2015 Circuit of the Americas - World Challenge

2015 was the twenty-sixth consecutive year for the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) Pirelli World Challenge series. There were twelve race weekends – at some of these events, the series shared the venue with IndyCar and the United Sportscar Championship. On the other weekends the World Challenge championship served as the feature event.

For the first time, the season opened in early March at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). The second event of the season, in support of the IndyCar series, was at Saint Petersburg - in previous years St. Pete marked the start of the championship. Following Saint Petersburg were races at Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Detroit, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Miller Motorsport Park, Sonoma Raceway and the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

In 2015, the series introduced two new classes – Grand Touring Sportsman (GTA) and GT Cup (GTC). Drivers and teams were now vying for titles in seven categories.

Grand Touring (GT) – This is the series quickest class and is predominantly cars that would compete in the FIA GT3 category. Examples of vehicles racing in this group include: Acura TLX-GT, Aston Martin Vantage V12, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Nissan GT-R GT3, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, McLaren 650S GT3, Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, BMW Z4 GT3, Audi R8 LMS, Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 FL2 and Ferrari 458 Italia GT3.
Grand Touring Sportsman (GTA) – This class includes the same vehicles as GT. However, the drivers are not considered professionals. Competitors in this category are evaluated after each event and based on their performance may be elevated to the GT class.
GT Cup (GTC) – This is a spec class for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – The cars in this group are similar to the GT vehicles but have additional preparation restrictions. This class is mainly comprised of Ford (Mustang Boss 302), Chevrolet (Camaro Z28) and Porsche (Cayman) products. In 2015, the GTS category witnessed an influx of new manufacturers: Maserati Gran Turismo, Lotus Evora GT4 and Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
Touring Car (TC) – This class is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are allowed some performance modifications. Examples of vehicles competing in this group include: Honda Accord, Mazda MX-5, Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Altima, Volkswagen Jetta and Nissan 370Z. Touring Car A (TCA) – Many of the cars competing in this class are the same as those found in Touring Car. What sets them apart is the minimum amount of modifications that can be made – most changes are to improve the safety of the vehicles.
Touring Car B (TCB) - The slowest of all the World Challenge categories is based on the Sports Car Club of America’s B-Spec class. Examples of vehicles competing in TCB include: Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Mazda 2 and Mini Cooper.

Rounds one and two of the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge series was held at Circuit of the Americas. Titled the 2015 Nissan Grand Prix of Texas, drivers in the Grand Touring Sport category would compete in two fifty-minute races around the twenty-turn 3.4-mile road course.

Nineteen Pirelli World Challenge GTS competitors are gridded in the pit lane for round one of the 2015 championship. Starting on the pole is Kris Wilson driving the Royal Purple sponsored Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Alongside, Wilson is the Picture Cars East Ford Mustang Boss 302 raced by Dean Martin. Behind the front row are the KIA Optima of Mark Wilkins and Andrew Aquilante in a Ford Mustang Boss 302.

Kris Wilson driving the No. 07 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 was the fastest qualifier for round one. A poor start dropped him to second behind the Ford Mustang of Dean Martin. In corner eight on lap-4, Wilson took the lead and went on to score his first GTS victory. He started from the pole on Sunday but by lap-3 Wilson had fallen to sixth place. Before the end of the race, he lost three more positions – finishing ninth.

In the weekend’s first event, Andrew Aquilante qualified fourth in the Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302. Aquilante moved into third place at the start and took second when the tires on Dean Martin’s Mustang lost grip. He was able to maintain the position and captured the runner-up spot. In the rain on Sunday, Aquilante moved from fourth to second but he was passed by Ben Clucas to finish third.

Round one’s second-fastest qualifier was Dean Martin driving the Rehagen Racing prepared Ford Mustang Boss 302. A great start gave Martin the lead which he held until lap-4 when he was passed by the pole-sitter, Kris Wilson. He lost another place to Andrew Aquilante and took the final spot on the podium. The following day, Martin was gridded second but lost positions to Aquilante and Ben Clucas to finish fourth.

The first lap of a very wet round two and Saturday’s GTS winner, Kris Wilson leads the field out of corner fifteen. Hot on Wilson’s heels, in second position, is Andrew Aquilante in the Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 who was gridded fourth for Sunday’s contest. Obscured by the two leaders is Michael Cooper who started the race the in ninth but was in third place mid-way through the first lap.

The rain on Sunday proved to be a great equalizer for the Blackdog Speed Shop on Sunday. Drivers, Michael Cooper and Tony Gaples, were having difficulty coming to grips with the new Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Cooper qualified twelfth and finished eighth. The following day he started ninth but before the end of the first lap Cooper, he was in the lead. The 2012 Touring Champion scored his first GTS class victory.

A second Phoenix Performance Mustang was driven by Kurt Rezzetano. Rezzetano’s season got off to a great start on Saturday. He was gridded seventh for the start and at the checkered flag, Rezzetano finished fourth. His efforts earned him the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award and the Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race Award. In race two, he started fourth and was eighth at the conclusion of the event.

Successful open-wheel racer, Ben Clucas, from Great Britain, made his first Pirelli World Challenge start at Circuit of the Americas. In race one, Clucas qualified ninth and finished fifth which earned him the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions in the race. He excelled in the rain on Sunday and finished second. This effort earned Clucas the Cadillac ATS-V Move of the Race Award.

The round two World Challenge GTS podium at Circuit of the Americas. On the left is second place finisher and series newcomer, Ben Clucas and to the right, earning his second podium of the weekend is Andrew Aquilante, who captured third place. Between these two is the winner Michael Cooper. This was the first GTS victory for the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car champion.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	GTS	Kris Wilson	Orion/Royal Purple Aston Martin Vantage GT4	22
2	4	GTS	Andrew Aquilante	Calvert Dynamics/PhoenixPerf Ford Mustang Boss 302	22
3	2	GTS	Dean Martin	Picture Cars East Ford Mustang Boss 302	22
4	7	GTS	Kurt Rezzetano	Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Perf Ford Mustang Boss 302	22
5	9	GTS	Ben Clucas	DonorsChoose.org Kia Optima	22
6	8	GTS	Derek DeBoer	Black Rider Racing/LexTempus/BRM Aston Martin Vantage GT4	22
7	3	GTS	Mark Wilkins	PutOnTheBrakes.Org KIA Optima	22
8	12	GTS	Michael Cooper	Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Z28	22
9	11	GTS	Jack Roush Jr	ROUSH Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302	22
10	14	GTS	Tony Gaples	Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro Z28	22
11	13	GTS	Dan Martinson	Gear Tie/Nite Ize Ford Mustang Boss 302	22
12	15	GTS	Mark Klenin	SchompAuto/InvisGlass/PremCpr Aston Martin Vantage GT4	22
13	10	GTS	Lou Gigliotti	LG Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4	22
14	18	GTS	Nick Esayian	TravelCln/Derma 3/SpecOpsWarr Ford Mustang Boss 302	21
15	17	GTS	Buz McCall	RESET-MD Porsche Cayman	21
16	19	GTS	Geoff Reeves	Shadow Works Chevrolet Camaro Z28	18
17	16	GTS	Preston Calvert	Calvert Dynamics/PhoenixPerf Ford Mustang Boss 302	16
18	6	GTS	Jack Baldwin	RESET-MD Porsche Cayman	11
19	5	GTS	Andy Lee	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	10
20	20	GTS	Vesko Kozarov	Nissan/Skullcandy/Stance Nissan 370Z	0

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	12	GTS	Michael Cooper	Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Z28	20
2	9	GTS	Ben Clucas	DonorsChoose.org Kia Optima	20
3	4	GTS	Andrew Aquilante	Calvert Dynamics/PhoenixPerf Ford Mustang Boss 302	20
4	2	GTS	Dean Martin	Picture Cars East Ford Mustang Boss 302	20
5	11	GTS	Jack Roush Jr	ROUSH Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302	20
6	3	GTS	Mark Wilkins	PutOnTheBrakes.Org KIA Optima	20
7	8	GTS	Derek DeBoer	Black Rider Racing/LexTempus/BRM Aston Martin Vantage GT4	20
8	7	GTS	Kurt Rezzetano	Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Perf Ford Mustang Boss 302	20
9	1	GTS	Kris Wilson	Orion/Royal Purple Aston Martin Vantage GT4	20
10	5	GTS	Andy Lee	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	20
11	15	GTS	Mark Klenin	SchompAuto/InvisGlass/PremCpr Aston Martin Vantage GT4	20
12	18	GTS	Nick Esayian	TravelCln/Derma 3/SpecOpsWarr Ford Mustang Boss 302	20
13	14	GTS	Tony Gaples	Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro Z28	19
14	19	GTS	Geoff Reeves	Shadow Works Chevrolet Camaro Z28	19
15	17	GTS	Buz McCall	RESET-MD Porsche Cayman	19
16	6	GTS	Jack Baldwin	RESET-MD Porsche Cayman	19
17	13	GTS	Dan Martinson	Gear Tie/Nite Ize Ford Mustang Boss 302	17
18	10	GTS	Lou Gigliotti	LG Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4	10
19	16	GTS	Preston Calvert	Calvert Dynamics/PhoenixPerf Ford Mustang Boss 302	2
20	20	GTS	Vesko Kozarov	Nissan/Skullcandy/Stance Nissan 370Z	0

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