Pro Sportscar Racing Series Heads for Sears Point; Current PointStandings
8 July 1997
(Sonoma, CA)-Sears Point Raceway will be the site for the Pro Sportscar Racing series this week-end. The Toshiba Copiers & Fax California Grand Prix will be the backdrop for Round Six of the 11 scheduled races. It will be a busy schedule for the competitors. Along with WSC, the week-end racing will feature GTS1, GTS2 and GTS3 as well as the PSR Endurance Series and the Black Magic Pro Series. This will be the first of two visits to the Northen California region for PSR. In October the series will conclude the season at Laguna Seca.The tentative entry list shows that 19 WSC cars have entered the two-hour race. A couple of eastern-based teams have deferred making the long trip west. Current points leader Elliott Forbes-Robinson will be in the #20 Dyson Ford Riley & Scott MkIII. He will be paired with Butch Leitzinger. This will make for an interesting pairing since Leitzinger trails Forbes-Robinson by 24 points. The #16 Dyson Ford Riley & Scott MkIII will be driven by team owner Rob Dyson and James Weaver.
No doubt that a lot of the pit row talk will center around the most recent announcements concerning PSR (Pro Sportscar Racing) vision of the future. The recent formation of the World Manufacturer's Council for North America has been viewed by many as a postive step. The trouble will come for those teams that will not be able to afford the increased budgets. Another question that must be resolved is the immediate future of the WSC class. While the WSC class is in the manufacturer's council several WSC owners, on condition of anonimity, have expressed concern that GTS1 will be the series of the future. A look back at the most recent 24 Hours of Le Mans could well be a prevue of 1998 and beyond.
With Sears Point being a halfway point in the season it is the time of the year where teams must make commitments for next year's equipment. In order to pay for that equipment an owner is in the middle of delicate negotiations with current or potential sponsors. Andy Evans, with checkbook in hand, has provided a broad vision. The devil, as they say, is in the details.
The GTS1 class, currently led by Porsche drivers Andy Pilgrim and Jochen Rohr will no doubt be looking over their respective shoulders for the fast-closing Ford Panoz driven by Doc Bundy and Andy Wallace. The Panoz made its debut at Sebring. The 12 hour endurance race did not go exactly as planned for the Braselton, GA based team. Since that race the Panoz team has made huge strides posting victories at Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen and a second place at Lime Rock.
The GTS2 class is led by Porsche drivers Larry Schumacher and John O'Steen. The two drivers have been the most consistent drivers in that class. They came very close to winning the over-all race at Lime Rock. Look for another good effort.
GTS3 is led by another Porsche team of David Murry and Jim Matthews. The two teammates are locked in a tight points battle with BMW driver Bill Auberlen.
All of the week-ends races will be televised. The WSC race will be televised at 4:00 pm EST. A tape-delayed highlight show will be presented by the Motorsports Hour by Chevrolet carried on the Fox Network on July 30. The GTS1, GTS2 and GTS3 race will be carried live at 6:00 pm EST on Fox Sports.
Current Standings WSC Drivers Points ------------------------------------ 1)Elliott Forbes-Robinson 121 2)Butch Leitzinger 97 James Weaver 97 4)Rob Morgan 93 5)Jim Pace 88 6)Eduardo Dibos 87 7)Tim McAdam 81 8)Fermin Velez 80 Barry Waddell 80 Jim Downing 80 Manufacturers Points ------------------------------------ 1)Ford 130 2)Ferrari 124 3)Oldsmobile 103 4)Mazda 82 5)BMW 40 Exxon Supreme Series GTS1 Drivers Points ------------------------------------ 1)Andy Pilgrim 112 Jochen Rohr 112 3)Roger Schramm 85 Stu Hayner 85 5)Doc Bundy 71 6)Andy Wallace 50 7)Irv Hoerr 46 Scott Maxwell 46 9)David Perelle 45 10)Andy Petery 41 Craig Carter 41 Terry Borcheller 41 Manufacturer's Points ------------------------------------ 1)Porsche 112 2)Oldsmobile 92 3)Panoz 87 4)Ford 46 5)Pontiac 40 Exxon Supreme Series GTS2 Drivers Points ------------------------------------ 1)Larry Schumacher 120 John O'Steen 120 3)Franz Konrad 103 4)Michel Ligonnet 99 5)Dirk Layer 85 Will Pace 85 Martin Snow 85 8)Zak Brown 74 9)Phillip Collin 60 10)Claudia Huertgen 59 Manufacturers Points ------------------------------------ 1)Porsche 138 2)Saleen 41 3)Mazda 17 4)Pontiac 15 Exxon Supreme Series GTS3 Drivers Points ------------------------------------ 1)David Murry 112 Jim Matthews 112 3)Javier Quiros 105 4)Bill Auberlen 104 5)Cort Wagner 91 6)Dieter Quester 77 Marc Duez 77 8)Jorge Trejos 76 9)Kelly Collins 74 10)Tom Hessert 63 Manufacturers Points ------------------------------------ 1)BMW 128 2)Porsche 118 3)Saleen 39 4)Nissan 35 5)Mazda 20
David Treffer -- The Auto Channel
