2016 Utah Motorsports Campus - 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.

Utah Motorsports Campus hosted rounds nine and ten for the Touring cars in early August. Teams competed on the fifteen-turn 3.048-mile ‘Outer Course’.

Friday afternoon and thirty-nine of forty Touring competitors enter turn one. Before the cars took the green flag, Jasper Drengler rolled his TCB Honda Fit – delaying the start. Drengler’s crew was able to make repairs and he raced the following day. After the incident was cleaned up, pole-sitter Adam Poland jumped into the lead and was followed by Patrick Gallagher, Toby Grahovec and Vesko Kozarov.

Adam Poland drove the No. 33 Doghouse Performance Mazda MX-5 to the overall and Touring Car class victory in the weekend’s first event. Poland was quick all weekend – trading fastest laps with Patrick Gallagher during the practice and qualifying sessions. He started from the pole in race one and in second place the following day. However, his luck changed in round ten when his car failed on the starting line.

Round ten saw John Weisberg win his first Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car race. Weisberg started fourth but battled with Patrick Gallagher and leader Toby Grahovec the entire race. On the last lap in the last corner, he passed Grahovec on the inside and was first to the checkered flag by a margin of 0.055-seconds. The previous day he started sixth and finished ninth.

Tech Sport Racing teammates P.J. Groenke and Canaan O’Connell pushed each other hard in the weekend’s final race. The two Chevrolet Sonic drivers went off the track at ‘The Attitudes’ and lost a position to the Mazda 2 of Henry Morse. The Touring Car B drivers would finish fourth and fifth in class with Groenke in front of O’Connell.

The usually dominant Touring Car A points leader, Elivan Goulart, found the opposition a bit more competitive this weekend. Goulart was outpaced by several drivers in the first practice session but was able to qualify third in class for round nine. At the checkered flag, he had moved up three positions in the overall running order but was still third in class. On Saturday Goulart claimed a fourth in Touring Car A and maintained the points lead.

Defending Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car A Champion Jason Wolfe was making his first appearance since COTA. Wolfe struggled in practice and his performance improved slightly during qualifying. Starting from fourth, the driver of the No. 12 Kinetic Motorsports Kia Forte Koup was first by lap-3 and led the remaining sixteen circuits. Wolfe started from the class pole on Saturday and took another victory.

The start of round nine for the Touring Car B class and Tom O’Gorman in a Honda Fit leads Canaan O’Connell also in a Honda Fit. Following them are five additional TCB competitors. Jasper Drengler has already retired as the result of his rollover.

The UMC weekend allowed Touring Class B driver Tom O’Gorman to close the points gap on P.J. Groenke and Henry Morse. O’Gorman was not the quickest in practice but during qualifying the driver of the No. 94 Honda Fit set the fastest time. In the first race, he was challenged by rookie Canaan O’Connell but took the victory. The following day O’Gorman beat Ted Hough by 0.495-seconds for the win in round ten.

The always quick Vesko Kozarov was entered in Touring Car and GTS classes. Kozarov drove the No. 3 Nissan 370Z in Touring Car. The local driver was fourth quickest in the first practice session and improved during qualifying – starting from the third grid position for round nine. In the race Kozarov dropped down the race order and finished fifteenth. He was in the third starting spot the following day but retired after just three laps.

Toby Grahovec was entered in the No. 26 Classic BMW Motorsports BMW M235iR. A consistent run of top-three finishes allowed Grahovec to take a comfortable lead in the Touring Car class points. At the Utah Motorsports Campus weekend, he qualified fifth for the first race and finished third. Grahovec started round ten fifth and led most of the race before securing the final spot on the podium.

Touring Class B rookie Henry Morse was second in points - his results included a win in round three at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Morse driving the Hale Motorsports Mazda 2 was the quickest in the first practice session but started Friday’s race last after officials discovered an issue with his car. Despite this setback he finished third in the race and repeated this performance the following day.

Joey Bickers drove the No. 49 Atlanta Motorsports Group Mazda MX-5 Cup. In the first practice session, he was the fastest Touring Car A entry. Bickers was also the quickest in qualifying but a technical infraction was discovered by the series officials and he started fourth. In the race, he challenged eventual winner Jason Wolfe and finished second. Bickers led the first seven laps of Saturday’s event but was third at the checkered flag.

Rookie Canaan O’Connell drove the No. 24 Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet Sonic. O’Connell is the son of race veteran, Johnny O’Connell. The young Touring Car B driver did well in his first outing. Starting from the second grid position he challenged eventual race winner Tom O’Gorman and earned the runner-up spot. In the weekend’s final event, he qualified fourth in class and finished fifth.

The No. 68 Breathless Racing Mazda 2 was driven by Ted Hough. Hough opened the season with a victory but did not compete in rounds five and six at Lime Rock. He was third fastest in qualifying for Friday’s race but failed to finish. On Saturday, Hough fared much better – he started third again but was second at the checkered flag.

Johan Schwartz was the 2015 Touring Car B Driver’s Champion and made his debut in Touring Car A with Shea Racing at round one in COTA. Utah Motorsports Campus would be his second opportunity to drive the team’s Honda Civic Si. In the weekend’s first race, he qualified sixth and finished fourth. The day following he started sixth again but captured the runner-up position in Touring Car A.

Patrick Gallagher entered the Pirelli World Challenge championship with a wealth of racing experience obtained in the Mazda MX-5 Cup series. Gallagher drove the No. 54 Mazda MX-5 prepared by the Atlanta Motorsports Group. He qualified on the pole for round nine and finished second to overall winner Adam Poland. Gallagher repeated his performance in round ten – started first and was second at the checkered flag.

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	Adam Poland	Doghouse Performance / Mazda MX-5	18
2	2	TC	Patrick Gallagher	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	18
3	3	TC	Toby Grahovec	Classic BMW Motorsports / BMW M235iR	18
4	4	TC	Nick Wittmer	Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	18
5	5	TC	Anthony Geraci	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	18
6	6	TC	Steve Burns	Ian Lacy Racing / Ford Mustang	18
7	7	TC	Kristian Boodoosingh	CA Sport / Nissan 370Z	18
8	8	TC	Max Fedler	Summit of Everest Motorsports / BMW M235i	18
9	9	TC	John A. Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	18
10	10	TC	Kevin Krauss	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	18
11	11	TC	Brian Lift	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	18
12	12	TC	Tony Rivera	Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z	18
13	13	TC	Jason Fichter	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	18
14	14	TC	Daniel Moen	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	18
15	15	TC	Vesko Kozarov	CA Sport / Nissan 370Z	17
16	1	TCA	Jason Wolfe	Kinetic Motorsports / Kia Forte Koup	17
17	2	TCA	Joey Bickers	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
18	16	TC	Dinah Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	17
19	3	TCA	Elivan Goulart	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
20	4	TCA	Johan Schwartz	Shea Racing / Honda Civic SI	17
21	5	TCA	Forrest Landy	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
22	6	TCA	Paul Whiting	PWR & LDL Speed Shop / Honda Civic SI	17
23	7	TCA	Spencer Patterson	Patterson Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
24	8	TCA	Mason Filippi	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	17
25	9	TCA	Daniel Williams	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
26	10	TCA	Kevin Anderson	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
27	11	TCA	Eric Powell	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
28	12	TCA	Samantha Tan	Samantha Tan Racing / Honda Civic SI	17
29	1	TCB	Tom O'Gorman	Black Armor Helmets / Honda Fit	16
30	2	TCB	Canaan O'Connell	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	16
31	3	TCB	Henry Morse	Hale Motorsports / Mazda 2	16
32	4	TCB	James Wilson	Black Armor Helmets / Mazda 2	16
33	5	TCB	P.J. Groenke	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	16
34	13	TCA	Kris Wright	Kinetic Motorsports / Kia Forte Koup	16
35	14	TCA	Jay Salinsky	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	16
36	17	TC	Shea Holbrook	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	14
37	18	TC	Steven Kohli	Parallax Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	11
38	6	TCB	Ted Hough	Breathless Racing / Mazda 2	6
39	15	TCA	Steven Streimer	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	4
40	7	TCB	Jasper Drengler	Drengler Racing / Honda Fit	0

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	John A. Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	17
2	2	TC	Patrick Gallagher	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	17
3	3	TC	Toby Grahovec	Classic BMW Motorsports / BMW M235iR	17
4	4	TC	Kristian Boodoosingh	CA Sport / Nissan 370Z	17
5	5	TC	Tony Rivera	Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z	17
6	6	TC	Steve Burns	Ian Lacy Racing / Ford Mustang	17
7	7	TC	Anthony Geraci	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	17
8	8	TC	Shea Holbrook	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	17
9	9	TC	Kevin Krauss	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	17
10	10	TC	Max Fedler	Summit of Everest Motorsports / BMW M235i	17
11	11	TC	Nick Wittmer	Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	17
12	12	TC	Daniel Moen	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5	17
13	1	TCA	Jason Wolfe	Kinetic Motorsports / Kia Forte Koup	17
14	13	TC	Dinah Weisberg	BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5	17
15	2	TCA	Johan Schwartz	Shea Racing / Honda Civic Si	17
16	3	TCA	Joey Bicker	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
17	4	TCA	Elivan Goulart	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
18	5	TC	Kris Wright	Kinetic Motorsports / Kia Forte Koup	17
19	6	TCA	Forrest Landy	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
20	7	TCA	Mason Filippi	Atlanta Motorsports Group / Mazda MX-5	17
21	8	TCA	Daniel Williams	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
22	9	TCA	Paul Whiting	PWR & LDL Speed Shop / Honda Civic Si	17
23	10	TCA	Spencer Patterson	Patterson Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
24	11	TCA	Steven Streimer	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
25	12	TCA	Matthew Fassnacht	S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	16
26	13	TCA	Jay Salinsky	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	16
27	14	TCA	Kevin Anderson	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	16
28	15	TCA	Samantha Tan	Samantha Tan Racing / Honda Civic Si	16
29	16	TCA	Eric Powell	Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 Cup	17
30	1	TCB	Tom O'Gorman	Black Armor Helmets / Honda Fit	16
31	2	TCB	Ted Hough	Breathless Racing / Mazda 2	16
32	3	TCB	Henry Morse	Hale Motorsports / Mazda 2	16
33	4	TCB	P.J. Groenke	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	16
34	5	TCB	Canaan O'Connell	Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic	16
35	6	TCB	James Wilson	Black Armor Helmets / Mazda 2	16
36	7	TCB	Jasper Drengler	Drengler Racing / Honda Fit	16
37	14	TC	Brian Lift	Outlier/Scion Group / Porsche Cayman	11
38	-	TC	Vesko Kozarov	CA Sport / Nissan 370Z	3
39	-	TC	Jason Fichter	Shea Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	3
40	-	TC	Steve Kohli	Parallax Racing / Honda Accord V-6 Coupe	0

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