Earlier this year, we heard word that RealTime Racing would be making the jump to the World Challenge GTS class. And just like that, in what was supposed to be a much more competitive class with even faster cars, RealTime driver and company owner Peter Cunningham has maneuvered his No. 43 RTR Acura TSX all the way to the top yet again. This is Cunningham’s sixth drivers’ championship making him the most decorated driver in World Challenge.

And yes, there is still one event left in the World Challenge Series for the year, but Cunningham and RealTime Racing have been so successful in the GTS class that they can now simply just have some fun in the finale and not have to worry about losing the championship. Cunningham also managed to turn in the fastest GTS lap of the day with a time of 2:09.907 and now has 40 career wins.

So what lies ahead for Cunningham and his RealTime Racing team? We’re not sure, but we’re hoping they find a way to make it even more challenging for the competition and showing off just how refined their racing program truly is.

PRESS RELEASE

Pilgrim, Cunningham and Buras Win World Challenge Race; Championships Clinched At VIR

ALTON, Va. (September 12, 2010) – In a thrilling day of World Challenge Championships action during the Race-Keeper VIR Grand Prix presented by MTM Special Ops Watch at VIRginia International Raceway, Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, Fla., shook a frustrating season with a GT win, Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., extended several series records in GTS including his sixth Drivers’ Championship and Todd Buras, of Melbourne, Fla., capped a four-for-four season in Touring Car. In addition to Cunningham’s title, Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., and Robert Stout, of Brownsburg, Ind., wrapped up the GT and Touring Car Championships, respectively, with runner-up finishes.

Pilgrim started on the pole in the No. 8 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60, pulled away from the field, and never looked back en route to his first win of the season. It capped a perfect day for Pilgrim, who led all 22 laps, turned the fastest race lap in a time of 1:58.410 (99.417 mph), and averaged 88.389 mph over the 71.94-mile race on his way to a 1.392-second margin of victory.

“It’s been a funny year and this weekend has been the funniest part of the year,” Pilgrim said. “Last night, we determined that there was something wrong with the car all year. The team worked so hard and they haven’t been able to fix it. It’s just been so frustrating for everyone. Yesterday, we overheated the gearbox to the point that they would have had to have changed the gearbox. That’s like a nine-hour job and they looked at the data and said, ‘you know what Andy, if you don’t mind, we’d like to put you in last year’s car.’ I said ‘okay, let’s do it.’ We’d set it up as a back-up car in case Randy or I had a problem with our main car, so we knew it wouldn’t be that far off if at all.

“It was like getting back in your favorite pair of slippers. It felt very good. It felt very similar to the other car, but it just ran better overall. My only fear was that we didn’t have a race setup on it but it held together.”

There were only two real moments of concern for Pilgrim throughout the race. The first came early in the race when Kuno Wittmer’s No. 13 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Viper, running in second, was charging hard and closing the gap to Pilgrim. The two raced into VIR’s famed Oak Tree Turn on lap 13, where Wittmer spun and allowed the Volvo to race away.

The second came on lap 17, when a full-course caution bunched the field behind the safety car for corner workers to retrieve a piece of metal on the racing surface. Pilgrim again pulled away from the field on the lap-20 restart and raced the remaining three laps to his 10^th career GT victory.

“Kuno would have gotten me for sure,” Pilgrim conceded. “He was coming. He was on me. Kuno got balked in some traffic in the lower esses. I just flew through as hard as I could and threw it into Oak Tree as late and as hard as I could. As I was exiting, I could just see him fly straight off going in. I think he was probably frustrated from getting balked because he knew how close he was to me and he just overdid it. It was slick. You had to be really careful. I was like ‘what a shame, and thank goodness!’ There’s no way he wasn’t going to get me.

“I dedicate this race to Jeremy [Smallwood], my crew chief. He has worked so hard all year long on that car and never gave up on it or on me. Always a great attitude. He was in tears after the race. This one is definitely for Jeremy.”

Pobst earned his fourth-career World Challenge GT Drivers’ Championship with his runner-up finish in the No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60. Pobst started third, spent the early stages of the race chasing Wittmer, and then settled in several car lengths behind his teammate to the checkered flag.

The runner-up finish clinched the GT Drivers’ Championship for Pobst, who previously won the honor in 2003, 2007 and 2008. The sweep of the top two positions by K-PAX Volvos also clinched the Manufacturers’ Championship for Volvo with one race remaining.

“I feel relief,” Pobst said. “Winning the Manufacturers’ Championship for Volvo was our mission. Winning a Drivers’ Championship was a bonus. The role for Andy and I was to do our part of the job—to help K-PAX Racing win this Championship for Volvo. We got some breaks yesterday with the weather. We got some breaks today with our competitors making mistakes. This is really important for Jim Haughey, who is the principle of K-PAX Racing. It is important for Volvo. We feel like we climbed to the top of the mountain and today we got to the summit.”

James Sofronas, of Newport Beach, Calif., earned a third-place finish from his fourth position on the grid but certainly passed more than just one car to do it. Sofronas made a mistake entering Turn One for the first time in his No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 after the standing start, and began lap two in ninth place. As Sofronas worked his way through the field, he ran off the track several times, hindering his progress. Among his many passes, Sofronas slipped past Jason Daskalos in the No. 5 Daskalos Developments Dodge Viper for fifth position in Turn Two on lap 12 to earn the MTM Special Ops Watch Move of the Race.

He restarted with three laps to go behind teammate Jeff Altenburg in the No. 4 Centric Parts/Stoptech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3, and made his way into the final podium position on the race’s final lap.

“It was definitely not meant to be today,” Sofronas said. “On the start, I saw the inside clog up. I decided to take the outside line in one and went a little too deep and got two wheels off and fell to the back. I shook my head and said ‘this is gonna be a long day.’ I just needed to be patient and stay focused. I started picking off guys and then I’d make a mistake and fall back. I think I passed seven cars…twice. That’s not really how I like to drive. The car was more than capable but I was just not driving in my limits. I’m pretty lucky to finish third. It’s a testament to this GMG team and the Porsche.”

Altenburg, of Ellicott City, Md., the 2007 Touring Car Champion and four-time TC race winner, earned his career-best GT class finish in his first race weekend of the season in World Challenge.

Rob Morgan, of Conway, Ark., earned his second-consecutive fifth-place finish in the No. 46 TruSpeed Motorsports/Querencia Porsche 911 GT3. The top-five matched Saturday’s for his best career World Challenge finish. Morgan was penalized 10 driver points for his role in an incident with Jason Daskalos, which led to his Dodge Viper’s retirement.

In the GTS class, Cunningham led flag-to-flag in the No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX to extend his World Challenge record for career wins to 40 on a weekend where he also extended the career pole position mark to 41.

Cunningham turned the fastest GTS lap in a time of 2:09.907 (91.187 mph) on his way to clinching his sixth-career World Challenge Drivers’ Championship, another record for the most decorated driver in World Challenge history.

“It definitely feels good to finish up the weekend on a positive note after the heartbreak from yesterday,” Cunningham said of Saturday’s race that saw him fall out of the lead with one lap remaining due to a mechanical failure. “Based on how things shook out at the start, I was able to grab the lead and build upon that until the caution came out. The restart, of course, gave me a scare with all the GT guys trying to get by on either side of us. But we were able to hang on and take the win. It definitely feels good to clinch the Championship heading into Salt Lake. Now there’s no pressure of something like the ring gear falling off on the pace lap and not taking the start and losing the Championship! Now we can just go have fun at the finale. It’s a great day for Acura and RealTime Racing and Toyo Tires.”

Nick Esayian, of San Diego, Calif., gave chase on his teammate and Championship rival, needing a win and some help to keep his hopes alive entering the season finale at Miller Motorsports Park. Instead, the driver of the No. 34 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX gave chase one day after his maiden win but finished with his ninth podium in 11 races on the season.

Third place went to Ernie Jakubowski, of Oakville, Ont., in the No. 91 Fuchs/CDOC/Forgeline Porsche Cayman S. Jakubowski started from the rear of the GTS field after making mechanical changes following qualifying, and worked his way into the podium position over the 22 laps.

Kevin Helms (No. 04 DBA/Carbotech/AST/Exedy Acura RSX) finished fourth.

The Touring Car battle was wheel-to-wheel between Buras’ No. 50 Irish Mike’s Racing/Krispy Kreme Volkswagen Jetta GLI and Stout’s No. 18 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC. At the checkered flag, Buras won the battle, but Stout won the war in taking his first World Challenge Touring Car Drivers’ Championship.

As the lights went out for the standing start, both Stout and Buras got away cleanly from their positions in the front row of the Touring Car field. A slow to accelerate No. 44 Motorsports Solutions Acura TSX GTS machine of Tommy Sadler bottled up the rest of the Touring Car field, making contact with Stout’s teammate Greg Shaffer in the No. 36 DG Spec/Scion/TRD Scion tC. Shaffer spun off course and ended his day with contact in the guard rail, and the ensuing bottle neck collected the No. 67 SaferTeenDrivers.com Honda Civic Si of Shea Holbrook and ended her day as well.

That activity provided a gap for Stout and Buras to get away and turn the race into a heads-up battle between the two. Buras led the first lap, but Stout moved to the inside in Turn 10 after a run through the uphill esses to slide into the Touring Car lead and earn the Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race.

Buras reclaimed the lead on lap four and the two battled side-by-side and nose-to-tail for the middle portion of the race. Stout ran off track on lap 13 trying to make a pass for the lead and dropped back behind the Buras, but immediately began to close that gap while Buras continued to turn fast laps. Buras turned the fastest Touring Car lap in a time of 2:13.989 (87.858 mph), but the late-race caution put Stout right back on Buras’ bumper.

Stout took the lead on the restart, which came on lap 18 for the Touring Car drivers. Buras reclaimed the lead for good just one lap later, giving Buras four wins in as many tries in an Irish Mike’s Racing Volkswagen Jetta GLI.

Buras swept the season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, but was injured in a racing incident just a few weeks later. This weekend’s sweep at VIR was Buras’ return to racing.

“We went door-to-door, lap after lap,” Buras said. “He [Stout] led, I led. I was really getting out to a comfortable lead and then the yellow came out for what looked like a piece of a bumper cover on the track. On the restart, he got it again! But this time I was able to get a run and then out-brake him into the rollercoaster. It should make for great TV. What a competitive field.

“I have to thank Irish Mike’s Racing for letting me come back and do this. I have to thank Krispy Kreme and of course, my family for being understanding and letting me come back from the injuries and go racing this weekend.”

The runner-up finish was enough to clinch the Touring Car Drivers’ Championship for Stout, who at 18-years-old became the youngest World Challenge Champion in Series history. Scion clinched the Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s an honor to be a Champion here in my rookie season of World Challenge,” Stout said. “It’s been an awesome season. We’ve had a really competitive car all season long. I have to thank my crew and all my sponsors. I love everything about this racing and this series. The racing is so great. You have to really work for it every time. It’s just such an honor to be here as the Champion.”

Robb Holland, of Denver, Colo., earned his second podium finish of the season in the No. 22 3Zero3 Motorsports/Track Pro/Emich VW Volkswagen GTI. Holland avoided the incident at the start and pulled away in third place, remaining there for the entire race.

Michael Pettiford was the third Volkswagen in the top four, placing the No. 41 Go 4 It Racing Schools/Hawk Volkswagen Jetta GLI one position off the podium. Pettiford battled with Brett Sandberg in the No. 28 Whitehall Stable Acura TSX in the early laps of the race, then raced Branden Peterson to the finish after the restart. Peterson finished fifth in the No. 64 Competition Clutch/Supertech Performance Honda Civic Si.

Charlie Solomon earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for improving his position 10 spots overall in the No. 21 Dr. Natasha.com/DC Racing Mazda RX-8, finishing sixth in Touring Car. Sandberg finished seventh, while Don Istook finished eigth in the No. 01 Revo Technik/Carbotech Volkswagen GTI. Istook also earned the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start for improving eight positions on the opening lap.

With only race wins and bragging rights on the line, the World Challenge Championships GT, GTS and Touring Car classes return to action in two weeks for the Toyo Tires World Challenge Utah Grand Prix presented by Bondurant, October 1-3, at Miller Motorsports Park.

For more information, please visit www.world-challenge.com. The race will be broadcast along with the season finale from Miller Motorsports Park Saturday, October 30 at 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Versus.

Follow World Challenge on Twitter @WCRacing.

ALTON, Virginia – Results from Sunday’s 22-lap, 71.94-mile World Challenge Championships Round 11 race, the Race-Keeper VIR Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway, with finishing position, class, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown,  car, laps and reason out (if any).

1. GT, (1), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Volvo S60, 22.

2. GT, (3), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Volvo S60, 22, -1.392.

3. GT, (4), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -2.955.

4. GT, (8), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -4.390.

5. GT, (7), Rob Morgan, Conway, Ark., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -5.388.

6. GT, (10), Jeff Courtney, Milwaukee, Wis., Dodge Viper, 22, -10.508.

7. GT, (5), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 22, -11.019.

8. GT, (11), Fred Roberts(R), Toronto, Ontario, Dodge Viper, 22, -16.902.

9. GT, (12), William Ziegler, Jacksonville, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -17.713.

10. GTS, (13), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TSX, 21, -1 lap.

11. GTS, (14), Nick Esayian, San Diego, Calif., Acura TSX, 21, -1 lap.

12. GTS, (15), Ernie Jakubowski, Oakville, Ontario, Porsche Cayman S, 21, -1 lap.

13. GTS, (16), Kevin Helms(R), Charlotte, N.C., Acura RSX, 21, -1 lap.

14. TC, (18), Todd Buras(R), Melbourne, Fla., Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 21, -1 lap.

15. TC, (20), Robert Stout(R), Brownsburg, Ind., Scion tC, 21, -1 lap.

16. TC, (21), Robb Holland, Denver, Colo., VW GTI, 21, -1 lap.

17. TC, (24), Michael Pettiford, Louisville, Colo., Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 21, -1 lap.

18. TC, (26), Branden Peterson, Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si, 21, -1 lap.

19. TC, (30), Charlie Solomon(R), Waxahachie, Texas, Mazda RX-8, 21, -1 lap.

20. TC, (22), Brett Sandberg(R), Allendale, N.J., Acura TSX, 21, -1 lap.

21. TC, (28), Don Istook, Fort Worth, Texas, Volkswagen GTI, 21, -1 lap.

22. TC, (27), David Tuaty, Miami, Fla., Honda Civic Si, 21, -1 lap.

23. TC, (32), Colin Cohen(R), Southlake, Texas, Volkswagen GTI, 20, -2 laps.

24. GTS, (17), Tommy Sadler, San Jose, Calif., Acura TSX, 20, -2 laps.

25. TC, (31), Carolyn Kujala(R), Tucson, Ariz., Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 20, -2 laps.

26. GT, (2), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Quebec, Dodge Viper, 19, Mech.

27. GT, (6), Jason Daskalos, Albuquerque, N.M., Dodge Viper, 12, Mech.

28. TC, (29), Alex Ratcliffe(R), Berryville, Va., Lexus IS300, 5, Mech.

29. TC, (23), Devin Cates(R), Broad Run, Va., Volkswagen GTI, 4, Mech.

30. TC, (19), Greg Shaffer(R), Harrisonburg, Va., Scion tC, 0, Crash.

31. TC, (25), Shea Holbrook(R), Groveland, Fla., Honda Civic Si, 0, Crash.

32. TC, (33), Eric Meyer(R), Indianapolis, Ind., Mazda RX-8, 0, Mech.

33. GT, (9), Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette, 0, DNS.

Time of race: 48 minutes, 50.025 seconds.

Average speed: 88.389 mph

Margin of victory: 1.392 Seconds

Lap leaders: Laps 1-22, #8 Andy Pilgrim

Fastest race lap: #8 Andy Pilgrim, 1:58.410 (99.417 mph)

Fastest qualifier: #8 Andy Pilgrim, 1:56.086 (101.407 mph)

Cautions: 1, for 3 laps

Optima Batteries Best Standing Start: #01 Don Istook

Sunoco Hard Charger: # 21 Charlie Solomon

Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race: #14 James Sofronas in Turn 2

MTM Special Ops Watch Best Move of the Race: #18 Robert Stout pass for the lead

For those of us who grew up and believing that Honda and Acura were the only “cool” auto manufacturers in the world, RealTime Racing had the coolest of the cool. From NSXs to Integra Type-Rs to RSXs to TSXs, RealTime Racing campaigned some of the most beautifully built touring car racers of the last two decades.

Being 11-time World Challenge Champions is no easy task and it looks like RealTime Racing is looking for a whole new challenge for 2010. “Coming into the new year we had a decision to make: Remove a number of go-fast bits and run in Touring Car, or tune up our TSXs to try and be competitive in GTS,” explained ’08 Touring Car champion Cunningham. “It’s a faster group of cars – anything from other Acuras and Lotus, all the way to big iron like Corvette and Viper.”

Those big sports cars probably won’t to be too popular, however, with the field likely to be dominated by the Acuras and a fleet of BMWs that are expected to make the jump to GTS.

By being able to build on top of an already strong and championship-proven platform, RealTime Racing will once again return as the favorites for us enthusiasts growing up loving all things Honda and Acura. This may just be the excitement we’ve all been waiting for from World Challenge; seeing new-generation Acura TSXs competing against heavy American muscle and other nimble counterparts. The official release from RealTime Racing available after the jump.

We’ll be sure to see how the RTR Acuras compete, with the first race of the season taking place this weekend in St. Petersburg, FL.

[Source: RealTime Racing]

GALLERY: Real Time Racing Acuras

PRESS RELEASE

World Challenge stalwart RealTime Racing will return to the series with a pair of new-generation Acura TSXs; not to defend its 2009 Touring Car Championship, but to move up to the new GTS class.

Eight-time SCCA Pro Racing champion Peter Cunningham will lead the Acura Motorsports charge as the Wisconsin-based squad welcomes back former RTR pilot, Nick Esayian. The reunited band mates look forward to the competition in the first-year category.

“Coming into the new year we had a decision to make: Remove a number of go-fast bits and run in Touring Car, or tune up our TSXs to try and be competitive in GTS,” explained ’08 Touring Car champion Cunningham. “It’s a faster group of cars-anything from other Acuras and Lotus, all the way to big iron like Corvette and Viper.

“I can guarantee you we’re not going to outrun anyone down the straightaway, but we should have their number in the turns,” Esayian added. “We had the opportunity to test a couple of weeks ago in Texas and I can tell you it was a ball to drive one of these unleashed front-drive rockets!”

Nick spent the first four years of his World Challenge career driving for RealTime, before joining the Bimmerworld BMW effort in 2007. Now, after two years in a rear-wheel-drive Touring Car, Nick returns as a faster and more experienced driver ready to take on his teammate and all the rest.

Notably missing from the 2010 lineup is defending and five-time Touring Car Champion, Pierre Kleinubing. The challenging economy forced the team to cut back on the number of entries it will run this season-hopefully a temporary situation for the 13-year RealTime Acura veteran. The good news is he landed on his feet with a leading role on Glenn Bocchino’s i-Moto Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge effort.

The 21st season of the SCCA World Challenge Series commences this weekend, March 26-28, for a doubleheader at the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. The production-based WC sports cars will share the Florida streets (but not at the same time) with the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Beyond the addition of the new category, there is other exciting news to report: Fans of the series that can’t make it to the races in person will enjoy expanded television coverage-on the Versus network.

After 11 years of great coverage on the SPEED Channel, the series now makes the move to Versus. Fans will be able to tune in to WC coverage on weekend afternoons-often times before or after LIVE Emmy Award-winning IndyCar programming.

Versus is making quite a name for itself as an action sports leader, as the television home of the Dakar endurance rally, Tour de France bicycle classic and NHL Hockey, and is now the home of World Challenge competition.  The WC races will be produced in 2010 by IMS Productions, the same people who provide the lauded coverage of the Indy racers.

Another development new this year is the increase in the number of races and the decrease in the teams’ travel schedule. How is this possible? Now, half of the eight World Challenge weekends will have one race on Saturday and a second on Sunday. Points will accumulate in each of the 12 races to determine the champions in GT, the new GTS class (GO ACURA!) and Touring Car.

The RealTime Acura team is sponsored by Acura Motorsports, Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Red Line Oil, Eibach Springs, Sparco, Hawk Performance, Brembo, A-SPEC, BOSCH, Total Auto Body, and PACT.

Jason Saini raced to the top of the podium in his Mazda6 this weekend, during the SCCA’s SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series event at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt Raceway. Saini placed third in qualifying but quickly made it to second place off the standing start, and spent much of the rest of the race fender to fender with defending series champion Peter Cunningham in his RealTime Racing TSX.

Saini passed Cunningham on the third lap but only secured some distance when Cunningham got tied up defending his position from Andrew Aquilante in the Phoenix Performance Inc. Subaru WRX.

When the checkered flag flew, however, Saini had secured an almost three second advantage after Cunningham, giving him not only the race victory but also the lead in the points race.

“I raced with Peter a couple of times last year. We had some side-by-side battles. He came out on top last year. This time, I came out on top. It is a dream come true to race with a guy like Peter,” said Saini. “I looked at where his strengths and weaknesses were and tried to push him. I tried to stick the nose in every once and a while to see. I just had a bit of a stronger car at that point and I was able to get down on the inside. I tried one time. I didn’t make it stick. I tried again and it did.”

As for the third-place Aquilante, he managed the last podium spot in just his third World Challenge race. Initially much of the credit can be handed to Subaru’s all-wheel drive system, which allowed Aquilante to race from a standing-start grid position of 8th to 3rd overall in just one lap.

“The start was good,” Aquilante said. “It was kind of wild the first couple of laps, with Jason and P.D. going back and forth. Jason got around him and things settled in single file. Then, about halfway through the race, I started to try to pick it up and the tires started to go away.”

“I finally caught up to them. I had a few runs at Peter down the front straightaway. We went side-by-side. He knew what I was going to do, so he protected the inside well. There were a couple of times he let me on the inside, but I couldn’t quite make it stick. I tried not to run him off the road. It was a good race.”

Finishing out the top five were Cunningham’s teammates Kuno Wittmer in 4th and Pierre Kleinubing in 5th.

As for the points race, as mentioned, with the win Saini takes the lead, with Kleinubing in 2nd and Seth Thomas in 3rd with his BMW 328i.

The race will be broadcast on SPEED Chanel Friday, May 22 at 2 p.m.. The next race is scheduled for Mosport International Raceway on May 16th and 17th

[Photo Credit: Mark Weber/SCCA]

Complete race results after the jump:

MILLVILLE, NJ – Results from Saturday’s 27-lap, 60.75-mile SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship Round Two race, part of the Verizon 250 Weekend at Thunderbolt Raceway, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps complete, distance behind winner and reason out (if any).

1. (3), Jason Saini, Ft. Worth, Texas, MAZDA6, 27.

2. (1), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TSX, 27, -2.967.

3. (8), Andrew Aquilante, Phoenixville, Pa., Subaru WRX, 27, -3.496.

4. (5), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Quebec, Acura TSX, 27, -5.895.

5. (6), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 27, -6.210.

6. (10), Eric Foss(R), Fort Worth, Texas, MAZDA6, 27, -11.364.

7. (7), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 328i, 27, -23.379.

8. (11), Toby Grahovec, Chicago, Ill., Acura TSX, 27, -34.052.

9. (9), Nick Esayian, San Diego, Calif., BMW 328i, 27, -1:17.608.

10. (15), Alex Ratcliffe(R), Berryville, Va., Lexus IS300, 26, -1 lap.

11. (2), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., MAZDA6, 26, -1 lap.

12. (13), Carl Hober, Cape May, N.J., Acura TSX, 26, -1 lap.

13. (12), Matt Lang(R), Bedminster, N.J., Dodge SRT 4, 13, Mech.

14. (4), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 328i, 0, Mech.

SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Standings

Pos., Driver, Car, Points (Wins)

1, Jason Saini, MAZDA6, 224 (1)

2, Pierre Kleinubing, Acura TSX, 195

3, Seth Thomas, BMW 328i, 192 (1)

4, Peter Cunningham, Acura TSX, 172

5, Eric Foss(R), MAZDA6, 161

6, Andrew Aquilante, Subaru WRX, 160

7, Kuno Wittmer, Acura TSX, 160

8, James Clay, BMW 328i, 148

9, Nick Esayian, BMW 328i, 144

10, Toby Grahovec, Acura TSX, 125

World Challenge Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER

Pos., Manufacturer, Points (wins)

1, Acura, 16

2, Mazda, 14 (1)

3, BMW, 9 (1)

Seth Thomas, piloting the No. 38 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW 328i, jumped into the lead off the standing start during the first race of the 2009 World Challenge Touring Car series and never looked back.

With a qualifying run that landed him in 2nd, Thomas used the BMW’s rear-drive advantage to get a quick lead on pole-sitter Pierre Kleinubing in the front-drive RealTime Acura TSX and after just three laps had put just over a second between the two cars.

“I didn’t expect that kind of advantage going into Turn One,” Thomas said. “The BMWs have rear-wheel drive and they launch really well off the start. Pierre [Kleinubing] has a lot of experience starting up there and I expected him to be tough and get a little better launch. The way it worked out, I went into the brake zone for Turn One and looked in the mirror and saw the gap. I just thought ‘just maintain that and see what we can do.’”

Kleinubing and RealTime teammate Kuno Wittmer attempted to chase Thomas down, but after Whitmer retired due to mechanical problems, the race belonged to the Bimmerworld team, taking the podium 2.563 seconds ahead of the RealTime Acura.

“I’ve been coming here for many years,” Thomas said. “I always had good success at Sebring in the BMW Club stuff I did. Then we came to World Challenge and things went a little haywire. After last year, it’s definitely redemption here. Last year, we should have started on the pole but a technical infraction got us in trouble and we had to start from the back. I felt like this year was going to be the year.

“I keep telling everybody, there’s no words that can describe winning. It’s the best feeling. We’ve worked so hard to get here and it’s finally happened.”

Kleinubing admitted he pretty much lost the race right at the beginning thanks to an overly eager right foot.

“Halfway through first gear I spun the tires pretty badly on the big painted stripe and lost a little bit there from first to second. [Thomas] pulled a huge gap at that point. Every time I’d get a little closer, he seemed to answer and pull it back out. I just did what I could and finished second.”

Kleinubing states that he was eager to get to the next race where he will pilot a brand new TSX. At Sebring, only RealTime owner/racer and defending series champ Peter Cunningham had one of the new TSXs on the track and finished in 9th place after loosing body work in an incedent.

Mazda finished the day at Sebring yesterday with the fastest car during the first practice session ahead of the 2009 World Challenge Touring Car season.

Jason Saini, piloting the Tri-Point No. 74 Mazdaspeed/Stoptech/Racinghart Mazda, posted the best lap time at the end of the day with a 2:25.294 on the 17-turn, 3.7-mile circuit.

“Conditions were a bit variable,” Saini said. “It was damp this morning, but it got better throughout the session. It was hard to learn what the car was really doing in the changing conditions. I was lucky to have a late lap when the conditions were getting better every lap.”

“The team has done such a great job pulling things together in short order. So many people pulled together to make this happen at the last minute. All credit to the team for staying up late all last week and getting these cars together.”

The Tri-Point team of Mazda6′s also claimed 4th and 6th for the day with Charles Espenlaub piloting the No. 73 car and rookie Eric Foss in the No. 75 car taking the respective positions.

Much of the rest of the top 10 was filled with the RealTime Racing Acura TSXs with Kuno Wittmer taking 2nd, Pierre Kleinubing taking 3rd and Toby Grahovec taking 7th. Defending World Challenge Touring Car Champion Peter Cunningham, the only driver piloting a new TSX vehicle, placed 5th.

Finishing out the top ten were Andrew Aquilante and his Subaru WRX in 8th, Nick Esayian in his BMW 328i in 9th and James Clay in his BMW 328i in 10th.

The World Challenge Touring Car Series kicks-off with the opening race this Friday, March 20th .

Full Practice Session results after the jump:

1, (74), Jason Saini, Ft. Worth, Texas, MAZDA6, 2:25.294, 91.676.

2, (44), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Quebec, Acura TSX, 2:25.358, 91.635.

3, (42), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 2:25.564, 91.506.

4, (73), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., MAZDA6, 2:25.961, 91.257.

5, (1), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TSX, 2:26.395, 90.986.

6, (75), Eric Foss(R), Fort Worth, Texas, MAZDA6, 2:27.907, 90.056.

7, (43), Toby Grahovec, Chicago, Ill., Acura TSX, 2:28.249, 89.848.

8, (35), Andrew Aquilante, Phoenixville, Pa., Subaru WRX, 2:28.445, 89.730.

9, (34), Nick Esayian, San Diego, Calif., BMW 328i, 2:31.660, 87.828.

10, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 328i, 2:32.313, 87.451.

11, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 328i, 2:39.445, 83.539.

12, (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., Volkswagen Jetta TDI, no time.