2018 Circuit of the Americas - World Challenge

Introduced in 2016, the SprintX Championship for Grand Touring competitors is based on the very successful Blancpain Sprint Series in Europe.

There are a total of five rounds with the championship kicking off in March at Circuit of the Americas. This event is followed by races at Virginia International Raceway and Lime Rock Park. The penultimate rounds are at Portland International Raceway and the season ends at Utah Motorsports Campus in August. The races are 60-minutes in length and require a mandatory pit-stop for a driver change between the 25 and 35-minute mark of the contest.

The SprintX Championship has three classes:

Grand Touring X (GT-X) – This is the series quickest class and includes cars that predominantly fall into the FIA GT3 category. These are two-wheel drive vehicles that may use normally aspirated or turbocharged engines which produce approximately 500 horsepower. Examples of cars competing in this category include: Porsche 911 GT3 R, Lamborghini Huracan GT3, Mercedes AMG GT3, McLaren 650S GT3, Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R, Bentley Continental GT3, Audi R8 LMS and Ferrari 488 GT3.

Grand Touring Cup X (GTC-X) – The GT Cup class was originally for 2015-2016 Porsche 991 GT Cup cars. It now includes vehicles from other spec series – the Lamborghini Super Trofeo (Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo) and Ferrari Challenge (Ferrari 458 Challenge) championships.

Grand Touring Sport X (GTS-X) – The cars in this class are similar to the GT vehicles but have more preparation restrictions. Drivetrain layouts include all-wheel-drive and front and rear-wheel drive. These cars can be powered by forced induction or normally aspirated motors. In previous years, the GTS class was mainly comprised of Ford, Chevrolet and Porsche products. In 2016, this category witnessed an influx of FIA GT4 vehicles which proved to be very competitive – Chevrolet Camaro GT4, McLaren 570S GT4, Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR, Audi R8 LMS GT4, Ginetta G55 GT4, BMW M4 GT4, Audi R8 LMS GT4, Mercedes-AMG GT4, Panoz Avezzano GT4 and SIN R1 GT4.

SprintX cars are prepared to the same rules as those competing in the 50-minute Sprint races. Due to the popularity of the GTS/GT4 category, they would have their race group. Grand Touring X and Grand Touring Cup X would compete in the same contest.

As the championship features a two-driver format which includes professional and sportsman racers, there was a need to categorize competitors. Within the three classes, the driver combinations are grouped as Professional/Professional (Pro/Pro), Professional/Amateur (Pro/Am), Amateur/Amateur (Am) and some competitors will compete solo – points are awarded accordingly.

The opening rounds of the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX season took place during the Grand Prix of Texas weekend. Twenty SprintX Grand Touring and Grand Touring Cups teams competed in the two sixty-minute races around the Circuit of the Americas’ twenty-turn 3.4-mile road course.

The starting grid for the weekend’s second GT SprintX race lines-up in the pit-lane. Grid positions were determined by the fastest lap in Saturday’s contest. Staring on the pole is the No. 31 TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Pro/Am entry shared by Jeff Segal and Wei Lu. On the outside of the front row, starting second, are the winners from round one, Toni Vilander and Miguel Molina. A total of fifteen entries started Sunday’s event.

Toni Vilander had mixed results at the opening round of the Sprint series at the Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg. In the weekend’s first race, Vilander was second but on Sunday an accident forced him to retire midway through the race. At the Circuit of the Americas there was redemption as he and his teammate, Miguel Molina swept both rounds of the GT SprintX championship in the R. Ferri Ferrari 488 GT3.

The No. 56 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was raced by David Baker. The Texas resident has been a regular in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup series and was making his first Pirelli World Challenge start at Circuit of the Americas. Competing in the SprintX GT Cup category, Baker qualified second in class for round one and took the victory – finishing fourteenth overall. On Sunday, he started second but faded to a third-place finish.

After a one year absence, Lone Star Racing returned to the Pirelli World Challenge series – replacing the team’s Dodge Viper GT3 with a Mercedes-AMG GT3. The driving duties would be shared by Mike Skeen and Scott Heckert - the pair was categorized as Pro/Pro. Skeen put the Mercedes on the pole for race one and they finished third. The following day, they were gridded third and grabbed the runner-up spot.

The 2016 Pirelli World Challenge GTA champion, Martin Fuentes returned to the series after competing in only one race during the 2017 season. Fuentes proved that he was still on form – winning both GTA Sprint races at the Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg. At the Circuit of the Americas, he was paired with Caesar Bacarella. Driving the No. 07 Ferrari 488 GT3 the pair took back-to-back victories in the GTA category.

Sharing the driving duties on the CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 was Daniel Morad and Blancpain GT Endurance competitor, Fabian Schiller. The pair qualified seventh overall and fifth in the Pro category for round one but some excellent driving resulted in a runner-up finish. Based on their best time during Saturday’s contest, they were gridded seventh for race two and finished fifth overall and fourth in the Pro category.

For the 2018 season, K-PAX Racing entered two Bentley Continental GT3s. The No. 3 entry, competing in the Pro/Am group, was shared by series regular, Rodrigo Baptista and factory Bentley driver, Maxime Soulet. It was a good weekend for the pair as they earned two podium finishes – a class win in the first event and a runner-up finish in Pro/Am on Sunday. Baptista also recorded the fastest race lap in round two.

Scott Hargrove won opening rounds of the Sprint series at the Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg. For the SprintX race at Texas, he shared the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R with sports car veteran, Wolf Henzler. Unfortunately, the team was unable to replicate their St. Petersburg performance. At Circuit of the Americas, the pair earned third and fourth place finishes in the Pro division.

The starting grid for round two of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX GT Cup category. Only four GT Cup competitors participated in the Circuit of the Americas event. Starting on the pole by virtue of setting the quickest lap in race one was David Baker driving the Topp Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Sharing the front row in another Porsche is AM Motorsports driver, Alan Metni.

TR3 Racing withdrew their Ferrari 488 GT3 from the St. Pete event after a BOP dispute. The team returned to the Circuit of the Americas with drivers – Jeff Segal and Wei Lu. Competing in the Pro/Am category, the pair started Saturday’s contest first in class but a penalty for contact dropped them to a fourth-place finish. Segal’s fastest lap in round one gave them the pole and this time they won their class.

Parker Chase’s season got off to a miserable start at St. Petersburg. In round one of the Sprint championship, Chase failed to finish after being involved in a first lap incident. At Circuit of the Americas, he was paired with Ryan Dalziel in the Pro/Am category. In the year’s first SprintX race, they started third but finished fifth in class. On Sunday, it went much better as they grabbed the final spot on the class podium.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American competitor, J.C. Perez made his Pirelli World Challenge debut at Circuit of the Americas. Competing in the SprintX GT Cup category, Perez drove the No. 71 P1 Motorsports prepared Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo. In the weekend’s first, he qualified third in class but earned a second place. On Sunday, he went one better and stood on top of the class podium.

In the mid-90s, Callaway Competition competed in the World Challenge championship with a Callaway Supernatural Corvette. Reeves Callaway returned in 2018 with his latest creation a Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R. At the Circuit of the Americas, series regular Daniel Keilwitz shared the seat with Eric Curran. Unfortunately, engine issues prevented them from starting round one and they fell off the pace in race two.

Black Swan Racing team owner, Tim Pappas returned to the Pirelli World Challenge series after finishing the 2017 season third in the GTA and SprintX GT Pro/Am categories. Along with his regular co-driver, Jeroen Bleekemolen, they were entered in the No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 R. In the weekends, first race they scored a third-place finish in the Pro/Am class but the best they could manage on Sunday was a fifth.

Yuki Harata claimed the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup title and along with Alessandro Bressan also won the SprintX GT Cup championship. Harata and Bressan returned in 2018 but were now driving a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the GT Pro/Am category. Moving up a class meant the competition would be tougher but the pair earned a fourth and runner-up finish at Circuit of the Americas.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS
1	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Molina / Vilander	R. Ferri Motorsport / Ferrari 488 GT3	28
2	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Morad / Schiller	CRP Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT3	28
3	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Skeen / Heckert	Lone Star Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT3	28
4	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Hargrove / Henzler	Pfaff Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	28
5	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Baptista / Soulet	K-PAX Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	28
6	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Parente / Sourek	K-PAX Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	28
7	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Christensen / Pumpelly	Alegra Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	28
8	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Harata / Bressan	Dream Racing / Lamborghini Huracan GT3	28
9	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Bleekemolen / Pappas	Black Swan Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	28
10	SprintX - GT Am	Fuentes / Bacarella	Squadra Corse Garage Italia / Ferrari 488 GT3	28
11	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Lu / Segal	TR3 Racing / Ferrari 488 GT3	28
12	SprintX - GT Am	David Askew	DXDT Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT3	28
13	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Chase / Dalziel	TruSpeed AutoSport / Audi R8 LMS	27
14	SprintX - GTC Am	David Baker	Topp Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	27
15	SprintX - GTC Am	JC Perez	P1 Motorsports / Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo	27
16	SprintX - GTC Am	Hardwick / Amaduzzi	Dream Racing / Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo	27
17	SprintX - GTC Am	Alan Metni	AM Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	27
NC	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Udell / Jaminet	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	13
NC	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Keilwitz / Curran	Callaway Competition USA / Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R	DNS

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS
1	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Molina / Vilander	R. Ferri Motorsport / Ferrari 488 GT3	28
2	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Skeen / Heckert	Lone Star Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT3	28
3	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Hargrove / Henzler	Pfaff Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	28
4	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Lu / Segal	TR3 Racing / Ferrari 488 GT3	28
5	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Morad / Schiller	CRP Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT3	28
6	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Baptista / Soulet	K-PAX Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	28
7	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Parente / Sourek	K-PAX Racing / Bentley Continental GT3	28
8	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Christensen / Pumpelly	Alegra Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R	28
9	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Chase / Dalziel	TruSpeed AutoSport / Audi R8 LMS	28
10	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Udell / Jaminet	GMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	28
11	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Harata / Bressan	Dream Racing / Lamborghini Huracan GT3	28
12	SprintX - GT Pro/Am	Bleekemolen / Pappas	Black Swan Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R	28
13	SprintX - GT Am/Am	Fuentes / Bacarella	Squadra Corse Garage Italia / Ferrari 488 GT3	28
14	SprintX - GT Am	David Askew	DXDT Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT3	28
15	SprintX - GTC Am	JC Perez	P1 Motorsports / Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo	27
16	SprintX - GTC Am	Alan Metni	AM Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	27
17	SprintX - GTC Am	David Baker	Topp Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	27
18	SprintX - GTC Am	Hardwick / Amaduzzi	Dream Racing / Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo	27
19	SprintX - GT Pro/Pro	Keilwitz / Curran	Callaway Competition USA / Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R	25

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