2011 Watkins Glen International - Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge

There were ten race weekends during the 2011 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season. The schedule kicked off in January at Daytona International Speedway, which was followed by a second event in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In April, the series would visit Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama and then move on to Virginia International Raceway. Round five would be conducted at Lime Rock Park on Memorial Day weekend. At Lime Rock, the Grand Sport and Street Tuner classes competed separately. The teams traveled Watkins Glen International in June. After this event, race weekends took place at the Road America and, the series on west coast swing, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The penultimate round was conducted in late July at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The finale was held on September 16-17 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

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 Continental. 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 Boss 302 R, Chevrolet Camaro GS.R, Porsche 997 and Porsche Cayman.
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 Speed 3, Mazda MX-5, Honda Civic Si, BMW 328i, Chevrolet Cobalt SS and Mini Cooper S.

Round six of the 2011 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season was held at Watkins Glen International. The two-hour, thirty-minute Continental Tire 150 at The Glen started Friday evening at 6:00 pm.

The start for round six of the 2011 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Watkins Glen International. Leading the field of sixty-one starters into the first turn is the pole-sitter, Joe Foster driving the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang Boss 302 R. On the outside of Foster is the Mitchum Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GS.R of the second-fastest qualifier, Joey Atterbury.

Roush Performance’s, Billy Johnson and Jack Roush, Jr. failed to score points in the opening round at Daytona. But after that disappointment, they were on a roll. In the next four events, their worst finish was a third place. At Watkins Glen International, Roush qualified and started in the fourth position. While in the lead, Johnson was able to hold off a late-race challenge from John Edwards to give the pair the win.

The fastest driver in the Street Tuner qualifying session was Chris Gleason, Jr. in the No. 171 APR Motorsport Volkswagen GTI. Unfortunately, Gleason, along with two of the other top qualifiers, failed the technical inspection and would have to start at the rear of the field. A well-executed race strategy moved Gleason and his co-driver, brother, Kevin into the lead, allowing them to capture a victory.

Two other drivers that didn’t get their season off to a good start were John Edwards and Matt Bell. In the opening round at Daytona, they finished twenty-eighth. At Watkins Glen, Bell qualified the No. 9 Stephenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GS.R sixth fastest and remained in contention during his stint. Edwards drove the final leg but could not catch the leader, Billy Johnson, and finished second by a margin of 1.576-seconds.

Making it a one-two finish in Street Tuner category for APR Motorsport were Nathan Norenberg and Josh Hurley. Hurly and Norenberg shared the No. 161 Volkswagen GTI. Like their teammates, the Gleason brothers, the car failed the post-qualifying technical inspection and they started thirty-third in class. The pair were able to weave their way through the field and finished sixteenth overall and second in Street Tuner.

The overall and Grand Sport podium for round six of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Watkins Glen International. In the center and capturing their second victory of 2011 are Billy Johnson and Jack Roush, Jr. On the right side of the rostrum are the second-place finishers, Matt Bell and John Edwards. The final position on the podium is occupied by Mark Boden and Terry Borcheller.

Thirty-four Street Tuner competitors charge into Watkins Glen International’s turn one for round six of the 2011 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Leading the field are the front row starters. The pole-sitter, Jeff Westphal in the No. 18 Insight Racing BMW 328i, is challenged by the i-Moto Mazda Speed 3 driven by Taylor Hacquard. Immediately behind them is the Mazda Speed 3 of Brad Rampelberg.

At Watkins Glen International, sportscar veteran, Terry Borcheller and Fall-Line Motorsports team principal, Mark Boden, co-drove the No. 46 BMW M3. They shared the car for the first time in round four at Virginia International Raceway, where they finished third in Grand Sport. In a repeat performance, Boden qualified twelfth fastest and Borcheller brought the BMW home in third place.

Freedom Autosport had a fleet of four Mazdas (2 – MX-5 and 2 – Speed 3) at Watkins Glen International. Sharing the No 25 MX-5 were Derek Whitis and Tom Long. Heading into round six, they were third in the Street Tuner title chase. Whitis started the Continental Tire 150 at The Glen eighth in class and the pair finished third. They retained their position in the championship standings but closed in on Ryan Eversley and Nic Jonsson.

Starting on the overall and Grand Sport pole for the third time this season was Joe Foster. Foster was also the fastest qualifier at Barber Motorsport Park and Lime Rock Park. He and his driving partner, Scott Maxwell, entered round six second in standings. After his stint in the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang Boss 302 R, Forster handed the car over to Maxwell, who finished fourth and reduced the points gap.

Jeff Westphal driving the No. 18 Capital / Alpha Group sponsored BMW 328i inherited the class pole position at Watkins Glen International when the top three Street Tuner entries failed the post-qualifying technical inspection. Sharing the BMW with Westphal was Nico Rondet. Unable to maintain the pace of the class leaders, they would finish twenty-first overall and seventh in their category.

The Street Tuner podium for the Continental Tire 150 at The Glen. In the center from APR Motorsport are the winners and brothers, Kevin and Chris Gleason. Standing on the right side and giving APR a one-two finish are the runner-ups, Nathan Norenberg and Josh Hurley. Completing the rostrum are Freedom Autosport’s, Tom Long and Derek Whitis.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	GS	Johnson / Roush	Roush Performance / Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	59
2	GS	Edwards / Bell	Sevenson Motorsports / Chevrolet Camaro GS.R	59
3	GS	Boden / Borcheller	Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3	59
4	GS	Maxwell / Foster	Multimatic Motorsports / Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	59
5	GS	Rivera / Dyer	CKS Autosport / Chevrolet Camaro GS.R	59
6	GS	Atterbury / Aschenbach	Mitchum Motorsports / Chevrolet Camaro GS.R	59
7	GS	Martin / Weinberg	Racers Edge Motorsports / Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	59
8	GS	Stout / Bucknum	Mitchum Motorsports / Chevrolet Camaro GS.R	59
9	GS	Dalla Lana / Auberlen	Turner Motorsport / BMW M3	59
10	GS	Cosmo / Massari	BGB Motorsports / Porsche Cayman	59
11	GS	Sellers / Buford	Kinetic Motorsports / BMW M3	59
12	GS	Kent / Falgueras	Roush Performance / Ford Mustang Boss 302 r	59
13	GS	Clay / Thomas	BimmerWorld / BMW M3	59
14	GS	Phillips / Adams	Race with RP / Ford Mustang	59
15	ST	Gleason / Gleason	APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI	59
16	ST	Hurley / Norenberg	APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI	59
17	ST	Long / Whitis	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	59
18	ST	O'Doski / Carbonell	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	59
19	ST	Carroll / Eversley	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	60
20	ST	Brown / Piscitell	RACE EPIC / Murillo Racing / BMW 328i	56
21	ST	Westphal / Rondet	Insight Racing / BMW 328i	59
22	ST	Mason / Pecorari	V-Pack Motorsport / BMW 330i	59
23	ST	Cattaneo / Trinkler	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	59
24	ST	Liefooghe / Capestro-Dubets	BimmerWorld / BMW 328i	59
25	ST	Tallman / Kozarov	CA Sport / Honda Civic Si	59
26	ST	Galati / Jonsson	Kinetic Motorsports / Kia Forte Koup	59
27	ST	Mirzayan / Sarian	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	59
28	ST	Burrows / Hopwood	Kinetic Motorsports / Kia Forte Koup	59
29	ST	Riley / Riley	Riley Racing / Mazda RX-8	59
30	ST	Rogers / Kuitwaard	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	59
31	ST	Ferguson / Hamblin	DeMan Motorsport / Porsche Boxster	59
32	ST	Combs / Mosing	RACE EPIC / Murillo Racing / BMW 328i	59
33	ST	Conway / Carpentier	Doran Racing / BMW 128i	59
34	ST	Picut / Watson	Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330i	59
35	ST	White / Heumann	BimmerWorld / BMW 328i	59
36	ST	Kleinubing / Hacquard	i-Moto / Mazda Speed 3	59
37	ST	Bocchino / Herr	i-Moto / Mazda Speed 3	59
38	GS	Espenlaub / Putman	Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3	58
39	GS	Wilden / Michaelian	BimmerWorld / BMW M3	58
40	GS	Click / McGovern	Jim Click Racing / Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	58
41	ST	Giovanis / Dewey	TGM / BMW 328i	58
42	ST	Costello / Grahovec	Marren Motor Sports / Honda Civic Si	58
43	GS	Spaude / Heinrich	Subaru Road Racing Team / Subaru WRX-STI	57
44	ST	Lutz / Thilenius	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	57
45	GS	Panzer / Snyder	Frederick Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT	56
46	GS	Plumb / Longhi	Rum Bum Racing / BMW M3	53
47	ST	Bell / Zacharias	Doran Racing / BMW 128i	49
48	ST	Pombo / Pombo	i-Moto / Mazda Speed 3	49
49	GS	Ecklin, Jr. / Waddell	Automatic Racing / BMW M3	45
50	GS	Buffomante / Gimple	Capaldi Racing Inc. / Ford Mustang	43
51	GS	Marsal / Hand	Turner Motorsport / BMW M3	41
52	ST	Barnett / Igdalsky	Freedom Autosport / Mazda Speed 3	41
53	ST	Foss / Rampelberg	Freedom Autosport / Mazda Speed 3	35
54	ST	Baas / Ellis	APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI	29
55	ST	Farmer / Hart	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	28
56	ST	Gilsinger / Schmitt	HART / Honda Civic Si	25
57	GS	Finlay / Cameron	Finlay Motorsports / Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	21
58	GS	McCalmont / Curran	CKS Autosport / Chevrolet Camaro GS.R	15
59	GS	Plumb / Carter	Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3	11
60	GS	James / Nastasi	Blackforest Motorsports / Dodge Challenger	9
61	ST	Novich / Theetge	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	6

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