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2001 was the fifth season for the highly successful Canada GT Challenge Cup series.
Sanctioned by ASN Canada, the championship draws a wide array of high powered Grand Touring cars and the attention of fans.
Helping the series attract competitors is a healthy prize fund. The winner of each contest receives a cheque for $6,000, the runner-up earns $5,000 and third-place collects $4,000. The remainder of the payout is on a sliding scale, with the last-place finisher receiving $1,000. There is also an end of season championship fund. The driver collecting the most points is paid $30,000. Second place in the title chase earns $20,000 and third-place in the final standings is worth $10,000. Vehicles eligible to compete in the series included FIA GT, Professional Sportscar GTS & GT, Sports Car Club of America Improved Touring, GT1, GT2 & Trans Am, plus ASA Stock Cars. Sports Racers, ground effect cars and Showroom Stock vehicles are not permitted to compete in the Canada GT Challenge Cup series. The most significant change for the 2001 season was the elimination of the GT2 category. Any debate about fast cars ‘sand-bagging’ so that they could collect GT2 points and win the class title ended. All races are one-hour in length and require a mandatory one-minute pit-stop. For teams that use two drivers, one-minute is sufficient time to make the change. Competitors driving solo can remain in the car during the stop. Re-fueling is not allowed. The events are contested during CASC Ontario Region weeks or in conjunction with major events at Mosport International Raceway. The Canada GT Challenge Cup season kicks off on April 26 at Mosport International Raceway during the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario. This is followed by two more events at Mosport – the BEMC Spring Trophy Races and the Victoria Day Trans-Am Weekend. Round four is the series’ first of three visits to Shannonville Motorsport Park. On June 24, the championship returns to Mosport for the CASCAR 250 Weekend. The next two events are held at Shannonville. The BARC Canadian Touring Trophy at Mosport event hosts round eight for the series. On August 18th, the championship competes at Mosport as a support series for the American Le Mans Series. The final three rounds will be conducted at Mosport, with the finale taking place on October 2. Round 10 of the 2001 Canada GT Challenge Cup season was held at Mosport International Raceway during the SCCA/CRDA Labour Day Nationals weekend. Drivers would compete on the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course for sixty-minutes.
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Klaus Bytzek entered round ten at Mosport International Raceway as one of five drivers with a mathematical chance of winning this year’s title. Bytzek qualified fourth fastest in the No.00 BMS Race Team Porsche 911 GT1 EVO. The Porsche was not perfect during the race, but he ‘soldier on’ as the competition encountered problems. Bytzek moved into the lead on lap-20 and was never challenged on his way to the win. |
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Another driver that was in the running for the 2001 Canada GT Challenge Cup championship was Mark Swain. The rookie qualified fifth fastest in the No. 05 TMI Racing Noble Ultima GTR. With the retirements of James Holtom and his teammate, Brent Gates, he found himself battling with Charles Webster for the runner-up position. The pair traded the place several times before Swain prevailed. |
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After nine rounds, Charles Webster still had a chance of securing this year’s championship, but it would require the other points leaders to suffer misfortune during the event. Webster was third fastest during the qualifying session. During the race, he fought with the Noble Ultima of Mark Swain for second-place. In the end, Webster captured the final position on the podium, but Bytzek’s win eliminated him from the title chase. |
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Jerry Simmons made occasional visits to the 2001 Canada GT Challenge Cup. Before round ten, he participated in two events and finished fourth on the Trans Am weekend in May. Simmons put the No. 76 Tru North Racing Ford Mustang ninth on the grid for the sixty-minute contest. A steady performance and issues for the quicker competitors, James Holtom and Brent Gates, resulted in a fourth-place finish. |
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The points leader entering round ten was James Holtom. He started the race on the outside of the front row but was nursing an ailing car. The No. 32 Scadapack Chevrolet Corvette was quick but suffering from an oil consumption problem. Holtom maintained a steady pace and required two pit-stops for the crew to top-up the Corvette with oil. He managed a fifth-place and retained the lead in the championship. |
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The No. 98 Phil Strudwick Motorsports prepared Chevrolet Camaro was piloted by Bentley Hammer. Hammer was having an ‘up and down’ season. His highlight thus far was a podium finish in round eight during the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy weekend, but his stats also included three DNFs. At this event, Hammer started tenth and benefitted from the misfortune of the leaders to finish in the sixth position. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR / ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Klaus Bytzek | Porsche 911 GT1 Evo / BMS Race Team | 43 | - |
| 2 | 5 | Mark Swain | Noble Ultima GTR / TMI Racing | 43 | - |
| 3 | 3 | Charlie Webster | Chevrolet Camaro / C.J. Webster | 43 | - |
| 4 | 9 | Jerry Simmons | Ford Mustang / Tru North Racing | 42 | - |
| 5 | 2 | James Holtom | Chevrolet Corvette / Georgian Bay Motorsports | 41 | - |
| 6 | 10 | Bentley Hammer | Chevrolet Camaro / Strudwick Motorsports | 41 | - |
| 7 | 8 | Blaise Csida | Chevrolet Camaro / New York Fries | 41 | - |
| 8 | 14 | Steve Hummel | Chevrolet Corvette / Tomsoft Racing | 41 | - |
| 9 | 18 | Fernand Leblanc | Porsche 911 Turbo / MCL | 40 | - |
| 10 | 16 | Ulrich Furtmair | Porsche 911 Turbo | 39 | - |
| 11 | 21 | Jay Fieger | Chevrolet Monte Carlo / Marathon Graphics | 39 | - |
| 12 | 15 | Peter Botsinis | BMW M3 / PJC Autoworks Ltd | 39 | - |
| 13 | 13 | Jim Harrison | Porsche 911 Turbo / Longhill Energy | 39 | - |
| 14 | 24 | Allan DeWolfe | BMW 325i / Eurotec | 39 | - |
| 15 | 20 | Brad Flowers | Porsche 911 Super Cup / Info Vision | 39 | - |
| 16 | 28 | Mike Palladino | Chevrolet Corvette / Four Way Auto | 39 | - |
| 17 | 25 | Matt Coveart / Martin Gray | Mazda RX-7 | 39 | - |
| 18 | 12 | Keith Carter | Chevrolet Camaro / Strudwick Motorsports | 38 | - |
| 19 | 33 | Jacques Genereux | Porsche 911 Turbo | 38 | - |
| 20 | 27 | Dave Diedrick | Toyota Corolla | 38 | - |
| 21 | 30 | Jacques Villeneuve | Porsche 911 Turbo / APF Villeneuve.com | 38 | - |
| 22 | 31 | Gunter Schmidt | Volkswagen Beetle / Greenbelt Motors | 38 | - |
| 23 | 37 | Tom Konvalina | Porsche 968 Turbo / TK Griffin | 37 | - |
| 24 | 29 | Jeff Pacey | Mazda RX-7 / Kitchenimics | 37 | - |
| 25 | 23 | Torsten Krueger | Chevrolet Monte Carlo / Stoney Creek Mould | 36 | - |
| 26 | 7 | John Brenner | Noble Ultima Spyder / Hoosier Tire | 24 | Did Not Finish |
| 27 | 6 | Mackenzie / Von Engelbrechten | Noble Ultima Mk3 / Roger@Home | 22 | Did Not Finish |
| 28 | 1 | Brent Gates | Stealth B6 / TMI Racing | 18 | Did Not Finish |
| 29 | 17 | Larry Barcza | Chevrolet Camaro | 16 | Did Not Finish |
| 30 | 19 | Steve & Dino Colivaris | Chevrolet Corvette / Credit Direct | 12 | Did Not Finish |
| 31 | 32 | Marcus Glarner | BMW 3.0 CSL | 10 | Did Not Finish |
| 32 | 22 | Paul Massingberd | Chevrolet Corvette | 2 | Did Not Finish |
| - | 26 | Lee Racicot | Chevrolet Camaro / Westwood Mechanics | - | Did Not Start |
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