Revised Media Advisory: SPEED WC At Cleveland This
Weekend
This is a re-send of a previous e-mail that contained some incorrect
sponsor information. Please use information from this e-mail as opposed
to the one previously sent. I apologize for the inconvenience. -Eric
MEDIA ADVISORY
SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships
SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car Round Five
Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank
Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio
Contact: Eric Prill, SCCA Director of Communications
(785) 250-7920 cell; eprill@scca.com e-mail
Event/Circuit: Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S.
Bank
Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio -
2.106-mile, 10-turn permanent road course
Qualifying: SPEED Touring Car: Saturday, June 25, 11:30 a.m.
(EDT)
SPEED GT: Sunday, June 26, 7:40 a.m. (EDT)
Green Light: SPEED Touring Car: Saturday, June 25, 5:45 p.m. (EDT)
(standing start) SPEED GT: Sunday, June 26, 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
Race Lengths: Laps to be determined. 50 minute maximum.
Television: SPEED Touring Car: Sunday, June 26 at 4:00 p.m.
(EDT) on SPEED Channel
SPEED GT: Sunday, June 26 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT)
on SPEED Channel
Media Notes: Results are available on the AP SportsWire, via
e-mail and on the Internet (www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/> ).
Timing/Scoring: Live Timing & Scoring is available for all sessions
through www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/> .
WHAT TO WATCH:
WHO TO WATCH IN SPEED GT
Defending series Champion Tommy Archer leads the SPEED GT Drivers'
Championship going into Round Five at Cleveland after scoring
back-to-back wins to open the season (Sebring and St. Petersburg), a
fourth at Road Atlanta and a sixth at Mid-Ohio. However, in SPEED World
Challenge, the victor truly does get the spoils-in the form of REWARDS
weight lead that must be bolted into the passenger side of the car every
time you do well. Archer now carries a full 180lbs more than the base
weight of the Viper.
Team Cadillac became just the second team to score a 1-2-3 finish in
SPEED GT history at Road Atlanta, and followed with three cars in the
top five at Mid-Ohio. With that success comes weight as well. Second in
points Andy Pilgrim will lug a 150-lb lead passenger in his CTS-V. Road
Atlanta winner "Mad" Max Papis will carry 120lbs and Max "The Ax"
Angelelli returns to the #12 car for the second time this year, with
45lbs earned at Road Atlanta, where he sat on the pole and finished
third.
With all this talk of REWARDS weight, many believe this to bode well for
the Porsche 911 GT3 Cups, with the marque's lead duo of Wolf Henzler
(Applied Materials/Farnbacher Loles Motorsports) and Robin Liddell (AXA
Financial/PFAFF Porsche) and carrying only 75lbs and 0lbs, respectively.
Both drivers went out of the Road Atlanta race due to incidents (Liddell
while leading on the final lap). Liddell had another miserable race at
Mid-Ohio, while Henzler gained 75lbs for his dominating win. The
slippery Porsche could be the ticket on the wide open runways at
Cleveland.
The spoiler? It could be one of the Corvette C6s-with both former
Cleveland polesitter and winner Lou Gigliotti (LG Pro Long Tube Header
Corvette) and Leighton Reese (Banner Engineering Corvette) recording
top-five finishes in two of the last three races. Stu Hayner could also
surprise in the GMAC Commercial Finance/Trenton Forging Pontiac GTO,
coming off the car's maiden top 10 finish and a small competition
adjustment. All three drivers have arguably the most experience at
Cleveland, having run numerous races with the Trans-Am Series.
CAN ANYONE CRACK THE ACURA/MAZDA BATTLE IN SPEED TOURING CAR
In SPEED Touring Car, it's been all Acura TSX and Mazda 6 thus far in
2005, taking the four races up to Cleveland.
RealTime Racing has come out of the box swinging in 2005, with team
principle Peter Cunningham leading the five-car Acura TSX effort and the
Drivers' Championship after four rounds. Cunningham started the season
out with a win at Sebring and has had a trio of thirds since. Teammate
Pierre Kleinubing is the hottest driver in the series since a mechanical
problem at the opener left him in 24th place. He's finished second and
won the last two races (Road Atlanta and Mid-Ohio) entering Cleveland
and has moved to second in points, 13 behind his teammate. Until
RealTime Acura RSX driver Nick Esayian retired due to crash damage at
Mid-Ohio, all five of RealTime's drivers were in the top eight in
points. Now, Eric Curran (RSX) sits fourth in points and top rookie
Brandon Davis (TSX) sits sixth. Esayian is just outside of the top 10 in
11th.
In the Mazda camp, Jeff Altenburg is tied for second in points and
hungry for a win in his Mazda 6 from the Tri-Point Motorsports stable.
He has finished third, fifth, second and fourth in the three races thus
far. Teammate Randy Pobst scored a win at St. Pete and sat on the pole
at Mid-Ohio. But two mechanicals (Sebring, Road Atlanta) and a jumped
start at Mid-Ohio has seriously hurt his chances at a Championship.
However, he's carrying no REWARDS weight and will be very fast at
Cleveland.
Charles Espenlaub has once race under his belt in a new Tindol
Motorsports Mazda 6, and many expect him to be a victory circle threat.
There are plenty of other stout efforts ready to dethrone the
Acura/Mazda stranglehold thus far.
Bob Stretch has been very fast and led the majority of the Mid-Ohio race
in his Wheels America BMW 325Ci. BimmerWorld Racing also has a trio of
BMWs in the hands of Matt Richmond, James Clay and Seth Thomas that have
been strong as well.
Chip Herr flies the red, white and blue of the United States Air Force
Reserve in his Ford Focus and was quick at Mid-Ohio, but was part of a
first-lap accident.
The silver rings of Audi won last week at Le Mans, and local ace Freddy
Baker, of Bedford, will lead a tandem of STaSIS Engineering Audi A4s,
alongside Rick Maki.
Other drivers and teams that could be strong include Chip Herr, a new
recruit to the Air Force Reserve Ford Focus and the two-car STaSIS Audi
A4 program with former Mid-Ohio poleman Paul Lambert and Rick Maki.
SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE AUDIENCE
No racing series today captures the youth market like SCCA SPEED World
Challenge does and attracts new race fans to the track because of the
relevance of its cars. These are the cars that people drive, or wish
they were driving, and it has attracted a new demographic race fan to
which no other series has catered.
CLEVELAND SUPERLATIVES
With only one series appearance at Cleveland (1992), only Lou Gigliotti
is a former winner and current SPEED World Challenge competitor.
Gigliotti won the B Class race from pole in his Chevrolet Camaro. He
also finished fifth in the 2000 and 2001 Trans-Am races. The only other
drivers to run World Challenge in 1992 were Michael Galati, who finished
eighth in the D class and Freddy Baker, who finished eighth in the B
class. Drivers with experience in other series include: Jeff Altenburg
(4th, 2000 Trans-Am), Tommy Archer (4th, 1994 and 2001 Trans-Am), Dino
Crescentini (7th 1996, 10th 1998 Trans-Am), Peter Cunningham (1st, 3rd
1997 North American Touring Car Championship), Mike Davis (9th 2001,
13th 2000 Trans-Am), Nick Esayian (11th 1996 Neon Challenge B), Mark
German (9th 1996 Neon Challenge B), Stu Hayner (2nd 2001, 3rd 2002, 5th
2003, 8th 2000 Trans-Am), Max Papis (12th 1998 Champ Car), Andy Pilgrim
(7th 1993 IMSA Supercar), Randy Pobst (1st twice, North American Touring
Car Privateer Class) and Leighton Reese (9th, 1998 and 2000 Trans-Am).
OHIO DRIVERS
Four SPEED World Challenge drivers call Northern Ohio home, including:
Michael Galati (Olmsted) and Freddy Baker (Bedford) and Michael and Jim
McCann (N. Canton).
_______________________
Eric Prill
Director of Communications
Sports Car Club of America
SCCA Pro Racing/SPEED World Challenge
785-357-7222, 785-232-7228 fax
800-770-2055 toll free
785-250-7920 mobile
eprill@scca.com
www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com> , www.sccapro.com
<http://www.sccapro.com> , www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com>
