2010 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

There were many changes to the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge Championship in 2010. The first was the series title. The relationship with Speed TV had come to an end. The series new television partner was VERSUS, which aired ninety-minute spots of all twelve races on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

The decline in entries over the last two seasons resulted in the introduction of a third category and a reclassification of some cars. The newest division was called Grand Touring Sport and fit in between Grand Touring and Touring Car.

Grand Touring (GT) – This group included the series quickest cars: Porsche 911 GT3, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Nissan GT-R and Volvo S60. The preparation rules remained unchanged from the previous year for these vehicles.
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – These were many of the cars that competed in last year’s Touring Car class (Acura TSX, Honda Civic, BMW 325i and Mazda 6). Competitors from the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge were also able to participate using the Ford Mustang FR500S.
Touring Car (TC) – Touring Cars were not allowed many of the modifications permitted by the 2009 rules. The preparation of the vehicles was more closely aligned with Grand-Am Cup and the Sports Car Club of America’s Improved Touring classes. Makes competing in the category included the Scion tC, Mazda RX-8, Honda Civic, Mazda Speed 3, Volkswagen Jetta and Golf.

2010 also marked the end of races for each group. In the new season, all classes competed in the same contest – 1996 was the last time that different categories competed together.

The World Challenge Championship kicked off at St. Petersburg, Florida, in March as a support event for the IndyCar series. In previous years, the series shared race weekends with the American Le Mans Series, but in 2010 World Challenge began competing at more IndyCar venues. The season ended mid-September at Miller Motorsports Park. In all, there were a total of twelve races at eight different tracks (Streets of St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Mosport, Watkins Glen, Toronto, Mid-Ohio, Virginia International Raceway and Miller Motorsports Park).

Rounds eight and nine of the 2010 World Challenge series were held the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Titled the Optima Batteries Mid-Ohio Grand Prix presented by Gamestreamer, drivers would compete in two fifty-minute races around 2.258-mile thirteen-turn road course.

The start of round nine and the Grand Touring field heads into ‘The Esses’ at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Leading the way in the No. 14 GMG prepared Porsche 911 GT3 is the pole-sitter, James Sofronas. Trailing Sofronas are the K-PAX drivers Andy Pilgrim and Randy Pobst. In between the two Volvos is the Chevrolet Corvette of the second fastest qualifier, Mike Skeen.

Sunday’s (round nine) Grand Touring podium at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In the center is James Sofronas who scored his first victory of the 2010 season and closed the championship point’s gap on Randy Pobst and Kuno Wittmer. On the left side of the rostrum is the runner-up, Andy Pilgrim – who matched his best result of the year. Completing the podium is the point’s leader, Randy Pobst.

On Saturday, Mike Skeen won the Grand Touring category in his World Challenge debut. Skeen qualified second driving the Carlisle Companies/Cragar Chevrolet Corvette and fell to third at the start of the race but took the lead later in the contest and held first place to the finish. The following day, he started on the outside of the front row and was competitive until the Corvette developed a transmission issue – Skeen finished ninth.

Peter Cunningham won the first two races at the season opener in Saint Petersburg. However, he did not finish on the podium at Long Beach and had a pair of thirds at Mosport. With victories at Watkins Glen International and Toronto, the Grand Touring Sport point’s leader appeared to be gaining momentum. Cunningham added to his win streak by making it four in a row at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

With the demise of the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge series, many owners of the Ford Mustang FR500S joined the World Challenge championship. Six of the cars entered the series for the first time at Mid-Ohio and competed in the Grand Touring Sport category. The most successful of these drivers was Devin Cates who qualified fifth in round eight and finished third in class.

Ryan Eversley made his World Challenge debut at Mid-Ohio and surprised many of the Touring Car regulars. In race one, Eversley qualified third but made an excellent start and moved into first in class. During the contest, he swapped the lead a number of times with Jason Saini but was victorious. On Sunday, Eversley started third but fell back to sixth. By lap-12, he had worked his way to first and maintained the position.

Former Mazda MX-5 competitor, Jason Saini drove the No. 03 Mazda Speed 3 and qualified on the Touring Car pole. After a fierce battle with the Mazda RX-8 of Ryan Eversley, Saini finished second but he turned the race’s fastest lap and would start first on Sunday. In round nine, Saini fought with Robb Holland and Nick Wittmer but Eversley caught the leaders and relegated Saini to a second place finish.

Sunday’s (round nine) Grand Touring Sport podium at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In the center is Peter Cunningham who scored his fourth victory in a row and his sixth class win of the season. Grabbing the runner-up position for rounds eight and nine was Nick Esayian who is standing on the left side of the rostrum. The final spot on the podium is occupied by third-place finisher, Ernie Jakubowski.

K-PAX Racing’s, Randy Pobst entered the Mid-Ohio weekend in a tight battle with Dodge Viper driver, Kuno Wittmer for the Grand Touring title. In round eight, he qualified the No. 6 Volvo S60 fifth on the grid and fell to a seventh-place finish. On Sunday, Pobst had a fierce battle with Wittmer which ended when Wittmer spun and suffered suspension damage. After this incident, it was clear sailing for Pobst who finished third.

It was a good weekend for GMG driver, James Sofronas. On Saturday, the driver of the No. 14 Porsche 911 GT3 started on the pole but could not hold off a hard-charging Mike Skeen and finished second – this was his second-consecutive runner-up result. The following day, Sofronas fared much better – leading every lap to score his first victory of the season – also closing the point’s gap on Pobst and Wittmer.

Patrick Lindsey also had one of his better weekends of the 2010 season. Driving the Horton/Sloan Securities Porsche 911 GT3, Lindsey qualified fourth in the Grand Touring category. During race one, he was able to draft by the Volvo of Andy Pilgrim and capture the final position on the podium. In round nine, Lindsey started and finished fourth – this was his sixth-straight top-five result of the year.

2005 World Challenge Grand Touring champion, Andy Pilgrim was having a difficult season. His best finish to date was a second in the opening round at Saint Petersburg. Since then his results included four DNFs as the result of mechanical issues with the K-PAX Volvo S60. In the weekend’s first race, Pilgrim was up to third but dropped to a ninth-place finish. On Sunday, he started third and grabbed the runner-up position.

Nick Esayian trailed his RealTime Racing teammate, Peter Cunningham in the Grand Touring Sport Driver’s championship. At Mid-Ohio, Esayian qualified the No. 34 Acura TSX second in class and was challenged by the Porsche of Ernie Jakubowski but he prevailed and captured the runner-up position. The following day, Esayian battled with Cunningham and when Jakubowski spun he grabbed another second-place finish.

It was a difficult weekend for the Touring Car point’s leader, Robert Stout but his teammate, Dan Gardner driving the No. 36 Scion tC had one of his better races on Sunday. In round eight, Gardner qualified seventh and finished tenth. The following day, he was gridded seven but advanced six-positions on the opening lap to earn the ‘Optima Battery Best Standing Start.’ Gardner finished third in class.

Entering the Mid-Ohio rounds, Eric Meyer was second in the Touring Car point’s chase. In the weekend’s first race, Meyer started at the back of the field but advanced sixteen positions and was won the ‘Sunoco Hard Charger’ award. More importantly, he finished ahead of the point’s leader, Robert Stout. On Sunday, Meyer closed the gap even more with an eighth place finish to Stout’s tenth.

Ernie Jakubowski made his World Challenge debut at Watkins Glen and finished third in the Grand Touring Sport category. Jakubowski followed up this performance with a second at Toronto. In the first race at Mid-Ohio, he started third but finished tenth. Jakubowski did much better on Sunday, he took an early lead but spun and lost positions to Cunningham and Esayian. He regrouped and finished third.

Sunday’s (round nine) Touring Car podium at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In the center and making his series debut is the winner of both the weekend’s contests, Ryan Eversley. On the left side of the rostrum is 2007 Mazda MX-5 champion, Jason Saini who took a pair of runner-up finishes. Completing the podium is Scion tC competitor, Dan Gardner who had his best result since round six at Watkins Glen.

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	GT	Mike Skeen	Chevrolet Corvette	29	-
2	2	GT	James Sofronas	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
3	3	GT	Patrick Lindsey	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
4	4	GT	Kuno Wittmer	Dodge Viper	29	-
5	5	GT	Dino Crescentini	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
6	6	GT	Jason Daskalos	Dodge Viper	29	-
7	7	GT	Randy Pobst	Volvo S60	29	-
8	8	GT	Rob Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
9	9	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Volvo S60	29	-
10	10	GT	Fred Roberts	Dodge Viper	29	-
11	11	GT	Charles Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
12	12	GT	William Ziegler	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
13	13	GT	Jeff Courtney	Dodge Viper	29	-
14	1	GTS	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	29	-
15	14	GT	Robert Prilika	Porsche GT3 Cup	29	-
16	2	GTS	Nick Esayian	Acura TSX	28	-
17	3	GTS	Devin Cates	Ford Mustang FR500S	28	-
18	1	TC	Ryan Eversley	Mazda RX-8	28	-
19	4	GTS	Kevin Helms	Acura RSX	28	-
20	5	GTS	Ben Crosland	Ford Mustang FR500S	28	-
21	2	TC	Jason Saini	Mazda Speed 3	28	-
22	6	GTS	Richard Colinello	Ford Mustang FR500S	28	-
23	7	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang FR500S	28	-
24	3	TC	Eric Meyer	Mazda RX-8	28	-
25	4	TC	Robert Stout	Scion tC	28	-
26	5	TC	Nick Wittmer	Honda Civic Si	28	-
27	8	GTS	Gary Savage	Ford Mustang FR500S	28	-
28	6	TC	Brett Sandberg	Acura TSX	28	-
29	7	TC	Michael Pettiford	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	28	-
30	8	TC	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	28	-
DSQ	-	TC	Charlie Solomon	Mazda RX-8	28	-
31	9	TC	Bob Roth	Honda Civic Si	28	-
32	10	TC	Dan Gardner	Scion tC	27	-
33	9	GTS	George Winkler	Ford Mustang FR500S	27	-
34	11	TC	Carolyn Kujala	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	26	-
35	10	GTS	Ernie Jakubowski	Porsche Cayman S	26	-
36	12	TC	Robb Holland	Volkswagen GTI	26	-
37	13	TC	Jeff Mosing	Mazda RX-8	25	-
38	14	GT	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Corvette	22	Overheating
39	15	TC	David Tuaty	Honda Civic Si	7	Brakes

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	GT	James Sofronas	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
2	2	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Volvo S60	29	-
3	3	GT	Randy Pobst	Volvo S60	29	-
4	4	GT	Patrick Lindsey	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
5	5	GT	Jeff Courtney	Dodge Viper	29	-
6	6	GT	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Corvette	29	-
7	7	GT	Jason Daskalos	Dodge Viper	29	-
8	8	GT	Rob Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
9	9	GT	Mike Skeen	Chevrolet Corvette	29	-
10	10	GT	William Ziegler	Porsche 911 GT3	22	-
11	11	GT	Robert Prilika	Porsche GT3 Cup	29	-
12	1	GTS	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	29	-
13	2	GTS	Nick Esayian	Acura TSX	29	-
14	3	GTS	Ernie Jakubowski	Porsche Cayman S	29	-
15	4	GTS	Ben Crosland	Ford Mustang FR500S	29	-
16	5	GTS	Devin Cates	Ford Mustang FR500S	29	-
17	6	GTS	George Winkler	Ford Mustang FR500S	29	-
18	7	GTS	Richard Colinello	Ford Mustang FR500S	29	-
19	8	GTS	Kevin Helms	Acura RSX	29	-
20	12	GT	Fred Roberts	Dodge Viper	28	-
21	9	GTS	Gary Savage	Ford Mustang FR500S	28	-
22	1	TC	Ryan Eversley	Mazda RX-8	28	-
23	2	TC	Jason Saini	Mazda Speed 3	28	-
24	3	TC	Dan Gardner	Scion tC	28	-
25	4	TC	David Tuaty	Honda Civic Si	28	-
26	5	TC	Charlie Solomon	Mazda RX-8	28	-
27	6	TC	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	28	-
28	7	TC	Jeff Mosing	Mazda RX-8	28	-
29	8	TC	Eric Meyer	Mazda RX-8	28	-
30	9	TC	Nick Wittmer	Honda Civic Si	28	-
31	10	TC	Robert Stout	Scion tC	27	-
32	11	TC	Carolyn Kujala	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	27	-
33	13	GT	Charles Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	27	-
34	12	TC	Branden Peterson	Honda Civic Si	27	-
35	13	TC	Brett Sandberg	Acura TSX	26	-
36	14	TC	Michael Pettiford	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	25	Mechanical
37	10	GTS	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang FR500S	24	Mechanical
38	14	GT	Kuno Wittmer	Dodge Viper	19	Suspension
39	15	TC	Robb Holland	Volkswagen GTI	19	Mechanical
40	15	GT	Dino Crescentini	Porsche 911 GT3	0	Accident

Copyright Notice:

All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.