This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.(January 2012) |
The 2011 Pirelli World Challenge season was the 22nd season of the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge series. It was the first season under the Pirelli sponsorship. Championships were awarded in three classes: GT, GTS, and Touring. The season began at St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 26 ended after 12 rounds at Road Atlanta on September 30. All rounds were covered on television by Versus.
Part of the schedule was released December 1, 2010. [1] The final two rounds were announced February 2, 2011. [2] Watkins Glen, Exhibition Place, and Virginia International Raceway were not retained. Infineon Raceway returned to the schedule after a five-year absence. Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta returned after a one-year absence.
Round | Date | Circuit | Location | Supporting |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | March 26 | Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Florida | IndyCar Series |
2 | March 27 | |||
3 | April 18 | Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California | IndyCar Series / American Le Mans Series |
4 | April 30 | Miller Motorsports Park | Tooele, Utah | Stand-alone event with NASCAR West Series |
5 | May 21 | Mosport International Raceway | Bowmanville, Ontario | Stand-alone event |
6 | May 22 | |||
7 | August 6 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | IndyCar Series / American Le Mans Series |
8 | August 7 | |||
9 | August 27 | Infineon Raceway (Indy course) | Sonoma, California | IndyCar Series |
10 | August 28 | |||
11 | September 18 | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California | American Le Mans Series |
12 | September 30 | Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia | American Le Mans Series |
On January 3, 2011, Cadillac announced their return to the series after a four-year absence. [3]
Pirelli became the sole tire supplier for the 2011 season. The series used slick racing tires, rather than the street-legal treaded tires used in previous seasons. [4]
Brimtek Motorsports announced that they would be fielding a Volkswagen GTI in the touring car class for 2011. [5]
It was announced that Mike Skeen would be driving a Chevrolet Corvette for CRP Motorsports in the GT class. [6]
The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types including road courses and street circuits. Trans-Am is split into the TA and TA2 classes for silhouette racing cars, while its production classes are the GT, SGT, and XGT.
The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 2017.
Road Atlanta is a 2.540 mi (4.088 km) road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams. The track has 12 turns, including the famous "esses" between turns three and five; and Turn 12, a downhill, diving turn. The track is owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Road Atlanta, LLC, and is the home to the Petit Le Mans, as well as AMA motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year. Michelin acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.
The 2010 SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge was the 21st season of the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge. It was the first season since 1998 without the sponsorship of television channel Speed.
Peter "P.D." Cunningham is an American race car driver and owner of RealTime R&L, Inc., based in Saukville, Wisconsin and currently competing in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship. His name and his team, RealTime Racing, have become synonymous with the Honda and Acura brands. Through 2013, he has claimed 91 professional race wins across 12 different North American road racing series and holds numerous World Challenge records.
Ryan A. Eversley is an American professional auto racing driver. Since 2015, Eversley has been a Honda factory driver who primarily races in sports car racing championships such as the Michelin Pilot Challenge and Pirelli World Challenge. He won the 2018 PWC TCR championship.
The 2012 Pirelli World Challenge season was the 23rd running of the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge series. All races were televised by NBC Sports Network. All telecasts were tape-delayed, with all races being streamed live.
The 2014 Pirelli World Challenge season was the 25th season of the Pirelli World Challenge championship. It marked the debut of a new "Touring Car A-Spec" class. A new "GT A-Spec" class also made its debut. These new classes featured amateur drivers. The series also held a round at Brainerd International Raceway for the first time in its history, with a touring car doubleheader held in support of a Trans Am Series event; also making its series debut was Barber Motorsports Park. The GT groups competed in sixteen fifty-minute sprints on nine circuits. The touring cars competed in fourteen sprints on seven road courses. The first race for GT cars at St. Petersburg was canceled due to heavy rain, so a make-up race was added for the series finale at Miller Motorsports Park. The second race for touring cars at Barber was also canceled due to rain, so a make-up race was added to the schedule at Mosport.
The 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season was the 26th running of the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge series. It introduced a new all-Porsche "GT Cup" race group. Johnny O'Connell was the defending champion in the highest class, the GT class.
Lawson L. Aschenbach is an American professional racing driver. He is a four-time Pirelli World Challenge champion, and most recently, the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge GTS Champion. He is the 2006 SPEED World Challenge Rookie of the Year and became the first person to win the SPEED GT Championship in his rookie season. He is also the champion of the 2010 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ST Championship and 2014 Lamborghini Super Trofeo ProAM World Champion. Aschenbach first raced professionally in 2005. He currently races for Stevenson Motorsports in the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Trent Hindman is an American racing driver. Hindman won the 2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in the GS class. He also was selected by BMW Motorsport for their junior program in 2015.
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The 2017 SprintX GT Championship Series was the second season of the SprintX GT Championship Series. Dion von Moltke was the defending champion in the highest class, the Pro class in GT. It was the first season sanctioned by the United States Auto Club, after being under Sports Car Club of America sanctioning last year.
Jason Wolfe is an American racing driver. Wolfe previously competed in single seater series such as the USF2000 championship. Currently, Wolfe competes in the German-based ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship.
Michael Cooper is an American-born race car driver who currently competes in the Pirelli World Challenge. He resides in Huntington, New York, and also has a business management degree from at NYIT, and a nutrition degree from Long Island University.
The 2018 SprintX GT Championship Series is the final season of the SprintX GT Championship Series. Michael Cooper and Jordan Taylor are the defending champions in the highest class, the Pro class in GT. It is the second season sanctioned by the United States Auto Club. The season began on 23 March at Circuit of the Americas and will end on 12 August at Utah Motorsports Campus. GTS cars are separated from GT and GT Cup, as the GT4-based category has its own races this season.
Michael B. Skeen is an American professional sports car racing driver. He competes in the Trans-Am Series TA2 class for Stevens-Miller Racing.
Jade Marcus Buford is an American professional racing driver with experience in open-wheel, sports car, and stock car racing. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for Big Machine Racing.