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 cars 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.

At Sonoma Raceway, TCR and TCA drivers would compete for class titles in the 2019 TC America championship. Teams would participate in two 40-minute races around the twelve-turn, 2.52-mile road course.

Saturday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway and nine TCR competitors head into corner two for the first lap of round seven. The Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster N TCR of the pole-sitter, Mason Filippi leads the field. Following Filippi and running ‘nose to tail’ are the FCP Euro teammates, Michael Hurczyn and Nate Vincent – both driving Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR. Beside Hurczyn is the third fastest qualifier, Harry Cheung in a Honda.
Victor Gonzalez, Jr. made his series debut at Virginia International Raceway where he scored a second and third place in the TCR category. Despite qualifying fifth for Saturday’s contest, Gonzalez would take advantage of incidents during the race and move up the order. On the last lap, he took the lead in the final hairpin for his first series victory. The following day, the No. 99 VGMC Honda Civic Type-R started fifth and finished second.
Tyler Maxson, second in the TCA championship standings, was the quickest in both practice sessions driving the No. 74 Mazda MX-5 Cup. Maxson had two runner-up finishes in 2019 but was yet to score a victory – that would change at Sonoma. In qualifying for round five, he topped the class timesheets. During race one, Maxson lost the lead but took it back before the checker. He started second in Sunday’s contest but finished first.
Former IMSA Street Tuner competitor, Mark Pombo started the 2019 season strong with a pair of second place finishes at Circuit of the Americas. Since then his racing luck had been all bad – leaving him fifth in the title chase. Pombo started second in race one at Sonoma and led seven laps before finishing in the runner-up spot. On Sunday, he started on the TCA pole but lost first place on the opening lap and finished second.
The start of round five for the Touring Car A category at Sonoma Raceway. Leading the field up the hill into corner two is the pole-sitter, Tyler Maxson driving the Copeland Motorsports prepared Mazda MX-5 Cup. Immediately behind Maxson is the MINI JCW Team MINI Cooper JCW of second place starter, Mark Pombo. Trailing Pombo are the TechSport Racing teammates, Nick Wittmer and Robert Crocker.
The No. 12 Copeland Motorsports prepared Hyundai Veloster N TCR was piloted by Mason Filippi. Filippi was quickest in both practice sessions and as expected started on the pole. It appeared that he would dominate round seven but Michael Hurczyn caught and passed him on lap-13. Then, Filippi had contact Nate Vincent which damaged the car and left him with a fifth-place finish. On Sunday, he redeemed himself with a victory.
The TCR championship leader Michael Hurczyn in the No. 71 FCP Euro VW Golf GTI started Saturday’s race in the second position. Hurczyn trailed the pole-sitter, Mason Filippi, until lap-13 when he grabbed the lead. Unable to hold off Victor Gonzalez, Hurczyn finished second. In the weekend’s final event, he would capture the final spot on the podium but more critical, he retained the lead in the title chase.
Former Ferrari Challenge series competitor, James Walker, Jr. made his TC America debut in the opening rounds at COTA. Driving the Risi Competizione prepared Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR, Walker had his best result to date at St Pete where he finished second. Walker started the weekend’s first race in sixth place but was able to take advantage of the incidents during the contest and finished third. On Sunday, he was fifth.
X-Factor Racing was back with a fleet of five TCA class Honda Civic Si. As was the case at Virginia International Raceway, Chris Haldeman was quickest of the bunch. In qualifying at Sonoma, Haldeman was seventh fastest in class but at the checkered flag, he was third place. Haldeman’s performance in round five earned him the third starting position in Sunday’s contest. After forty minutes of racing, he held on to the third position.
Nick Wittmer entered the weekend at Sonoma with nearly twice as many points as his nearest rival, Tyler Maxson (100 to 51-points). In both practice sessions, Wittmer trailed Maxson but in qualifying, he fell to third fastest. From here, the event went downhill. After sweeping the races at COTA and VIR, Wittmer had transmission problems in Saturday’s contest and finished twelfth. In round six, he was fourth but still leading the championship.

FINISHSTARTCLASSDRIVERTEAM / CARLAPS
15TCRVictor GonzalezVGMC Racing / Honda Civic Type-R TCR22
22TCRMichael HurczynFCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR22
36TCRJames WalkerRisi Competizione / Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR22
44TCRNate VincentFCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR22
51TCRMason FilippiCopeland Motorsports / Hyundai Veloster N TCR22
68TCR CupBryan PuttROWE Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS22
79TCR CupChristian ColeMcCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS22
87TCR CupStephen VajdaEXR Team by Premat / Audi Sport RS3 LMS22
83TCR CupHarry CheungLAP Motorsports / Honda Civic Type-R TCR22
1010TCATyler MaxsonCopeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup21
1113TCAMark PomboMINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper21
1211TCAChris HaldemanX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si21
1317TCANate NorenbergMINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper21
1422TCAJose DaSilvaIves Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup21
1514TCACole CirauloX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si21
1616TCATaylor HaglerX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si20
1719TCAStephen JeuX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si20
1820TCABen BettenhausenTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS20
1921TCASally McNulty#TEAMSALLY / Honda Civic Si20
2025TCAJenny GannettIan Lacy Racing / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup20
2112TCANick WittmerTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS20
2224TCADinah WeisbergCopeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup20
2323TCADamon SurzyshynTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS17
NC18TCAP.J. GroenkeTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS13
NC15TCARobert CrockerTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS0

FINISHSTARTCLASSDRIVERTEAM / CARLAPS
11TCRMason FilippiCopeland Motorsports / Hyundai Veloster N TCR19
25TCRVictor GonzalezVGMC Racing / Honda Civic Type-R TCR19
33TCRMichael HurczynFCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR19
42TCRNate VincentFCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR19
56TCRJames WalkerRisi Competizione / Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR19
67TCR CupBryan PuttROWE Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS19
78TCR CupStephen VajdaEXR Team by Premat / Audi Sport RS3 LMS19
89TCR CupChristian ColeMcCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS19
911TCATyler MaxsonCopeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup19
1010TCAMark PomboMINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper19
1112TCAChris HaldemanX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si19
124TCR CupHarry CheungLAP Motorsports / Honda Civic Type-R TCR19
1323TCANick WittmerTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS19
1413TCATaylor HaglerX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si19
1514TCANate NorenbergMINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper19
1616TCACole CirauloX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si19
1720TCAJenny GannettIan Lacy Racing / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup19
1818TCASally McNulty#TEAMSALLY / Honda Civic Si19
1917TCAJose DaSilvaIves Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup18
2024TCAP.J. GroenkeTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS18
2121TCADinah WeisbergCopeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup18
NC15TCABen BettenhausenTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS10
NC22TCADamon SurzyshynTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS9
NC25TCARobert CrockerTechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS4
NC19TCAStephen JeuX-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si0

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