North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered by some to be a northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is an American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.
The series consists of four driver classifications and five classes of vehicles: GT3, GT4, (Sprint, SprintX, East and West), and Touring Car, consisting of TCR homologated cars, as well as separate TC and TCA classes featuring modified production vehicles, such as the BMW M235iR and the Mazda MX-5 Cup car.
Group GT3, known technically as Cup Grand Touring Cars and commonly referred to as simply GT3, is a set of regulations maintained by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for grand tourer racing cars designed for use in various auto racing series throughout the world. The GT3 category was initially created in 2005 by the SRO Group as a third rung in the ladder of grand touring motorsport, below the Group GT1 and Group GT2 categories which were utilized in the SRO's FIA GT Championship, and launched its own series in 2006, the FIA GT3 European Championship. Since then, Group GT3 has expanded to become the de facto category for many national and international grand touring series, although some series modify the ruleset from the FIA standard. By 2013, nearly 20 automobile manufacturers have built or been represented with GT3 machines.
A TCR Touring Car is a touring car specification, first introduced in 2014 and is now employed by a multitude of series worldwide. All TCR cars are based on 4 or 5 door production vehicles, and are powered by 2.0 litre turbocharged engines. While the bodyshell and suspension layout of the production vehicle is retained in a TCR car, and many models use a production gearbox, certain accommodations are made for the stresses of the racetrack including upgraded brakes and aerodynamics. Competition vehicles are subject to Balance of Performance adjustments to ensure close racing between different vehicles.
History
The Sports Car Club of America created a "showroom stock" class for amateur club racing in 1972.[1] In 1984, following the success of the Longest Day of Nelson[2] and another 24-hour race at Mid-Ohio, the SCCA combined existing races into a manufacturer's championship. For 1985, the series became a 6-race professional championship with sponsorship from Playboy magazine. Escort radar detectors sponsored the series from 1986 until 1991.[1]
The Longest Day of Nelson is an amateur 24-hour automobile endurance race sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) at Nelson Ledges Road Course in Ohio. The event takes place on or near the summer solstice each year. The host of the event was the Northeast Ohio Region of the SCCA. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, 12-hour races were held.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central region of the state, from south of Sandusky to the north of Columbus.
Sponsoring something is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is known as sponsor.
Fans invited to tour starting grid before 2011 season race
In 1990, the series was officially named World Challenge and was restructured to adopt rules similar to the European Group A for homologated production cars. The higher-cost "sports" classes were dropped after 1996, leaving the class format as it would stand until 2010. Speed TV network began sponsoring the series in 1999. With fields growing, the series began separate races for the GT and Touring classes in 2000, which would remain until 2010. In 2010, the series moved away from the partnership with SPEED, and signed a broadcast partnership with Versus (now NBCSN) for coverage. The series moved existing touring cars into a new GTS class, while changing the rules for the touring car class to reduce costs and keep cars closer to stock.[3]
Group A was a set of motorsport regulations introduced by FIA covering production-derived vehicles intended for outright competition in Touring car racing and Rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed technology and overall cost. Group A was aimed at ensuring a large number of privately owned entries in races.
Homologation is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work from a set of strict rules or standards to determine whether such approval should be given. The word may be considered very roughly synonymous with accreditation, and in fact in French and Spanish may be used with regard to academic degrees. Certification is another possible synonym, while to homologate is the infinitive verb form.
Speed was a sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as automotive-focused programs.
With the SpeedVision television contract, the World Challenge eventually succeeded Trans Am as the SCCA's premier series.
In July 2008, the World Challenge series was purchased by WC Vision, a group of investors. The Sports Car Club of America remained the sanctioning partner of the series.
Starting with the 2011 season, the series signed a partnership with Pirelli and the leading tire manufacturer became the official tire supplier and title sponsor of the series.
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational company based in Milan, Italy, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, with a temporary privatization period by the consortium led by the Chinese state-owned enterprise ChemChina. The company is the 5th largest tyre manufacturer behind Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental and Goodyear, and is focused on the consumer business. It is present in Europe, Apac, Latam, Meai, Nafta and C.I.S., operating commercially in over 160 countries. It has 19 manufacturing sites in 13 countries and a network of around 14,600 distributors and retailers.
In 2014, the Pirelli World Challenge established a GT-A classification similar to the FIA's bronze category.
In 2015, the series established GT Cup, featuring Porsche 991 Cup Cars that ran as part of the overall GT class races. Also, CBS Sports Network and Motor Trend On Demand became the new television partners.
In 2016, the series established SprintX classes of racing featuring two-driver sprint races for several driver classes. As part of the partnership with the SRO, the GTS class was expanded to include GT4 homologations.
For 2017, the Pirelli World Challenge transferred to USAC as its sanctioning body. GT Cup class is expanding to include Cup cars from Lamborghini and Ferrari, while SprintX classes expand in both driver classification specificity and competition-legal platforms.
On May 25th, 2018, it was announced that the Stéphane Ratel Organisation had become majority shareholder of WC Vision LLC, and thus majority owner of Pirelli World Challenge.[4]
On September 29, 2018, it was announced the series acquired a new title sponsor as part of the overhaul of the Ratel series. The GT Sprint Cup in Europe and GT Series Asia will now be known as the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe and Asia, respectively. The current World Challenge will become World Challenge America.
Each season consists of upwards of 11 event weekends and between 5 and 16 rounds or races. Some rounds or races use a standing start, as opposed to the all rolling starts seen in other sports car racing series. Blancpain GT World Challenge races consist of two-driver, 90-minute SprintX format races with two races per weekend. GT4 America is divided into two race formats, single driver, 50-minute Sprint races and two-driver 60-minute Sprintx races. The Touring Car America championship involve separate TCR 40-minute sprint races and 40-minute TC & TCA races.
Blancpain GT World Challenge America
This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2019)
The allowed body styles within this class are coupe, sedan and convertible. The cars permitted in GT are typically sold in the market as “sports” cars, “sport-touring” cars, or performance versions of “luxury” cars. Forced induction is permitted on cars that come equipped with forced induction stock, or on cars that the series has determined need help reaching the target horsepower range. Power output ranges from 500hp to 600hp. Weight varies depending on power output and tire size. All of the vehicles in GT are rear-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive. FIA GT3 class cars are now approved to compete in the class starting in 2013.
Pirelli GT4 America
This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2019)
The allowed body styles within this class are coupe, sedan and convertible. The cars permitted in GTS are typically marketed as “sports cars”, “sport-touring cars” or performance versions of “luxury” cars but at a lower permissible preparation level than GT. Forced induction is permitted on cars that come equipped with forced induction stock. Power output ranges from 300-400hp. Weight varies depending on power output and tire size. Front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel drive configurations are permitted. As of 2017, the class rules fully mimic the FIA GT4 formula. Models include the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Acura TSX, Audi TT, Porsche Cayman, Kia Optima, Nissan 370Z and Scion FR-S.
SprintX
In 2016 an extended sprint format series was added as a standalone championship in addition to its existing Sprint format racing series. SprintX races are 60 minutes in length and feature mandatory driver and tire changes.[5]
GT4 East & GT4 West
Beginning in 2019, GT4 America began two regional series integrated into its Sprint X Championship. The regional series consist of five rounds each in the eastern and western sides of North America in a two-driver, pro-am format.
TC America
TCR Touring Car (TCR)
The TCR class is based on the international TCR Touring Car class employed by a multitude of series worldwide. All TCR cars are based on 4 or 5 door production vehicles, and are powered by 2.0 litre turbocharged engines. While the bodyshell and suspension layout of the production vehicle is retained in a TCR car, and many models use a production gearbox, certain accommodations are made for the stresses of the racetrack including upgraded brakes and aerodynamics. Competition vehicles are subject to Balance of Performance (or BoP) adjustments to ensure close racing between different vehicles.
Touring Car (TC)
The allowed body styles in this class are coupes, hatchbacks, wagons, sedans. Power output ranges from approximately 300hp. Weight varies depending on the power output of the individual drivetrain configurations. Front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel drive configurations are permitted. Forced induction may be allowed on cars that have forced induction systems available from the manufacturer which do not void the factory warranties.
Touring Car A (TCA)
Established in 2014, this class is an evolution of the current TC class with an emphasis on maintaining cost effectiveness while providing an easy avenue to entry into professional racing. Performance modifications will be limited to mainly chassis tuning. Front wheel and rear wheel drive configurations are permitted. Target power output is 220 crank hp from non-modified stock engines. Forced induction maybe allowed on cars that have forced induction systems available from the manufacturer as a stock engine option. Examples of eligible cars include the Honda Civic SI, Mazda MX-5, Ford Focus, Scion FR-S and Kia Forte.
Former Classes
GTA
A "GTA" ("GT Amateur") driver class debuted in 2014.[6] It was a designation to recognize gentlemen drivers that competed in the GT class.
GT Cup
This spec class debuted in 2015 featuring Porsche 991 Cup Cars that ran as part of the overall GT Class races, with a separate victory circle presentation alongside that of the GT/GT-A class winners. In 2017 the class was expanded to include Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo and Ferrari 488 Challenge cars.
Touring Car B-Spec
Based on the Sports Car Club of America class of the same name, these were smaller cars with small, efficient, naturally aspirated motors (target HP is 125). Modifications were limited to manufacturer specified performance spring and shocks to keep overall cost down. Cars competing in TCB were prepared to the SCCA Club Racing B Spec rules. Cars that were eligible included the Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, Mini Cooper, Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, and Nissan Versa.[7] The class was discontinued after the 2017 season, a year after sanctioning of the series changed from SCCA to USAC.[8] These cars are still eligible to participate in the SCCA Runoffs.
Older World Challenge cars
Starting in 2009, older World Challenge cars became eligible (with minor modifications) for competition in SCCA racing. Under the SCCA's General Competition Rules (GCR),[9] the Super Touring category allows World Challenge GTs to compete in STO and Touring cars to compete in STU. In 2013 the STO class was merged into the T1 and GT2 classes.[10]
Races part of SRO America's series as of the 2019 season. Red dots are venues hosting all three categories of GT World Challenge, GT4, and TC, yellow dots are venues hosting GT World Challenge and GT4, blue dots are venues hosting GT4 and TC, green dots are GT4 only. Laguna Seca is an eight-hour GTendurance contest as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge with a GT4 support race.
Television
Speed TV network televised the World Challenge starting in 1996, with the series being called the SPEED World Challenge until 2010.
Near the end of the broadcast partnership with SPEED, the World Challenge had been broadcast on weekdays as opposed to the traditional weekends. For 2009, the races were combined into an hour-long block.[11]
On January 4, 2010, Versus (now NBC Sports Network) announced they would televise 90-minute broadcasts beginning in the 2010 season.[12] Each broadcast featured all the races from each round. The entire 2010 season was shown on the channel. The series later returned to weekend telecasts.[13]
Starting in 2015, CBS Sports Network announced that it acquired television rights to the series. Torque.TV, later Motor Trend On Demand partnered with CBS Sports Network for the race broadcasts to stream all races live on their website as well as on World-ChallengeTV.com. CBS Sports Network will have at least 1 race with live television coverage with Detroit being the first round announced to have live coverage.
The series has also established a section on its official site where fans can watch archived race and in-car video, as well as an increasing amount of archived television broadcasts of events prior to the 2016 season.[14] The website currently has coverage from as far back as 2008.
Tyres
On October 4, 2010, the series announced that Pirelli would replace longtime partner Toyo Tires as the exclusive tyre supplier for the series.[15] For the first time in series history, teams competed on racing slicks (Pirelli P Zero) rather than the DOT competition tyres in use for much of its history. In January 2014, Pirelli Tire North America and WC Vision extended the partnership for an additional five years. The extension of the partnership between the tyre brand and the top production car-based racing series will run through the 2018 season.
From 1986 to 1989 the series consisted of endurance races where co-drivers were used, often resulting in co-champions.
From 1986 to 1996 a variety of prior classification systems were used. Class winners are placed under the heading (GT or TC) of the most similar modern class.
Randy Franklin Pobst, also known as "RFP" or "The Rocket," is an American race car driver and journalist for Motor Trend magazine.
The Flying Lizard Motorsports group is a motorsport team from Sonoma, California, formed by Seth Neiman in early 2003. The team competed in the full American Le Mans Series season as well as the 24 Hours of Daytona, winning six championships to date. The Lizards have also been Porsche Motorsport North America's development partner from 2007 to 2012. The team helped develop the first- and second-generation 997 GT3 RSR as well as bring it to victory several times in its six-year run in the series. Now a customer racing team, Flying Lizard Motorsports runs and manages various sports car racing programs.
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.
The 2011 Pirelli World Challenge season was the 21st 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.
Ryan Eversley is an American race car driver. Starting in 2015, Eversley has been a Honda factory driver who primarily races in the Pirelli World Challenge series for the RealTime Racing Acura team in an Acura TLX-GT in the GT class. In 2017 Eversley and his team started racing the new NSX GT3.
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.
SCCA Pro Racing is the pro racing division of the Sports Car Club of America. SCCA Pro Racing was formed in 1963, the company is a fully owned subsidiary of SCCA.
The Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, formerly the FIA GT Series in 2013 and the Blancpain Sprint Series in 2014 and 2015, and Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup from 2016 to 2018, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) with the approval of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship now exclusively races in Europe, but had in previous years visited other continents including Asia. The series continues the sprint format for GT-cars carried out by the defunct FIA GT1 World Championship.
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 TCR International Series was an international touring car championship. The championship was promoted by World Sporting Consulting (WSC), founded by former World Touring Car Championship manager Marcello Lotti. It was marketed as a cost-effective spin-off of the WTCC, targeted at C-segment hatchbacks production-based touring cars. The title TCR follows the naming convention now used by the FIA to classify the cars that compete in touring car racing, with TC1 referring to the top tier as used by the FIA WTCC and TC2 referring to the legacy cars which principally compete in the FIA ETCC.
Lawson 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.
The 2016 SprintX GT Championship Series was the inaugural season of the SprintX GT Championship Series. The series was managed by WC Vision and sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). On May 28, 2015 WC Vision announced it would be launching the SprintX GT Championship Series as a support series of the Pirelli World Challenge. Similar to GT races in the PWC, SprintX races had a sprint format as races were 60 minutes in length. The difference between PWC GT races and SprintX races was that SprintX races featured mandatory driver and tire changes.
Duncan Ende is an American racing driver currently competing in the TCR International Series. Having previously competed in the United SportsCar Championship, Pirelli World Challenge, American Le Mans Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge amongst others.
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 2019 TC America Series will be the second season of the United States Auto Club's TC America Series. It will be the third season of the series, originally part of the Touring Car categories at the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge, and second season as a standalone class. Under the global realignment of the Blancpain GT World Challenge America by SRO Motorsports Group, the GT4 and TCR classes are now declared separate support series, and not under the same umbrella of the World Challenge as it was prior to SRO's ownership. However, the series will continue to be part of the World Challenge. The TCR division will include a DSG Cup for vehicles equipped with a Direct-shift gearbox.
Nicolai Elghanayan is an American sports car driver and graduate of USC School of Architecture. Elghanayan currently races a KTM X-BOW in the Blancpain GT World Challenge America GT4 America class with MarcoPolo Motorsports.
The GT4 America Series is a sports car racing series based in the United States. It takes over the GTS class of the Pirelli World Challenge, which adopted global GT4 technical regulations in 2018, and it is a Blancpain GT World Challenge America support series. It is managed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation and sanctioned by the United States Auto Club.
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