This weekend, all of Pirelli World Challenge’s classes will be in action at Utah Motorsports Campus near Tooele. Given the track’s location in a desert environment, you’d expect it to be hot and dry in August. Forecasts say 90 degrees for highs all weekend, but the monsoon is in effect. As a result, it is actually going to be relatively humid with a slight chance of thunderstorms.
Combined throughout the classes, there are 101 entries for this weekends’ races. First off, 33 teams are entered in Sprint-X. There are some changes of note. K-PAX Racing, as previously announced, has cut back to two cars (Nos. 6 and 9). Michael Lewis, who co-drove the No. 98 with Mike Hedlund for the first three Sprint-X weekends, is now co-driving the No. 6 with Bryan Sellers, replacing Jonny Kane.
Absolute Racing is back after having skipped the previous sprint rounds at Mid-Ohio. The No. 88 Bentley is unchanged with Vincent Abril and Adderly Fong back for more. The No. 78 has a new driver lineup. Former Formula One racer Will Stevens will make his Pirelli World Challenge debut this weekend with Andrew Kim as his co-driver. Kim is a regular with Absolute Racing in Asia who ran in the last three GT races of 2016 (two at Sonoma and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) for the team.
Laurens Vanthoor is out of the No. 14 in Pro-Am in favor of Porsche Junioren racer Mathieu Jaminet. Jaminet raced for Alegra Motorsports in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship earlier this year, impressing with his pace. DXDT Racing returns with their lineup of David Askew and Aaron Povoledo. This time, it is a Mercedes-AMG GT3 that they will race instead of an Audi R8 LMS GT3.
In Am-Am, Tyler McQuarrie is out of the No. 30 NGT Motorsport Ferrari in favor of Jonathan Ziegelman. Ziegelman has no prior starts in Pirelli World Challenge, but has raced for NGT Motorsport in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.
GT Cup sees DXDT Racing expand their entry with a Lamborghini LP620-2 for Brandon Davis and Jeff Burton. Note that this is not the Jeff Burton you’re thinking of. This Jeff Burton does not work on race broadcasts for NBC, commentate from scissor lifts with inflatable flamingos on it, or mentor his son that races part-time in the Camping World Truck Series. The PWC Jeff Burton lives in nearby Salt Lake City and is making an infrequent appearance on the grid. As for Davis, he tends to jump around between Pirelli World Challenge and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Most recently, Davis co-drove in the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park for The Racers Group with James Davison. He was in position for fourth in class before the car quit with seven minutes to go.
Finally, it should be noted that Sprint-X also includes the GTS class. As a result, there are teams entered in both Sprint-X and the regular GTS class races.
Entry List: Pirelli World Challenge Sprint-X at Utah Motorsports Campus
Class | Team | Drivers | Car |
---|---|---|---|
GT Pro-Am | 07 - Dream Racing Motorsport | Lawrence DeGeorge Cedric Sbirrazzuoli | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
GTS Am-Am | 09 - The Racers Group | Jason Alexandridis Derek DeBoer | Aston Martin Vantage GT4 |
GT Am-Am | 013 - R. Ferri Motorsport | Drew Regitz Kris Wilson | Ferrari 458 GT3 |
GTS Pro-Am | 017 - Case-It Racing | Trent Hindman Adam Merzon | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTS Am-Am | 018 - Case-It Racing | Cameron Cassels Philip Bloom | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTS Am-Am | 019 - Stephen Cameron Racing | Ari Balogh Greg Liefooghe | Aston Martin Vantage GT4 |
GT Pro-Pro | 2 - CRP Racing | Ryan Dalziel Daniel Morad | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
GT Pro-Pro | 3 - Cadillac Racing | Johnny O'Connell Ricky Taylor | Cadillac ATS-V.R. |
GT Pro-Pro | 4 - Magnus Racing | Pierre Kaffer Spencer Pumpelly | Audi R8 LMS GT3 |
GT Pro-Pro | 6 - K-PAX Racing | Michael Lewis Bryan Sellers | McLaren 650S GT3 |
GT Pro-Pro | 8 - Cadillac Racing | Michael Cooper Jordan Taylor | Cadillac ATS-V.R. |
GT Pro-Pro | 9 - K-PAX Racing | Ben Barnicoat Àlvaro Parente | McLaren 650S GT3 |
GT Cup Pro-Am | 10 - DXDT Racing | Jeff Burton Brandon Davis | Lamborghini LP620-2 |
GT Pro-Am | 14 - GMG Racing | Mathieu Jaminet James Sofronas | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
GT Pro-Am | 16 - Wright Motorsports | Jan Heylen Michael Schein | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
GT Am-Am | 23 - M1GT Racing | Jason Bell James Dayson | Audi R8 LMS Ultra |
GT Am-Am | 30 - NGT Motorsport | Henrique Cisneros TBA | Ferrari 458 GT3 |
GT Pro-Pro | 31 - TR3 Racing | Daniel Mancinelli Niccolo Schiro | Ferrari 488 GT3 |
GT Pro-Pro | 43 - RealTime Racing | Tom Dyer Ryan Eversley | Acura NSX GT3 |
GT Pro-Am | 44 - Magnus Racing | John Potter Marco Seefried | Audi R8 LMS GT3 |
GT Cup Pro-Am | 46 - TruSpeed Autosport | Tom Haacker Sloan Urry | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup |
GTS Am-Am | 47 - NOLAsport | Jason Hart Matt Travis | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GT Pro-Am | 54 - Black Swan Racing | Jeroen Bleekemolen Tim Pappas | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
GT Cup Pro-Am | 55 - Dream Racing Motorsport | Alessandro Bressan Yuki Harata | Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo |
GT Pro-Pro | 58 - Wright Motorsports | Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Long | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
GT Pro-Am | 63 - DXDT Racing | David Askew Aaron Povoledo | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
GT Pro-Am | 75 - Always Evolving Racing/AIM Autosport | Frankie Montecalvo Ricardo Sanchez | Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 |
GT Pro-Am | 77 - GMG Racing | Dr. Preston Calvert Alec Udell | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
GT Pro-Am | 78 - Absolute Racing | Andrew Kim Will Stevens | Bentley Continental GT3 |
GT Pro-Pro | 88 - Absolute Racing | Vincent Abril Adderly Fong | Bentley Continental GT3 |
GT Cup Am-Am | 90 - Autometrics Motorsports | Cory Friedman Joe Toussaint | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup |
GT Pro-Pro | 93 - RealTime Racing | Peter Kox Mark Wilkins | Acura NSX GT3 |
GT Cup Pro-Am | 95 - Tool Racing | Erich Joiner Andy Lee | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup |
GT Pro-Pro | 99 - GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing | Jon Fogarty Wolf Henzler | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
GTS sees a total of 18 entries for their standalone races. Only six of those cars will be running in the regular GTS division. Performance Motorsports Group, PF Racing and ANSA Motorsports’ No. 13 are not entered.
GTSA sees the Ian Lacy Racing Ginettas of Drew Staveley and Frank Gannett return for their second go-around of the year. The JCR Motorsports No. 89 for Fred Roberts is not entered after Roberts had a huge crash at the start of Round 11 at Mid-Ohio. Also, Case-It Racing is back up to two cars this weekend with the No. 018 of Cameron Cassels back in the fold.
Entry List: Pirelli World Challenge GTS Class at Utah Motorsports Campus
Class | Team | Driver | Car |
---|---|---|---|
GTSA | 04 - GMG Racing | George Kurtz | McLaren 570S GT4 |
GTSA | 017 - Case-It Racing | Adam Merzon | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTSA | 018 - Case-It Racing | Cameron Cassels | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTSA | 2 - Racers Edge Motorsports | Jason Bell | SIN R1 GT4 |
GTS | 3 - Flying Lizard Motorsports | Rodrigo Baptista | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTSA | 7 - GMG Racing | Carter Yeung | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTSA | 9 - ANSA Motorsports | Bill Ziegler | KTM X-Bow GT4 |
GTS | 10 - Blackdog Speed Shop | Lawson Aschenbach | Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R |
GTSA | 11 - Blackdog Speed Shop | Tony Gaples | Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R |
GTSA | 12 - Ian Lacy Racing | Drew Staveley | Ginetta G55 GT4 |
GTS | 14 - Flying Lizard Motorsports | Nate Stacy | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTSA | 24 - Ian Lacy Racing | Frank Gannett | Ginetta G55 GT4 |
GTSA | 45 - Racers Edge Motorsports | Chris Beaufait | SIN R1 GT4 |
GTSA | 47 - NOLAsport | Keith Jensen | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR |
GTS | 50 - Team Panoz Racing | Ian James | Panoz Avezzano GT |
GTSA | 62 - KPR | Mark Klenin | McLaren 570S GT4 |
GTS | 80 - Mantella Autosport | Martin Barkey | KTM X-Bow GT4 |
GTS | 99 - JCR Motorsports | Jeff Courtney | Maserati GT4 |
The TC/TCA/TCB races will be the busiest of the weekend as 50 teams will take to the track. The TC class will have 33 cars on track. A full two-thirds of those cars will be BMW M235iRs.
Salt Lake City-based Rearden Racing has a huge commitment this weekend with four entries. This may sound like a new team, but it is not. It is what used to be CA Sport and before that, Skullcandy Team Nissan. They have entered a Nissan 370Z for longtime Russian driver Vesko Kozarov, along with BMW M235iRs for Jeff Kearl, Greg Warnock and Daren Jorgensen. Kearl, Warnock and Jorgensen have competed for the team in the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy in Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsports that the team is currently attempting to sell.
Indian Summer Racing has acquired an Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport and has moved Travis Washay up from the TCB class. There will be a substantial difference between the Audi and the MINI Washay has been racing for the past couple of years.
Entry List: Pirelli World Challenge TC/TCA/TCB Classes at Utah Motorsports Campus
Class | Team | Driver | Car |
---|---|---|---|
TC | 009 - BERG Racing | JT Coupal | Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport |
TCB | 01 - Drengler Racing | Jasper Drengler | Honda Fit |
TC | 05 - Max Felder Racing | Max Felder | BMW M235iR |
TC | 06 - Rearden Racing | Jeff Kearl | BMW M235iR |
TC | 017 - Rearden Racing | Greg Warnock | BMW M235iR |
TC | 065 - Rearden Racing | Daren Jorgensen | BMW M235iR |
TC | 1 - Classic BMW | Toby Grahovec | BMW M235iR |
TC | 2 - Classic BMW | Jayson Clunie | BMW M235iR |
TC | 3 - Rearden Racing | Vesko Kozarov | Nissan 370Z |
TC | 5 - BERG Racing | John Weisberg | Mazda MX-5 |
TCB | 6 - Jake Pipal Racing | Jake Pipal | Honda Fit |
TC | 8 - Stephen Cameron Racing | Rodrigo Sales | BMW M235iR |
TC | 12 - Stephen Cameron Racing | Mason Filippi | BMW M235iR |
TC | 13 - Rearden Racing | Andrew McCubbins | BMW M235iR |
TC | 18 - ZIMA Motorsports | Stefan Sajic | BMW M235iR |
TC | 19 - Stephen Cameron Racing | Ari Balogh | BMW M235iR |
TC | 20 - Stephen Cameron Racing | Greg Liefooghe | BMW M235iR |
TCA | 22 - Tech Sport Racing | Breton Williams | Scion FR-S |
TCA | 23 - Tech Sport Racing | Eric Powell | Scion FR-S |
TCB | 24 - Tech Sport Racing | Canaan O'Connell | Chevrolet Sonic |
TCB | 25 - Tech Sport Racing | P.J. Groenke | Chevrolet Sonic |
TC | 28 - AutoTechnic Racing | Robert Nimkoff | BMW M235iR |
TC | 29 - Classic BMW | Justin Raphael | BMW M235iR |
TC | 30 - Indian Summer Racing | Travis Washay | Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport |
TCA | 33 - Murillo Racing | Kenny Murillo | Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car |
TC | 34 - Brass Monkey Racing | Tony Rivera | Nissan 370Z |
TC | 36 - ZIMA Motorsports | Chetan Puranik | BMW M235iR |
TCB | 37 - ISellMiataParts | Blake Thompson | Mazda2 |
TC | 38 - ST Racing | Samantha Tan | BMW M235iR |
TC | 40 - Parallax Racing | Steve Kholi | Honda Accord |
TC | 43 - Ian Lacy Racing | Steve Burns | Ford Mustang (V6) |
TCA | 52 - Glory Racing | Glory Fernandez | Honda Civic Si |
TCA | 56 - Murillo Racing | Tim Probert | Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car |
TC | 67 - Shea Racing | Shea Holbrook | Honda Accord Coupe |
TCA | 68 - S.A.C. Racing | Daniel Williams | Mazda MX-5 |
TC | 69 - S.A.C. Racing | Anthony Geraci | Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport |
TCA | 70 - S.A.C. Racing | Elivan Goulart | Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car |
TC | 71 - C360R | Paul Holton | Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport |
TCA | 73 - S.A.C. Racing | Daniel Moen | Mazda MX-5 |
TCA | 74 - S.A.C. Racing | Matthew Fassnacht | Mazda MX-5 |
TC | 80 - Rooster Hall Racing | Anthony Magagnoli | BMW M235iR |
TC | 81 - Winding Road Racing TFB | Jacob Ruud | BMW M235iR |
TC | 82 - AutoTechnic Racing | Scott Thomas | BMW M235iR |
TCA | 86 - DG-Spec Racing | Craig Stanton | Toyota TMG 86 Cup Car |
TC | 87 - Stephen Cameron Racing | Henry Schmitt | BMW M235iR |
TCA | 89 - Winding Road Team TFB | Jeff Sexton | Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car |
TC | 91 - ST Racing | Nick Wittmer | BMW M235iR |
TC | 92 - Classic BMW | Nick Ohmacht | BMW M235iR |
TCA | 94 - Shea Racing | Tom O'Gorman | Honda Civic Si |
TC | 99 - Honda Ste-Rose Racing | Karl Wittmer | Honda Accord Coupe |
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
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