SCCA SPEED GT To Long Beach This Weekend
SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship
SPEED GT Round Three
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach, Calif.
Event/Circuit: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary circuit
Qualifying: Sunday, April 9, 8:00 a.m. (PDT)
Green Light: Sunday, April 9, 4:00 p.m. (PDT)
(standing start)
Race Length: To Be Determined. 50 minutes maximum from start to
checkered flag.
Television: Sunday, April 16 at 2 p.m. (EDT), 11 a.m. (PDT) on
PEE 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 Presented by SRT is available for
all sessions through www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/> .
Track Records: First appearance at Long Beach for any World Challenge
series.
Point Leaders:
SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship Drivers' Point
Standings
After two of 10 races
Pos., Driver, Car, Points (wins)
1, Lawson Aschenbach(R), Porsche 911 GT3, 55 (1)
2, Andy Pilgrim, Cadillac CTS-V, 47
3, Bob Woodhouse, Dodge Viper, 46
4, Mike McCann, Dodge Viper, 44 (1)
5, Ricardo Imery(R), Porsche 911 GT3, 43
6, James Sofronas, Porsche 911 GT3, 43
7, Lou Gigliotti, Chevrolet Corvette C6, 37
8, Rob Foster(R), Dodge Viper, 36
9, Sonny Whelen, Chevrolet Corvette C6, 33
10, Lenny Diller, Dodge Viper, 30
SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Manufacturers' Championship
Presented by RACER Magazine
Pos., Manufacturer, Points (Wins)
1, Cadillac, 14
2, Porsche, 12 (1)
3, Dodge, 10 (1)
4, Chevrolet, 6
Storylines
THE MOST RELEVANT ROAD RACING IN THE WORLD
Entering its 17th consecutive year, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World
Challenge has built its legacy around providing fans the most
competitive road racing in the world, and the series has earned
well-deserved praise the past few years from publications such as Car &
Driver and RACER Magazine for doing just that. But what really sets
SPEED World Challenge GT apart from all other series is the "everyday"
element it brings each event. World-class drivers piloting
production-based cars that come from more than more than a half dozen
auto manufacturers - it's a formula that has and will continue to serve
the interests of manufacturers, drivers and, most importantly,
automotive enthusiasts and race fans.
TO THE STREETS!
SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT takes to the streets for the
first time ever in Long Beach, coming off a spectacular race on the
other side of the country last week in St. Petersburg. The teams had a
challenge to trek from Florida to California in four days, completing
any necessary repairs along the way.
SET THE STAGE
Sensational rookie "Awesome" Lawson Aschenbach leads the series into
Long Beach coming off his first-ever series victory on the streets of
St. Petersburg Saturday, April 1. The 22-year-old from Maryland overcame
a mistake mid-race to battle back and capture victory in his #66 AXA
Financial Porsche 911 GT3. Defending series Champion and Team Cadillac
leader Andy Pilgrim enters the weekend second in points, coming off a
stinging defeat in St. Petersburg, when an electrical glitch shut his
car off momentarily with three laps remaining, allowing Aschenbach by
his No. 1 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/On Star Cadillac CTS-V for the win.
Bob Woodhouse sits third in points and leads the Dodge Viper contingent
off the strength of back-to-back top five finishes. Opening-round winner
Michael McCann had a rough outing in St. Pete, but still sits fourth in
points with his #82 Dodge Viper, and Aschenbach's teammate, Venezuelan
Ricardo Imery, sits fifth.
A number of drivers look to get their season on track after problems in
one, or both, of the opening rounds.
Former Long Beach winner in the SCCA Trans-Am series Lou Gigliotti has
led more laps than any other driver this year in his #28 LG Pro Long
Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette C6, but a blown engine in Sebring and a
spin in St. Pete have cost him a podium finish. Tommy Archer, also a
Trans-Am veteran at Long Beach, has had a miserable start to his season
after winning the 2004 Championship and finishing second in 2005. Archer
also lost a motor in his #5 c3controls/Autohaus Dodge Viper at Sebring
and early contact at St. Pete while battling for third has him with no
points thus far in 2006.
Two other Former Long Beach Trans-Am winners will run this weekend's
SCCA SPEED GT race in cameo appearances, including Ron Fellows (#16
XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/On Star Cadillac CTS-V) and Hollywood's Tomy Drissi
(#87 LG Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette C6).
One driver hoping to score his first series win at Long Beach will be
Newport Beach resident James Sofronas. Sofronas looked to be on his way
to a second-straight top-four finish at St. Pete when contact with Imery
on the penultimate lap dropped him to sixth, where he sits in the
Championship. Sofronas owns Global Motorsports Group, a sports car and
sports sedan performance tuning and race shop in Southern California.
LOCAL DRIVERS
Many SPEED World Challenge drivers call Southern California home,
including:
Mike Davis (Huntington Beach), James Sofronas (Newport Beach), Eric
Olberz (La Canada Flintridge), Greg Weirick (Malibu), Tomy Drissi
(Hollywood), Gary Sheehan (Martinez) and Igor Sushko (Los Angeles).
Event Entry list
1, Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, FL, XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/On Star Cadillac
CTS-V
4, TBA, TBA, Global Motorsports Group Audi S4
5, Tommy Archer, Duluth, MN, C3 Controls/Autohaus Dodge Viper SRT
11, Mike Davis, Huntington Beach, CA, Applied Computer Solutions Saleen
SR
13, Bob Woodhouse, Blair, NE, Woodhouse Auto Family Dodge Viper SRT
14, James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA, Global Motorsports Group Porsche
911 GT3
15, John Dearing, Mission Viejo, CA, Special Dispatch/Speedfilm.net
Dodge Viper GTS
16, Ron Fellows, Mississauga, ON, XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/On Star Cadillac
CTS-V
23, Bob Miller, Sykesville, MD, At Speed Motorsports Porsche 911 Cup
24, Paul Gerrard (R), Boulder, CO, At Speed Motorsports Volvo S60R
26, Claudio Burtin, Atlanta, GA, LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet
Corvette C6
28, Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX, LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet
Corvette C6
29, Eric Olberz (R), La Canada Flintridge, CA, Sport Chalet/911 Design
Porsche 911 GT3
31, Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, CT, Whelen Engineering Chevrolet
Corvette C6
34, Tony Gaples, Libertyville, IL, Blackdog Racing/Kleinschmidt
Chevrolet Corvette C6
40, Greg Weirick (R), Malibu, CA, Southwest Racing/MAECO Mtspt Chevrolet
Corvette C6
42, Mark LoPilato, Granbury, TX, US American Resources Porsche 911 Turbo
46, Robert Rodriguez (R), Danville, CA, MPACT Mtspts/To Go Faster
Chevrolet Corvette C5
56, Ritch Marziale, Tempe, AZ, All-Cut Concrete Cutting Dodge Viper SRT
64, Ricardo Imery (R), Caracas, VN, AXAFinancial/CavenasElevators
Porsche 911 GT3
66, Lawson Aschenbach (R), Gaithersburg, MD, AXA Financial Porsche 911
GT3
67, Kevin Chambers, Hollister, CA, WIT Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette C5
68, Keith Videtto, San Ramon, CA, WIT Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette C5
69, Igor Sushko (R), Kiev, Ukraine, AutomotiveForums.com Nissan Skyline
GT-R Z-Tune
76, John Bourassa, Jupiter Island, FL, Indeco, Inc. Porsche 911 Turbo
87, Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA, LG Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette C6
96, Skip Sauls (R), Longmont, CO, 3R-Racing Dodge Viper SRT
98, Derek Burseth (R), Bartlett, IL, Burseth Racing/PUMA Motorsport
Dodge Viper SRT
99, Gary Sheehan (R), Martinez, CA, ESX Motorsports/SPT Subaru WRX STi
www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com> , www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/>
