2000 Toronto - Motorola Cup

The 2000 edition of the Motorola Cup consisted of 10-events (Daytona, Sebring, Phoenix International Raceway, Homestead-Miami, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Toronto Exhibition Place, Mosport, Watkins Glen and Virginia International Raceway) for showroom stock cars. With a few exceptions the races were mainly 3-hours in length. The cars were relatively unchanged from their road going versions – modifications were mandated primarily for safety – roll cages, window nets, etc. They also used spec DOT-approved tires produced by Hoosier. Based on performance potential the cars were divided into four groups:

Super Grand Sport: The quickest of all groups, this class was introduced in 2000 for the fastest mass produced vehicles. Cars competing in this group included the Chevrolet Corvette C5, Dodge Viper, Saleen Mustang SR, Porsche 911 Turbo, etc.
Grand Sport: Was an existing class that included cars such as Pontiac Firebird, BMW M3, Acura NSX, Ford Mustang Cobra R, Porsche 993, etc.
Sport Touring: Another new class was the result of combining the former Sport and Touring into one group. Popular vehicles found in this group were the BMW Z3 Coupe, Acura Integra Type R, BMW 328, Lexus GS 400, etc.
C2K: The previous year this category was called Compact but renamed C2K for 2000. It included the Honda Civic Si, Acura Integra GSR, Hyundai Tiburon, Mazda Miata, etc.

Close competitive racing with cars that fans could relate to contributed to the popularity of the series. It also provided an environment for automotive manufacturers to test and showcase their products.

To encourage participation and competition, the prize money was distributed based on class size – more cars competing in a class meant that more money was allocated to that group. The series prize fund was also bolstered by a Contingency Awards Program.

Most of the races during the 2000 season were 3-hours in length – Toronto would be an exception at 1-hour 40-minutes. This would force teams to rethink their usual race strategies while contending with the challenges and complications of a 52-car field on an eleven-turn 1.755-mile track.

Toronto’s Exhibition Place and fifty-two cars follow the pole-winning No. 37 Chevrolet Corvette shared by Paolo Dal Cin and John Heinricy into turn one. Immediately behind them are the No. 22 Corvette of Mike Fitzgerald and Michael Culver and the Dodge Viper of David Amick and Joe Varde.

The Porsche 911 Turbo driven by Richard Spenard and Jean-Francois Dumoulin was the fastest qualifier, however, they started fiftieth in a field of fifty-two cars. During qualifying, Dumoulin ignored a black flag for a wrecker on the course which led to the penalty. That did not deter the pair as they carved their way through the field to capture the win by 5.2-seconds.

Second overall and in the Super Grand Sport class were Mike Fitzgerald and Michael Culver. Fitzgerald led laps-29 through 42 of the 59-laps race which was more than any other driver. This pattern of second places by the duo continued throughout the 2000 season. Fitzgerald and Culver often found themselves 'the bridesmaid but never the bride.'

Sport Touring class winners Howie Liebengood and Andy Lally finished an amazing ninth overall. This was their second class win of the season in the Competition Preparation BMW 328 – their first being Mid-Ohio. The pair also won their category at Toronto in 1999.

The No. 69 HART Honda Civic Si qualified second in the C2K - here it follows the No. 41 Acura Integra GSR of the Nonnamaker brothers. Peter Halsmer and Bryan Johnson in the HART Civic would finish second in class but the brothers would lose the left front wheel – hit the wall and finish well down the order.

The Team Hurricane Audi S4 qualified tenth in the Grand Sport category and forty-fourth overall. But drivers John Bourassa and Lance Stewart had an excellent race and were able to move through the field. They finished ninth overall and third in class.

Phoenix American Motorsports entered Paolo Dal Cin in two cars - the No. 32 Grand Sport class Pontiac Firebird with John Yarosz and with John Heinricy in the Super Grand Sport Corvette. Dal Cin’s best result came in the Firebird where he and Yarosz finished second in class.

With the disqualification of the Kent Motorsports Pontiac Firebird, the No. 18 Anaconda Racing Ford Mustang Cobra R driven by Peter Herzog and Alfonso Diaz Jr. inherited the Grand Sport win. However, they were penalized 60-seconds for making a pit stop when the pits were closed which dropped them to third in class.

Peter Schwartzott won the Touring race at Toronto in 1999 and in 2000 he captured third in the Sport Touring class. Schwartzott’s co-driver at this event was Paul Gargiulo. The pair shared the No. 56 Thornley Racing Acura Integra Type R.

The No. 16 Grand Sport class Porsche 993 was driven by Al Wortzman and Mike McClamont. These local drivers entered the event with a 7-point lead in the class standings. They finished sixth in Grand Sports but this was much better than the team chasing them in the points - Sam and Brett Shanaman retired after 7-laps.

Street courses are rarely forgiving and this was the case for the Planet Earth Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette shared by Joe Nonnamaker and Bill Pate. The crew was successful in repairing the car and the seventh place starters made a last lap move to take fifth overall and in SGS by less than a car length.

It was a difficult season for the Phoenix American Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette. The car would often start at the front of the grid only to encounter problems during the race. Toronto was to be one of these difficult races as Paulo Dal Cin and John Heinricy retired on lap-10 with transmission issues.

The No. 44 TF Racing Saleen SR captured the final position on the Super Grand Sport podium. The car was driven by Terry Borcheller and Michael DeFontes. They did not record a qualifying time and had to start at the back of the grid, which made their finishing position quite remarkable.

Qualifying second in the Sport Touring class were Mike Van Sicklen and Bob Endicott. Unfortunately, the Acura Integra Type R only completed seven laps before retiring. They were classified as forty-eighth overall and tenth in class.

Californians Rudy Courtade and Bryant Kreadan started twenty-ninth overall and eleventh in the Super Grand Sport category. They were able to move their Porsche 993 Super through the field to an eighth place finish in class.

FN.	ST.	NO.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	STATUS
1	50	19	SGS	Dumoulin / Spenard	Porsche 911 Turbo	59	-
2	2	22	SGS	Culver / Fitzgerald	Chevrolet Corvette	59	-
3	4	11	SGS	Powell / Goad	Chevrolet Corvette	59	–
4	48	44	SGS	DeFontes / Borcheller	Ford Saleen SR	59	-
5	7	43	SGS	Nonnamaker / Pate	Chevrolet Corvette	59	-
6	5	30	SGS	Tonelli / Conway	Chevrolet Corvette	59	-
7	44	10	GS	Bourassa / Stewart	Audi S4	58	-
8	3	50	SGS	Amick / Varde	Dodge Viper	58	-
9	17	49	ST	Liebebgood / Lally	BMW 328	58	–
10	32	32	GS	Yarosz / Dal Cin	Pontiac Firebird	58	–
11	25	69	C2K	Halsmer / Johnson	Honda Civic Si	58	-
12	47	63	ST	Moser / Moser	Acura Interga Type R	58	-
13	13	18	GS	Herzog / Diaz Jr.	Ford Mustang Cobra R	58	-
14	11	28	GS	Sherk / Potter	Acura NSX	58	-
15	21	45	GS	Baughman / Hines	Pontiac Firebird	58	-
16	24	8	C2K	Cullen / Craig / Schraenen	Hyundai Tiburon	58	-
17	14	16	GS	McCalmont / Wortzman	Porsche 993	58	-
18	15	96	GS	Del Vecchio / England	Pontiac Firebird	57	-
19	20	56	ST	Schwartzott / Gargiulo	Acura Integra Type R	57	-
20	28	6	C2K	Hebert / Craig / Schraenen	Hyundai Tiburon	57	-
21	23	72	ST	Patch / Trask	BMW Z3 Coupe	57	-
22	30	00	C2K	Galati / Schmitt	Honda Civic Si	57	-
23	37	42	C2K	Starita / Wymore	Acura Integra GSR	57	-
24	29	06	SGS	Kreaden / Courtade	Porsche 993 Super	57	-
25	38	80	ST	Keenan / Hanson	BMW 328I	56	-
26	52	59	GS	Pacoine / Lacey	Ford Mustang Cobra SVT	56	-
27	27	34	ST	Villamil / Connolly	BMW Z3 Coupe	56	-
28	6	7	SGS	Lacey / Malowney	Ford Mustang SVT	56	-
29	31	27	C2K	Fenton / Beede	Honda Civic Si	56	-
30	49	74	GS	Bye / Mountain	Ford Mustang Cobra R	56	-
31	35	90	ST	Bunting / Piscelli	Lexus GS400	55	-
32	40	21	C2K	Kowalski / Vicic	Acura Integra GSR	55	-
33	43	67	C2K	Quinette / Kiel	Honda Civic Si	55	-
34	39	95	C2K	Moorcones / Himes	Mazda Miata	55	-
35	33	9	ST	Pilgrim / Goldsborough	Lexus GS400	54	-
36	42	51	C2K	Baglier / Luffy	Mazda MX6	54	-
37	51	73	GS	Tremblay / Teetge	Acura NSX	53	Unknown
38	45	58	C2K	Lahaie / Veilieux	Dodge Neon	44	Mechanical
39	41	0	C2K	Hnatiw / Shaw	Hynudai Tiburon	41	Mechanical
40	26	41	C2K	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Acura Integra GSR	33	Accident
41	22	24	ST	Potter / Keravich	Acura Integra Type R	32	Unknown
42	36	12	ST	Matz / Linder	Acura Integra Type R	26	Suspension
43	8	82	SGS	Negri / Clark	Porsche 993 Super	17	Overheating
44	46	86	ST	Loriman / Mandeville / Kenzie	Nissan Maxima	17	Accident
45	1	37	SGS	Dal Cin / Heinricy	Chevrolet Corvette	10	Transmission
46	9	47	SGS	Kohler / Smith	Ford Saleen SR	9	Accident
47	16	40	GS	Shanaman / Shanaman	Pontiac Firebird	7	Unknown
48	19	64	ST	Van Sicklen / Endicott	Acura Integra Type R	7	Unknown
49	34	57	ST	Winchester / Thornley	Acura Integra Type R	5	Throttle
50	12	97	GS	Kent / Espenlaub	Pontiac Firebird	58	Excluded
51	10	53	SGS	Hoerr / Amick	Dodge Viper	0	Unknown
52	18	17	GS	Brown / Kohler	Ford Mustang Cobra R	0	Accident

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