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The 2017 Pirelli World Challenge season is the twenty-eighth consecutive year for the championship.
There are eleven race weekends.
The Touring Car category title chase kicks-off in April at Virginia International Raceway.
This event is followed by races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Lime Rock Park and the Utah Motorsport Complex.
The penultimate rounds are held a Circuit of the Americas with the finale taking place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in mid-October.
As in the previous year, there were three Touring categories:
Rounds three and four of the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car season took at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Forty-nine drivers were scheduled to compete in the two forty-minute races around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.
However, Saturday’s race was red flagged after nine-laps due to a four car incident at corner three.
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The start of round three for the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car category. Pole-sitter, Paul Holton leads the field of forty-three competitors into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s corner three. Trailing Holton are the Wittmer brothers – Nick, driving the No. 91 ST Racing BMW M235iR and the No. 99 Honda Ste-Rose Racing Honda Accord piloted by Karl. |
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Paul Holton driving the Compass 360 Racing Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport won the opening round of the 2017 season at Virginia International Raceway and finished second the following day. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he led flag-to-flag in round three for the Touring Car win. In damp conditions on Sunday, Holton went with rain tires which proved to be the wrong decision and finished eighth. |
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Touring Car B competitor, Jake Pipal finished on the podium in races one and two at Virginia International Raceway. In round three, Pipal shared the front row with pole-sitter, Canaan O’Connell. A mistake by O’Connell on the first lap allowed Pipal to take the class lead and victory. The following day, he scored his second win of the weekend. |
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Mazda MX-5 Cup competitor, Dean Copeland is followed closely by the Mazdas of Elivan Goulart and Matthew Fassnacht. And, trailing the three Mazdas is the Honda Civic of Tom O’Gorman. Copeland would claim the Touring Class A victory in the race shortened round three and finish twenty-fifth overall and fifth in class on Sunday. |
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It was a good weekend for local racer, P.J. Groenke. Groenke driving the Touring Car B Chevrolet Sonic prepared by Tech Sport Racing qualified third in class for the weekend’s first event. When his teammate, Canaan O’Connell, made an error on the first lap he moved into second and remained in the position for the remainder of the event. In round four, he captured the final spot on the podium. |
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The Touring Class B pole-sitter, Canaan O’Connell entered corner three too hot on the first lap of Saturday’s race which allowed Jake Pipal to take the class lead. O’Connell went off course but did not hit the tire barriers. By the time he recovered, O’Connell had been passed by the remainder of the field. |
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2016 Touring Class A champion, Elivan Goulart raced the previous generation of the Mazda MX-5 model in the opening rounds at Virginia International Raceway. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he competed using the new Mazda Global MX-5 Cup car. During the event, he scored two runner-up finishes. |
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Eventual Touring Class A (TCA) winner, Dean Copeland leads the TCA and TCB classes through corner three on the first lap. Behind Copeland are the S.A.C. Racing Mazda MX-5s of Elivan Goulart and Matthew Fassnacht. Trailing the three Mazdas are the Honda Civics of Tom O’Gorman and Gary Kwok. |
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Matthew Fassnacht won the first two Touring Car A rounds driving a S.A.C. Racing prepared Mazda MX-5. The class point’s leader qualified twenty-eighth overall and third in the TCA category for the weekend’s first event. At the checkered flag, Fassnacht was third in class. And, on Sunday he repeated his performance. |
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In 2017, Karl Wittmer took over the seat vacated by his brother, Nick. The No. 99 Honda Accord was prepared by Honda Ste-Rose Racing. The racer from Quebec has a lot of experience competing in Touring cars at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and it showed. Wittmer took the final spot on the podium Saturday but an error the following day left him fifteenth in class. |
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Tony Rivera started his Pirelli World Challenge career racing in the GT category – first in a Porsche 911 GT3 and then a Nissan GT-R. After not participating in the series for a couple of years, Rivera returned to the Touring class and in 2017, raced a Nissan 370Z. During the weekend’s first event he finished eleventh but in the damp conditions on Sunday, Rivera was third. |
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Under gray skies on Sunday, Tom O’Gorman grabs the Touring Car A lead as the remainder of the class follows him into the first turn. Following O’Gorman are the Mazda MX-5s of – Matthew Fassnacht, Dean Copeland and Elivan Goulart - which have been dominant in the first three rounds. |
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Canaan O’Connell, son of former Pirelli World Challenge champion, Johnny O’Connell won round one in a Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet Sonic. In the weekends, first race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park he qualified on the pole but an error dropped him to the rear of the field. To add ‘insult to injury,’ O’Connell was disqualified and started last on Sunday. By the conclusion of Sunday’s event, he was second in TCB. |
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In the off season, 2016 Touring Car B Champion, Tom O’Gorman moved to the Touring Car A class driving a Honda Civic Si. O’Gorman’s first two outings, at VIR, netted him ninth and eleventh place finishes. At CTMP, he started the weekend with a fourth place finish. But on Sunday’s damp track, O’Gorman dominated and took the class victory by almost 30-seconds. |
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The No. 12 Winding Road Team BMW M235iR was driven by series rookie Mason Filippi. In the first three rounds, Filippi had not finished in the top-ten but that was about to change at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. On Saturday, he started eleventh and finished thirteenth. The following day, on a damp track, he made the right tire choice and won by a margin of 25.904-seconds. |
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The start of the weekend’s final Touring Car race. Leading the pack is Paul Holton in the Compass 360 Racing Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport and the BMW M235iR of Greg Liefooghe. After three rounds these two driver’s accounted for all the Touring Car class wins and topped the point standings. |
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Jason Coupal drove one of the four new Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsports entered at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Coupal’s best result after three rounds was an eighth. But on Sunday’s damp track, he moved through the field and at the checkered flag captured the runner-up position. |
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Canadian, Nick Wittmer joined ST Racing in 2017 driving a new BMW M235iR. In round two at Virginia International Raceway, Wittmer was leading when a poorly timed pass on two back markers took him out of the race and resulted in severe damage to the BMW. It appears that the repairs were successful as Wittmer scored second and sixth place finishes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. |
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Mini Cooper driver, Travis Washay was hot off a victory in round two at Virginia International Raceway. The Touring Car B competitor qualified thirty-eighth overall and fourth in class for the first event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Canaan O’Connell’s first lap mistake allowed Washay to finish third. On Sunday, he finished thirty-fourth overall and fourth in class. |
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| FINISH | CLASS | CLASS | DRIVER | TEAM / CAR | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | TC | Paul Holton | C360R / Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | TC | Nick Wittmer | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 3 | 3 | TC | Karl Wittmer | Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord | 9 |
| 4 | 4 | TC | Cody Ellsworth | RacerInk Motorsports / Porsche Cayman | 9 |
| 5 | 5 | TC | Toby Grahovec | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 6 | 6 | TC | Anthony Magagnoli | Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 7 | 7 | TC | Anthony Geraci | S.A.C. Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport | 9 |
| 8 | 8 | TC | Aristotle Balogh | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 9 | 9 | TC | Greg Liefooghe | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 10 | 10 | TC | Jason Coupal | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport | 9 |
| 11 | 11 | TC | Tony Rivera | Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z | 9 |
| 12 | 12 | TC | Justin Raphael | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 13 | 13 | TC | Mason Filippi | Winding Road Team TFB / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 14 | 14 | TC | Henry Schmitt | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 15 | 15 | TC | Robert Nimkoff | AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 16 | 16 | TC | Cameron Maugeri | KRUGSPEED / Lotus Exige | 9 |
| 17 | 17 | TC | Jeff Ricca | GenRacer / Genesis Coupe | 9 |
| 18 | 18 | TC | Dennis Hanratty JR | KRUGSPEED / Lotus Exige | 9 |
| 19 | 19 | TC | John Weisberg | BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 9 |
| 20 | 20 | TC | Shea Holbrook | Shea Racing / Honda Accord | 9 |
| 21 | 21 | TC | Stefan Sajic | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 22 | 22 | TC | Chris Ohmacht | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 23 | 23 | TC | Samantha Tan | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 9 |
| 24 | 1 | TCA | Dean Copeland | Copeland Motorsports / Mazda MX-5 | 9 |
| 25 | 2 | TCA | Elivan Goulart | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 9 |
| 26 | 3 | TCA | Matthew Fassnacht | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 9 |
| 27 | 4 | TCA | Tom O'Gorman | Shea Racing / Honda Civic Si | 9 |
| 28 | 5 | TCA | Gary Kwok | M&S Racing / Honda Civic | 9 |
| 29 | 6 | TCA | Eric Powell | Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 9 |
| 30 | 7 | TCA | Eric Laporte | Lapse Motorsport / Honda Civic Si | 9 |
| 31 | 8 | TCA | Daniel Moen | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 9 |
| 32 | 1 | TCB | Jake Pipal | Jake Pipal Racing / Honda Fit | 9 |
| 33 | 2 | TCB | P.J. Groenke | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | 9 |
| 34 | 3 | TCB | Travis Washay | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 8 |
| 35 | 4 | TCB | Taylor Handwerk | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 8 |
| 36 | 5 | TCB | Blake Thompson | ISellMiataParts / Mazda 2 | 8 |
| 37 | 6 | TCB | Ted Sahley | Believeland Motorsport / Mazda 2 | 8 |
| 38 | 7 | TCB | Jasper Drengler | Drengler Racing / Honda Fit | 8 |
| 39 | 24 | TC | John Allen | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Club Sport | 8 |
| 40 | 25 | TC | Chetan Puranik | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 4 |
| NC | 9 | TCA | Kevin Anderson | Tech Sport Racing / Scion FR-S | 3 |
| NC | 26 | TC | Rodrigo Sales | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 1 |
| EX | - | TCB | Canaan O'Connell | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | - |
| FINISH | CLASS | CLASS | DRIVER | TEAM / CAR | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | TC | Mason Filippi | Winding Road Team TFB / BMW M235iR | 25 |
| 2 | 2 | TC | Jason Coupal | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport | 25 |
| 3 | 3 | TC | Tony Rivera | Brass Monkey Racing / Nissan 370Z | 25 |
| 4 | 4 | TC | John Weisberg | BERG Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 25 |
| 5 | 5 | TC | Anthony Magagnoli | Rooster Hall Racing / BMW M235iR | 25 |
| 6 | 6 | TC | Nick Wittmer | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 25 |
| 7 | 7 | TC | Greg Liefooghe | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 25 |
| 8 | 8 | TC | Paul Holton | C360R / Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport | 24 |
| 9 | 9 | TC | Jeff Ricca | GenRacer / Genesis Coupe | 24 |
| 10 | 10 | TC | Toby Grahovec | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 24 |
| 11 | 11 | TC | Anthony Geraci | S.A.C. Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport | 24 |
| 12 | 1 | TCA | Tom O'Gorman | Shea Racing / Honda Civic Si | 24 |
| 13 | 12 | TC | Justin Raphael | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 24 |
| 14 | 13 | TC | Rodrigo Sales | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 24 |
| 15 | 14 | TC | Aristotle Balogh | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 24 |
| 16 | 2 | TCA | Elivan Goulart | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 24 |
| 17 | 3 | TCA | Matthew Fassnacht | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 24 |
| 18 | 15 | TC | Karl Wittmer | Honda Ste-Rose Racing / Honda Accord | 24 |
| 19 | 16 | TC | Robert Nimkoff | AutoTechnic Racing / BMW M235iR | 24 |
| 20 | 17 | TC | Henry Schmitt | Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M235iR | 24 |
| 21 | 18 | TC | Dennis Hanratty JR | KRUGSPEED / Lotus Exige | 24 |
| 22 | 4 | TCA | Gary Kwok | M&S Racing / Honda Civic | 24 |
| 23 | 19 | TC | Samantha Tan | ST Racing / BMW M235iR | 23 |
| 24 | 20 | TC | Chris Ohmacht | Classic BMW / BMW M235iR | 23 |
| 25 | 5 | TCA | Dean Copeland | Copeland Motorsports / Mazda MX-5 | 23 |
| 26 | 21 | TC | Chetan Puranik | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 23 |
| 27 | 6 | TCA | Eric Powell | Tech Sport Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 23 |
| 28 | 7 | TCA | Eric Laporte | Lapse Motorsport / Honda Civic Si | 23 |
| 29 | 22 | TC | Shea Holbrook | Shea Racing / Honda Accord | 23 |
| 30 | 8 | TCA | Daniel Moen | S.A.C. Racing / Mazda MX-5 | 22 |
| 31 | 1 | TCB | Jake Pipal | Jake Pipal Racing / Honda Fit | 22 |
| 32 | 2 | TCB | Canaan O'Connell | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | 22 |
| 33 | 3 | TCB | P.J. Groenke | Tech Sport Racing / Chevrolet Sonic | 22 |
| 34 | 4 | TCB | Travis Washay | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 22 |
| 35 | 5 | TCB | Taylor Handwerk | Indian Summer Racing / Mini Cooper | 21 |
| 36 | 6 | TCB | Jasper Drengler | Drengler Racing / Honda Fit | 21 |
| 37 | 7 | TCB | Ted Sahley | Believeland Motorsport / Mazda 2 | 21 |
| 38 | 23 | TC | Cody Ellsworth | RacerInk Motorsports / Porsche Cayman | 14 |
| NC | 8 | TCB | Blake Thompson | ISellMiataParts / Mazda 2 | 9 |
| NC | 24 | TC | Stefan Sajic | Zima Motorsports / BMW M235iR | 5 |
| NC | 25 | TC | John Allen | BERG Racing / Audi RS 3 LMS Clubsport | 0 |
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