2016 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca - 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.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca hosted the final rounds of the Pirelli World Challenge Championship. The Grand Prix of Monterey presented by Nissan hosted two races for the GTS category. The first event of the weekend was a make-up race due to a cancellation earlier in the season at Mid-Ohio. As a result, the field was restricted to the fifteen drivers that were originally entered at Mid-Ohio. Sunday’s grid was much bigger and included twenty-four entries. Teams would compete in two races for fifty-minutes around the eleven-turn 2.238-mile road course.

The round eighteen GTS podium for Mid-Ohio make-up race. To the left is the runner-up Nate Stacy who drove the Roush Performance Road Racing Ford Boss 302. And, on the right competing driving the ANSA Motorsports KTM XBow GT4 is third place finisher and 2016 GTS Champion – Brett Sandberg. In the center, is first-time winner, Martin Barkey who also drove a KTM XBow GT4.

The start of Saturday’s race and pole-sitter Scott Heckert driving the Racer’s Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4 jumps in to lead while entering turn two. Directly behind Heckert are the Mantella Autosport KTM XBows of Martin Barkey and Anthony Mantella. But the big surprise at the start of round eighteen was Tony Gaples in the No. 10 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro who moved from seventh on the grid to the third position before turn four.

Martin Barkey earned his first Pirelli World Challenge victory in round eighteen at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Barkey started Saturday’s event from the outside of the front row. He chased race leader Scott Heckert and inherited first place when Heckert retired on lap-11. Barkey stretched his lead and won by a margin of 6.102-seconds. The following day did not go as well. The driver of the No. 80 KTM XBow was out of the race after twenty-five laps.

Based on his performance and that of his rival’s in Saturday’s race Brett Sandberg won the GTS Driver’s title. Sandberg started the weekend’s first event from the fourth position on the grid and was third at the checkered flag. It is just as well that he clinched the championship in round eighteen as Sandberg spun early in Sunday’s race and dropped down the order. At the finish, he was in sixteenth place – a lap behind the leaders.

Scott Heckert started from the pole position in both of the weekend’s events. The driver of the Racer’s Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4 jumped out to the lead in Saturday’s race but retired on lap-12 with a mechanical issue. On Sunday, Heckert fared much better. Again, he took the lead going into turn two and despite pressure from Andrew Aquilante Heckert captured his second victory of the season by a margin of 1.101-seconds.

Andrew Aquilante returned to the Pirelli World Challenge Championship driving the Calvert Dynamics Ford Boss 302. Aquilante was not eligible to enter round eighteen but qualified third for Sunday’s finale. By the mid-point of the race, Aquilante was pressuring race leader Scott Heckert but he was unable to pass and finished second. During the event, Aquilante set the fastest race lap and won the Optima Batteries Best Start Award.

Anthony Mantella scored his first Pirelli World Challenge win in round fourteen at the Utah Motorsports Campus. In Saturday’s make-up race Mantella started and finished fourth in the Mantella Autosport KTM XBow GT4. The following day he was gridded ninth at the start but retired on lap-17.

It was a difficult season for four-time Pirelli World Challenge Champion Lawson Aschenbach. Aschenbach entered the final two rounds with a chance of earning another title. He started the weekend’s first race in the seventh position. On the final lap, Aschenbach was third but his transmission broke in the last corner and he finished fifth. The following day ‘things went from bad to worse’ when he retired with mechanical problems after just sixteen laps.

Sixteen-year-old Parker Chase finished fourth in the final Pirelli World Challenge GTS Driver’s Championship on the basis of consistent finishes. At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the driver of the No. 19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta GT4 qualified second for the season finale and finished fourth.

The Ford Boss 302 of Nate Stacy shows the scars as the result of an off-track excursion during qualifying when the car broke a ball joint. Repairs made to the car meant that Stacy had to start the season finale in the twenty-first position. He charged through the field and grabbed the final spot on the podium. In the Mid-Ohio make-up race, he finished second. Stacy’s performance in the last two events earned him a second in the Driver’s Championship.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	Martin Barkey	Mantella Autosport Inc. / KTM XBow GT	33	-
2	6	Nate Stacy	Roush Performance Road Racing / Ford Boss 302	33	-
3	4	Brett Sandberg	ANSA Motorsports / KTM XBow GT4	33	-
4	3	Anthony Mantella	Mantella Autosport Inc. / KTM XBow GT4	33	-
5	7	Lawson Aschenbach	Blackdog Speed Shop / Chevrolet Camaro	33	-
6	8	Harry Gottsacker	Performance Motorsports Group / Ginetta GT4	33	-
7	10	Tony Gaples	Blackdog Speed Shop / Chevrolet Camaro	33	-
8	13	Mark Klenin	Klenin Performance Racing / MASERATI GranTurismo	33	-
9	9	Jason Alexandridis	TRG-AMR / Aston Martin Vantage GT4	33	-
10	12	Bill Ziegler	ANSA Motorsports / KTM XBow GT4	33	-
11	14	Chris Beaufait	Racers Edge Motorsports / SIN R1 GT4	32	-
12	11	Parker Chase	Performance Motorsports Group / Ginetta GT4	23	-
13	15	Jeff Courtney	JCR Motorsports / MASERATI GranTurismo MC T	18	-
14	5	Scott Dollahite	SDR Motorsports / Lotus Evora	14	-
15	1	Scott Heckert	Racers Edge Motorsports / SIN R1 GT4	10	-

FINISH	START	DRIVER	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Scott Heckert	Racers Edge Motorsports / SIN R1 GT4	31	-
2	3	Andrew Aquilante	Calvert Dynamics / Ford Boss 302	31	-
3	21	Nate Stacy	Roush Performance Road Racing / Ford Boss 302	31	-
4	2	Parker Chase	Performance Motorsports Group / Ginetta GT4	31	-
5	20	Harry Gottsacker	Performance Motorsports Group / Ginetta GT4	31	-
6	19	Scott Dollahite	SDR Motorsports / Lotus Evora	31	-
7	10	Jeff Courtney	JCR Motorsports / MASERATI GranTurismo MC T	31	-
8	6	Aristotle Balogh	Stephen Cameron Racing Racing LLC / Aston Martin	31	-
9	14	Kevin Marshall	VSA Motorsports / Lotus GT4	31	-
10	15	Tony Gaples	Blackdog Speed Shop / Chevrolet Camaro	31	-
11	16	Mark Klenin	Klenin Performance Racing / MASERATI GranTurismo	31	-
12	23	Chris Beaufait	Racers Edge Motorsports / SIN R1 GT4	31	-
13	11	James Sofronas	GMG Racing / Porsche Clubsport GT4	31	-
14	17	Bill Ziegler	ANSA Motorsports / KTM XBow GT4	31	-
15	18	Greg Milzcik	TRG-AMR / Aston Martin Vantage GT4	31	-
16	4	Brett Sandberg	ANSA Motorsports / KTM XBow GT4	30	-
17	9	Martin Barkey	Mantella Autosport Inc. / KTM XBow GT	25	-
18	7	Anthony Mantella	Mantella Autosport Inc. / KTM XBow GT4	17	-
19	5	Lawson Aschenbach	Blackdog Speed Shop / Chevrolet Camaro	16	-
20	8	Max Riddle	TRG-AMR / Aston Martin Vantage GT4	7	-
21	24	Ron Ballard	RT Motorsports / MASERATI GranTurismo MC T	0	DNS
22	22	Jason Alexandridis	TRG-AMR / Aston Martin Vantage GT4	0	DNS
23	13	Jason Wolfe	ANSA Motorsports / KTM XBow GT4	0	DNS
24	12	George Kurtz	TRG-AMR / Aston Martin Vantage GT4	0	DNS

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