1999 Mosport International Raceway

In 1999, the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) World Challenge Championship was in its tenth season. An agreement was signed that saw the Speedvision television cable network become the primary series sponsor. As a result, the series was renamed the Speedvision World Challenge Championship.

Race weekends included two standing start races (limited to fifty-minutes) – one for the Grand Touring class and another for the Touring Cars.

Grand Touring (GT) – The GT class rules accommodate an extensive range of vehicles from different manufacturers. There is no limit to the engine displacement in this category and cars may use a forced induction system. To stop the cars, alternative materials may be utilized for the brake pads and shoes. Rules also allow the use of four-piston calipers, but rotors are limited to 14-inches in diameter. The maximum diameter of the wheels is 18-inches and any changes to the bodywork must be approved.

Touring Car (TC) – The Touring Cars are limited to an engine displacement of 2.8-liters. T he motors must be naturally aspirated (turbochargers or superchargers are not permitted). The Touring Cars are also allowed four-piston calipers and alternative materials for the brake pads and shoes, but the maximum rotor diameter is 12-inches. Wheels in this group are limited to 17-inches. Cars can be fitted with a spec rear wing and approved aftermarket bodywork.

To prevent any driver/car combination from dominating the class and ensuring tight competition, the R.E.W.A.R.D.S. System was implemented. Introduced in 1995, R.E.W.A.R.D.S. is the acronym for ‘Rewarding of Equalizing Weight Assigned to Reduce Driver Sensitivity.' This weight equalization rule adds or removes ballast from a car based on the finishing position of a driver.

There were nine-race weekends during the 1999 season.

Mosport International Raceway
Lime Rock Park
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Road Atlanta
Circuit Trois-Rivières
Grand Rapids street circuit
Vancouver street circuit
Pikes Peak International Raceway
Laguna Seca Raceway

Round one of the 1999 Speedvision World Challenge series was held at Mosport International Raceway. Twenty-two Grand Touring drivers started the twenty-eight lap race around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Twenty-one competitors enter corner one at Mosport International Raceway for the first round of the 1999 Speedvision World Challenge Championship. At the head of the field is the pole-sitter, Bill Cooper, in the No. 75 Chevrolet Corvette C4. Behind Cooper is the other front-row starter, George Biskup, driving the No. 22 Porsche 993 RSR. Challenging Biskup is the No. 94 Toyota Supra of the third-fastest qualifier, David Schardt.

Participating on a limited basis in 1998, Bobby Archer finished fifth in the final Touring 1 standings. He arrived at Mosport International Raceway with the new No. 32 Dodge Viper. The car had its challenges, but Archer qualified fifth fastest. He inherited first-place when the leader, Bill Cooper, had a clutch issue. Archer maintained the position and scored his sixth World Challenge victory, the first since 1991.

Chasing the winner, Bobby Archer, to the checkered flag was George Biskup. The series rookie was piloting the No. 22 Chicago Truck Center sponsored Porsche 993 RSR. Early in the twenty-eight lap contest, the second-fastest qualifier pursued the No. 75 Chevrolet Corvette C4 of the pole-sitter, Bill Cooper. Biskup lost a position to Archer but regained it when Cooper had a mechanical problem.

Last year, David Schardt had a season-high finish of fifth-place in Touring 1 at the Grand Prix of Minnesota. However, 1998 also saw the No. 94 Toyota Supra Turbo retire from two events and finish down the order in other contests. It appeared that the winter layoff allowed The Wheel Source team to address the issues affecting Schardt’s Toyota. At Mosport International, he qualified and finished third.

Last season, Bill Cooper competed in the opening round at Heartland Park and swept the weekend, earning the pole and race victory. When the series kicked-off with race one at Mosport, it appeared that Cooper would deliver the same results. He put the No. 75 Chevrolet Corvette on the pole and pulled away from the field. Unfortunately, a clutch issue slowed him and he finished in fourth place.

Five-time Le Mans winner, Derek Bell, drove the No. 30 Speedvision Legends BMW M3. Bell is scheduled to compete in five Speedvision GT Championship races as part of the network's Legends of Motorsport program, showcasing world-class drivers competing and providing in-car commentary during Speedvision World Challenge Championships events. The veteran qualified seventh and finished fifth.

On Saturday of the Mosport Tran Am Weekend, there was a Motorola Cup event. Several of the Grand Sport competitors chose to enter the World Challenge contest. The most successful team was Two Friends Racing that entered Ford Mustang Cobras for Gary Smith and John Kohler. Smith, who finished fifteenth the previous day, qualified twentieth in the No. 47 Zippo Mustang and finished sixth.

As expected, the No. 3 Keewaydin / Toad Hall Motor Racing Porsche 911 RSR of Peter Kitchack was fast in practice and qualifying. Kitchack qualified sixth, but the Porsche started smoking badly at the beginning of the race, forcing him to make a pit stop. The team identified a loose oil breather hose as the culprit. Unfortunately, he lost two laps while in the pits but would charge back from last to a twelfth place finish.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	5	Bobby Archer	Dodge Viper GTS	28	-
2	2	George Biskup	Porsche 911 RSR	28	-
3	3	David Schardt	Toyota Supra Turbo	28	-
4	1	Bill Cooper	Chevrolet Corvette	28	-
5	7	Derek Bell	BMW M3	28	-
6	20	Gary Smith	Ford Mustang Cobra	28	-
7	21	John Kohler	Ford Mustang Cobra	28	-
8	12	Walter Swick	BMW M3	28	-
9	14	Pierre Bareil	Ford Mustang LX	26	-
10	13	Dennis Petersen	Chevrolet Corvette	26	-
11	18	Alain Chebeir	BMW M Coupe	26	-
12	6	Peter Kitchack	Porsche 911 RSR	26	-
13	17	Walter Dethier	Ford Mustang Cobra	26	-
14	11	Terry Lackey	Chevrolet Corvette	24	Accident
15	16	Scotty B. White	Chevrolet Corvette C5	24	Mechanical
16	4	Pete Halsmer	Acura NSX	18	-
17	8	Paul Brown	Saleen Mustang	11	Mechnical
18	9	Reese Cox	Chevrolet Corvette C5	8	Mechanical
19	10	Bob Schiesser	Ford Mustang	8	Accident
20	19	John Heinricy	Pontiac Firebird	3	Mechanical
21	15	Kelly Bradley	Chevrolet Corvette	1	Mechanical

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