In 2002, the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) World Challenge Championship was in its thirteenth season. For the fourth year Speed Channel was the primary sponsor – (in the off-season the Speedvision channel was renamed Speed). SCCA had developed a successful format that attracted competitors and fans.

Race weekends included two standing start fifty-minute races – 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 vehicles 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. The series uses a spec tire and competitors race on Toyo Proxes RA-1s.
  • Touring Car (TC) – The Touring Cars are limited to an engine displacement of 2.8-liters. The 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. This category also uses a spec tire from Toyo – the Proxes T1-S.

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 eleven-race weekends during the 2002 season. The opening round was in March at Sebring International Raceway followed by back to back race weekends in May at Mosport Park and Lime Rock. The teams would take a break until the end of June when they would travel to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The series then moves to Road America followed by the inaugural National Grand Prix at Washington, D.C. After these weekends the championship returns to Canada with a stop at Trois-Rivieres and a second visit to Mosport – just for the Touring Car category. The teams will head west in September and compete at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The penultimate rounds will take place at Road Atlanta and the series finale will be held at a new venue, Virginia International Raceway.

The second round of the 2002 Speed World Challenge Touring Car season was held at Mosport International Raceway in May on the Victoria Day long weekend. Drivers would compete for fifty-minutes around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Forty-seven competitors are gridded on Mosport’s front straight for the start of the 2002 Speed World Challenge Touring Car race. On the pole is last year’s STAR Mazda champion and series rookie, Scott Bradley in the No. 14 Mazda Protege. Sharing the front row with Bradley is the defending race winner and series titleholder in an Acura Integra Type R prepared by RealTime Racing, Pierre Kleinubing.
Ken Dobson driving the SSF Imported Auto Parts BMW 325Ci gave defending class champion, Pierre Kleinubing all he could handle at Sebring but came up short and finished second. Dobson was second quickest during the practice sessions at Mosport International Raceway and qualified fourth. After a terrific start, he moved into second. Dobson grabbed first place from Will Turner on lap-nineteen and scored his first series victory.
Speed World Challenge Touring Car veteran, Will Turner topped the timesheets in practice. During qualifying the driver of the No. 92 Turner Motorsports prepared BMW 325i fell to the third spot. Turner jumped from his starting position and moved into first place on lap-1. He led the field for the next eighteen circuits but slid wide at turn two which allowed Ken Dobson to slip past. Unable to regain the position, Turner finished second.
Defending Speed World Challenge Touring Car champion, Pierre Kleinubing won the opening round at Sebring driving his familiar RealTime Racing Acura Integra Type R. Kleinubing lined up on the outside of the front row but completed the first lap in fourth place. For the remainder of the contest, he chased the faster BMWs of Will Turner and Ken Dobson. On lap-3, Kleinubing passed Scott Bradley for third and held the position to the finish.
Scott Bradley, captured his first Speed World Challenge Touring Car pole position, outshining a field of forty-eight competitors in his Mazda Protege at Mosport International Raceway. Unfortunately, last year’s STAR Mazda champion could not hold off Will Turner, Ken Dobson, Frank Selldorff and Pierre Kleinubing and was fifth on the first lap. When Selldorff encountered issues, Bradley inherited a fourth-place finish.
Another series veteran participating in this weekend’s event was Taz Harvey in the NN Racing Honda Civic Si. Despite contact in the season’s first contest at Sebring, Harvey finished eighth. At Mosport International Raceway, he was gridded twenty-second for the start of the twenty-five-lap race. By lap-16, Harvey was in fifth place and remained in that position until the checkered flag. During the event, he recorded the third fastest lap.
It may read, T.C. Kline on the windshield but Boris Said drove the No. 17 TC Kline Racing prepared BMW 328Ci. Said was pulling double duty this weekend also participating in the BF Goodrich Tires Trans-Am series. He started the World Challenge contest in forty-eighth place and finished twenty-first – earning B&M Hole Shot award. Said had a lot more success in the Trans-Am race – he won driving a Panoz Esperante.
Three-time SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge race winner and forty-year road racing veteran Peter Schwartzott returned to the series at Mosport in a Honda Civic Si. A retired fine arts college professor, Schwartzott began SCCA racing in the early 1960s. He has won many championships, most recently the 1997-1998 Speedvision Cup and the 1999 Motorola Cup. In his return, Schwartzott qualified forty-fifth and finished twentieth.
The Speed World Challenge Touring Car podium at Mosport International Raceway. On the left side of the rostrum is the runner-up and team owner of Turner Motorsports, Will Turner. Standing on the opposite side of the podium is the defending series champion and points leader, Pierre Kleinubing. In the center and grabbing his first SCCA Pro Racing victory is Ken Dobson.

FINISHSTARTDRIVERCARLAPSRETIREMENTS
14Ken DobsonBMW 325Ci25-
23Will TurnerBMW 325i25-
32Pierre KleinubingAcura Integra Type R25-
41Scott BradleyMazda Protege25-
522Taz HarveyHonda Civic Si25-
612Mark KirbergBMW 325is25-
78Paul BonaccorsiMazda Protege25-
814Mike FitzgeraldLexus IS30025-
99Peter CunninghamAcura Integra Type R25-
1026Robert BaxterMazda Protege25-
1113Steve PfefferBMW 325is25-
1210Mark MitchellHonda Civic Si25-
1318Bobby SakBMW 325i25-
145James SofronasBMW 325is25-
1520John PrallBMW 328i25-
167Chuck HemmingsonMazda Protege25-
1717Leo CapaidiMercury Cougar25-
1816Shauna MarinusMazda Protege25-
1924Michael ThornleyAcura Integra Type R25-
2045Peter SchwartzottHonda Civic Si25-
2148Boris SaidBMW 328Ci25-
2232Kevin SchrantzVW Jetta25-
2331Paul GargiuloBMW 32525-
2425Jim OsbornBMW 325Ci25-
2523Bobby CarterBMW 325is25-
2629Chris GleasonBMW 325i25-
2747Paul LambertAudi A425-
2833Robert StretchBMW 32525-
2927John BoschBMW 328i25-
3035Raan RodriguezBMW 325i25-
3139Hugh StewartVW Jetta25-
3238Gary DavisBMW 328is24-
3336Nick WoodhouseBMW 325i24-
3443Laurence OlivaBMW 325is24-
3511Tom FowlerMazda Protege24-
3634Mark MacLeanLexus IS30024-
3744Fred MeyerAcura Integra Type R24-
386Frank SelldorffBMW 325i23-
3940Nick VitucciAcura Integra Type R22-
4028Rick GilhartBMW 325Ci20-
4115Neal SappBMW 325is18-
4241Mike BuzzettiAcura Integra Type R14-
4337Andrew MonterrubioAcura Integra Type R12-
4419Roger FooMazda Protege7Mechanical
4530Rob HinesVW Jetta2Mechanical
4621Charles EspenlaubMazda Protege1Mechanical
4746Andrew LewisAcura Integra Type R1Accident
4842Terry McCarthyMercedes-Benz C2400Did Not Start
4949Jocelyn HebertAcura Integra Type R0Did Not Start
5050Justin MarksBMW 328is0Did Not Start

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