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 with the season ending 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.

Rounds three and four of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge GT SprintX season took place during the Grand Prix of Virginia presented by Audi Sport weekend. Thirty-eight teams competed in the two sixty-minute races around Virginia International Raceway’s seventeen-turn 3.270-mile road course.

The starting grid for round four of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge GT SprintX championship at Virginia International Raceway. On the pole, thanks to the team’s fastest lap during Saturday’s race is the CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, shared by Daniel Morad and Fabien Schiller. Also on the front row with the CRP entry is the K-PAX Racing Bentley Continental GT3 driven by Rodrigo Baptista and Maxime Soulet.
The R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3 opened the SprintX season with a pair of victories in the Pro/Pro category at Circuit of the Americas. Virginia International Raceway wasn’t as kind to the point’s leaders, Toni Vilander and Miguel Molina. Although they won their class on Saturday, the pair could only manage a sixth-place finish in round four. However, they head to Lime Rock still leading the title chase.
The Pro/Am point’s leaders, Rodrigo Baptista and Maxime Soulet had a perfect weekend at Virginia International Raceway. In round three, they qualified ahead of their teammates, Alvaro Parente and Andy Soucek who were competing in the Pro/Pro category. Not only did the duo win their class but also captured the overall victory. The following day they took another Pro/Am win to solidify their lead in the championship.
Mike Skeen and Scott Heckert started the season with a pair of podium finishes. Their title hopes took a significant setback in race three at Virginia International Raceway. On the first lap, Skeen driving the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 made contact with the Bentley of Alvaro Parente. Officials deemed the incident to be Skeen’s fault – he was penalized and finished sixth in Pro/Pro. On Sunday, the team rallied back and captured the win.
Sharing the No. 96 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R were Scott Hargrove and sports car veteran, Wolf Henzler. Hargrove captured a pair of victories in the sprint race at Saint Petersburg. At Virginia International Raceway, Hargrove and Henzler scored runner-up finishes in the Pro/Pro category on Saturday and Sunday. The two drivers are second in the SprintX class while Hargrove leads overall standings.
2016 GTA Drivers champion, Martin Fuentes teamed up with Caeser Bacarella to compete in the amateur category. The pair drove the No. 07 Ferrari 488 GT3 prepared by Squadra Corse Garage Italia. They were proving to be the class of the Am/Am group. After four rounds of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge GTA SprintX championship, Fuentes and Bacarella were four-for-four.
The No. 24 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was driven by Michael Christensen and Spencer Pumpelly. They were competing in the Pro/Pro category and struggled to keep the pace of the leaders in the opening rounds at Circuit of the Americas. By Virginia International Raceway the team had made some improvements and the duo scored a pair of third-place finishes.
Competing in the Pro/Am category were Alec Udell and Corey Lewis driving the GMG Racing prepared Porsche 911 GT3 R. At Circuit of the Americas Udell was paired with Mathieu Jaminet, where the two had a miserable weekend – they failed to finish round one. The results were much better for the team at Virginia International Raceway where the duo captured third and fifth place finishes.
Wei Lu’s first season of Pirelli World Challenge series competition was in the TCB category driving a MINI Cooper. In 2018, Lu moved to the opposite end the spectrum competing in the SprintX Pro/Am class driving a Ferrari 488 GT3. Sharing the Ferrari with Jeff Segal, the pair scored a victory in race two at Circuit of the Americas. In rounds three and four at Virginia, they claimed fifth and third place finishes in Pro/Am.
Yuki Harata won two titles Pirelli World Challenge titles in 2017. The GT Cup championship and with co-driver, Alessandro Bressan, he also won the SprintX GT Cup title. Harata and Bressan returned in 2018 but were now driving a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the GT Pro/Am category. They could not match the pace of the K-PAX Bentley but were able to secure second and third place finishes.

FINISHCLASSDRIVERENTRANT / CARLAPS
1SprintX - GT Pro/AmBaptista / SouletK-PAX Racing / Bentley Continental GT332
2SprintX - GT Pro/ProMolina / VilanderR. Ferri Motorsport / Ferrari 488 GT332
3SprintX - GT Pro/ProHargrove / HenzlerPfaff Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R32
4SprintX - GT Pro/AmUdell / LewisGMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R32
5SprintX - GT Pro/ProChristensen / PumpellyAlegra Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R32
6SprintX - GT Pro/AmChase / DalzielTruSpeed AutoSport / Audi R8 LMS32
7SprintX - GT Pro/AmHarata / BressanDream Racing Motorsport / Lamborghini Huracan GT332
8SprintX - GT Pro/ProMorad / SchillerCRP Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT332
9SprintX - GT Pro/AmBleekemolen / PappasBlack Swan Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R32
10SprintX - GT Pro/AmLu / SegalTR3 Racing / Ferrari 488 GT332
11SprintX - GT AmFuentes / BacarellaSquadra Corse Garage Italia / Ferrari 488 GT332
12SprintX - GT Pro/AmDeGeorge / SbirrazzouliDXDT Racing / Lamborghini Huracan GT332
13SprintX - GTC AmRyan HardwickDream Racing Motorsport / Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo31
14SprintX - GT Pro/ProSkeen / HeckertLone Star Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT329
15SprintX - GT AmDavid AskewDXDT Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT328
NCSprintX - GT Pro/AmChaponick / SandbergTruSpeed AutoSport / Audi R8 LMS8
NCSprintX - GT Pro/ProParente / SourekK-PAX Racing / Bentley Continental GT30

FINISHCLASSDRIVERENTRANT / CARLAPS
1SprintX - GT Pro/ProSkeen / HeckertLone Star Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT334
2SprintX - GT Pro/ProHargrove / HenzlerPfaff Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R34
3SprintX - GT Pro/ProChristensen / PumpellyAlegra Motorsports / Porsche 911 GT3 R34
4SprintX - GT Pro/ProMorad / SchillerCRP Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT334
5SprintX - GT Pro/AmBaptista / SouletK-PAX Racing / Bentley Continental GT334
6SprintX - GT Pro/AmUdell / LewisGMG Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R34
7SprintX - GT Pro/AmHarata / BressanDream Racing Motorsport / Lamborghini Huracan GT334
8SprintX - GT Pro/ProMolina / VilanderR. Ferri Motorsport / Ferrari 488 GT334
9SprintX - GT Pro/AmLu / SegalTR3 Racing / Ferrari 488 GT334
10SprintX - GT Pro/AmChase / DalzielTruSpeed AutoSport / Audi R8 LMS34
11SprintX - GT Pro/AmBleekemolen / PappasBlack Swan Racing / Porsche 911 GT3 R34
12SprintX - GT AmFuentes / BacarellaSquadra Corse Garage Italia / Ferrari 488 GT334
13SprintX - GT Pro/AmChaponick / SandbergTruSpeed AutoSport / Audi R8 LMS33
14SprintX - GT AmDavid AskewDXDT Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT333
15SprintX - GTC AmRyan HardwickDream Racing Motorsport / Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo32
16SprintX - GT Pro/AmDeGeorge / SbirrazzouliDXDT Racing / Lamborghini Huracan GT332

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