2018 Virginia International Raceway - 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 three and four of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car season took place during the Grand Prix of Virginia presented by Audi Sport. Fourteen drivers competed in the two forty-minute races around Virginia International Raceway’s seventeen-turn 3.270-mile road course.

The first lap of round three for the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Cars at Virginia International Raceway. Leading the field of fourteen-starters into Virginia International’s ‘Nascar Bend’ is pole-sitter, Johan Schwartz in the Rooster Hall Racing BMW M235iR. Behind Schwartz is the Genesis Coupe of the third faster qualifier, Jeff Ricca. Trialing Ricca are the two Classic BMW entries driven the Karl Wittmer and Matt Travis.

2015 TCB Drivers’ champion, Johan Schwartz inherited the pole-position for round three when Vesko Kozarov’s Nissan 370Z failed the post-qualifying technical inspection. Schwartz made the most of this opportunity, he jumped into an early lead and won the forty-minute event. Sunday’s race did not go as well. Gridded fifth, Schwartz challenged the leaders but an off-course excursion dropped him out of contention.

The Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car podium for round three at Virginia International Raceway. In the center and taking his first victory of the season is the driver of the Rooster Hall Racing BMW M234iR, Johan Schwartz. To Schwartz’s left is the runner-up, Steve Streimer. Completing the rostrum is Canadian Touring Car veteran, Karl Wittmer.

Collecting the most Touring Car points at Virginia International Raceway was Steve Streimer. Streimer who drove the TechSport prepared Nissan 370Z started the weekend’s first contest in the fifth position. He passed Matt Travis, Karl Wittmer and Jeff Ricca to finish 0.112-seconds behind the winner, Johan Schwartz. On Sunday, Streimer was gridded second and after a terrific battle with Ricca and Wittmer, he took the win.

Vesko Kozarov and No. 3 Nissan 370Z TC Spec dominated the opening rounds at Circuit of the Americas. In qualifying, Kozarov topped the chart, however, the Nissan failed the post-qualifying technical inspection and he started the weekend’s first race last. He made good progress during the contest and was fourth at the checker. On Sunday, Kozarov made contact with another competitor and finished fifth.

At Circuit of the Americas, Jeff Ricca recorded a couple of top-ten finishes. At Virginia International Raceway, Ricca was much more competitive. He qualified third quickest Saturday and challenged the front runners but fell off the pace and finished ninth. In round four, Ricca started ninth but a great opening lap put him among the leaders. From there, he stayed in contention and captured the runner-up position.

Karl Wittmer drove the No. 91 BMW M235iR Cup. In qualifying for round three, Wittmer recorded the second quickest time. He challenged Johan Schwartz and Steve Streimer for the victory and managed to grab the last spot on the podium. The following day, Wittmer’s fastest race lap in round three gave him the sixth starting position. During the contest, he moved up the order and captured another third-place finish.

Sunday’s Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car podium at Virginia International Raceway. On the left and making his first Pirelli World Challenge podium appearance is the runner-up, Jeff Ricca. To the right and scoring his second third-place finish of the weekend is Classic BMW’s, Karl Wittmer. Between these two, on the top step of the rostrum is the first time victor, Steve Streimer.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	Johan Schwartz	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
2	5	TC	Steve Streimer	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	18
3	2	TC	Karl Wittmer	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	18
4	14	TC	Vesko Kozarov	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370Z TC Spec	18
5	4	TC	Matt Travis	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	18
6	6	TC	Robert Nimkoff	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
7	8	TC	Jason Stanley	GenRacer / Genesis Coupe	18
8	12	TC	Henry Schmitt	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	10
9	3	TC	Jeff Ricca	GenRacer / Genesis Coupe	18
10	11	TC	Joshua Foran	Team HMA / Honda Civic Type R	18
11	13	TC	C.J. Lett	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
12	9	TC	Mark Brummond	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	18
13	10	TC	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	18
14	7	TC	Paul Terry	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	14

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	2	TC	Steve Streimer	TechSport Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	20
2	9	TC	Jeff Ricca	GenRacer / Genesis Coupe	20
3	6	TC	Karl Wittmer	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	20
4	3	TC	Matt Travis	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	20
5	4	TC	Vesko Kozarov	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370Z TC Spec	20
6	8	TC	Robert Nimkoff	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	20
7	10	TC	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	20
8	12	TC	Jason Stanley	GenRacer / Genesis Coupe	20
9	11	TC	Henry Schmitt	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	20
10	1	TC	Mark Brummond	Classic BMW / BMW M235iR Cup	20
11	14	TC	C.J. Lett	AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	20
12	7	TC	Paul Terry	Rearden Racing / Nissan 370z TC Spec	19
13	13	TC	Joshua Foran	Team HMA / Honda Civic Type R	17
14	5	TC	Johan Schwartz	Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR Cup	11

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