2001 Road Atlanta - World Challenge Touring

In 2001, the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) World Challenge Championship was in its twelfth season. For the third year, Speedvision was the primary sponsor. SCCA had developed a successful format that attracted competitors and fans. A couple changes of note for this year:

There were larger purses due to an increase in the number of sponsors.
Competitors would be using a new spec tire from Toyo.

Race weekends included two standing start races (limited to fifty-minutes) – one for the Grand Touring class and another for the Touring Cars.

Grand Touring (GT) – The GT class rules accommodate an extensive range of vehicles from different manufacturers. There is no limit to the engine displacement in this category and cars may use a forced induction system. To stop the cars, alternative materials may be utilized for the brake pads and shoes. Rules also allow the use of four-piston calipers but rotors are limited to 14-inches in diameter. The maximum diameter of the wheels is 18-inches and any changes to the bodywork must be approved. The series uses a spec tire and competitors race on Toyo Proxes RA-1s.
Touring Car (TC) – The Touring Cars are limited to an engine displacement of 2.8-liters. The motors must be naturally aspirated (turbochargers or superchargers are not permitted). The Touring Cars are also allowed four-piston calipers and alternative materials for the brake pads and shoes but the maximum rotor diameter is 12-inches. Wheels in this group are limited to 17-inches. Cars can be fitted with a spec rear wing and approved aftermarket bodywork. This category also uses a spec tire from Toyo – the Proxes T1-S.

To prevent any driver/car combination from dominating the class and ensuring tight competition, the R.E.W.A.R.D.S. System was implemented. Introduced in 1995, R.E.W.A.R.D.S. is the acronym for ‘Rewarding of Equalizing Weight Assigned to Reduce Driver Sensitivity.' This weight equalization rule adds or removes ballast from a car based on the finishing position of a driver.

There were eight-race weekends during the 2001 season. The opening rounds were in March at Texas Motor Speedway and Sebring, Florida. Teams weren’t back in action until May at Mosport International Raceway and Lime Rock Park. Lime Rock would be a doubleheader for the Touring Cars. The next event would be at Detroit’s Belle Isle which was just for the Grand Touring category. The championship would move to the west coast with races at Sears Point Raceway, Portland International Raceway and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The schedule initially included a round at Charlotte Motor Speedway but when the American Le Mans Series announced the cancellation of their event at Charlotte, the World Challenge championship lost its season finale. To replace it a doubleheader was scheduled for the twelve-turn 2.54-mile road course at Road Atlanta.

The field is gridded for the season’s final Speedvision World Challenge Touring Car race. On the pole, is the newly crowned Touring Car champion, Pierre Kleinubing driving the RealTime Racing prepared Acura Integra Type R. Sharing the front row with Kleinubing is the duPont Motorsports BMW 328is of Jeff Altenburg. Behind these two is Friday’s race winner, Neal Sapp in a BMW 325is and the Honda Civic Si of Taz Harvey.

The series 2000 Touring Car Rookie of the Year, Neal Sapp entered the final weekend fifth in the point standings and was one of six drivers that could finish in the runner-up spot. Driving the duPont Motorsports BMW 325is, he was victorious earlier in the season at Sears Point and Portland. At Road Atlanta, Sapp was back on form and added two more wins to his total. These results elevated him to second in the final standings.

Team principal, Alfred duPont sat out the final weekend as the result of broken ribs sustained in a motorcycle accident. Filling in for duPont was Jeff Altenburg. Altenburg had not competed in the series since round two at Sebring where he finished tenth. duPont’s decision proved to be a good choice as Altenburg finished in the runner-up position in the final two races of the season.

Securing his third World Challenge title would be an easy task for Pierre Kleinubing. Kleinubing, driving the No. 1 RealTime Racing Acura Integra Type R needed to finish eleventh or better in the weekend’s first race to capture the 2001 Touring Car crown. In Friday’s race, he started and finished third. In the season finale, Kleinubing qualified on the pole and was fourth at the checkered flag. He won the championship by forty-one points.

Included in the list of drivers that could finish second in the final Touring Car standings was Ken Dobson. Dobson’s was gaining momentum; he captured the runner-up spot at Laguna Seca and was fourth at Portland. At Road Atlanta, Dobson qualified the No. 7 BMW 328Ci eleventh for the weekend’s first contest and finished fifth. On Sunday, he started eighth and grabbed the final spot on the podium. Dobson was fourth in the final standings.

Steve Pfeffer drove the No. 26 John Hancock sponsored BMW 328is. A victory in the first event at Texas and third place at Sebring allowed him to lead the championship early in the season. Entering Road Atlanta, Pfeffer and fallen to third in the points but he had a mathematical chance of capturing the runner-up spot. During the final weekend, he logged fourth and eighth place finishes and retained his position in the standings.

Charles Espenlaub did not start the 2001 season until round four at Lime Rock Park. The year did not go well as the team struggled to finish events with the new Mazda Protege. Espenlaub’s best performance occurred at Road Atlanta. In the weekend’s first race, he gridded twenty-first and gained ten positions to earn the Borla Performance Award. On Sunday, Espenlaub scored his first top-ten finish of the year.

The driver with the best shot of finishing behind Pierre Kleinubing in the standings was Don Salama. It would not be easy as the points spread was very close with six different drivers vying for the spot. Salama qualified sixth and finished eighth in the penultimate round and still had a chance of securing the runner-up position. Unfortunately, his season ended on lap-9 of the finale when contact caused him to crash in turn twelve.

Mike Fitzgerald crashed the No. 44 Acura Integra Type R on Thursday when Hugh Plumb lost an engine in front of him. The following day, an axle failure caused a second accident. After encountering two incidents in two days, Fitzgerald decided not to tempt fate and withdrew from Sunday’s race. With the car repaired team principal, Peter Cunningham drove it in the season finale. Cunningham started fortieth and finished tenth.

The 2001 Rookie of the Year title was still to be decided. Roger Foo held a ten-point margin over Rob Hines. Foo scored his first series victory in the previous round at Laguna Seca. Neither driver posted outstanding results at Road Atlanta. Hines recorded thirty-fourth and thirteenth place finishes. Foo in the No. 88 Honda Civic was thirteenth and fifteenth but it was enough for him to take the Rookie of the Year honour.

Turner Motorsports prepared two BMW 328is – one for Don Salama and the second for the team owner, Will Turner. Turner drove the No. 92 entry. To date, his year had included a second and third but also two twenty-ninth place finishes. Turner was fourth on the starting grid for the first race at Road Atlanta and finished fifth. In the finale, he was sixth at the checkered flag after qualifying seventh. Turner was fifth in the final standings.

The World Challenge Touring Car class podium at Road Atlanta for the penultimate round of the 2001 championship. To the right is the runner-up, from duPont Motorsports, Jeff Altenburg. And, on the left is the newly crowned class champion who earned his third World Challenge title, Pierre Kleinubing. In the center, capturing his third victory of the season is Neal Sapp. Sapp’s win secured the Manufacturer’s title for BMW.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	Neal Sapp	BMW 325is	20	-
2	10	Jeff Altenburg	BMW 325is	20	-
3	3	Pierre Kleinubing	Acura Integra Type R	20	-
4	5	Steve Pfeffer	BMW 328is	20	-
5	11	Ken Dobson	BMW 328Ci	20	-
6	8	Don Salama	BMW 328i	20	-
7	7	Shauna Marinus	Mazda Protege	20	-
8	4	Will Turner	BMW 328is	20	-
9	12	Paul Bonaccorsi	Mazda Protege	20	-
10	6	David Leslie	Mazda 626	20	-
11	21	Charles Espenlaub	Mazda Protege	20	-
12	1	Hugh Plumb	Acura Integra Type R	20	-
13	19	Roger Foo	Honda Civic Si	20	-
14	37	Fred Pignataro	BMW 328is	20	-
15	20	Peter Tonelli	BMW 328Ci	20	-
16	24	Albert Mirko	Mazda 626	20	-
17	33	Ed Schairbaum	Nissan 240SX	20	-
18	29	Rudy Vajdak	Honda Prelude	20	-
19	25	Thomas Gaffney	BMW 325is	20	-
20	31	David Rosenblum	Mazda Protege	20	-
21	30	Tom Stewart	Honda Civic Si	20	-
22	43	Manny Matz	BMW 328is	20	-
23	39	Nick Vitucci	Acura Integra Type R	20	-
24	28	Phil Parlato	BMW 328is	20	-
25	35	Alex Juhasz	BMW 328is	20	-
26	26	Laurence Oliva	BMW 328is	20	-
27	32	Bob Hagestad	Acura Integra R	20	-
28	40	Carl Wener	VW Golf	20	-
29	47	Fred Meyer	Acura Integra Type R	20	-
30	27	Walter Markes	BMW 328is	20	-
31	38	Stephane Trahan	VW Beetle	20	-
32	23	Grant Lockwood	Mazda Protege	17	-
33	42	Carlos Steyer	Acura Integra Type R	17	-
34	14	Rob Hines	BMW 328is	17	Accident
35	17	Andy Lally	BMW 328is	16	-
36	15	Taz Harvey	Honda Civic Si	12	-
37	13	Mike Fitzgerald	Acura Integra Type R	9	Accident
38	34	Hugh Stewart	VW Jetta	5	Mechanical
39	9	Leo Capaldi	Mercury Cougar	4	-
40	36	Matthew Sklarz	BMW 328is	2	Mechanical
41	22	Drew Hagestad	VW Jetta	0	Accident
42	16	Jim Daniels	Mazda Protege	0	Accident
43	44	Mark Crellin	Nissan 200SR	0	Did Not Start
44	45	Mark Hein	Acura Integra Type R	0	Did Not Start
45	41	Frank Barba	Chrysler Neon	0	Did Not Start
46	18	Mike Buzzetti	Acura Integra Type R	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	3	Neal Sapp	BMW 325is	24	-
2	2	Jeff Altenburg	BMW 325is	24	-
3	8	Ken Dobson	BMW 328Ci	24	-
4	1	Pierre Kleinubing	Acura Integra Type R	24	-
5	6	Shauna Marinus	Mazda Protege	24	-
6	7	Will Turner	BMW 328is	24	-
7	14	Jim Daniels	Mazda Protege	24	-
8	5	Steve Pfeffer	BMW 328is	24	-
9	11	Charles Espenlaub	Mazda Protege	24	-
10	40	Peter Cunningham	Acura Integra Type R	24	-
11	16	Drew Hagestad	VW Jetta	24	-
12	18	Andy Lally	BMW 328is	24	-
13	13	Rob Hines	BMW 328is	24	-
14	29	Chuck Hemmingson	Mazda Protege	24	-
15	21	Roger Foo	Honda Civic Si	24	-
16	22	Peter Tonelli	BMW 328Ci	24	-
17	20	Thomas Gaffney	BMW 325is	24	-
18	12	Paul Bonaccorsi	Mazda Protege	24	-
19	26	Rudy Vajdak	Honda Prelude	24	-
20	41	Matthew Sklarz	BMW 328is	24	-
21	35	Nick Vitucci	Acura Integra Type R	24	-
22	30	Bob Hagestad	Acura Integra R	24	-
23	33	Laurence Oliva	BMW 328is	24	-
24	32	Alex Juhasz	BMW 328is	24	-
25	31	Phil Parlato	BMW 328is	24	-
26	28	Manny Matz	BMW 328is	24	-
27	25	Walter Markes	BMW 328is	24	-
28	38	Fred Meyer	Acura Integra Type R	24	-
29	37	Hugh Plumb	Acura Integra Type R	23	-
30	19	Albert Mirko	Mazda 626	22	-
31	36	Carl Wener	VW Golf	22	-
32	9	Leo Capaldi	Mercury Cougar	20	-
33	23	Tom Stewart	Honda Civic Si	16	-
34	39	David Rosenblum	Mazda Protege	16	-
34	27	Fred Pignataro	BMW 328is	15	-
36	10	David Leslie	Mazda 626	10	Transmission
37	15	Don Salama	BMW 328i	9	Accident
38	4	Taz Harvey	Honda Civic Si	4	Brakes
39	14	Stephane Trahan	VW Beetle	1	Suspension
40	25	Ed Schairbaum	Nissan 240SX	0	Accident
41	46	Carlos Steyer	Acura Integra Type R	0	Did Not Start

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