2005 was the fifth consecutive year of the Grand American Road Racing’s Grand Am Cup Series for American and Foreign sports cars and sedans.

There was a significant restructuring of the classes in 2004. The season debuted with a single Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) class.

  • Grand Sport (GS): The quicker of the two classes - the group features the larger displacement engines as well as smaller four-cylinder motors with forced induction systems. The power-plants produce between 350 and 405-horsepower. Minimum weights range between 2,730 – 3,250-pounds, which is dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. The top speed for a Grand Sport car is approximately 160-mph. This class includes cars such as the Acura NSX, Cadillac CTS-V, BMW M3, Pontiac Firebird, Ford Mustang, Nissan 350Z and Porsche 996.
  • Street Tuner (ST): The smaller displacement cars compete in this class in which engines typically produce between 170 and 240-horsepower. The top speed of a Sport Touring car is approximately 135-mph. Popular vehicles found in this group are the Acura RSX-S, Mazda RX-8, BMW Z3, BMW 330i, Chevrolet Cobalt SS and Mini Cooper S.

The cars competing in the series are relatively unchanged from their road-going versions – modifications are mandated mainly for safety – roll cages, window nets, etc. They also used spec DOT-approved tires produced by Hoosier. Based on performance potential, the cars are placed in the Grand Sport or Sport Touring group.

The 2005 season consists of eleven race weekends and starts in February at Daytona International Speedway. New for this year is a Grand Sport only race in Santo Domingo. Returning to the United States, teams travel to California Speedway in early April. At the end of the month, the series competes at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Then there is a trip to the East Coast for race weekends at Watkins Glen International, Mosport International Raceway, Barber Motorsports Park, Trois-Rivieres and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The penultimate rounds take place at Phoenix International Raceway with the Twin 200s. The Grand Sport and Street Tuner teams will compete in separate races. The finale is held in early October at Virginia International Raceway.

The Monterey 200 was conducted on the 2.238-mile eleven-turn road course at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This would be round three for the Grand Am Cup Sport Touring competitors and race four for the Grand Sport teams as they had an additional event in Santo Domingo.

Leading the field into corner two at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for round three of the 2005 Grand Am Cup series is the second-fastest qualifier, Scott Maxwell. Maxwell is driving the Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang. To his right is the pole-sitter, Justin Marks, in the Turner Motorsport BMW M3. Trailing the leaders are third and fourth place starters, the No. 58 Speed Quest / Rehagen Racing Ford Mustang and the BMW of Anchor Racing.
Scoring their first Grand Sport victory of the season were Canadians, Scott Maxwell and David Empringham. Maxwell started in the second position but jumped into the lead at the drop of the green flag. He was in the top spot for twelve-laps before contact with a slower car cost him several positions. Empringham drove the final stint. He regained the lost places and grabbed the lead with sixteen-laps remaining.
Defending Grand-Am Cup Series Sport Touring champions, Sylvain Tremblay and David Haskell claimed their second-straight ST class win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Haskell qualified second fastest in the No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8. Tremblay made a late-race pass in the final turn on the Acura of Bob Endicott for the class lead. Despite several attempts by Endicott to regain first place, Tremblay held on to win by 0.638-seconds.
Eric Curran and Bob Endicott made quite a formidable duo in the Sport Touring category. To date, they had runner-up finishes at Daytona and California Speedway. After Curran qualified third at Mazda Raceway, it appeared that they might capture their first victory of the season. Endicott was leading with two laps to go; unfortunately, a daring pass by Sylvain Tremblay dropped him to second. He was unable to regain the position.
Sharing the No. 6 Zoom Motorsports Porsche 996 was Mike McCalmont and Darren Law. The Porsche was gridded twenty-second in the Grand Sport category for the start of the Monterey 200. McCalmont and Law maneuvered their way through the field. As the race came to a conclusion, Law chased and passed the Ford Mustang of Ian James to finish second. This was the team’s second consecutive runner-up result.
The pace lap for the Sport Touring class at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. On the pole is the Turner Motorsport BMW 330i shared by Don Salama and team principal, Will Turner. The second fastest qualifier is the reigning category champions, Sylvain Tremblay and David Haskell, driving the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8. Occupying the second row is one of the Bill Fenton Motorsports Acuras and the Nuzzo Motorsports’ Mini.
Don Salama was the fastest Sport Touring driver during the qualifying session at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Sharing the Turner Motorsport prepared BMW 330i with Salama was the team owner, Will Turner. During the Monterey 200, they lost a lap to the class leaders. The duo finished twenty-ninth overall but was able to salvage a third place in the Sport Touring category.
The No. 5 Daytona winning Ford Mustang FR500C was a Multimatic Motorsports customer car. Driver’s Ian James and Tom Nastasi were having a lot of success with the new Mustang. In addition, to their victory, they scored a third-place finish at California Speedway. In round four, Nastasi qualified twelfth fastest, but the pair moved into contention. During the final laps, James was second but lost the position to the Porsche of Darren Law.
Gunnar Jeanette and James Gue entered Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with the Grand Sport points lead. They started fourth in class, but Gue flat-spotted a tire early in the race and the car fell to the twenty-eighth position. After two pit-stops, the drivers worked their way back through the field. A last-lap incident between two BMWs gave them a fourth-place finish. More importantly, they were able to maintain the championship lead.
Justin Marks captured his second overall and Grand Sport pole-position at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Marks’ first pole of 2005 was in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He was sharing the Turner Motorsport BMW M3 with Bill Auberlen. Unfortunately, the drivers were continuing to have challenges and dropped down the race order. The pair finished on the lead lap but were in fifteenth place.
David Tuaty and Daniel Colembie were the first Sport Touring competitors across the finish in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. However, the fuel tank capacity on their TC Kline Racing BMW Z4 exceeded specifications and they were disqualified. In round three, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, they started eighth in class but problems during the event relegated them to a twenty-second place finish.

POS.CLASSDRIVERSCARENTRANTLAPS
1GSEmpringham / MaxwellFord Mustang GTMultimatic Motorsports76
2GSMcCalmont / LawPorsche 996Zoom Motorsports76
3GSJames / NastasiFord Mustang GTBlackforest Motorsports76
4GSGue / JeannetteFord Mustang GTMultimatic Motorsports76
5GSHainer / HandBMW M3Anchor Racing76
6GSPowell / KnowlesCadillac CTS-VPowell Motorsport76
7GSGaffney / LallyPorsche 996Race Prep Motorsports76
8GSAuriemma / Pumpelly / PickettPorsche 996Race Prep Motorsports76
9GSWortzman / WildenBMW M3Zoom Motorsports76
10GSKohler / SmithMustang SaleenTF Racing76
11GSReghagen / MartinMustang Cobra SVTRehagen Racing75
12GSKrohn / JonssonPorsche 996Krohn Racing75
13GSEllis / BavaroPorsche 997Bodymotion Racing75
14GSThornton / RussellBMW M3Automatic Racing75
15GSMarks / AuberlenBMW M3Turner Motorsport75
16GSSeafuse / SeafuseFord Mustang CobraJBS Motorsports75
17GSBailey / BrownPorsche 996Autometrics Motorsports75
18GSCourtney / PutmanPorsche 996Race Prep Motorsports74
19GSMartini / CollinsPorsche 997Synergy Racing74
20GSWilkins / LaceyPorsche 996Doncaster Racing74
21GSNonnamaker / NonnamakerPorsche 996Team Sahlen68
22GSGuindon / CamirandCadillac CTS-VPowell Motorsport70
23GSWellon / Ellis / RossiPorsche 996Knobel Racing69
24GSMacDonald / ThompsonPorsche 996Team Sahlen68
25GSTraver / MillerPorsche 996Race Prep Motorsports61
26STHaskell / TremblayMazda RX-8SpeedSource70
27STCurran / EndicottAcura RSX-SBill Fenton Motorsports57
28GSDrissi / GorriaranNissan 350ZDWW/GorillaRacing.com70
29STSalama / TurnerBMW 330ciCSL Racing69
30GSYeakle / Baughman / ShawPontiac FirebirdMichael Baughman Racing4
31STLiebl / BeedeAcura RSX-SBill Fenton Motorsports74
32STHoltom / HoltomChevrolet CobaltGeorgian Bay Motorsports74
33STPappas / PfefferBMW 330iTurner Motorsport74
34STO'Shaughnessy / O'ShaughnessyBMW Z4TC Kline Racing74
35STSchlesinger / AltenburgMazda RX-8SpeedSource74
36GSSahlen / NonnamakerPorsche 996Team Sahlen74
37STJohnson / WehrheimBMW Z3Compass360/Racing74
38STBisignano / WalkerMazda RX-8SpeedSource74
39GSLehmann / ZachariasFord MustangChampion Racing73
40STMilner / ConnollyBMW 330ciMatt Connolly Motorsports73
41STAuberlen / PotterMini Cooper SNuzzo Motorsports73
42STBecker / HalpinMazda RX-8Southpaw Racing73
43STLepper / RoachChevrolet CobaltFranklin American Mortgage73
44STEaton / HowardMazda RX-8Southpaw Racing73
45STMagner / StrubChevrolet CobaltWTF Engineering72
46STHeffron / BriodyBMW 330ciMatt Connolly Motorsports72
47GSMunson / SofronasBMW M3Anchor Racing71
48STBaglier / LuffyMazda 6Baglieracing71
49STGurucharri / MolinMazda RX-8HBAR Motorsports70
50GSRiches / Grande / FoxPorsche 996Knobel Racing70
51GSBosler / Nonnamaker / SahlenPorsche 996Team Sahlen69
52GSChang / PricePorsche 996BGB Motorsports54
53GSHimes / WardBMW M3Power Racing Team51
54GSSkelton / FosterBMW M3Anchor Racing42
55GSRiddle / WilsonBMW M3Automatic Racing41
56GSKeravich III / TrinklerBMW M3Power Racing Team40
57GSKapudija / PecorariMustang Cobra SVTRehagen Racing / Speedquest39
58STFrance / ThomsonBMW Z3Compass360/Racing37
59GSPlummer / CosmoPorsche 996BGB Motorsports27
60STMalgren / LepperDodge SRT-4Collision Craft26
61STColembie / TuatyBMW Z4TC Kline Racing23
62GSFinlay / McDowell / GidleyBMW M3Finlay Motorsports18
63GSRosser / MurryPorsche 996Fiorano Racing15
64GSBorcheller / Cronin JrNissan 350ZUnitech Racing14
65STLewis / Nuzzo/ ShalitMini Cooper SNuzzo Motorsports9
66GSCanny / ZavodskyMustang Cobra SVTRehagen Racing7
67STAbello / EspenlaubMazda RX-8SpeedSource4
68GSMunson / Scott / ProbertBMW M3Anchor Racing3
69GSDement / BernheimPorsche 996Bernheim Porsche Racing0
70GSNonnamaker / SahlenPorsche 996Team Sahlen0
71GSFinlay / McDowell / GidleyBMW M3Finlay Motorsports0


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