2009 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - Street Tuner

2009 was the final year of the Grand-Am Road Racing’s contract with KONI. The three-year agreement between Grand-Am and KONI saw the company offer the richest purse in the series history - $100,000 per event. The winning Grand Sport team earned $5,000 with the price fund doubling to $10,000 if the car was equipped with KONI shock absorbers. Street Tuner competitors competed for a similar payout - $3,750 to the winner and $7,500 if the vehicle is fitted with KONIs.

The cars in the series are relatively unchanged from their road-going counterparts – 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 were divided into one of two groups:

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 2,900 – 3,300-pounds, which is dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. This class includes cars such as the BMW M3, Ford Mustang, Porsche 997 and Porsche Carrera.
Street Tuner (ST): The smaller displacement cars compete in this class in which engines typically produce between 170 and 240-horsepower. Popular vehicles found in this group are the Volkswagen GTI, Acura TSX, Mazda RX-8, Mazda MX-5, Honda Civic Si, BMW 330i, Subaru Legacy, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Subaru Legacy and Mini Cooper S.

The 2009 season consisted of eleven race weekends and started in January at Daytona International Speedway, which was followed by a second event in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In May, the series would visit Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey then move on to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park. The teams traveled Watkins Glen International in June and after this event, race weekends took place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. In August, teams made the trip to Canada, where the action would take place on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The penultimate round was held at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park, with the finale being held at Virginia International Raceway. The Grand Sport and Street Tuner classes competed separately – the exceptions being Daytona, New Jersey, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen International and Miller Motorsports Park, where they race together.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was the scene of round seven for the 2009 Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series. Twenty-nine Street Tuner teams competed on the thirteen-turn 2.258-mile road course for eighty-four-laps.

The first lap of round seven at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Leading the twenty-nine Street Tuner competitors into the ‘Carousel’ turn is the pole-sitter, Josh Hurley, in the No. 171 APR Tuning Volkswagen GTI. Behind Hurley is the other front row starter and his teammate, Mike Sweeney, in the No. 181 Volkswagen. The next car in line is the Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si of the points leader, Christian Miller.

On lap-78, Ian Baas was behind the wheel of the class-leading APR Tuning Volkswagen GTI when it slowed with an electrical issue. Running second at the time was Baas’ teammate, Dion von Moltke. Von Moltke seized the opportunity and grabbed the lead. He controlled the remaining six-laps of the contest, giving him and his co-driver, Mike Sweeney, their second victory of the year.

On the merit of two wins and a runner-up finish in the most recent event at Watkins Glen International, Christian Miller was the Street Tuner championship points leader. Miller shared the No. 74 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si with Touring Car veteran, Randy Pobst. Pobst drove the final stint but was no match for the leader, Dion von Moltke, and finished second by a margin of 4.114-seconds.

Co-driving the No. 111 Subaru Road Racing Team Subaru Legacy were Kristian Skavnes and Andrew Aquilante. The pair opened the season with a runner-up finish at Daytona International Speedway. Since then, they had been unable to find the podium and scored a season-low thirteenth place at their home track, Lime Rock Park. At Mid-Ohio, Skavnes and Aquilante finished third and moved to second in the title chase.

Josh Hurley captured the Street Tuner pole-position for round seven. This was Hurley’s second pole of the season in the No. 171 Volkswagen GTI. For APR Tuning, this was their second consecutive front row start. The latest results were attributed to the crew’s recent focus on the car’s suspension. Unfortunately, Hurley’s teammate, Ian Baas, finished eleventh when the Volkswagen developed an electrical problem.

At the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Paul Dalla Lana and team principal, Will Turner, shared the No. 95 Turner Motorsport prepared BMW 328i. Their best race of the 2009 season was round four at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where the car finished in first place. A steady performance at Mid-Ohio was rewarded with a fourth-place at the checkered flag.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	ST	von Moltke / Sweeney	APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI	84
2	ST	Miller / Pobst	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	84
3	ST	Aquilante / Skavnes	Subaru Road Racing Team / Subaru Legacy	84
4	ST	Dalla Lana / Turner	Turner Motorsport / BMW 328i	84
5	ST	O'Doski / Carbonell	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	84
6	ST	Anthony, Jr. / Slone	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	84
7	ST	Lepper / Rashleigh	GS Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS	84
8	ST	Gilsinger / Johnson	HART / Honda Civic Si	84
9	ST	Beede / Cullen	Bill Fenton Motorsports / Honda Civic Si	84
10	ST	Hamelin / Hebert	89 Racing Team / Honda Civic Si	84
11	ST	Baas / Hurley	APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI	84
12	ST	Spaude / Thilenius	Bill Fenton Motorsports / Honda Civic Si	84
13	ST	Davis / Putman	Kinetic Motorsports / BMW 330i	84
14	ST	Dayton / Battle	RRT Racing / BMW 328i	84
15	ST	Kuitwaard / Walker	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	83
16	ST	Giovanis / Halpin	Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330i	83
17	ST	Cattaneo / White	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	83
18	ST	Buford / Mirzayan	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	83
19	ST	Smalley / Trinkler	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	83
20	ST	Orr / Bosch	Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330i	82
21	ST	Heumann / Zacharias	V-Pack Motorsport / BMW Z4	82
22	ST	Nonnamaker / Sahlen	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	82
23	ST	Bovenberg / Rashleigh	GS Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS	82
24	ST	Harding / Milarcik	Pirate Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	80
25	ST	Cosmo / Ortiz	Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330i	71
26	ST	Smith / Tallman	CA Sport / Honda Civic Si	71
27	ST	Burrows / Hopwood	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	63
28	ST	Long / Whitis	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	21
29	ST	Arnold / Schultz	V-Pack Motorsport / BMW Z4	9
0	ST	Lewis / Schmitt	HART / Honda Civic Si	-

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