Media Advisory - SCCA SPEED World Challenge Grand Prix of Toronto

MEDIA ADVISORY

 

SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships

SCCA SPEED GT Round Six

SCCA SPEED Touring Car Round Six

Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto

Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ont., Canada

 

Contact: Eric Prill, VP Marketing & Communications, (785) 250-7920,
eprill@scca.com  , Eric Cechal PR Specialist,
(785) 608-9522, ecechal@scca.com

 

Event/Circuit: Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto

Exhibition Place

                      1.755-mile, 11-turn temporary street course

 

Qualifying:     SPEED Touring Car: Saturday, July 7, 4:30 p.m. (EDT)

                     SPEED GT: Saturday, July 7, 5:05 p.m.

 

Green Light:    SPEED Touring Car: Sunday, July 8, 3:30 p.m. (EDT)

(standing start)  SPEED GT: Sunday, July 8, 5:25 p.m.

          

Race Length:   SPEED Touring Car: Laps TBD or 50 minutes (whichever
comes first)

                      SPEED GT: Laps TBD or 50 minutes (whichever comes
first)

                      

Television:   SPEED Touring Car: Saturday, July 14, 11:00 a.m. (EDT)

(on SPEED)     SPEED GT:  Saturday, July 14, 12:00 p.m. (EDT)

 

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 and lap notes via the SCCA(r) Pit
Board are available for all sessions through www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/> . 

 

Track Records: 

 

Series' first appearance at venue. Records will be established this
weekend.

 

Storylines

THE MOST RELEVANT ROAD RACING IN THE WORLD

Now in its 18th 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 and
Touring Car 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 15 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.

SPEED World Challenge - this is how racing should be

 

TORONTO DEBUT

The SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge makes its first visit in
series history to the streets of Exhibition Place this weekend for the
Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto. Although it will be the second street
race of the season for the SCCA SPEED GT cars, it's the first such
course for the SCCA SPEED Touring Cars in nearly a year, the last event
being the Grand Prix of Denver in August of 2006.

 

SPEED GT

With four different winners in the opening five rounds, the SCCA SPEED
GT Championship manages to get tighter with each race. 

 

Andy Pilgrim, driver of the No. 8 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac
CTS-V, currently leads the standings. After scoring Cadillac's first win
of the season at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May, Pilgrim backed it up with
a fourth-place finish in the most recent round at Watkins Glen. This
weekend at Toronto, Pilgrim's team adds a third driver to the lineup;
Canadian racing legend Ron Fellows will pilot the No. 16 XM/Mobil
1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V. Fellows is a threat no matter what
course he's running on, but his performances at the past two Long Beach
Grand Prix proved the Ontario native has a special prowess for street
circuits.

 

Pilgrim leads the Championship by a mere five points over Randy Pobst in
the No. 23 K-PAX/Jim Haughey Porsche 911.  Pobst is coming off a
historic weekend at Watkins Glen where he won both SCCA SPEED Touring
Car races in addition to the SCCA SPEED GT race. Pobst was also on the
podium at Lowe's Motor Speedway and has yet to finish worse than seventh
this season. With that kind of momentum, Pobst has high expectations for
his Porsche on the streets of Toronto.

 

A former street course winner in SCCA SPEED GT, Lawson Aschenbach sits
three points behind Pobst. Aschenbach's win on the streets of St.
Petersburg last year was his sole victory en route to the 2006 SCCA
SPEED GT Drivers' Championship. Driving a Porsche at the time,
Aschenbach now wheels the No. 1 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V.
A win in 2007 has been painfully elusive for the young driver, who has
finished runner-up three times this season.

 

For Michael Galati, it's podiums that have been just out of reach this
season. Currently fourth in the SCCA SPEED GT Drivers' Championship,
Galati has piloted his No. 22 K-PAX/Jim Haughey Porsche 911 to a
fourth-place finish twice and finished fifth last month at Watkins Glen.
Galati came close to a win at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he started on
pole, but a spin in the first half of the race and a grazing of the
chicane in the second half left him in 14th spot.

 

Tommy Archer completes the top five in the Championship. Driving the No.
5 Mopar Dodge Viper, Archer notched a win at Miller Motorsports Park in
May, but has spent the rest of the season fighting for top-ten finishes.

 

It's been all quiet on the Corvette front with Lou Gigliotti (No. 28 LG
Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette) and Eric Curran (No. 30 Whelen
Engineering Chevrolet Corvette) sitting sixth and seventh in the points.
Both drivers' seasons have been hit-or-miss. Gigliotti has finished on
the podium three times this season, but contrasts those finishes with a
DNF at Sebring and a 15th place in Charlotte. Curran's year has been
even more extreme; after winning the opening two rounds, Curran was
looking like the Championship favorite, but has since acquired three
DNFs in-a-row. Odds say his season should be turning around shortly and
as the winner of the most recent street-race at Long Beach, it may very
well happen this weekend.

 

Other SCCA SPEED GT drives to keep an eye on this weekend include Piloti
Rookie of the Year point leader Dane Moxlow (Pontiac GTO), SCCA SPEED GT
Toyo Cup point leader Rob Foster (Dodge Viper), Doug Peterson (Chevrolet
Corvette) and James Sofronas (Porsche 911 GT3).

 

SPEED Touring Car 

It's hard to deny that 2007 has been Mazda's year in SCCA SPEED Touring
Car. Tri-Point Motorsports drivers Randy Pobst (No. 73 Mazdaspeed
Motorsports Development Mazda 6) and Jeff Altenburg (No. 72 Mazdaspeed
Motorsports Development Mazda 6) lead the Drivers' Championship and the
marque leads the Manufacturers' Championship by 22 points over Acura.

 

After a sweep of the SCCA SPEED Touring Car doubleheader at Watkins
Glen, Pobst nudged his way into the Championship lead by 11 points over
Altenburg who has also won two races this year (Sebring, Miller
Motorsports Park). Pobst has a strong reputation on street circuits and
Altenburg has yet to finish outside the top five this year, so expect to
see the two blue cars at the front in Toronto.

 

James Sofronas has emerged as the lead BMW this season. After an
inauspicious start at Sebring where he finished 13th, Sofronas has made
it to the podium twice in his No. 29 Global Motorsports Group BMW 325Ci.
Currently third in the points, Sofronas has a long way to go to catch up
to Altenburg who sits 33 points ahead, but will be on a mission to keep
BMW in the top three with another solid performance at Toronto.

 

Reigning SCCA SPEED Touring Car Champion Pierre Kleinubing has a tough
road ahead of him if he wants to hold onto his Title. With three podiums
so far this year, Kleinubing would be closer to the point leaders had an
electrical problem at Lime Rock Park and an on-track incident in the
second Watkins Glen Race not taken him out of the fight.

 

Charles Espenlaub is having one of his best seasons yet in the No. 97
Mazdaspeed/Tindol/Oakley/Sparco Mazda 6. A trouble-free season thus far
and a podium finish in the first Watkins Glen race have landed Espenlaub
fifth in the points. As his qualifying performances continue to improve,
expect the same from his races.

 

Driving the No. 17 STaSIS/Clear Capital Audi A4, Chip Herr wasn't quite
able to carry momentum from his Lime Rock Park win to Watkins Glen.
Ninth and tenth-place finishes at the Glen cost Herr some ground in the
Championship, but if SCCA SPEED World Challenge history has taught us
anything, it's to never count out the all-wheel drive Audis.

 

Currently the most successful Canadian in SCCA SPEED World Challenge
this year, Kuno Wittmer arrives in Toronto seventh in the points.
Wittmer's pace in the No. 44 Acura Certified Pre-Owned Acura RSX has
been impressive all season and a DNF in the first Watkins Glen race is
the only blemish on the Montreal driver's 2007 record. Wittmer sits just
three points ahead of his RealTime Acura team owner Peter Cunningham
(No. 42 Acura Certified Pre-Owned Acura TSX).

 

Other SCCA SPEED Touring Car entries to watch this weekend include
five-time World Challenge Champion Michael Galati (Mazda 6), Seth Thomas
(BMW 325i), Adam Pecorari (Audi A4), rookie Roberto Santos (Mazda 6) and
Jim Osborn, driving a bio-diesel powered Volkswagen Jetta TDI, the
world's first professional biodiesel road race car. 

Canadian drivers: The following SCCA SPEED World Challenge drivers know
all the words to O Canada: Ron Fellows (Mississauga, Ont.), Kuno Wittmer
(Montreal, Que.), Andrew Wojteczko (Caledon, Ont.), Nick Majors
(Uxbridge, Ont.), Tor Krueger (Hamilton, Ont.).  

 

Point Standings

SPEED GT Drivers' Championship

Ps., Driver, Car, Points (wins)

1, Andy Pilgrim, Cadillac CTS-V, 142 (1)

2, Randy Pobst, Porsche 911 GT3, 138 (1)

3, Lawson Aschenbach, Cadillac CTS-V, 135

4, Michael Galati, Porsche 911 GT3, 116

5, Tommy Archer, Dodge Viper, 115 (1)

6, Lou Gigliotti, Chevrolet Corvette, 110

 

7, Eric Curran, Chevrolet Corvette, 92 (2)

8, Rob Foster, Dodge Viper, 90

9, Doug Peterson, Chevrolet Corvette, 84

10, Jeff Courtney, Dodge Viper, 78

 

SPEED GT Manufacturers' Championship Presented by RACER Magazine

Ps., Manufacturer, Points, Wins

1, Cadillac, 33 (1)

2, Chevrolet, 31 (2)

3, Porsche, 24 (1)

4, Dodge, 16 (1)

 

SPEED Touring Car Drivers' Championship

Ps., Driver, Car, Points (wins)

1, Randy Pobst, Mazda 6, 172 (2)

2, Jeff Altenburg, Mazda 6, 161 (2)

3, James Sofronas, BMW 325Ci, 128

4, Pierre Kleinubing, Acura TSX, 117

5, Charles Espenlaunb, Mazda 6, 110

6, Chip Herr, Audi A4, 108 (1)

7, Kuno Wittmer, Acura RSX, 101

8, Peter Cunningham, Acura TSX, 98

9, Michael Galati, Mazda 6, 76

10, Brandon Davis, Acura TSX, 67

 

SPEED Touring Car Manufacturers' Championship Presented by RACER
Magazine

1, Mazda, 44 (4)

2, Acura, 22

3, BMW, 17

4, Audi, 12 (1)

 

Event Entry lists

SCCA SPEED GT Championship

No., Driver / Hometown, Sponsors Car

1, Lawson Aschenbach/ W. Palm Beach, FL, XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose,
Cadillac CTS-V

2, Cindi Lux (R)/ Aloha, OR, Dodge, Dodge Viper

3, Scotty B. White/ Puyallup, WA, Dodge, Dodge Viper

5, Tommy Archer/ Duluth, MN, Autohaus Motorsport, Dodge Viper

6, Jeffrey Robbins (R)/ Southfield, MI, RSIG Security, Dodge Viper

8, Andy Pilgrim/ Boca Raton, FL, XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose, Cadillac
CTS-V

12, Brian Kubinski (R)/ Plainfiled,IL, Diamond Construction/Blackdog,
Chevrolet Corvette

13, Nick Majors/ Oakville, Ontario, Woodhouse Performance, Dodge Viper

14, James Sofronas/ Newport Beach, CA, Global Motorsports Group, Porsche
911 GT-3

16, Ron Fellows/ Mississauga, Ont., XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose, Cadillac
CTS-V

17, Rob Foster/ Phoenix, AZ, LTIContract/FosterMtrsp/Grp4Mt, Dodge Viper

20, Dane Moxlow (R)/ Grosse Ile, MI, Deronda USA, Pontiac GTO

22, Randy Pobst/ Gainesville, GA, K-PAX Racing, LLC/Jim Haughey, Porsche
911 GT-3

23, Michael Galati/ Olmsted, OH, K-PAX Racing LLC/Jim Haughey, Porsche
911 GT-3

24, Robb Holland/ Denver, CO, MotorsportsGallery/K-Pax/3R, Porsche 911
GT-3

28, Lou Gigliotti/ Dallas, TX, LG Pro Long Tube Headers, Chevrolet
Corvette

30, Eric Curran/ East Hampton, MA, Whelen Motorsports, Chevrolet
Corvette

31, Sonny Whelen/ Old Saybrook, CT, Whelen Engineering, Chevrolet
Corvette

76, John Bourassa/ Jupiter Island, FL, Indeco / Hillview Vineyards,
Porsche 911 Turbo

82, Michael McCann/ North Canton, OH, McCann Plastics/K&N Filters, Dodge
Viper

87, Doug Peterson/ Bonita Springs, FL, LG Pro Long Tube Headers,
Chevrolet Corvette

99, Jeff Courtney/ Slinger, WI, Kenda Tires/ProMPI, Dodge ViperSCCA
SPEED 

 

Touring Car Championship

No., Driver / Hometown, Sponsors Car

1, Pierre Kleinubing/ Coconut Creek, FL, Acura Certified Pre-Owned,
Acura TSX

8, Jason Martinelli (R)/ Roxbury, CT, Techmark Autosport Ltd., BMW 325Ci

16, Phil Parlato/ Commack, NY, Worldwide Capital Mortgage, BMW 325i

17, Chip Herr/ Lititz, PA, STaSIS/Clear Capital, Audi A4

18, Ian Baas/ Noblesville, IN, STaSIS /Clear Capital, Audi A4

19, Adam Pecorari/ Aspon, PA, STaSIS/CentrecParts, Audi A4

24, Jim Osborn/ Ooltewah, NJ, A Mother's Arms/Austin Htcher, Volkswagen
Jetta TDI

29, James Sofronas/ Newport Beach, CA, Global Motorsports Group, BMW
325Ci

31, Jameson Riley/ Wilton, CT, Castrol SYNTEC/Stamford Volvo, Volvo S40

34, Nick Esayian/ Encinitas, CA, Acura Certified Pre-Owned, Acura TSX

36, James Clay/ Blacksburg, VA, Bimmerworld, BMW 325i

38, Seth Thomas/ Cumming, GA, Bimmerworld, BMW 325i

42, Peter Cunningham/ Grafton, WI, Acura Certified Pre-Owned, Acura TSX

43, Brandon Davis/ Denver, CO, Acura Certified Pre-Owned, Acura TSX

44, Kuno Wittmer/ Montreal, QB, Acura Certified Pre-Owned, Acura RSX

64, Andrew Wojteczko/ Caledon, Ontario, Auto Analyser Racing, Lexus
IS300

65, Tor Krueger (R)/ Hamilton, Ont., Pepsi, Lexus IS300

72, Jeff Altenburg/ Ellicott City, MD, Mazdaspeed Mtspts Development,
Mazda 6

73, Randy Pobst/ Gainesville, GA, Mazdaspeed Mtspts Development, Mazda 6

74, Roberto Santos (R)/ Monterrey, Mexico, Mazdaspeed Mtspts Dev / TPM,
Mazda 6

95, Michael Galati/ Olmsted, OH, Mazda North America/Tindol, Mazda 6

96, Charlie Putman/ Denver, CO, Tindol Motorsports/Pesco Inc., Mazda 6

97, Charles Espenlaub/ Lutz, FL, Mazdaspeed/Tindol/Oakley/Sparco, Mazda
6

 

 

 

Erin Cechal

SCCA Public Relations Specialist

800/770-2055 ext. 354

ecechal@scca.com  

www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com> 


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