2010 Mosport International Raceway

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 four and five of the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing World Championship were conducted at Mosport International Raceway. A total of thirty drivers were entered to compete on the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

To say Randy Pobst had a great start in round five at Mosport International Raceway would be an understatement. Pobst qualified on the pole driving the No. 6 K-PAX Racing Volvo S60. Following in his wake are Saturday’s runner-up, Kuno Wittmer, in the Dodge Motorsports Dodge Viper, fourth place starter, Dino Crescentini, driving the Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 and Pobst’s teammate, Andy Pilgrim.

On Saturday, the driver of the No. 6 K-PAX Racing Volvo S60, Randy Pobst, started his 100th SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge event. And, he did it in style, leading flag-to-flag for his twenty-fourth series victory. The following day, Pobst started on the pole and was in first place until lap-15 when he was passed by the local favourite, Ron Fellows. Pobst finished in the runner-up position but extended his championship lead.

John Heinricy did not participate in the first three rounds of the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge series but made his presence was felt a Mosport International Raceway. The eleven-time SCCA National Champion drove the No. 35 Phoenix Performance prepared Chevrolet Corvette. Both days, Heinricy started on the pole and pulled away from the field to win by a comfortable margin. His series victories now tallied seven.

This is Chip Herr in the Irish Mike’s Racing Volkswagen Jetta GLI and the DG-Spec Scion tC of Tom Lepper battling in the final turn during the last lap for Touring Car honours. Herr scored his seventh World Challenge series victory and won by a margin of 0.224-seconds. On Sunday, he started first in class and finished second. Lepper’s weekend included a runner-up finish in race one and a sixth place in round five.

The 2010 Grand Touring podium for round four of the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge series at Mosport International Raceway. In the center is the three-time series champion and the current points leader, Randy Pobst. This was Pobst’s twenty-fourth victory in one-hundred World Challenge starts. On the left is the runner-up, Kuno Wittmer. Standing on the rostrum for the first time is the third-place finisher, Patrick Lindsey.

On Sunday, the Mayor of Mosport, Ron Fellows, appeared. A commitment at Laguna Seca prevented Fellows from participating in round four. He qualified for race five on the outside of the front row in the No. 2 Carlisle Companies Chevrolet Corvette. A poor start saw him drop down the race order, but he bounced back. On lap-15, Fellows grabbed first place from Randy Pobst and led the remainder of the contest.

In the off-season, Kuno Wittmer left the Touring Car ranks to compete in the Grand Touring category. Wittmer adapted quickly to the 500-horsepower Dodge Viper. He was victorious in his third outing at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. In round four at Mosport International Raceway, Wittmer qualified third but challenged the winner, Randy Pobst, before finishing in the runner-up position. On Sunday, he was fourth.

The Touring Car points leader, heading into rounds four and five at Mosport International Raceway, was series rookie, Robert Stout. The young racer won his first event at Long Beach driving the No. 18 DG-Spec Scion tC. Stout started the weekend’s first event on the class pole, but a driving error resulted in a fourth-place finish. He fared much better on Sunday. Stout was the second-fastest Touring Car qualifier and won the round.

There was no difference between Saturday and Sunday’s Grand Touring Sport podium. It was the same competitors standing in the same positions. In the center is Phoenix Performance’s John Heinricy, who swept the weekend scoring his sixth and seventh series victories. Finishing in the runner-up position was Lotus driver, Tyler McQuarrie. The final place on the rostrum is occupied by the class points leader Peter Cunningham.

With the introduction of the Grand Touring Sport (GTS) category, there was a reclassification of some cars. The RealTime Racing Acura TSX moved from Touring Car division to GTS. Peter Cunningham drove the No. 43 Acura. Victories in the first two rounds gave Cunningham the lead in the title chase. But at Mosport, he was no match for the Corvette of John Heinricy and Tyler McQuarrie’s Lotus. Cunningham finished third both days.

Patrick Lindsey was another series competitor that transitioned from the Touring Car category to Grand Touring in 2010. Lindsey drove the No. 57 Sloan Securities sponsored Porsche 911 GT3. His best result of the season was a fourth place in round one at St. Petersburg. At Mosport International Raceway, Lindsey would top that performance by finishing third on Saturday. In the final contest of the weekend, he was fifth.

In round three, at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, rookie contender, Eric Meyer captured his first Touring Car podium. At Mosport International Raceway, Meyer qualified fifth in class for the weekend’s first contest driving the No. 32 XOWii Energy Drink sponsored Mazda RX-8 and earned the final spot on the class podium. On Sunday, he started twenty-sixth overall and was fifth in Touring Car at the checkered flag.

Jason Daskalos scored his first and only Grand Touring victory last season at Mosport International driving the No. 5 Daskalos Developments Dodge Viper. After three rounds in 2010, his best result was a fourth place in race two at St. Petersburg. Daskalos started fifth in the weekend’s first contest at Mosport and finished fourth. After qualifying sixth for round five, he netted his first podium of the year with a third-place finish.

Robb Holland made his season debut at Mosport International Raceway competing in the No. 22 Emich Volkswagen sponsored Volkswagen GTI. In round four, Holland started twenty-sixth overall / sixth in the Touring Car category. At the finish, he was fifth in class. In the final event of the weekend, Holland did much better - he qualified and finished third in his division. In the process, Holland established a new lap record.

The SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge Touring Car podium for round five at Mosport International Raceway. In the center is the winner and class points leader, Robert Stout. Standing on the left side of the rostrum is the runner-up, Chip Herr. Herr’s victory in Saturday’s race gave the Irish Mike’s Racing team three wins in four starts. Completing the podium is the third-place finisher, Robb Holland.

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	GT	Randy Pobst	Volvo S60	30	-
2	3	GT	Kuno Wittmer	Dodge Viper	30	-
3	4	GT	Patrick Lindsey	Porsche 911 GT3	30	-
4	5	GT	Jason Daskalos	Dodge Viper	30	-
5	7	GT	Dino Crescentini	Porsche 911 GT3	30	-
6	6	GT	Jeff Courtney	Dodge Viper	30	-
7	8	GT	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Corvette	30	-
8	10	GT	Rob Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	30	-
9	9	GT	Fred Roberts	Dodge Viper	30	-
10	13	GT	Tony Rivera	Nissan GT-R	29	-
11	12	GT	Charles Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
12	14	GT	William Ziegler	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
13	11	GT	Steve Ott	Nissan GT-R	28	-
14	17	GTS	John Heinricy	Chevrolet Corvette	28	-
15	18	GTS	Tyler McQuarrie	Lotus Exige S	28	-
16	16	GTS	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	28	-
17	19	GTS	Nick Esayian	Acura TSX	27	-
18	24	TC	Chip Herr	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	27	-
19	22	TC	Tom Lepper	Honda Civic Si	27	-
20	25	TC	Eric Meyer	Mazda RX-8	27	-
21	21	TC	Robert Stout	Scion tC	27	-
22	26	TC	Robb Holland	Volkswagen GTI	26	-
23	28	TC	Don Istook	Volkswagen GTI	26	-
24	29	TC	Brett Sandberg	Acura TSX	26	-
25	27	TC	Charlie Solomon	Mazda RX-8	25	-
26	23	TC	Greg Shaffer	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	24	-
27	2	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Volvo S60	14	Mechanical
DQ	15	GT	Scott Bove	Porsche 911 GT3	1	Mechanical
28	20	GTS	Paul Dagis	BMW M3	0	Did Not Start
29	30	TC	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	CLASS	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	GT	Ron Fellows	Chevrolet Corvette	30	-
2	1	GT	Randy Pobst	Volvo S60	30	-
3	6	GT	Jason Daskalos	Dodge Viper	30	-
4	3	GT	Kuno Wittmer	Dodge Viper	30	-
5	7	GT	Patrick Lindsey	Porsche 911 GT3	30	-
6	16	GT	James Sofronas	Porsche 911 GT3	30	-
7	9	GT	Jeff Courtney	Dodge Viper	30	-
8	13	GT	Rob Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	30	-
9	8	GT	Fred Roberts	Dodge Viper	29	-
10	12	GT	Charles Morgan	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
11	11	GT	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Corvette	29	-
12	14	GT	Tony Rivera	Nissan GT-R	29	-
13	10	GT	Steve Ott	Nissan GT-R	29	-
14	15	GT	William Ziegler	Porsche 911 GT3	29	-
15	18	GTS	John Heinricy	Chevrolet Corvette	28	-
16	17	GTS	Tyler McQuarrie	Lotus Exige S	28	-
17	19	GTS	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	28	-
18	5	GT	Dino Crescentini	Porsche 911 GT3	28	-
19	20	GTS	Nick Esayian	Acura TSX	27	-
20	22	TC	Robert Stout	Scion tC	27	-
21	21	TC	Chip Herr	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	27	-
22	23	TC	Robb Holland	Volkswagen GTI	27	-
23	24	TC	Greg Shaffer	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	26	-
24	26	TC	Eric Meyer	Mazda RX-8	26	-
25	25	TC	Tom Lepper	Honda Civic Si	26	-
26	27	TC	Brett Sandberg	Acura TSX	26	-
27	28	TC	Don Istook	Volkswagen GTI	26	-
28	29	TC	Charlie Solomon	Mazda RX-8	26	-
29	4	GT	Andy Pilgrim	Volvo S60	16	-

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