2019 Virginia International Raceway - World Challenge

2019 was the thirtieth consecutive year for the World Challenge series. All Touring Car classes would now compete in the TC America championship.

As in the previous year, there were three Touring groups:

Touring Car (TC) – This class is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are allowed some performance modifications. These front or rear-wheel-drive vehicles may be powered by turbocharged or normally aspirated engines. Examples of cars competing in this category include: Honda Civic Type R, Nissan 370Z, BMW M235iR, BMW M240iR and Genesis Coupe.
Touring Car A (TCA) – Some 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. Using turbocharged or normally aspirated power plants, these cars produce between 160 and 185-horsepower.
Touring Car Race (TCR) – This is an international class which was first introduced in 2014 to address the expense of competing in the World Touring Car Championship. These production-based cars are powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged engines which produce approximately 300-horsepower. Examples of vehicles competing in this category include: Audi RS 3 LMS, Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, Honda Civic Type-R TCR, Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR and Hyundai Veloster N TCR. This category has been split into two groups – TCR and TCR Cup. The Cup division was added for gentleman and amateur drivers and cars equipped with a DSG transmission. TCR is for FIA rated Gold, Silver and Bronze drivers.

The TCR and TCA title chases kick off in March at Circuit of the Americas followed a week later by an event at St. Petersburg, Florida. The teams will not participate until late April at Virginia International Raceway. This will be followed by the west coast swing when race weekends will take place at Sonoma Raceway and Portland International Raceway. On the Labour Day weekend, drivers will compete at Watkins Glen International. The penultimate round will be held mid-September at Road America and the finale will take place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October.

TC competitors also begin their season at Circuit of the Americas but do not compete again until late April at Virginia International Raceway. The remainder of the schedule is the same as the TCR and TCA classes. Teams will travel to California and Oregon for races at Sonoma Raceway and Portland International Raceway. Then it is back to the east coast for a weekend at Watkins Glen International. The penultimate events will be at Road America with the championships concluding at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Virginia International Raceway hosted rounds five and six for TC America TCR category and the TCA competitors would contest races three and four in their championship. Each event would be forty minutes in length around the seventeen-turn 3.270-mile road course.

The first lap of race one at Virginia International Raceway for the TCR and TCA competitors. Leading the field is the overall and TCR pole-sitter, Britt Casey Jr. in the McCann Racing Audi Sport RS3 LMS. Immediately behind Casey Jr. is the second fastest qualifier, Michael Hurczyn in a Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR and third and fifth place starters, Michael McCann and Bryan Plutt in Audi Sport RS3 LMS.

Just as he had done in the season opener at Circuit of the Americas, Nick Wittmer swept both rounds at Virginia International Raceway. Driving the TechSport Racing prepared Subaru BRZ, Wittmer was the quickest Touring Car A competitor in practice and qualifying. Despite winning races three and four, it was far from easy. In both contests, Wittmer was challenged by Mazda driver Tyler Maxson and Mark Pombo in a Mini Cooper.

McCann Racing’s, Michael McCann qualified third for the weekend’s first contest. During round five, the driver of the No. 3 Audi Sport RS3 LMS moved in to second and chased his teammate, Britt Casey Jr. On the final lap, Casey’s car lost power and McCann inherited the lead and captured his first series victory. The following day, he was gridded fourth and only completed fifteen-laps – finishing twentieth overall and fourth in TCR Cup.

The youngster, Tyler Maxson had mixed results in a series debut at Circuit of the Americas. In race one, the driver of the No. 74 Copeland Motorsports Mazda MX-5 Cup, captured the final spot on the Touring Car A podium. The following day, Maxon was the first retirement after crashing on the opening lap. At Virginia International Raceway, he battled for the class victory in rounds three and four and earned a pair of runner-up finishes.

The first lap of Saturday’s race and the Touring Car A point’s leader and pole-sitter, Nick Wittmer leads fourteen fellow competitors through turn three at Virginia International Raceway. Behind Wittmer is the X-Factor Racing prepared Honda Civic Si driven by the second-place starter, Chris Haldeman. Trailing Haldeman is the Mini Cooper of Mark Pombo and Tyler Maxson in a Mazda Global MX-5 Cup.

2018 IMSA TCR champion, Britt Casey Jr. made his TC America debut in round five at Virginia International Raceway. Casey Jr. qualified on the overall pole driving the McCann Racing Audi Sport RS3 LMS. In the weekend’s first contest, he pulled out to an early lead, but a loss of power - followed by a disqualification resulted in a last-place finish. On Sunday, Casey Jr. charged from the rear of the field for his first series victory.

In the weekend’s first event, Michael Hurczyn qualified second driving the FCP Euro Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR. Hurczyn chased the pole-sitter, Britt Casey Jr., until lap-six when he had to pit which caused him to drop to sixth place. He regrouped and passed three cars on the final circuit to earn the runner-up spot. On Sunday, Hurczyn started from the pole but could not hold off a hard-charging Britt Casey Jr. and finished second.

When IMSA dropped the Street Tuner division some of the teams were displaced and joined the TC America Touring Car A category. One such group was the MINI JCW Team which campaigned Mini Coopers. Their lead driver is Mark Pombo who races the No. 59 Mini. At Virginia International Raceway, Pombo diced with the leaders, Nick Wittmer and Tyler Maxson but in rounds three and four he fell out of contention.

Another TCR driver making their series debut at Virginia International Raceway was Victor Gonzalez Jr. Gonzalez Jr. has a wide range of motorsports experience which includes NASCAR, Rallycross, open and closed wheel road racing. He drove the No. 99 Honda Civic Type-R TCR. Despite not participating in the practice sessions, Gonzalez qualified seventh and scored a podium finish in round five. The following day, he finished fourth.

Nate Vincent was the teammate to the TCR point’s leader, Michael Hurczyn. Vincent raced the No. 72 FCP Euro Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR. He was fourth quickest in qualifying for Saturday’s event. Unfortunately, Vincent’s left axle broke in turn one on the pace lap and he was classified in last place. The following day, he fared much better. Vincent started seventh in the TCR category and captured the final position on the podium.

The second driver on the MINI JCW Team was former IMSA Street Tuner competitor Nate Norenberg. Norenberg qualified sixteenth overall and eighth in the Touring Car A category. During the weekend’s first race, he moved up the order and when his teammate, Mark Pombo retired on lap-13 with a flat tire, Norenberg inherited the final spot on the podium. On Sunday, he started fourth in class but finished fifth in Touring Car A.

X-Factor Racing entered four Honda Civic Si for drivers Chris Haldeman, Cole Ciraulo, Taylor Hagler and Stephen Jeu. Hagler was the team’s star at Circuit of the Americas but at Virginia International Raceway it would be Haldeman. Before moving to the professional ranks, Haldeman was a top competitor in the SCCA’s Spec Miata category. In rounds three and four, he earned a pair of third-place finishes.

Saturday’s TC America Touring Car A podium at Virginia International Raceway. On the left is the runner-up competing in the Copland Motorsports Mazda MX-5 Cup, Tyler Maxson. To the right and completing the podium is MINI JCW Mini Cooper driver, Nate Norenberg. Between these two, on the top step of the rostrum is the victor, Nick Wittmer who drove the TechSport prepared Subaru BRZ.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	3	TCR Cup	Michael McCann Jr	McCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	19
2	2	TCR	Michael Hurczyn	FCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	19
3	7	TCR	Victor Gonzalez	VGMC Racing / Honda Civic Type-R TCR	19
4	6	TCR Cup	Christian Cole	McCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	19
5	5	TCR Cup	Bryan Putt	ROWE Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	19
6	9	TCA	Nick Wittmer	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	18
7	12	TCA	Tyler Maxson	Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup	18
8	16	TCA	Nate Norenberg	MINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper	18
9	10	TCA	Chris Haldeman	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	18
10	14	TCA	P.J. Groenke	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	18
11	8	TCR	James Walker	Risi Competizione / Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR	18
12	15	TCA	Cole Ciraulo	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	18
13	17	TCA	Robert Crocker	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	18
14	20	TCA	Jenny Gannett	Ian Lacy Racing / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup	18
15	13	TCA	Taylor Hagler	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	18
16	19	TCA	Sally McNulty	#TEAMSALLY / Honda Civic Si	18
17	18	TCA	Stephen Jeu	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	17
18	21	TCA	Damon Surzyshyn	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	17
19	22	TCA	Ben Bettenhausen	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	17
20	23	TCA	Dinah Weisberg	Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup	17
NC	11	TCA	Mark Pombo	MINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper	13
NC	4	TCR	Nate Vincent	FCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	0
DQ	1	TCR Cup	Britt Casey Jr	McCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	0

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	8	TCR Cup	Britt Casey Jr	McCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	21
2	1	TCR	Michael Hurczyn	FCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	21
3	7	TCR	Nate Vincent	FCP Euro / Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	21
4	3	TCR	Victor Gonzalez	VGMC Racing / Honda Civic Type-R TCR	21
5	2	TCR Cup	Christian Cole	McCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	21
6	5	TCR Cup	Bryan Putt	ROWE Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	21
7	6	TCR	James Walker	Risi Competizione / Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR	21
8	9	TCA	Nick Wittmer	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	19
9	11	TCA	Tyler Maxson	Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup	19
10	13	TCA	Chris Haldeman	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	19
11	16	TCA	Taylor Hagler	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	19
12	12	TCA	Nate Norenberg	MINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper	19
13	17	TCA	Jenny Gannett	Ian Lacy Racing / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup	19
14	18	TCA	Sally McNulty	#TEAMSALLY / Honda Civic Si	19
15	20	TCA	Damon Surzyshyn	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	19
16	23	TCA	Dinah Weisberg	Copeland Motorsports / Mazda Global Mx5 Cup	18
17	10	TCA	Mark Pombo	MINI JCW Team / MINI Cooper	18
18	14	TCA	P.J. Groenke	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	18
19	15	TCA	Cole Ciraulo	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	16
20	4	TCR Cup	Michael McCann Jr	McCann Racing / Audi Sport RS3 LMS	15
NC	21	TCA	Stephen Jeu	X-Factor Racing / Honda Civic Si	13
NC	19	TCA	Robert Crocker	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	5
NC	22	TCA	Ben Bettenhausen	TechSport Racing / Subaru BRZ tS	5

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