2018 Utah Motorsports Campus - World Challenge

The 2018 Pirelli World Challenge season is the twenty-ninth consecutive year for the championship. There are six race weekends for the Touring Car categories. The title chase kicks-off in March at Circuit of the Americas. This event is followed by races at Virginia International Raceway, Lime Rock Park and the Portland International Raceway. The penultimate rounds are held at the Utah Motorsports Campus with the finale taking place at Watkins Glen International on the Labour Day weekend.

As in the previous year, there were three Touring groups; however, there were some significant changes. With dwindling entries in the Touring Car B class, series organizers decided it would not be included in the 2018 championship and was replaced by a new category, TCR.

Touring Car (TC) – This class is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are allowed some performance modifications. These front or rear-wheel-drive vehicles may be powered by turbocharged or normally aspirated engines. Examples of cars competing in this category include: Honda Civic Type R, Nissan 370Z, BMW235iR and Genesis Coupe.
Touring Car A (TCA) – Some of the cars competing in this class are the same as those found in Touring Car. What sets them apart is the minimum amount of modifications that can be made – most changes are to improve the safety of the vehicles. Using turbocharged or normally aspirated powerplants, these cars produce between 160 and 185-horsepower.
Touring Car Race (TCR) – This is an international class which was first introduced in 2014 to address the expense of competing in the World Touring Car Championship. These production-based cars are powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged engines which produce approximately 300-horsepower. Examples of vehicles competing in this category include: Audi RS 3 LMS, Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, Honda Civic Type-R TCR, Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR and Hyundai I30 N TCR.

Rounds nine and ten of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car season took place during the Grand Prix of Utah. Thirteen drivers competed in the two forty-minute races around the Utah Motorsport Campus’ fourteen-turn 3.048-mile ‘Outer Course’.

The Touring Car pole-sitter, Johan Schwartz driving the Rooster Hall Racing BMW M235iR leads the field through ‘the Attitudes’ on lap one of round nine. His first place was short lived as he was deemed to have jumped the start by series officials and was given a ‘pit lane drive through’ penalty. Behind Schwartz are the eventual top three finishers - Vesko Kozarov, Karl Wittmer and Matt Travis.

The round nine Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car podium at the Utah Motorsports Campus. On the left is the runner-up Karl Wittmer and to the right is his Classic BMW teammate, Matt Travis, who captured the final position on the rostrum. Between these two is the winner and point’s leader, Vesko Kozarov. This was Kozarov’s fifth victory of the 2018 season.

The first lap of round ten at the Utah Motorsports Campus and leading the field through ‘Release’ is the point’s leader and pole-sitter, Vesko Kozarov driving the Rearden Racing Nissan 370Z. Trailing Kozarov is the third place starter in the Classic BMW prepared BMW M235iR, Karl Wittmer. Behind Wittmer is the other front row starter, Johan Schwartz driving the Rooster Hall Racing BMW M235iR.

Utah resident, Vesko Kozarov has dominated the Touring Car division during the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge season. In the first eight events, Kozarov has four victories and leads the title chase. In qualifying for the weekend’s first race, he was only third quickest but that seemed of little consequence as Kozarov grabbed the lead early and drove away from the field. Starting on the pole Sunday, he won his sixth race of the year.

Quebec competitor, Karl Wittmer is second in the Touring Car standings as the result of a single victory at Lime Rock and podium finishes in the other rounds. During qualifying for Saturday’s contest, Wittmer recorded the second fastest time. In round nine, he lost a position to Kozarov but gained it back when Schwartz was penalized and took the runner-up spot. In round ten it was much of the same – Wittmer finished second.

One of the four Classic BMW entries was driven by Matt Travis. Driving the No. 26 BMW M235iR, Travis was gridded fourth for the start of the weekend’s first race. Benefitting from the penalty to Johan Schwartz in Saturday’s event, he was able to grab the final spot on the podium. In the weekend’s finale, Travis started and finished fourth.

The No. 80 BMW M235iR driven by Johan Schwartz qualified on the pole for the season’s ninth event. In the process, Schwartz set a new lap record. In Saturday’s race, he was given a ‘pit lane drive through’ penalty for jumping that start. Schwartz charged through the field and finished fourth. In round ten, he started on the outside of the front row but could not hold off Karl Wittmer and was third at the checker.

TechSport Racing’s Steve Streimer was one of four drivers that had a Touring Car victory to his credit in 2018 – capturing his lone win at VIR. Unfortunately, the driver of the No. 23 Nissan 370Z had mixed results at the other events. Streimer was gridded sixth for race one at the Utah Motorsports Campus and lost a position before the end of the event. On Sunday, he started and finished eighth.

The top-three Touring Car finishers in round ten at the Grand Prix of Utah. In the center is Vesko Kozarov who captured his sixth win of the season and has built up an almost insurmountable points lead heading into the final two events. To Kozarov’s right is the runner-up from Classic BMW, Karl Wittmer. And, rounding out the top-three is the driver of the No. 80 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M235iR, Johan Schwartz.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	3	TC	Vesko Kozarov	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370Z TC Spec	18
2	2	TC	Karl Wittmer	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	18
3	4	TC	Matt Travis	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	18
4	1	TC	Johan Schwartz	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
5	5	TC	Paul Terry	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	18
6	9	TC	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
7	6	TC	Steve Streimer	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	18
8	11	TC	Richard Zulman	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
9	7	TC	Robert Nimkoff	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
10	8	TC	Jayson Clunie	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	18
11	10	TC	Henry Schmitt	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
12	13	TC	Greg Nitzkowski	DRS / BMW M235iR Cup	18

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	Vesko Kozarov	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370Z TC Spec	19
2	3	TC	Karl Wittmer	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	19
3	2	TC	Johan Schwartz	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
4	4	TC	Matt Travis	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	19
5	5	TC	Jayson Clunie	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	19
6	6	TC	Robert Nimkoff	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
7	10	TC	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
8	8	TC	Steve Streimer	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	19
9	9	TC	Richard Zulman	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
10	11	TC	Henry Schmitt	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	19
11	13	TC	Daren Jorgensen	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	19
12	12	TC	Greg Nitzkowski	DRS / BMW M235iR Cup	18
NC	7	TC	Paul Terry	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	0

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