2006 Mosport International Raceway - Ontario Touring GT Championship

After four seasons, the Canadian Automobile Sport Club Ontario Region (CASC-OR) Touring GT Championship continued to fill the void left by the demise of the Canada GT Challenge Cup.

The Touring GT Championship events are conducted at eight CASC-OR race weekends. On Saturdays, teams compete in a twenty-minute sprint event and the following day a longer forty-minute race is contested. The penultimate round of the championship will be a three-hour contest during the British Empire Motor Club’s Indian Summer Trophy Races weekend. The event will be called the War Bonnet 3-Hour.

Teams competed in one of three categories. The colour of the windshield banner identifies the groups.

Touring T2 - Blue – T2 if for cars with a normally aspirated six-cylinder engine not exceeding a displacement of 2.8-liters. Or, four-cylinder motors with forced induction systems are limited to a maximum displacement of 2.2-liters. Tire size combinations for this group are as follows – 205/60-13, 205/55-14, 205/50-15, 205/55-16 and 205/40-17.
Touring T1 – Yellow– T1 vehicles adhere to the same engine regulations as the Touring T2 category; however, they can use larger tires. The tire size combinations permitted for this category are – 225/50-15, 225/50-16, 235/45-17 and 235/40-17. The maximum rim width for Touring T1 and T2 is eight-inches.
Touring GT – White – GT include T class cars without a minimum weight restriction. The category also allows engine swaps and a tube frame chassis. Wheel and tire sizes are not restricted for GT vehicles.

The spec tire for all classes is the Toyo Proxes RA-1.

For the three categories, unless otherwise defined by the rules, modifications to the suspension, brakes, cooling system, exhaust, bodywork, transmission and ignition system are free.

The final event of the 2006 Ontario Touring GT Championship was held at Mosport International Raceway during the Celebration of Motorsport weekend. Entrants would compete in a twenty-minute race on Saturday and a forty-minute contest to end the season.

A field of twenty Ontario Touring GT Championship competitors enter corner ten on Saturday in anticipation of the Starter’s flag. On the pole is Touring GT competitor Sasha Anis, in the No. 114 Nissan 240SX. Sharing the front row with Anis is the Touring T1 points leader, Andrew Wojteczko, driving the No. 64 Lexus IS300. On the second row is the Honda Civic of Scott Nicol and Allan DeWolfe in a BMW 323.

While championships in the Touring GT and Touring T2 categories were wrapped up at the BEMC Indian Summer Trophy event, the Touring T1 was yet to be decided. Vying for the title were Andrew Wojteczko and Scott Nicol. Wojteczko started on the class pole both days driving the No. 64 Auto Analyzer Lexus IS300. He would win each contest, finishing first overall Saturday and secure the title by ninety-six points.

Series rookie Sasha Anis was quick, but his Nissan 240SX suffered from reliability issues. He often qualified at the front of the grid but wasn’t always there at the finish. In the final weekend of the season, with the car performing as intended, Anis showcased his talents. He started on the overall pole on Saturday and claimed the Touring GT victory. In the finale, Anis started third overall and earned another win.

Unlike Andrew Wojteczko, Alain Lauziere secured his Touring T2 championship at the BEMC Indian Summer Trophy weekend. Lauziere battled all season long for the title with Ian Madden. In race one, the two continued their fight with the No. 47 Mini Cooper S taking the honours. On Sunday, Lauziere started on the class pole, but he was third in Touring T2 at the checkered flag.

The first lap through Moss corner for the final round of the 2006 Ontario Touring GT Championship. Leading the way and demonstrating his drifting skills is the third-place starter, Sasha Anis, driving the No. 114 Nissan 240SX. Trailing Anis is the pole-sitter, Andrew Wojteczko, in the No. 64 Auto Analyzer sponsored Lexus IS300. Behind Wojteczko is the other front row starter, Scott Nicol and the BMW of Allan DeWolfe.

The David Pratte / Kenneth Lau No. 34 Honda Civic continued with the pattern they had exhibited most of the season. The team was either at the top or bottom of the Touring T2 lap chart. In the qualifying for the weekend’s first race, the Honda was tenth fastest and captured the class pole by almost 1.5-seconds; unfortunately, they did not start the race. On Sunday, the Civic began at the rear of the grid and won.

Reliability and consistency earned Steve Xiropodis the 2006 Ontario Touring GT Championship Touring GT class title. Xiropodis enlisted the help of his brother, John, to finish tenth overall and second in his category at the BEMC War Bonnet Enduro. This result was enough for Xiropodis to clinch the title before the final weekend of racing. At the Celebration event, he finished second in race one but retired from the finale.

Scott Nicol staged a season long-duel with Andrew Wojteczko for the Touring T1 honours. Entering the final weekend, Wojteczko led the standings, but Nicol and the No. 41 Honda Civic Si still had an opportunity to capture the championship. But it was not to be. He finished second to Wojteczko, who won the category on Saturday and Sunday.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS
1	2	Touring T1	Andrew Wojteczko	Lexus IS300	12
2	3	Touring T1	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic	12
3	1	Touring GT	Sasha Anis	Nissan 240SX	12
4	5	Touring GT	Steve Xiropodis	Volkswagen Scirocco	12
5	4	Touring T1	Allan DeWolfe	BMW 323	12
6	8	Touring T1	Chris Swinwood / Paul Swinwood	BMW 318is	12
7	16	Touring T2	Alain Lauziere	Mini Cooper S	12
8	15	Touring T2	Ian Madden	Volkswagen Golf	12
9	12	Touring T1	John Lockhart / Len Clue	Saab 93	12
10	18	Touring T2	Perry Iannuzzi	Nissan Sentra XE	12
11	11	Touring T2	Chris Capowski	Honda Civic	11
12	DNQ	Touring GT	Karl Thomson	Nissan Sentra XE	11
13	17	Touring T1	Cliff Daley	Volkswagen Golf 1.8T	11
14	7	Touring GT	Gunter Schmidt / Steve Kent	Chevrolet Camaro	11
15	14	Touring T2	Howard Chin	Volkswagen Scirocco	11
16	6	Touring T1	Nicholas Krikorian / Nigel Krikorian	Acura RSX Type S	11
17	19	Touring T2	Andrew Bearss	Honda Civic	11
18	20	Touring T2	Pat Harrison / Victor Simone	Nissan 200SX	11
19	22	Touring T2	T. Bork / F. Swaider	Mazda Protoge ES	11
20	23	Touring T2	Richard Boak	Nissan Sentra	11
21	24	Touring T2	Keith Greiner	Honda Civic	11
22	25	Touring T2	Norman Eberschlag	Nissan Sentra	10
23	9	Touring GT	Mike Dolan / Ted Rance	Mazda RX-7	10
24	DNQ	Touring GT	Marco Cirone	Chevrolet Corvette	10
Did Not Finish	21	Touring T1	Andrew Elliott	Volkswagen Corrado	2
Did Not Start	13	Touring GT	Peter Koleros	BMW M3	-
Did Not Start	DNQ	Touring GT	Frank Evangelou	BMW 325is	-
Did Not Start	10	Touring T2	David Pratte / Kenneth Lau	Honda Civic	-

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS
1	3	Touring GT	Sasha Anis	Nissan 240SX	23
2	1	Touring T1	Andrew Wojteczko	Lexus IS300	23
3	2	Touring T1	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic	23
4	9	Touring GT	Karl Thomson	Nissan Sentra XE	23
5	6	Touring T1	Allan DeWolfe	BMW 323	23
6	18	Touring GT	Mike Dolan / Ted Rance	Mazda RX-7	23
7	15	Touring T1	Nicholas Krikorian / Nigel Krikorian	Acura RSX Type S	23
8	5	Touring T1	Chris Swinwood / Paul Swinwood	BMW 318is	23
9	12	Touring GT	Gunter Schmidt / Steve Kent	Chevrolet Camaro	23
10	26	Touring GT	Marco Cirone	Chevrolet Corvette	23
11	19	Touring T2	David Pratte / Kenneth Lau	Honda Civic	22
12	8	Touring T2	Ian Madden	Volkswagen Golf	22
13	21	Touring GT	Peter Koleros	BMW M3	22
14	7	Touring T2	Alain Lauziere	Mini Cooper S	22
15	11	Touring T2	Chris Capowski	Honda Civic	22
16	13	Touring T1	Cliff Daley	Volkswagen Golf 1.8T	21
17	14	Touring T2	T. Bork / F. Swaider	Mazda Protoge ES	21
18	23	Touring T2	Perry Iannuzzi	Nissan Sentra XE	21
19	22	Touring T2	Andrew Bearss	Honda Civic	21
20	16	Touring T2	Richard Boak	Nissan Sentra	20
21	24	Touring T2	Pat Harrison / Victor Simone	Nissan 200SX	20
22	17	Touring T2	Keith Greiner	Honda Civic	20
23	20	Touring T2	Norman Eberschlag	Nissan Sentra	17
Did Not Finish	4	Touring GT	Steve Xiropodis	Volkswagen Scirocco	13
Did Not Finish	10	Touring T1	John Lockhart / Len Clue	Saab 93	9
Did Not Finish	25	Touring T2	Howard Chin	Volkswagen Scirocco	5
Did Not Start	-	Touring T1	Andrew Elliott	Volkswagen Corrado	-
Did Not Start	-	Touring GT	Frank Evangelou	BMW 325is	-

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