2016 Sonoma Raceway - World Challenge

The 2016 World Challenge season was the twenty-seventh consecutive year for the series. There were eleven race weekends – the series kicked-off in March at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and ended at Laguna Seca in early October.

The vehicle classes were the same as the previous year:

Grand Touring (GT) – This is the series quickest class and is predominantly cars competing in the FIA GT3 category. Examples of vehicles racing in this class include: Porsche 911 GT3 R, Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, McLaren 650S GT3, Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3 and Ferrari 488 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.

GT Cup – This is a spec class for 2015-2016 Porsche 991 GT Cup cars.

Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – The cars in this class are similar to the GT vehicles but have more preparation restrictions. In previous years, this class was mainly comprised of Ford, Chevrolet and Porsche products. In 2016, the GTS category witnessed the appearance of a number of new vehicles which proved to be very competitive - KTM X-Box GT4, Ginetta G55 GT4 and SIN R1 GT4.

Touring Car (TC) – This class is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are allowed 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 class 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 class include: Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Mazda 2 and Mini Cooper.

Sonoma Raceway hosted rounds eighteen and nineteen for the GT cars in mid-September. During the event, drivers would compete in two 50-minute races around the 12-turn 2.385-mile road course.

After this weekend, there would be just two point scoring races in the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Competitors had to balance risk with reward in order to maximize their points and earn the Driver and Manufacturer titles.

The start of round eighteen for the GT and GTA cars and for the GT Cup competitors it was race seventeen. Leading the way the Sonoma Raceway’s turn two is Austin Cindric in the No. 6 K-Pax Racing McLaren 650S GT3. Immediately behind Cindric is the Cadillac ATS-V.R. GT3 of former champion Johnny O’Connell. Vying for third is Cindric’s teammate Alvaro Parente and fellow Cadillac driver Michael Cooper.

It was a dominant weekend for defending series champion Johnny O’Connell. O’Connell qualified third for Saturday’s race and at the start jumped behind Austin Cindric who led the field into corner one. Cindric would lead the first thirty laps but at turn seven on the final circuit, he was passed by O’Connell. On day two, O’Connell was gridded third, however, he moved to first and led flag-to-flag winning by a margin of 11.386-seconds.

Sunday’s GT podium. Standing on the top step of the victory stand for the second time during the weekend was Cadillac Racing’s Johnny O’Connell. He is flanked by the K-Pax Racing teammates Alvaro Parente – second place and in third, Austin Cindric.

Michael Cooper started round eighteen in fourth and trailed teammate Johnny O’Connell until the final lap. O’Connell’s pass on Cindric allowed Cooper to move within striking distance for second but he was unable to make the pass. The following day, he started fifth but damaged the car after hitting Jon Fogarty who spun the Gainsco McLaren in the Carousel. Cooper was forced to pit for repairs and finished twenty-second.

Like O’Connell, Alec Udell was two for two on the weekend. The GT Cup driving a Porsche prepared by GMG Racing was the fastest qualifier both days and led flag to flag. These were Udell’s eleventh and twelfth class victories of the season.

It was also a dominant weekend for GTA competitor Michael Schein. Like Udell, Schein started from the class pole both days and led wire-to-wire. For the driver of the No. 16 Wright Motorsports prepared Porsche 911 GT3 R, these were his seventh and eighth wins of the season.

The No. 07 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 was driven by Mexican Martin Fuentes. On Saturday, Fuentes finished behind GTA class winner Micheal Schein but his second place was enough for him to secure the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge GTA Driver’s championship. In the weekend’s final event, Fuentes started eighteenth but retired after just one lap.

The previous event at the Utah Motorsports Campus was a difficult weekend for Alvaro Parente. In race one, Parente retired on lap-one after contact with Michael Cooper. As a result, he did not score any points and started last for Sunday’s race. Parente’s fortunes improved at Sonoma Raceway. A fourth on Saturday and second the following day moved him back into the GT Driver’s standings lead with just two races remaining in 2016.

Finishing second in GT3 Cup both days was Sloan Urry. As has often been the case in 2016 the two main combatants in the class are Urry and Alec Udell. However, Urry’s retirement at the Utah Motorsports Campus allowed Udell to take an insurmountable lead the GT Cup Driver’s standings.

Starting from the pole position in round eighteen was K-Pax McLaren driver Austin Cindric. This was the second time the young driver was the quickest qualifier. Cindric led the twenty-nine car field for the first thirty laps before being passed by Johnny O’Connell at turn seven on the final lap. On Sunday, started from the pole and finished behind overall and GT class winner, O’Connell and his teammate Alvaro Parente.

Cooper MacNeil and the WeatherTech team had been competing in the IMSA championship but a dispute over the rules caused them to abandon the series in favour of World Challenge. MacNeil driving an Alex Job prepared Porsche 991 GT3R captured the final spot on the GTA podium in rounds eighteen and nineteen.

Strong finishes during the previous rounds at Utah Motorsports Campus gave Patrick Long a narrow lead in the GT Driver’s standing. Unfortunately, Long could not match his performance at Sonoma Raceway. He was eighth in round eighteen. In race two, he charged from his fourteenth starting position to finish fourth. Long’s performance earned him the Hard Charger and Clean Pass awards but it was not enough to retain the points lead.

Sunday’s GT Cup podium mirrored that of the previous day. On the left, driving a TruSpeed Autosport prepared Porsche is second place finisher Sloan Urry. To the right, and earning the final podium position is Mike Hedlund. In the center is Alec Udell who like Johnny O’Connell and Michael Schein left Sonoma with two victories.

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R. GT3	31
2	2	GT	Austin Cindric	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	31
3	3	GT	Michael Cooper	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R. GT3	31
4	4	GT	Alvaro Parente	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	31
5	5	GT	Michael Lewis	Calvert /Curb-Agajanian / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
6	6	GT	Jon Fogarty	Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	31
7	7	GT	Bryan Heitkotter	Nissan GT Academy / Nissan GTR	31
8	8	GT	Patrick Long	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
9	9	GT	Adderly Fong	Bentley Team Absolute / Bentley Continental GT3	31
10	10	GT	Ryan Eversley	RealTime Racing / Acura TLX-GT	31
11	11	GT	J.D. Davison	Nissan GT Academy / Nissan GTR	31
12	1	GTA	Michael Schein	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
13	2	GT	Martin Fuentes	Scuderia Corsa / Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	31
14	3	GTA	Cooper MacNeil	Alex Job Racing / Porsche 991 GT3R	31
15	15	GT	Peter Kox	RealTime Racing / Acura TLX-GT	31
16	4	GTA	Tim Pappas	Black Swan Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
17	5	GTA	Andy Wilzoch	Flying Lizard Motorsports / Porsche GT3R	31
18	6	GTA	Andrew Kim	Bentley Team Absolute / Bentley Continental GT3	31
19	19	GT	Jonathan Summerton	DIME Racing / Mercedes AMG SLS GT3	31
20	7	GTA	Drew Regitz	Stephen Cameron Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT3	30
21	21	GT	Gunnar Jeannette	Alex Job Racing / Porsche 991 GT3R	30
22	22	GT	Kyle Marcelli	CRP Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT3	30
23	1	GT CUP	Alec Udell	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
24	2	GT Cup	Sloan Urry	TruSpeed Autosport / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
25	3	GT Cup	Mike Hedlund	Flying Lizard Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
26	4	GT Cup	Corey Fergus	Motorsports Promotions / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	29
27	5	GT Cup	Preston Calvert	Calvert Dynamics / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	27
28	8	GTA	Brent Holden	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	23
29	-	GT	Colin Thompson	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	14

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	GT	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R. GT3	31
2	2	GT	Alvaro Parente	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	31
3	3	GT	Austin Cindric	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	31
4	4	GT	Patrick Long	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
5	5	GT	Bryan Heitkotter	Nissan GT Academy / Nissan GTR	31
6	6	GT	Michael Lewis	Calvert /Curb-Agajanian / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
7	7	GT	J.D. Davison	Nissan GT Academy / Nissan GTR	31
8	8	GT	Jonathan Summerton	DIME Racing / Mercedes AMG SLS GT3	31
9	9	GT	Colin Thompson	K-PAX Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	31
10	10	GT	Peter Kox	RealTime Racing / Acura TLX-GT	31
11	11	GT	Kyle Marcelli	CRP Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT3	31
12	12	GT	Ryan Eversley	RealTime Racing / Acura TLX-GT	31
13	1	GTA	Michael Schein	Wright Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
14	2	GTA	Andrew Kim	Bentley Team Absolute / Bentley Continental GT3	31
15	3	GTA	Cooper MacNeil	Alex Job Racing / Porsche 991 GT3R	31
16	16	GT	Gunnar Jeannette	Alex Job Racing / Porsche 991 GT3R	31
17	4	GTA	Brent Holden	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	31
18	5	GTA	Drew Regitz	Stephen Cameron Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT3	30
19	6	GTA	Andy Wilzoch	Flying Lizard Motorsports / Porsche GT3R	30
20	20	GT	Adderly Fong	Bentley Team Absolute / Bentley Continental GT3	30
21	1	GT CUP	Alec Udell	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
22	22	GT	Michael Cooper	Cadillac Racing / Cadillac ATS-V.R. GT3	30
23	2	GT Cup	Sloan Urry	TruSpeed Autosport / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
24	3	GT Cup	Mike Hedlund	Flying Lizard Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	30
25	4	GT Cup	Corey Fergus	Motorsports Promotions / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	29
26	5	GT Cup	Preston Calvert	Calvert Dynamics / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	28
27	-	GTA	Tim Pappas	Black Swan Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	6
28	-	GT	Martin Fuentes	Scuderia Corsa / Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	1
29	-	GT	Jon Fogarty	Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing / McLaren 650S GT3	0

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