2019 Virginia International Raceway - World Challenge

2019 was the thirtieth consecutive year for the World Challenge series. All Touring Car classes would now compete in the TC America championship.

As in the previous year, there were three Touring groups:

Touring Car (TC) – This class is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are allowed some performance modifications. These front or rear-wheel-drive vehicles may be powered by turbocharged or normally aspirated engines. Examples of vehicles competing in this category include: Honda Civic Type R, Nissan 370Z, BMW M235iR, BMW M240iR and Genesis Coupe.
Touring Car A (TCA) – Some of the cars competing in this class are the same as those found in Touring Car. What sets them apart is the minimum amount of modifications that can be made – most changes are to improve the safety of the vehicles. Using turbocharged or normally aspirated power plants, these cars produce between 160 and 185-horsepower.
Touring Car Race (TCR) – This is an international class which was first introduced in 2014 to address the expense of competing in the World Touring Car Championship. These production-based cars are powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged engines which produce approximately 300-horsepower. Examples of vehicles competing in this category include: Audi RS 3 LMS, Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, Honda Civic Type-R TCR, Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR and Hyundai Veloster N TCR. This category has been split into two groups – TCR and TCR Cup. The Cup division was added for gentleman and amateur drivers and cars equipped with a DSG transmission. TCR is for FIA rated Gold, Silver and Bronze drivers.

The TCR and TCA title chases kick off in March at Circuit of the Americas followed a week later by an event at St. Petersburg, Florida. The teams will not participate until late April at Virginia International Raceway. This will be followed by the west coast swing when race weekends will take place at Sonoma Raceway and Portland International Raceway. On the Labour Day weekend, drivers will compete at Watkins Glen International. The penultimate round will be held mid-September at Road America and the finale will take place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October.

TC competitors also begin their season at Circuit of the Americas but do not compete again until late April at Virginia International Raceway. The remainder of the schedule is the same as the TCR and TCA classes. Teams will travel to California and Oregon for races at Sonoma Raceway and Portland International Raceway. Then it is back to the east coast for a weekend at Watkins Glen International. The penultimate events will be at Road America with the championships concluding at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Rounds three and four of the 2019 TC America - Touring Car season took place at Virginia International Raceway. Thirteen drivers competed in the two forty-minute races around Virginia International Raceway’s seventeen-turn 3.270-mile road course.

The start of Saturday’s TC America – Touring Car race. The pole-sitter, Johan Schwartz driving the Rooster Hall Racing BMW 235iR Cup leads the field of thirteen starters through Virginia International Raceway’s turn three. Trailing Schwartz is the team manager for Classic BMW and the second fastest qualifier, Toby Grahovec in a BMW 240iR Cup. In third place is Rooster Hall Racing’s, Richard Zulman.

The 2015 Touring Car B champion, Johan Schwartz dominated rounds three and four at Virginia International Raceway. Piloting the No. 80 Rooster Hall Racing BMW 235iR Cup, Schwartz was quickest in the first practice session and qualified on the pole by over 1-second. He led the weekend’s opening race from start-to-finish and won by a 0.552-second margin. On Sunday, Schwartz was gridded third but scored another victory.

Toby Grahovec, of Classic BMW, drove the No. 26 BMW 240iR Cup. Grahovec qualified on the outside of the front row for round three at Virginia International Raceway. He chased the eventual winner, Schwartz but was unable to make the pass and grabbed the runner-up position. On Sunday, the 2016 Touring Car champion was involved in a first lap incident and finished four-laps behind the leaders in eleventh place.

Chandler Hull started the season at Circuit of the Americas with twelfth and fourteenth place finishes. At Virginia International Raceway, he must have found some additional speed. In round three, Hull qualified sixth quickest and finished fourth. Setting the fastest lap during the event earned him the pole for Sunday’s contest. During the race, Hull lost a spot to Schwartz and finished second but scored his first series podium.

During 2018, Jeff Ricca recorded a pair of runner-up finishes but was yet to notch up a victory. That changed this year when Ricca won the second race at Circuit of the Americas. In qualifying for round three at Virginia International Raceway, Ricca lost control in turn fifteen. Contact with the turn-sixteen barrier severely damaged his Hyundai Genesis. Concern for his medical condition caused the team to withdraw from the event.

During the off-season, Steve Streimer switched teams and cars. Streimer gave up his seat in the TechSport Racing Nissan 370Z to join Rooster Hall Racing driving a BMW M235iR. He was gridded fourth for the start of round three and inherited the final spot on the podium when his teammate, Richard Zulman encountered problems. On Sunday, Streimer was eliminated from the race on the opening lap and finished last.

Last year, Moisey Uretsky drove a Mazda Global MX-5 Cup in the Touring Car A category. This season, Uretsky moved to the Touring Car class in a BMW M235iR Cup. In Saturday’s contest, he qualified eleventh but retired after completing only one lap. Without recording a time in race one, Uretsky started at the rear of the field but he charged to the front and battled with Cameron Evans before earning the final spot on the podium.

The 2019 round three Touring Car podium at Virginia International Raceway. On the left, for the third time, this season is the runner-up, Toby Grahovec of Classic BMW. The final spot on the rostrum is occupied by Rooster Hall Racing’s newest team member, Steve Streimer. In the center, grabbing his second victory of the season is the class point’s leader, Johan Schwartz.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	Johan Schwartz	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	12
2	2	TC	Toby Grahovec	Classic BMW / BMW M240iR Cup	12
3	4	TC	Steve Streimer	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	12
4	6	TC	Chandler Hull	BimmerWorld Racing / BMW M240iR Cup	12
5	10	TC	Tom Capizzi	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	12
6	7	TC	Marko Radisic	Classic BMW / BMW M240iR Cup	12
7	14	TC	Joseph Federl	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370Z	12
8	8	TC	Cameron Evans	BimmerWorld Racing / BMW M240iR Cup	12
9	3	TC	Richard Zulman	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M240iR Cup	11
NC	13	TC	Robert Nimkoff	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	6
NC	5	TC	Paul Terry	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370Z	3
NC	9	TC	Shehan Chandrasoma	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370Z	3
NC	11	TC	Moisey Uretsky	Murillo Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	1

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	3	TC	Johan Schwartz	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
2	1	TC	Chandler Hull	BimmerWorld Racing / BMW M240iR Cup	19
3	13	TC	Moisey Uretsky	Murillo Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
4	7	TC	Cameron Evans	BimmerWorld Racing / BMW M240iR Cup	19
5	10	TC	Robert Nimkoff	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
6	8	TC	Marko Radisic	Classic BMW / BMW M240iR Cup	19
7	6	TC	Tom Capizzi	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
8	5	TC	Richard Zulman	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M240iR Cup	19
9	12	TC	Shehan Chandrasoma	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370Z	19
10	9	TC	Joseph Federl	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370Z	15
11	4	TC	Toby Grahovec	Classic BMW / BMW M240iR Cup	15
NC	11	TC	Paul Terry	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370Z	8
NC	2	TC	Steve Streimer	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	0

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