2005 - Race Season

Daytona - February 3 - 6, 2005
Daytona
The big story at Daytona was the large grid of Daytona Prototypes. After 24 hours it was the trio of Taylor, Angelelli and Collard in a Pontiac Riley taking the overall victory. Tom Nastasi and Ian James captured the Grand Am Cup 200 Mile race in a new Mustang. Capturing the Sports Touring class win were David Tuaty and Daniel Colembie in a BMW Z4.

Sebring - March 16 - 19, 2005
Sebring
Audi's were first and second overall and recorded the closest finish in Sebring history. Tommy Archer led flag-to-flag to capture round one of the 2005 World Challenge GT series. Despite his dominance the racing was very close with the positions behind him constantly changing. There were six lead changes among four drivers during the World Challenge Touring opener at Sebring. But it was Peter Cunningham who outlasted the competition and took the first race of the season.

Laguna Seca - April 29 - May 1, 2005
Laguna Seca
The Road & Track 250 at Laguna Seca finished under a full course caution. Pruett and Diaz captured the DP win while the trio of Auberlen, Milner and Marks were the victors in GT. The Multimatic Motorsports Mustang of Scott Maxwell and David Empringham took the overall and GS win at Laguna Seca. In ST, Sylvain Tremlay and David Haskell in the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 finished first.

Mont-Tremblant - May 19 - 21, 2005
Mont-Tremblant
Andy Wallace, Jan Lammers and Milka Duno captured the Daytona Prototype and overall win at Mont-Tremblant. The GT class was won by Ian James, Chris Gleason and Joey Hand in a BMW.

Mosport - May 22, 2005
Mosport
Woodson Duncan didn't win either heat race but scored enough points to be declared the overall winner of the American GT event. The Honda Michelin Challenge series race at Mosport was won by Didier Schraenen. Finishing a close second was Steven Laporte. The Sundown Grand Prix returned after being absent for several years. The leaders at the end of three hours of racing were Lewis and Dimoff.

Watkins Glen - June 10 - 12, 2005
Watkins Glen
Nic Jonsson passed his TRG teammate late in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen to give him and Tracy Krohn the win. The Grand Am Cup event at Watkins Glen marked the first win in the ST class for the Chevrolet Cobalt. The driving honours were shared by Jim Holtom and Andy Lally.

Mosport - June 17 - 19, 2005
Mosport
The Grand Sports class at Mosport 200 was won by local racer David Empringham and his teammate Gunnar Jeannette. Capturing the Sports Touring class win was the father and son duo of Jim and Jamie Holtom.

Trois Rivieres - August 5 - 7, 2005
Trois Rivieres
The Grand Am Cup division was the feature event at the Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres. The tight confines of the circuit meant separate 150-mile races for Sports Touring and Grand Sport classes. The FAQ has two sedan series. The GT/GTO/GTU championship that accommodates all types of sedans and the Touring series for cars that are required to adhere to rules similar to World Challenge. Nick Wittmer won the Honda Michelin Challenge series race at Trois Rivieres by a comfortable margin of 6.641 seconds. Finishing second was Frederick Lelievre with Wittmer’s brother, Kuno, taking third. The Toyota Echo Pirelli Cup is in its second season and continues to be very popular with teams and fans. The Quebec Toyota Dealer Association and Pirelli teamed up to create this series. Click the link below to see the photographs.

Mid Ohio - August 26 - 27, 2005
Mid Ohio
Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Butch Leitzinger took the victory at Mid Ohio in their Pontiac Crawford. Capturing the GT class was the No. 21 BMW, driven by Kelly Collins and Tom Milner. Bill Auberlen crossed the finish line in his BMW, giving him and co-driver Justin Marks the victory. The No. 00 Cobalt took the ST class victory, with Andy Lally and Jamie Holtom at the wheel.

Mosport - September 2 - 4, 2005
Mosport
The duo of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger took the ALMS P1 victory at Mosport in their Lola EX257. Charles Espenlaub won at the Touring car event at Mosport in a Mazda 6. It was the first World Challenge win. Realtime drivers Cunningham and Kleinubing finish second and third, respectively. With the manufacturers title coming down to the wire Cadillac enlisted the services of local hot shoe Ron Fellows. He was able to capitalize on a first turn crash and take the win for the GM team. Kuno Wittmer beat Steven Laporte by just .273 seconds to capture the Mosport round of the Honda Michelin Challenge series. Rounding out the podium was Frederick Lelievre.

Watkins Glen - September 22 - 24, 2005
Watkins Glen
The Riley Pontiac driven by Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli won the race by just 0.473 seconds. In GT, the No. 65 Pontiac GTO of Andy Lally and Marc Bunting held off their teammates for the class victory.

Laguna Seca - October 14 - 16, 2005
Laguna Seca
The Zytek 04S of Chilton and Shimoda won the final round of the 2005 ALMS series. But the big news was the debut and win of the Porsche RS Spyder driven by Luhr and Maassen. Rookie John Angelone won the Touring race while a third place secured the title for Peter Cunningham. A fourth place finish was good enough for Andy Pilgrim to capture the GT crown.


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