Absolute Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	32
15	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Udell / Calvert	Calvert Dynamics / Porsche 911 GT3 R	32
16	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Bleekemolen / Pappas	Black Swan Racing / Mercedes AMG GT3	32
17	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Askew / Povoledo	DXDT Racing / Mercedes AMG GT3	32
18	SprintX - GT Am/Am	Cisneros / Ziegelman	MOMO/NGT / Ferrari 458 GT3	31
19	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Henzler / Fogarty	Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
20	SprintX - GT AM/AM	Wilson / Regitz	R. Ferri Motorsport / Ferrari 458 GT3	31
21	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Sanchez / Montecalvo	AIM Autosport / Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3	31
22	SprintX - GT Cup Pro/Am	Joiner / Lee	Tool Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
23	SprintX - GT Am/Am	Bell / Dayson	M1GT Racing / Audi R8 LMS Ultra	30
24	SprintX - GT Cup Am/Am	Toussaint / Friedman	Autometrics / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
25	SprintX - GT Cup Pro/Am	Bressan / Harata	Dream Racing / Lamborghini Huracan	30
26	SprintX - GT Cup Pro/Am	Burton / Davis	DXDT Racing / Lamborghini LP620-2	30
27	SprintX - GTS Am/Am	Travis / Hart	NOLAsport/ Porsche Cayman GT4	29
28	SprintX - GTS Am/Am	Alexandridis / DeBoer	TRG-AMR / Aston Martin Vantage GT4	29
29	SprintX - GTS Pro/Am	Merzon / Hindman	Case-it Racing / Porsche Cayman GT4	29
30	SprintX - GTS Am/Am	Liefooghe / Balogh	Stephen Cameron / BMW M3 E46	16
NC	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Kaffer / Pumpelly	Magnus Racing / Audi RS 8 LMS	5

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS
1	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Schiro / Mancinelli	TR3 Racing / Ferrari 488 GT3	26
2	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Eversley / Dyer	RealTime Racing / Acura NSX GT3	26
3	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Cooper / Taylor	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R	26
4	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Parente / Barnicoat	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	26
5	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	O'Connell / Taylor	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R	26
6	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Long / Bergmeister	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	26
7	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Lewis / Sellers	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	26
8	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Dalziel / Morad	CRP Racing / Mercedes AMG GT3	26
9	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Kaffer / Pumpelly	Magnus Racing / Audi RS 8 LMS	26
10	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Henzler / Fogarty	Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	26
11	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Kox / Wilkins	RealTime Racing / Acura NSX GT3	26
12	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Jaminet / Sofronas	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	26
13	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Sanchez / Montecalvo	AIM Autosport / Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3	26
14	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Bleekemolen / Pappas	Black Swan Racing / Mercedes AMG GT3	26
15	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Seefried / Potter	Magnus Racing / Audi RS 8 LMS	26
16	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Udell / Calvert	Calvert Dynamics / Porsche 911 GT3 R	26
17	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Heylen / Schein	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	26
18	SprintX - GT Am/Am	Cisneros / Ziegelman	MOMO/NGT / Ferrari 458 GT3	25
19	SprintX - GT AM/AM	Wilson / Regitz	R. Ferri Motorsport / Ferrari 458 GT3	25
20	SprintX - GT Cup Pro/Am	Bressan / Harata	Dream Racing / Lamborghini Huracan	25
21	SprintX - GT Am/Am	Bell / Dayson	M1GT Racing / Audi R8 LMS Ultra	25
22	SprintX - GT Cup Pro/Am	Joiner / Lee	Tool Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	25
23	SprintX - GT Cup Pro/Am	Burton / Davis	DXDT Racing / Lamborghini LP620-2	25
24	SprintX - GT Cup Am/Am	Toussaint / Friedman	Autometrics / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	25
25	SprintX - GTS Am/Am	Travis / Hart	NOLAsport/ Porsche Cayman GT4	24
26	SprintX - GTS Pro/Am	Merzon / Hindman	Case-it Racing / Porsche Cayman GT4	24
27	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Fong / Abril	Absolute Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	21
28	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Askew / Povoledo	DXDT Racing / Mercedes AMG GT3	20
29	SprintX - GTS Am/Am	Liefooghe / Balogh	Stephen Cameron / BMW M3 E46	20
30	SprintX - GTS Am/Am	Alexandridis / DeBoer	TRG-AMR / Aston Martin Vantage GT4	16
31	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Kim / Stevens	Absolute Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	14

Copyright Notice:

All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.