Race Weekend Central

Patrick Long Wins PWC GT Race No. 2 at St. Petersburg

2016 Lime Rock PWC Patrick Long Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Sunday afternoon, Patrick Long was able to take advantage of a bad start by pole sitter Alex Riberas to take over the lead in the first corner from third on the grid.  From there, Long was able to hold off Cadillac’s Johnny O’Connell to take his first win of 2017. The start itself was a …

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Andrew Aquilante Sweeps PWC GTS at St. Petersburg

2014 Lime Rock CTSC Andrew Aquilante Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Saturday afternoon, Andrew Aquilante proved that his pace on Friday was no fluke.  He may not have any definitive plans to race the No. 32 Ford Mustang BOSS 302R for the rest of the season, but for this weekend, he’s on top. Aquilante started from the pole and held off Lawson Aschenbach for the …

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Alvaro Parente Wins PWC GT Round 1 at St. Petersburg

2016 Lime Rock PWC Alvaro Parente Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Saturday morning, defending Pirelli World Challenge GT champion Alvaro Parente was able to get past pole sitter Daniel Mancinelli on lap 2.  The move, using the contrarian outside line at turn 4, gave the Portuguese racer the advantage.  From there, Parente pulled away to claim the victory by 10.135 seconds. Unlike Friday’s first GTS race, …

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Andrew Aquilante Wins PWC GTS Season Opener

2014 Lime Rock CTSC Andrew Aquilante Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

Friday afternoon saw the race debut of Chevrolet’s new Camaro GT4.R, a new car built for worldwide competition, but with an American flair.  Lawson Aschenbach qualified the Camaro on pole, but it was older American iron that took the spoils. The big story prior to the race was the reconfiguration of turn 3.  Thursday night, …

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Daniel Mancinelli Scores Surprise GT Overall Pole, Immediately Promoted

2017 St Petersburg PWC Daniel Mancinelli Car Credit WC Vision

(Photo: WC Vision)

In St. Petersburg on Friday morning, Daniel Mancinelli claimed the overall pole for Saturday’s Round No. 1 for Pirelli World Challenge’s GT/GTA/GT Cup Classes in his GTA-class No. 31 Ferrari 488 GT3 for TR3 Racing.  The pole was a complete surprise for a couple of reasons.  One, Mancinelli chose to skip the one timed practice …

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Adderly Fong Quickest in PWC GT Practice; Aschenbach on GTS Pole

2016 Lime Rock PWC Adderly Fong Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

On Thursday, Pirelli World Challenge’s four classes all took to the 1.8-mile street course in St. Petersburg for their opening on-track sessions.  It was a rather expensive day. In the 55 minute practice session, Absolute Racing’s Adderly Fong was quickest with a lap of 72.571 seconds (89.292 mph) in his Bentley Continental GT3.  Practice times …

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45 Entered for Pirelli World Challenge Season Opener at St. Petersburg

2016 Lime Rock PWC Johnny O'Connell Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

On the undercard of the Verizon IndyCar Series this weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla. will be the GT, GTA, GT Cup and GTS Classes of Pirelli World Challenge.  Between those four classes, 45 cars are entered.  The GT, GTA and GT Cup Classes will run together in two 50-minute races, while the GTS class will …

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Laurens Vanthoor to Join GMG Racing for 2 Sprint-X Races

2016 Lime Rock PWC James Sofronas Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

On Friday, Global Motorsports Group Racing (GMG Racing) announced that owner and longtime Pirelli World Challenge racer James Sofronas will be joined by Laurens Vanthoor to co-drive the team’s No. 14 Porsche 911 GT3 R.  Vanthoor will drive in the first two Sprint-X weekends at VIRginia International Raceway and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. In Pirelli World …

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Magnus Racing Confirms Pierre Kaffer, Spencer Pumpelly as Additional Drivers

2016 Lime Rock IWSC John Potter Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Thursday, Magnus Racing completed their driver lineup for the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge season.  Previously, team owner John Potter announced a full-time GTA program for himself in the No. 44 Audi pictured above.  In the No. 4 Audi R8 LMS GT3 will be Pierre Kaffer for the vast majority of the season.  The exceptions …

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James Davison Returns to TRG in Pirelli World Challenge

2015 Lime Rock TUSC Christina Nielsen Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

On Tuesday, The Racers Group (TRG) announced that they will be returning to Pirelli World Challenge’s GT class on a race-to-race basis.  The team has tapped James Davison to drive a Aston Martin Vantage GT3 starting at the season opener next month in St. Petersburg.  The effort will not affect TRG’s existing Porsche effort in …

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Cadillac Racing Announces Lineup, Taylor Brothers in for Sprint-X Races

2016 Lime Rock PWC Johnny O'Connell Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

On Monday, Cadillac Racing announced their 2017 Pirelli World Challenge driver lineup.  Their full-time drivers will be unchanged.  Four-time GT class champion Johnny O’Connell will return to the No. 3 Cadillac ATS-VR for his seventh year with the team.  Meanwhile, Michael Cooper will return for his second year in the No. 8.  Cooper’s No. 8 will carry …

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Magnus Racing Switches to Pirelli World Challenge, Adds 2nd Car

2016 Lime Rock IWSC John Potter Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Friday morning, Magnus Racing announced that they will move over to Pirelli World Challenge for the full 2017 season.  The team will also expand from one to two Audi R8 LMS GT3’s.  Team owner John Potter will drive in the GTA class full-time in both the Sprint and Sprint-X events starting with the first …

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