SCCA: World Challenge Report and Results from Watkins Glen
08/28/96
Saleen Scores his First World Challenge S2 Class Win; Snow Takes
the Overall Win in Debut of S1 Class; Gigliotti Takes T1, Schwartzott
Claims T2 in Touring Division Contest
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Steve Saleen, driving the #65 Saleen/Allen
Saleen Mustang, scored his first SCCA World Challenge victory after
race leaders Kim Baker and Almo Coppelli were given late-race
stop-and-go penalties for by-passing Watkins Glen International's
"inner-loop." Coppelli also lost early ground for the same infraction
on lap three.
"I had some trouble with the inner loop," said Coppelli. "The first
time I was braking hard and a little too late. The second time there
was a lot of oil in the inner loop--I was sliding all over the track."
Inheriting the lead on lap 32 of the 39-lap, 95.55-mile 50-minute
timed race, Saleen, of Irvine, Calif., had to hold off the hard
charging Coppelli, in the #00 Callaway SuperNatural Corvette LM, to
score the victory, winning by a scant 0.992-second.
"I kept working my way up, watching the whole race develop," said
Saleen. "I saw Almo (Coppelli) slide through the chicane, and then he
and Kim (Baker) were called in to the pits and I found myself in first
place."
Finishing third was Baker, in the #5 Young Chevrolet Corvette. Melanie
Snow, in the #73 Martin Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT2, finished fourth
from her 10th overall starting position, and Monte Smith, in the #48
Eaglecrafts Inc. Porsche 911 Turbo, claimed the fifth position after
starting ninth.
Taking the overall and debut victory in the S1 class was Martin Snow,
in the #56 Martin Snow Racing Porsche 911 EVO. Snow led his two-car
class and overall from laps 24-29 and the final seven laps. Finishing
second in S1 and fourth overall was Klaus Bytzek, in the Bytzek
Motorsports Porsche 911 EVO. Bytzek finished just over 36 seconds
behind Snow.
"I made a mistake in gear selection for the race but we were able to
deal with it," said Snow. "I just drove a dependable race so I could
finish. I got a little loose in some oil, and it made for a couple of
close calls. Towards the end, I didn't even realize I was working on
the lead--I just drove conservative and tried to avoid the oil in the
chicane."
After seven races, Coppelli leads the S2 Drivers' Championship point
standings with 195, followed by Shane Lewis, 192; Saleen, 161; Doc
Bundy, 141; Steve Dinan, 140; and Rob Rizzo, 135.
In the separate combined T1/T2 race, Lou Gigliotti, of Dallas, Texas,
came from a fifth-place start to take the T1 class SCCA World
Challenge victory, his second T1 class victory of the season.
Gigliotti, driving the #28 LG Motorsports Saleen Mustang, moved into
the top spot when race leader Willy Lewis was forced to pit with a
flat tire 22 laps into the 37-lap, 90.65-mile contest. Once in the
lead, Gigliotti held off hard charges first from Kermit Upton, in the
#25 Warsteiner BMW M3, and then from Bill Lester, in the #70 Mostly
Mazdas Mazda RX-7 Turbo.
"What a race," said Gigliotti. "We've got a heavy car, and this is a
real hard track on the tires, but we bedded them in, and the
Goodyear's performed perfectly."
Finishing second, 1.056-second behind Gigliotti, was Upton, who passed
Lester just at the checkered flag as the duo crossed side-by-side,
separated by just 0.018- second.
Taking fourth was Greg Theiss, in the #32 Archer Motorsports Eagle
Talon AWD Turbo, followed by his teammate Willy Lewis, in the #33
Eagle Talon AWD Turbo.
In the T2 class, Peter Schwartzott, of Niagra Falls, N.Y., came out on
top of a race-long battle with second and third-place finishers Terry
Borcheller and Paul Booher.
Schwartzott, in the #41 Buffalo Motorsports Honda Prelude, eventually
claimed a 16.394-second margin over Borcheller, in the Last Minute
Racing BMW M3, with Booher, in the #04 ICY Racing Quaker State Saturn
SC, finishing third.
"I first raced here 32 years ago and have been racing here ever
since," said Schwartzott. "This race was great sport--this was my most
difficult race here ever because of this guy Terry (Borcheller). I was
a great battle."
Finishing fourth was Booher's teammate David Rosenblum, in the #18
Quaker State Saturn SC, followed by Borcheller's teammate Alain
Chebeir, in the #22 BMW M3.
After eight races, Gigliotti leads the T1 class Drivers' Championship
point standings with 197, followed by Theiss, 187; Upton, 178; Lewis,
176; and Peter Cunningham, 129.
In the T2 class, Taz Harvey tops the points chart after seven races
with 166, followed by Chebeir, 155; Michael Galati, 148; Booher, 140;
Schwartzott, 137; and Rosenblum, 136.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AUGUST 24, 1996) -- Results from Saturday's
39-lap, 95.55-Mile SCCA World Challenge combined S1 and S2 class race
at Watkins Glen International, with overall finishing position,
starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, class, car, laps
and reason out.
S1 CLASS
1, (1), Martin Snow, Pleasant Grove, Utah, S1, Porsche 911 EVO, 39.
2, (2), Klaus Bytzek, Woodbridge, Canada, S1, Porsche 911 EVO, 39.
Time of race: 50 minutes, 59.351 seconds.
Average speed: 112.43 mph
Margin of victory: 36.257 seconds
Lap leaders: laps 1-39, #56 Snow
Fastest race lap: Martin Snow, 1:16.440 (115.384 mph)
S2 CLASS
1, (2), Steve Saleen, Irvine, Calif., Saleen Mustang, 39.
2, (3), Almo Coppelli, Milan Italy, Callaway Corvette LM, 39.
3, (1), Kim Baker, Wilbraham, Mass., Corvette, 38, Mech..
4, (8), Melanie Snow, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Porsche 911 GT2, 37.
5, (7), Monte Smith, Liberty, Utah, Porsche 911 Turbo, 37.
6, (9), Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette, 35.
7, (4), Rob Rizzo, Providence, R.I., Saleen Mustang, 34.
8, (5), Doc Bundy, Gainesville, Ga., Lotus Esprit Turbo, 33.
9, (6), Stephan Dinan, Cupertino, Calif., BMW 540 Sport, 12, gearbox.
Time of race: 51 minutes, 59.351 seconds.
Average speed: 111.856 mph
Margin of victory: 0.992 seconds
Lap leaders: lap 1 #5 Baker
laps 2-5 #00 Coppelli
laps 6-23 #55 Rizzo
laps 24-28 #5 Baker
lap 29 #00 Coppelli
laps 30-33 #5 Baker
laps 34-39 #65 Saleen
Fastest race lap: Steve Saleen, 1:15.501 (116.81 mph)
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AUGUST 25, 1996) -- Results from Sunday's 37-lap,
90.65-mile SCCA World Challenge combined T1 and T2 class race at
Watkins Glen International, with finishing position, starting position
in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out.
T1 CLASS
1, (5), Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, Texas, Saleen Mustang, 37.
2, (8), Kermit Upton III, Ludlow, Vt., BMW M-3, 37.
3, (7), Bill Lester, Oakland, Calif., Mazda RX-7, 37.
4, (6), Greg Theiss, Omaha, Neb., Eagle Talon, 37.
5, (4), Willy Lewis, Portland, Ma., Eagle Talon, 37.
6, (3), Cameron Worth, Lighthouse Point, Fla., Mazda RX-7 Turbo, 37.
7, (10), Brian C. Clarke, E. Haddan, Conn., Callaway Camaro, 37.
8, (9), Mark Simo, Carlsbad, Calif., Ford Mustang Cobra, 36.
9, (1), Peter Cunningham, West Bend, Wis., Acura NSX, 36.
10, (16), Richard Holdener, Vacaville, Calif., Saleen Mustang, 36.
11, (15), Simon Gregg, Jacksonville, Fla., Saleen Mustang, 36.
12, (18), Walter M. Swick, Concord, Ohio, BMW M-3, 35.
13, (19), Shane Grosman, Ontario, Canada, Chevrolet Camaro, 35.
14, (17), Grant Carter, Bowie, Md., Chevrolet Camaro, 35.
15, (11), Don Bootes, Redlands, Calif., Mazda RX-7, 34.
16, (20), Brett Seafuse, Trumanasburg, N.Y., Ford Mustang, 34.
17, (13), C. David Seuss, Charlestown, Ma., Saleen Mustang, 34.
18, (22), Pierre Bareil, Quebec, Canada, Ford Mustang LX, 32.
19, (2), Dennis Aase, Orange, Calif., Toyota Supra T, 24, Mech.
20, (12), Duane Grahovec, Palos Park, Ill., Chevrolet Camaro, 12, Mech.
21, (14), Chris Camadella, Milford, Pa., Chevrolet Camaro, 3, Mech.
22, (21), Tom Baker, Wilmington, Del., Eagle Talon, 0, DNS.
Time of race: 50 minutes, 49.868 seconds.
Average speed: 107.001 miles-per-hour
Margin of victory: 1.056 seconds
Fastest race lap: Willy Lewis, 1:20.055 (110.174 mph)
Lap leaders: lap 1 #75 Worth
laps 2-22 #33 Lewis
laps 23-37 #28 Gigliotti
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AUGUST 25, 1996) -- Results from Sunday's 35-lap,
85.75-mile SCCA World Challenge combined T1 and T2 class race at
Watkins Glen International, with finishing position, starting position
in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out.
T2 CLASS
1, (2), Peter Schwartzott, Niagara Falls, N.Y., Honda Prelude, 35.
2, (9), Terry Borcheller, Crystal River, Fla., BMW M-3, 35.
3, (3), Paul Booher, Pinellas Park, Fla., Saturn, 34.
4, (7), David Rosenblum, Langhorne, Pa., Saturn SC, 34.
5, (6), Alain Chebeir, Pelham, N.Y., BMW M-3, 34.
6, (4), Michael Galati, Olmstead Twp., Ohio, Honda Prelude, 34.
7, (5), Taz Harvey, Danville, Calif., Honda PreludeSi, 34.
8, (8), Fred Meyer, Dallas, Texas, Honda PreludeSi, 31.
9, (1), Walter Puckett, Shelby, N.C., Saturn SC, 29, Mech.
Time of race: 52 minutes, 19.297 seconds.
Average speed: 98.334 miles-per-hour
Margin of victory: 16.394 seconds
Fastest race lap: Peter Schwartzott, 1:27.471 (100.833 mph)
Lap leaders: laps 1-28 #06 Puckett
laps 29-33 #21 Borcheller
laps 34-35 #41 Schwartzott.