2014 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge

In 2013, there were negotiations were underway that resulted in the merging of the Grand American Road Racing Association and the America Le Mans Series. There was little impact on the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSC) – the series continued with the same classes but ran as a support event for the new Tudor United Sportscar Championship. The amalgamation resulted in the CTSC championship competing at some new venues.

The 2014 season consists of twelve race weekends. It starts in January at Daytona International Speedway, followed by the series’ first visit to Sebring International Raceway since the days of the Motorola Cup in 2000. In May, teams travel to the West Coast for an event at California’s Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The championship will then return to the East to make a stop at Lime Rock Park during the Memorial Day weekend. Two weeks later, the series moves on to Kansas Speedway, followed by Watkins Glen International. Round seven takes place north of the border at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. At the end of July, teams make their way to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Next on the schedule are Road America and Virginia International Raceway. The penultimate round will be held at Circuit of the Americas with the finale taking place in early October at Road Atlanta.

The cars are relatively unchanged from their road-going versions – modifications are mandated mainly for safety – roll cages, window nets, etc. They also use spec DOT-approved tires produced by Continental. Based on performance potential, the cars are 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 400 and 500-horsepower. Minimum weights range between 2,900 – 3,300-pounds, which are dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. This class includes cars such as the BMW M3, Aston Martin Vantage, Ford Mustang Boss 302 R, Porsche 997, Porsche Carrera, Chevrolet Camaro GS.R and Nissan 370Z.
Street Tuner (ST): The smaller displacement cars compete in this class in which engines typically produce between 220 and 280-horsepower. Popular vehicles found in this group are the Nissan Altima, Porsche Boxster, Mazda Speed 3, Mazda MX-5, Honda Accord Si, BMW 328i, Volkswagen Jetta and BMW 128i.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was round seven of the twelve races conducted during the 2014 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season. Drivers would compete on the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course for two-hours and thirty-minutes.

The start of round seven for the 2014 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Leading the field of twenty-one Grand Sport competitors into corner one is the pole-winning Steven Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R driven by Andrew Davis. Behind Davis is his teammate and the third-fastest qualifier, Matt Bell, in the No. 9 Camaro. On the outside is the Fall-Line BMW M3 of Trent Hindman.

The No. 9 Steven Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R was shared by Matt Bell and Andy Lally. Bell qualified the car and was third fastest. He was in contention when the team pitted for the driver change. During the final caution period, Lally pitted and changed only two tires, which gave him the lead on the re-start. Despite pressure from Billy Johnson, he hung on for his eighth career Continental Tire Challenge victory.

Canadian’s Remo Ruscitti and Adam Isman scored their first Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge victory after two near misses. At Kansas Speedway, they were fighting for the lead when the clutch failed and in the previous round at Watkins Glen International, the pair ran out of fuel. With two laps remaining in race seven, Ruscitti grabbed the lead in the No. 4 Porsche Cayman and held off challenges from Eric Foss and Andrew Carbonell.

Multimatic entered two Ford Mustang Boss 302R. Sharing the No. 158 Mustang were Billy Johnson and Ian James. James qualified the Mustang and started ninth overall. Johnson drove the last half of the contest and after the final rounds of stops, he exited the pits in third place. He chased and passed his teammate, Scott Maxwell, with two laps remaining. But Johnson was unable to catch the leader and finished second.

Eric Foss entered Canadian Tire Motorsport Park second in the Street Tuner standings – two-points behind Tyler Cooke and Greg Liefooghe. Foss’s teammate, Jeff Mosing, put the No. 56 Murillo Racing BMW 328i on the class pole and started nineteenth overall. Foss was in the lead after the final round of stops, but he could not fend off Remo Ruscitti and finished second; however, he was now the points leader.

The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Grand Sport podium for round seven at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the center and winning their first race of 2014 are Matt Bell and Andy Lally. On the left side of the rostrum from Multimatic Motorsports are the runner-ups, Ian James and Billy Johnson. The final spot on the podium is occupied by the third-place finishers also from Multimatic, Scott Maxwell and Jade Buford.

The second wave of Street Tuner starters enters Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s first corner for round seven of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. Leading the way is the pole-winning No. 56 Mosing Motorcars sponsored BMW 328i of Jeff Mosing. Behind Mosing is the Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si of Kyle Gimple. The No. 93 Honda Civic Si is piloted by the second-fastest qualifier, Chad Gilsinger.

Freedom Autosport brought their usual fleet of Mazdas to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Sharing the No. 26 Mazda MX-5 were Randy Pobst and Andrew Carbonell. Pobst performed the qualifying duties and would start twenty-third overall and fifth in Street Tuner. Carbonell was the closer and found himself in a three-way battle for the lead with Remo Ruscitti and Eric Foss. Unable to pass, he finished third.

Finishing third overall and in the Grand Sport category were Jade Buford and local favourite, Scott Maxwell. The pair had four top-ten finishes, including a fifth-place at Lime Rock Park, but Canadian Tire Motorsport Park would be their best result to date. Buford started round seven in sixth place, driving the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang Boss 302R. Maxwell was in second when he lost the spot to Billy Johnson.

The No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 was driven by Trent Hindman and John Edwards. They opened the season with three podium finishes, including a win. Trouble at Kansas meant no points for Edwards. Another bad result at Watkins Glen saw Hindman tied at the top of Grand Sport standings with Matt Plumb. The tiebreaker would come in round seven when Hindman finished fourth and Plumb was ninth.

A strong start to the season gave Street Tuner competitors, Tyler Cooke and Greg Liefooghe, a commanding points lead. As of late, the two teammates struggled and finished twelfth in class at Watkins Glen International. They didn’t fare much better at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and a tenth-place result dropped the drivers of the No. 81 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i to third in the title chase.

The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Street Tuner podium for round seven at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the center and winning their first series race after back-to-back disappointments are Remo Ruscitti and Adam Isman. On the rostrum’s left side are the runner-ups, Jeff Mosing and the new points leader, Eric Foss. Occupying the final position on the podium are Randy Pobst and Andrew Carbonell.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GS	Lally / Bell	Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R	90	-
2	GS	James / Johnson	Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	90	-
3	GS	Maxwell / Buford	Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	90	-
4	GS	Hindman / Edwards	BMW M3	90	-
5	GS	Liddell / Davis	Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R	90	-
6	GS	Curran / Aschenbach	Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R	90	-
7	GS	McCalmont / Skeen	Chevrolet Camaro GS.R	90	-
8	GS	Bize / Levine	Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	90	-
9	GS	Plumb / Longhi	Porsche 997	90	-
10	GS	Carter / Sandberg	Porsche 997	90	-
11	GS	Rezzetano / Aquilante	Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	90	-
12	GS	Rezzetano / Calvert	Ford Mustang Boss 302 R	90	-
13	GS	Riddle / Wilson	Aston Martin Vantage	90	-
14	GS	Zacharias / Jaeger	Nissan 370Z	90	-
15	GS	Barkey / Marcelli	Porsche 997	90	-
16	GS	Bell / Cameron	Nissan 370Z	90	-
17	GS	Blackstock / Longe	BMW M3	90	-
18	GS	Kimber-Smith / Auberlen	BMW M3	90	-
19	ST	Ruscitti / Isman	Porsche Boxster	88	-
20	ST	Mosing / Foss	BMW 328i	88	-
21	ST	Pobst / Carbonell	Mazda MX-5	88	-
22	ST	Gimple / Eversley	Honda Civic Si	88	-
23	ST	Clay / Briedis	BMW 328i	88	-
24	ST	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Porsche Cayman	88	-
25	ST	Brown / Lewis	Porsche Cayman	88	-
26	ST	Borcheller / LaMarra	BMW 128i	88	-
27	ST	McAleer / McCumbee	Mazda MX-5	88	Excluded
28	ST	Liefooghe / Cooke	BMW 328	88	-
29	ST	Strelzoff / Bloum	BMW 128i	88	-
30	ST	Rogers / Thomas	BMW 328	88	-
31	ST	Vance / Miller	Honda Civic Si	88	-
32	ST	Pombo / Pombo	Mazda MX-5	88	-
33	ST	Murcott / Machavern	BMW 128	87	-
34	ST	Probert / Mosing / Piscitell	BMW 328i	87/font>	-
35	ST	Kwok / Kwok	Honda Civic Si	87	-
36	ST	Landy / Espenlaub	Hyundai Genesis	87	-
37	ST	Abdolvahabi / Thilenius	Hyundai Genesis	86	-
38	ST	Giovanis / Murry	BMW 328	86	-
39	ST	Gilsinger / Boehm	Honda Civic Si	86	-
40	ST	Gilsinger / Valiante	Honda Civic Si	85	-
41	GS	Montgomery / Tarpley	Chevrolet Camaro GS.R	80	-
42	ST	Sahlen / Nonnamaker	Porsche Cayman	70	Not Running
43	GS	Farano / Empringham	Nissan 370Z	47	Not Running
44	ST	McQuarrie / Miller	Mazda MX-5	36	Not Running
45	GS	Mason / Kleinubing	Subaru WRX-STI	32	Not Running
46	ST	Zimmermann / Fergus	BMW 328i	12	Not Running
47	GS	Mantella / Wilkins	Aston Martin Vantage	0	Did Not Start

Copyright Notice:

All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.