2014 Miller Motorsports Park

The 2014 World Challenge season was the twenty-fifth consecutive year for the series. There were eleven race weekends – the series kicked-off in March at St. Petersburg, Florida and ended at Miller Motorsports Park in September.

Two new classes were introduced in 2014 – GTA and TCA. There were now three categories for GT and Touring cars:

Grand Touring (GT) – This is the series quickest group. Examples of vehicles racing in this class include: Porsche 911 GT3 R, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, McLaren 12C GT3, Cadillac CTS-V R, Lamborghini Gallardo FL2, Audi R8 and Ferrari 458 GT3.
Grand Touring Sportsman (GTA) – This class includes the same vehicles as GT. However, the drivers are not considered professionals. Competitors in this category are evaluated after each event and based on their performance may be elevated to the GT class.
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – The cars in this category are similar to the GT vehicles but have more preparation restrictions. This class includes the Ford Mustang Boss 302, Chevrolet Camaro, Aston Martin GT4 and Porsche Cayman S.
Touring Car (TC) – This division is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are permitted some performance modifications. Examples of vehicles competing in this category include: Honda Accord, Kia Forte, Mazda MX-5 and Porsche Boxster.
Touring Car A (TCA) – Many of the cars competing in this category are the same as those found in Touring Car. What sets them apart are the minimum amount of modifications that can be made – most changes are to improve the safety of the vehicles.
Touring Car B (TCB) - The slowest of all the World Challenge categories is based on the Sports Car Club of America’s B-Spec class. Examples of vehicles competing in this group include: Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Mazda 2 and Mini Cooper.

During the 2014 season, the GT cars would compete in sixteen fifty-minute races. The Touring Cars had fourteen forty-minute events. Results from these races would determine Driver and Manufacturer Champions in the six classes.

The season ended at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. Rounds fifteen and sixteen for the GT cars would be held on the fifteen-turn 3.048-mile ‘Outer Course’.

The start of the 2014 season finale. Robert Thorne in the K-PAX Racing McLaren 12C GT3 jumps into the lead and is followed by the Cadillac’s of Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim. Ryan Dalziel driving the Effort Racing Porsche GT3R, at the extreme left, will drop into second before the first lap is completed.

Guy Smith started from the pole in Saturday’s race but was not very quick getting off the line and dropped to sixth place. However, he fared better than some competitors – the standing start claimed four victims. Smith moved up the order and was second when race leader Robert Thorne made contact with a GTS car. This incident gave Smith the lead and win. In the weekend’s second event, he started first and finished fifth.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of GTA driver Tim Pappas was the second fastest GTA qualifier in round fourteen. Pappas led the first eight laps until he was forced to pit with a mechanical issue this dropped him to last in class. In Sunday’s race, Pappas had better luck and scored his second GTA victory of the season.

Entering the Miller Motorsports rounds, Lawson Aschenbach trailed GTS class leader Mark Wilkins by just two-points. In the first race, Aschenbach’s chance of securing another World Challenge title was greatly enhanced when he finished fourth and Wilkins was a DNF. In the final race of the season, Aschenbach was second in class at the checkered flag. This earned him a second consecutive GTS championship.

It was a disaster for GTS points leader Mark Wilkins in the Kia Optima. Wilkins started on the GTS pole for Saturday’s race but broke a half-shaft on the starting line and was hit by his teammate Nic Jonsson. In the season’s finale, Jonsson led the first seven laps before encountering a half-shaft issue and Wilkins retired with overheating problems. Despite these setbacks, Kia captured the GTS Manufacturer’s Championship.

Marcelo Hahn driving a Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 prepared by Reiter Engineering was the fourth fastest GTA qualifier in Round fifteen and finished second in class. In Sunday’s event, Hahn repeated his performance with another second in the GTA category.

GTA driver, Michael Mills finished ninth overall and first in class during Saturday’s contest. As the category’s points leader, he moved one step closer to securing the title. In the final round of the 2014 season, Mills was third at the checkered flag which allowed him to claim the Sportsman’s Cup for GTA drivers.

In round fifteen, Johnny O’Connell qualified eighth but made a great start which allowed him to battle with Butch Leitzinger in a Bentley for second. O’Connell prevailed and was the runner-up at the checkered flag. Sunday’s results were less impressive but the outcome was more important. O’Connell started from the sixth and finished seventh which was enough to give him his third straight GT Driver’s Championship.

Driving an Aston Martin GT4, Nick Esayian started the event by having his best weekend of the season. Esayian started fourth in GTS but found himself second after the incident with the Kias. Contact on lap-19 for Jack Baldwin, the class leader allowed Esayian to move out front and win by 3.592-seconds. This was his second World Challenge victory, the first being at VIR in 2010. The following day Esayian finished sixth in GTS.

Robert Thorne started from the fourth grid position in round fifteen but after some starting line incidents, he found himself in the lead. Thorne would maintain first place until lap-14 when he made contact with a backmarker and spun. He fell to a sixth place finish. Thorne redeemed himself in the weekend’s second race when he led flag to flag to score the first win for the K-PAX Racing McLaren.

Qualifying second in GTS was Jack Baldwin but he grabbed the class lead after the race one restart. Baldwin maintained first until lap-19 when he made contact with Andy Lee driving a Lamborghini Gallardo. Baldwin recovered and finished second in class. In the final race of the season, he took the lead on lap-9 and went on to score his third GTS victory of the year.

Ryan Dalziel started the Effort Racing Porsche GT3R in the fifth grid position for Saturday’s race. Dalziel retired after just nine laps and finished thirteenth in the GT class. In round fifteen of the 2014 season, he started third but followed race leader Robert Thorne into the first turn. Dalziel pressured Thorne throughout the contest but could not pass – he finished just 0.130-seconds behind the winner.

The World Challenge GT class podium at the 2014 season finale. On the left is second place finisher Ryan Dalziel and the right Andy Pilgrim, who captured third. Between these two is the winner Robert Thorne. After a season of learning the intricacies of the Mclaren, Thorne and the team were able to score K-PAX Racing’s first win with the new car.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GT	Guy Smith	Bentley Continental GT3	24	-
2	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac CTS-V R	24	-
3	GT	Butch Leitzinger	Bentley Continental GT3	24	-
4	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Cadillac CTS-V R	24	-
5	GT	Anthony Lazzaro	Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia	24	-
6	GT	Robert Thorne	McLaren 12C GT3	24	-
7	GT	Andrew Palmer	Audi R8 Ultra	24	-
8	GT	Allex Figge	McLaren 12C GT3	24	-
9	GTA	Michael Mills	Porsche GT3R	24	-
10	GT	Andy Lee	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	24	-
11	GTA	Marcello Hahn	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	24	-
12	GTA	Alex Welch	Audi R8 Ultra	24	-
13	GTA	Henrik Hedman	Ferrari 458 GT3	24	-
14	GT	Alex Lloyd	Chevrolet Corvette	24	-
15	GTA	Jeff Courtney	Audi R8 Ultra	24	-
16	GTA	Brent Holden	Audi R8 Ultra	24	-
17	GTA	Dan Knox	Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R	24	-
18	GT	Louis-Philippe Montour	Dodge Viper Coupe	24	-
19	GTA	Walt Bowlin	Audi R8 Ultra	23	-
20	GT	James Sofronas	Audi R8 Ultra	15	Retirement
21	GT	Ryan Dalziel	Porsche GT3R	9	Retirement
22	GTA	Tim Pappas	Mercedes AMG SLS GT3	8	Retirement
23	GT	Mike Skeen	Audi R8 Ultra	5	Retirement

24	GTS	Nick Esayian	Aston Martin GT4	29	-
25	GTS	Jack Baldwin	Porsche Cayman S	23	-
26	GTS	Drew Regitz	Aston Martin GT4	23	-
27	GTS	Lawson Aschenbach	Chevrolet Camaro	23	-
28	GTS	Jack Roush, Jr.	Ford Mustang Boss 302R	23	-
29	GTS	Alex Udell	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	23	-
30	GTS	Mark Klenin	Aston Martin GT4	23	-
31	GTS	Michael Cooper	Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1	23	-
32	GTS	Mitch Landry	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	23	-
33	GTS	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Camaro	23	-
34	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	22	-
35	GTS	Jorge De La Torre	Aston Martin GT4	22	-
36	GTS	Geoff Reeves	Chevrolet Camaro	22	-
37	GTS	Buzz McCall	Porsche Cayman S	22	-
38	GTS	Vesko Kozarov	Nissan 370Z	16	-
39	GTS	Nic Jonsson	Kia Optima	5	-
40	GTS	Mark Wilkins	Kia Optima	0	Crash
41	GTS	Dean Martin	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	0	Crash

POS.	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GT	Robert Thorne	McLaren 12C GT3	24	-
2	GT	Ryan Dalziel	Porsche GT3R	24	-
3	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Cadillac CTS-V R	24	-
4	GT	Butch Leitzinger	Bentley Continental GT3	27	-
5	GT	Guy Smith	Bentley Continental GT3	27	-
6	GT	Anthony Lazzaro	Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia	27	-
7	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac CTS-V R	27	-
8	GT	Mike Skeen	Audi R8 Ultra	27	-
9	GT	Andy Lee	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	27	-
10	GT	Andrew Palmer	Audi R8 Ultra	27	-
11	GT	James Sofronas	Audi R8 Ultra	27	-
12	GTA	Tim Pappas	Mercedes AMG SLS GT3	27	-
13	GTA	Marcelo Hahn	Lamborghini Gallardo FL2	27	-
14	GTA	Michael Mills	Porsche GT3R	27	-
15	GTA	Alex Welch	Audi R8 Ultra	27	-
16	GTA	Dan Know	Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R	27	-
17	GTA	Jeff Courtney	Audi R8 Ultra	27	-
18	GTA	Henrik Hedman	Ferrari 458 GT3	27	-
19	GT	Louis-Philippe Montour	Dodge Viper Coupe	27	-
20	GTA	Brent Holden	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
21	GTA	Walt Bowlin	Audi R8 Ultra	26	-
22	GT	Alex Lloyd	Chevrolet Corvette	24	-
23	GT	Alex Figge	McLaren 12C GT3	9	Retirement

24	GTS	Jack Baldwin	Porsche Cayman S	26	-
25	GTS	Lawson Aschenbach	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
26	GTS	Drew Regitz	Aston Martin GT4	25	-
27	GTS	Michael Cooper	Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1	25	-
28	GTS	Dean Martin	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
29	GTS	Nick Esayian	Aston Martin GT4	25	-
30	GTS	Jack Roush, Jr.	Ford Mustang BossR	25	-
31	GTS	Mark Klenin	Aston Martin GT4	25	-
32	GTS	Mitch Landry	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	25	-
33	GTS	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
34	GTS	Buzz McCall	Porsche Cayman S	25	-
35	GTS	Geoff Reeves	Chevrolet Camaro	25	-
36	GTS	Jorge De La Torre	Aston Martin GT4	24	-
37	GTS	Vesko Kozarov	Nissan 370Z	22	-
38	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	22	-
39	GTS	Nic Jonsson	Kia Optima	15	Retirement
40	GTS	Mark Wilkins	Kia Optima	8	Retirement
41	GTS	Alec Udell	Ford Mustang Boss 302S	7	Retirement

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