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 Touring Car class at the Grand Prix of Monterey presented by Nissan had a total of forty-three entries (TC – 23, TCA – 13, TCB - 10). Drivers would compete in two forty-minute races around the eleven-turn 2.238-mile road course.

The start of round eleven and the Mazda MX-5 of pole-sitter Patrick Gallagher leads eighteen Touring Cars into turn two. Behind him is the Mazda of third fastest qualifier Adam Poland. To Gallagher’s right is the Honda Accord V-6 Coupe of Nick Wittmer. Before the end of the first lap, Wittmer would get by Gallagher and lead for two laps.

In the twelve races during the 2016 season, Toby Grahovec failed to score points in only one event (round six at Lime Rock). Grahovec’s consistency in addition to his wins at COTA and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park earned him the 2016 Touring Car title. At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Grahovec scored two third place finishes driving the Classic BMW Motorsports BMW M235iR.

Patrick Gallagher dominated the weekend by securing the overall and Touring Car pole position and winning rounds eleven and twelve. Gallagher driving the Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX-5 finished just five points behind the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Champion Toby Grahovec. He was a threat to win each event but not participating in the Lime Rock events prevented him from taking the title.

Touring Car A competitor Joey Bickers’ Mazda MX-5 Cup failed the post-qualifying technical inspection and he was moved to the back of the TCA grid for round eleven. Starting thirteenth in his group, Bickers was third in class at the checkered flag – setting the fastest race lap and earning the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award. On Sunday he was challenged by Eric Powell but took the TCA victory.

The No. 23 Tech Sport Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup was driven by Eric Powell. The Touring Car A competitor started from the fifth grid position in the weekend’s first race but was able to take the class victory. The following day he started fourth in TCA and earned the final spot on the podium.

Winning both rounds of the Touring Car B class was Will Rodgers driving the Hale Motorsports Mazda 2. Rodgers started the weekend off by qualifying third in TCB and was second at the checkered flag but a technical irregularity with the Mazda 2 of Henry Morse gave him the victory. He started second in class on Sunday and followed TCB race leader, Tom O’Gorman until the last lap when he passed O’Gorman for the race victory.

Nick Wittmer, the holder of many Canadian Touring Car titles, committed to a full season of the 2016 Pirelli World Challenger Championship. The Quebec driver scored wins at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Lime Rock and finished third in the final driver’s standings. In Saturday’s race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, he qualified second and led the first two laps before finishing fourth. The following day he started and finished fourth.

Tom O’Gorman entered the final weekend vying the Touring Car B title with P.J. Groenke and Henry Morse. O’Gorman started the weekend’s first event in second and was classified second in class after Morse was disqualified. In the final race of the season, he started and finished second – on both occasions, he was ahead of Morse and Groenke which allowed him to secure the 2016 TCB championship by fifty points.

The Touring Car A class podium for round eleven - the season’s penultimate race. To the left is the runner-up and 2016 Pirelli Touring Car A Champion Elivan Goulart. And, on the right competing in the Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX-5 Cup is third place finisher Joey Bickers. In the center, is the victor Eric Powell. It was appropriate that the top-three at Mazda Raceway were racing Mazda MX-5s.

On Saturday, split starts were used for the three Touring Car categories. The last group to get the green flag was TCB. Leading the nine starters into corner two is TCB pole-sitter Henry Morse driving a Mazda 2 prepared by Hale Motorsports. Directly behind Morse is second fastest qualifier, Tom O’Gorman in the Black Armor Helmets Honda Fit. Following the leaders are the Mazda 2s of Will Rodgers and Ted Hough.

Elivan Goulart entered the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge series with multiple titles earned at the amateur level. Driving the No. 70 S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup he dominated the opening rounds winning five of the first six events. At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, he finished second in the weekend’s first race which was enough to secure the TCA Driver’s title. He also took the runner-up spot in the final event.

Heading into the final rounds, Canadian, P.J. Groenke had a narrow lead in the TCB standings – just five points. Groenke did not win any event during the season but a string of respectable finishes put him at the top of the standings. Driving the No. 25 Chevrolet Sonic he started round eleven in the fifth position of the grid and finished third in TCB. On Sunday, he pitted mid-race which dropped to an eighth place finish.

Keeping Patrick Gallagher honest all weekend was Adam Poland. Poland chased Gallagher both days and was within striking distance if Gallagher encountered problems. But the driver of the Doghouse Performance Mazda MX-5 settled for second in the Touring Car class both days. Poland won round nine at the Utah Motorsports Campus but missed a number of events during the season and was well down the final driver’s standings.

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	Patrick Gallagher	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	20
2	2	TC	Adam Poland	Doghouse Performance / Mazda MX-5	20
3	3	TC	Toby Grahovec	Classic BMW Motorsports / BMW M235iR	20
4	4	TC	Nick Wittmer	Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	20
5	5	TC	John A. Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	20
6	6	TC	Andrew Rains	Rains Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	20
7	7	TC	Kevin Krauss	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	20
8	8	TC	Shea Holbrook	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	20
9	9	TC	Max Fedler	Summit of Everest Motorsports / BMW M235i	20
10	10	TC	Randy Hale	Hale Motorsports / Mazda MX-5	20
11	11	TC	Henry Schmitt	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR	20
12	12	TC	Jason Fichter	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	20
13	13	TC	Paul Street	Team HMA / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	20
14	14	TC	Anthony Geraci	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	20
15	15	TC	Steve Burns	Ian Lacy Racing / Ford Mustang	20
16	16	TC	Gino Carini	Classic BMW Motorsports / BMW M235iR	20
27	17	TC	Dinah Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	20
30	18	TC	Daniel Moen	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	19
32	19	TC	Brian Lift	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	18
41	20	TC	Tony Rivera	Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z	10
42	-	TC	Aristotle Balogh	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M2	1
17	1	TCA	Eric Powell	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	1
18	2	TCA	Elivan Goulart	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	20
19	3	TCA	Joey Bickers	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	20
20	4	TCA	Forrest Landy	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	20
21	5	TCA	Matthew Fassnacht	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	20
22	6	TCA	Mason Filippi	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	20
23	7	TCA	Daniel Williams	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	20
24	8	TCA	Paul Whiting	PWR & LDL Speed Shop / Honda Civic SI	20
25	9	TCA	Warren Dexter	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	20
26	10	TCA	Jay Salinsky	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	20
28	11	TCA	Samantha Tan	Samantha Tan Racing / Honda Civic SI	20
29	12	TCA	Daryl Harr	WestWorld Motorsports Inc. / Toyota FR-2	20
40	13	TCA	Perry Richardson	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	10
31	1	TCB	Will Rodgers	Hale Motorsports / Mazda 2	19
33	2	TCB	Tom O'Gorman	Black Armor Helmets / Honda Fit	18
34	3	TCB	P.J. Groenke	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	18
35	4	TCB	James Wilson	Black Armor Helmets / Mazda 2	18
36	5	TCB	Michael Johnson	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	18
37	6	TCB	Nick Lougee	4R Motorsports / Mini Cooper	18
38	7	TCB	Ted Hough	Breathless Racing / Mazda 2	18
39	8	TCB	Jasper Drengler	Drengler Racing / Honda Fit	17
43	-	TCB	Patrick Wilmot	The Precision Motorsports Group / Mini Cooper	0
44	-	TCB	Henry Morse	Hale Motorsports / Mazda 2	19

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	Patrick Gallagher	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	23
2	2	TC	Adam Poland	Doghouse Performance / Mazda MX-5	23
3	3	TC	Toby Grahovec	Classic BMW Motorsports / BMW M235iR	23
4	4	TC	Nick Wittmer	Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	23
5	5	TC	Kevin Krauss	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	23
6	6	TC	Aristotle Balogh	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M2	23
7	7	TC	Tony Rivera	Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z	23
8	8	TC	Anthony Geraci	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	23
9	9	TC	Randy Hale	Hale Motorsports / Mazda MX-5	23
10	10	TC	Henry Schmitt	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR	23
11	11	TC	Paul Street	Team HMA / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	23
12	12	TC	Shea Holbrook	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	23
13	13	TC	Steve Burns	Ian Lacy Racing / Ford Mustang	23
14	14	TC	Max Fedler	Summit of Everest Motorsports / BMW M235i	23
15	15	TC	Dinah Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	23
20	16	TC	Gino Carini	Classic BMW Motorsports / BMW M235iR	22
29	17	TC	Daniel Moen	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	21
30	18	TC	Andrew Rains	Rains Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	21
31	19	TC	Jason Fichter	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	21
41	20	TC	John A. Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	11
42	-	TC	Brian Lift	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	0
16	1	TCA	Joey Bickers	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
17	2	TCA	Elivan Goulart	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
18	3	TCA	Eric Powell	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
19	4	TCA	Paul Whiting	PWR & LDL Speed Shop / Honda Civic SI	22
21	5	TCA	Mason Filippi	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	22
22	6	TCA	Daniel Williams	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
23	7	TCA	Forrest Landy	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
24	8	TCA	Jay Salinsky	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
25	9	TCA	Matthew Fassnacht	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
26	10	TCA	Warren Dexter	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	22
27	11	TCA	Samantha Tan	Samantha Tan Racing / Honda Civic SI	22
28	12	TCA	Daryl Harr	WestWorld Motorsports Inc. / Toyota FR-2	22
43	-	TCA	Perry Richardson	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	0
32	1	TCB	Will Rodgers	Hale Motorsports / Mazda 2	21
33	2	TCB	Tom O'Gorman	Black Armor Helmets / Honda Fit	21
34	3	TCB	Henry Morse	Hale Motorsports / Mazda 2	21
35	4	TCB	Michael Johnson	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	21
36	5	TCB	Nick Lougee	4R Motorsports / Mini Cooper	21
37	6	TCB	James Wilson	Black Armor Helmets / Mazda 2	21
38	7	TCB	Jasper Drengler	Drengler Racing / Honda Fit	20
39	8	TCB	P.J. Groenke	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	20
40	9	TCB	Ted Hough	Breathless Racing / Mazda 2	18
44	-	TCB	Patrick Wilmot	The Precision Motorsports Group / Mini Cooper	0

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