When you think of Scion and racing, chances are you think of trends like Drifting and Time Attack. It may surprise you to learn, however, that over the year Scion has been involved in good old fashioned road racing too. The two car DG-Spec team competed all year in the SCCA’s World Challenge Touring Car class and in just their first year the team posted unbelievable results, absolutely dominating the field.

In summary, the DG-Spec/Scion/Lucas Oil/TRD Scion tC team took the Team Championship and Manufacturers’ Championship, while 18-year-old Robert Stout piloted his No. 18 car to the Drivers’ Championship while also taking the GameStreamer Rookie-of-the-Year award.

See the video recap of Scion’s 2010 Season after the jump:

Continue Reading…

Randy Pobst’s racing resume is extensive having clinched Speed World Challenge GT championships in 2003, 2007 and 2008. Perhaps well known for driving the Tri-Point Mazda 6 from 2004-2007, Pobst joined the K-PAX team in 2007 and 2008, clinching the championship in their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car. But that’s all history now as Pobst has taken yet another championship (in the GT Class) for K-PAX, but this time in their Volvo S60.

Despite still having one more race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah during October 1-3rd, Pobst has already locked down the championship thanks to a 212 point lead over second place, James Sofronas. Volvo has also clinched the manufacturers’ championship for 2010 with a 12 point lead over Porsche heading into the final race.

Pobst was able to lock down the championship with a second place finish at Virginia International Raceway. Pobst’s teammate, Andy Pilgrim, took the victory at the event in the #8 K-PAX Racing Volvo S60 – giving K-PAX Racing a 1-2 sweep of the podium.

A huge congratulations to the team, and to Randy Pobst for adding onto his already impressive driving resume.

Continue Reading…

As we reported earlier today, this weekend’s World Challenge action at Mosport International Raceway saw Corvette Racing legend Ron Fellows take the GT class win in the Cragar Wheels C6 Vette on Sunday, but that wasn’t the only glory claimed in the name of the General’s all-conquering sports car. Retired Director of GM’s Performance Division and SCCA Runoffs dominator John “The HeinRocket” Heinricy won both rounds of the Mosport double header in his GTS class Torvec/Phoenix/Hawk C5 Chevrolet Corvette.

Ron Fellows may have retired from full-time racing duties with Corvette Racing and the American Le Mans Series, but he proved this weekend that he’s still the Mayor of Mosport in a Corvette.

The Mississauga, Ontario native and Corvette Racing legend has always been hard to beat around his home track, Mosport International Raceway, so it should come as no surprise that he claimed the top step on the podium during Sunday’s World Challenge event from behind the wheel of the Carlisle Companies/Cragar Wheels Chevrolet Corvette. The win didn’t come easy though, starting 2nd to Randy Pobst in the K-Pax Volvo S60 and having been passed off the start by Kuno Wittmer’s Dodge Viper.

Fellows quickly battled back against Wittmer, passing his fellow Canadian in Turn 10 before turning his sights on race leader Pobst. Running down the K-Pax Volvo, Fellows turned a record fastest race lap of 1:23.828 (105.602 mph), a feat that thrilled the hometown crowd. On lap 15, Fellows and Pobst went side-by-side down the front straight and through Turn 1, splitting the Touring Car Mazda RX-8 of Eric Meyer between Turns 1 and 2. Fellows managed to take the inside line for the downhill left hander and slowly pulled away from Pobst from that point on.

According to Fellows, ”I got a terrible start, but other than that it was just a matter of being patient. Even though I hadn’t raced here much lately, it comes back to you. To be honest, the slick conditions may have helped. I was hoping it stayed overcast, but our car is lighter than the Volvos and that was probably better. It was a lot of fun, and feels good.”

Having spent the day before at Laguna Seca for Corvette Racing’s 50th anniversary of racing at Le Mans, Fellows’ win at Mosport might not have happened if he’d missed his connecting flight from San Francisco to Toronto, having literally made the connection with 3 minutes to spare. As Fellows reported on his personal website, he was very pleased to have been able to race at Mosport on this historic weekend for Corvette Racing and because he hadn’t raced at his home track since 2007.

Pobst’s runner-up finish in the Volvo, combined with his Saturday race win at Mosport, extended his point lead to 47 over Wittmer and the Dodge Motorsports Viper (541 to 494), followed by Crescentini in the Centric Parts/Stoptech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 (420), Andy Pilgrim (383) and Daskalos in his Daskalos Developments Dodge Viper (379). Volvo also extended its point lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship to seven (35 to 28) over Porsche. Dodge is third with 26.

[Sources: World Challenge, Ron Fellows]

Professional drifter Tyler McQuarrie continues to bring a lot of attention to the World Challenge series in his Lotus Exige S race car. After topping the podium with the No. 19 LPL/DRS/Switcars/LCS/Dayco/M&T Lotus Exige S during its first race at Long Beach a few weeks back the car has since received some rewards weight and had its power cut to ensure a competitive field in the mid-level GTS Class.

McQuarrie put on a tremendous display of driving during the two-race weekend at Mosport International Raceway, placing second on both Saturday and Sunday – both times to the No. 35 Torvec/Phoenix/Hawk Chevrolet Corvette driven by John Heinricy (the man who piloted the Cadillac CTS-V to its record setting sub 8-minute Nürburgring time). In both races he was passed by series veteran Peter Cunningham in the No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX, but managed to take back the position. He even seemed to gain ground on the overall GT leader and racing legend Ron Fellows (on his home track no less). After the race he commented that with the tiny dimensions of the Lotus he was able to tuck in behind the big Corvette.

Lotus fans and fans of motorsports in general will want to check out our gallery of the Exige race car from this weekend’s festivities at Mosport International Raceway. We’ll be sure to provide updates on how the Lotus fares the rest of the season and see if perhaps McQuarrie will graduate to a new Lotus Evora race car to compete in the GT class next year.

GALLERY: LPL/DRS/Switcars/LCS/Dayco/M&T Lotus Exige S

There has been surprisingly little news about the Brass Monkey Nissan GT-R race team competing in the World Challenge series – party because other than their introduction, the cars haven’t generated much excitement themselves. Sure the GT-R is an amazing sports car, even holding a Nürburgring record at one point, but so far the two car effort has been relegated to the back of the pack in the lead GT class.

The GT Class is most certainly where the GT-R belongs, competing alongside Corvettes, Vipers and Porsches – as well as the awesomely capable Volvo S60s – but the development process is a slow one. This weekend the team ran both cars, with a best finish in the first race of a two race weekend being Tony Rivera in the No. 97 car in 10th. While in the second race Rivera managed 12th. Sadly neither finish was on the lead lap, but the potential is obvious with Rivera taking the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start award for moving up two positions on lap one in race one, while in race two he managed to gain five positions off the start.

We had a chance to get up close to the cars during the two-race weekend at Mosport International Raceway and were surprised to see differing levels of development with a carbon fiber trunk lid being used to save weight, while inside much of the factory dash remains intact. Fans of the GT-R and of motorsports will want to check out our gallery below.

GALLERY: Brass Monkey Racing Nissan GT-R

After his dominating World-Challenge GTS performance at Long Beach in the LPL/DRS Lotus Exige 240 S, Tyler McQuarrie sent us a highly entertaining GoPro HD helmet cam clip from qualifying. Check it out after the jump.

We also noticed our friends over at The Octane Report just posted a full story on McQuarrie’s glorious Long Beach weekend (although things didn’t go quite so well for him in Formula D), including an informative video with interview footage of McQuarrie prior to the race (available after the jump).

Rumors are also now swirling over on LotusTalk.com that McQuarrie and the LPL/DRS Exige S will make another appearance at the next World-Challenge event coming up on May 21st to 23rd at Mosport International Raceway near Toronto, Canada. The online chatter also suggests that LPL may have up to three Lotus Exige S’s running at Mosport, giving McQuarrie some teammates to work with at this fastest road course in North America.

[Sources: Tyler McQuarrie; Octane Report]

Continue Reading…

Tyler McQuarrie, best known for his sideways style in the Formula D professional drifting series, proved his versatility as a racing driver by dominating the Toyo Tires World Challenge GTS class at Long Beach throughout the weekend in the LPL/DRS/Switcars/LCS/Dayco/M&T Lotus Exige 240 S. McQuarrie’s win was made all the more impressive by the fact that this was the World Challenge debut for both the car and the driver.

Having out-qualified class points leader P.D. Cunningham and his famous Realtime Racing Acura TSX, McQuarrie started on pole and got a jump on the field on the first lap. Shortly after the green flag dropped, Cunningham made contact with another car and had his Acura’s hood open into the windshield on lap one, forcing him into the pits and ending any challenge the Series’ all-time wins leader could have given McQuarrie.

“I had a great start and actually got by a couple of GT cars,” McQuarrie said. “I didn’t have a working radio in the race, so I didn’t actually realize who was behind me. I looked up at the screen on the second lap and saw one of the Acuras head to the pits with the hood up. I dialed it back just a little bit when I felt I could.”

“I have to really thank the LPL and DRS team. They only got this car about five weeks ago and really did a fantastic job with it. To be able to run it here at Long Beach—to run both weekends, is really awesome. I think April in Long Beach is a little bit like May in Indy. It’s a special time and to win here is just awesome.”

The GTS win was the first time a Lotus had won a race of any kind at Long Beach since Mario Andretti won the 1977 Formula One event in a John Player Lotus.

Acura/RealTime Racing’s Esayian finished a distant second to McQuarrie in the No. 34 Acura TSX for his third podium finish in as many races and GTS points leader Cunningham finished 6th after the early incident with his hood.

[source: World Challenge]

Earlier today we reported that RealTime Racing would be taking their expertise to the new GTS class in World Challenge. So perhaps there’s a changing of the guard with a new manufacturer poised to enter the World Challenge Touring Car class – Scion

Toyota’s youth brand is no strangers to all forms of motorsports, sponsoring and fielding cars in road racing, time attack, drag racing and even drifting. Sure some of these cars aren’t even close to what you get off the lot as a commuter, but Scion has continued strengthened its brand and image by posting fast lap times and setting records. Two cars and three drivers will be campaigned throughout the season with all the world’s attention turned to St. Petersburg, Florida this weekend for the first race of the season.

The Scion tCs are equipped with a plethora of parts from OE Scion, TRD (including their supercharger, intercooler and big brake kit) and Dan Gardner Spec (DG-Spec), performance parts that Gardner has developed over three years of racing Scions. Gardner’s resume of racing includes 2009 championships in NASA PTC and WERC Endurance E1. His partner-in-crime for the No. 36 car will be Tom Lepper, veteran club and Grand-Am driver who took top honors in the US Touring Car Championship series in 2009. The second car, the No. 18 Scion tC, will be piloted by 18-year-old Robert Stout, 2009 NASA PTA National Champion.

Make sure to check out the full press release and a video of testing after the break. And be sure to have your TVs set and ready for the playback of this weekend’s event.

[Source: World Challenge News]

Continue Reading…

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

Continue Reading…

As the world and its technology continues to progress at an exponential rate, it’s no surprise that many are finding themselves glued in front of their computer or laptop monitor more often than their television screen. Most major television networks has already grasped on to the concept, many of them allowing the streaming of their popular shows online a day or two after it’s been shown on television. Needless to say we were more than excited to hear the announcement from the SCCA that the World Challenge Races will be available over the Internet at www.speedcasttv.com. And much like most of our favorite television shows, the races will be available a day after they are broadcast on TV, rather than live. We’ll finally have something to complement our endless nights of watching Top Gear on the ‘Web. More importantly though, this helps keep our love of motorsports alive and well, satisfying every sponsor’s urge for additional impressions on their ad dollars. The full release from SCCA is available after the jump.

[Source: World Challenge]

Continue Reading…

Nissan is about to get back into North American motorsports in big way, competing with a pair of GT-R’s in the 2010 World Challenge GT Class. The cars will be run by Brass Monkey Racing, with assistance by Nissan North America, and will debut on the weekend of March 26-28 in St. Petersburg, FL, competing alongside Corvettes, Vipers and Porsches.

The two cars will be piloted by two-time series winner Tony Rivera and rookie Steve Ott.

Brass Monkey Racing first competed in the World Challenge series last year using a Porsche GT3, winning its first race and finishing third overall.

“We’re very excited to bring such an iconic car to the North American professional road racing scene,” Brass Monkey Racing Team Owner A.J. Brass said. “After such a successful season in 2009, finishing third in the Championship and winning in our very first race, we look forward to the challenge of bringing an entirely new platform to World Challenge. With Nissan’s assistance and great engineering and driving, we expect to contend for the 2010 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships.”

“Many of the cars in the series have serious modifications to the engines and drivelines from the stock vehicles,” Brass said. “The beauty of the GT-R is that it is an amazing platform to start with and we are able to utilize all of the stock internal components and drivetrain. With the exception of some of the approved series aerodynamic items and an effort to bring the car down to a competitive weight, the car will remain incredibly stock compared to most of our competition.”

Nissan last competed in the World Challenge several years ago in the lower Touring Car class, using a Sentra SE-R Spec V model.

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

After a consistent season with five trips to the podium in six races, Huntington Beach, California native Brandon Davis finally took the checked flag this past weekend at Mid-Ohio in his Applied Computer Solutions/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra.

Davis started from pole and had excellent competition from the K-PAX Racing Volvo S60 driven by Andy Pilgrim, until lap 17 when Pilgrim’s car suffered mechanical issues.

“I think Andy [Pilgrim] would have been tough, had he stayed around,” said Davis. “Getting out front, I was able to breathe a little bit and just run laps. When I saw that Andy dropped out, I was able to conserve tires a little bit.”

“After being so close for so long, it feels great to finally win this year. We’ve been on the pole but in the races, we just didn’t have the pace to win. So it feels pretty good.”

Rounding out the podium was Tony Rivera, of Missouri City, Texas, and James Sofronas, of Newport Beach, Calif, both driving Porsche 911 GT3s.

The win for Davis further solidifies his lead in the Drivers’ Championship with 733 points, leading Safronas with 656.

Full race results after the jump:

Continue Reading…

[Credit: Mark Weber, World-Challenge]

DP7 Racing, the team behind the lone Lamborghini Gallardo in the SPEED World Challenge GT series has just hired on World Challenge veteran Chip Herr to pilot the exotic racer for the remainder of the season.

Former NFL quarterback Dan Pastorini, who was scheduled to pilot the car for the season, will stay on as a part of the DP7 Racing team. The DP7 Gallardo did not compete in the first race of the season at Sebring, however, the team had intended to run the car but after a dismal showing during the practice sessions (with the slowest tie in the field) the Lambo never even made it to qualifying.

“After Sebring, I felt we needed someone with experience that can give the necessary information to the crew in order to maximize the performance of the DP7 Gallardo GTR,” said Pastorini. “I had a chance to visit with many drivers, but Chip is a special individual with all the ingredients to accomplish what team owner Betty Johnston and I wanted and that’s to make this program successful.”

Herr, being a big football fan was eager to accept. “NFL Football has been a huge part of my life,” Herr said. “But I weigh 135 pounds and I’m 5’5″. I was going to have to find another sport to try and become a professional.”

“To be asked to work with Dan Pastorini and the DP7 crew is a dream come true for me. Yes, DP7 is an excellent organization and the Lamborghini is a great car, but holy smoke, Dan Pastorini wants ME to drive HIS car!”

Last year Herr was featured as “One of the Dynamic Dozen in North America, by Grass Roots Motorsports magazine, which said he was a driver to watch in the coming years. He has 11 years of racing experience with a great deal of time in the World Challenge Touring Car series, having earned six poles and topping the podium six times.

Herr is also signed on this year to race in the Touring Car series in the Mazda6 of Tindol Motorsports.

The DP7 Racing team is hoping that with a marketable young driver with “rockstar good looks” the team can secure sponsorship. The car is already a great marketing platform as, “Nothing looks better on the track or generates more interest and excitement than our Gallardo GTR,” says Pastorini.

“There is one driving force behind any race team and that’s sponsorship, without it you simply cannot succeed,” said Pastorini. “The addition of Chip will allow me more time to focus on securing the necessary sponsorship for our program. We have all the ingredients of a winning team and the addition of Chip will only make our presence stronger when we come to Long Beach.

The second race of the World Challenge season takes place this Sunday, April 5th at Long Beach.

[Source: World-Challenge.com]

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.

Continue Reading…

One of the best finds at the 2008 SEMA Show was this Gallardo racecar at the Performance Friction Brakes booth. Built by DP7 Racing, this one-off custom racecar is set to take on the big boys in the SPEED World Challenge Series in the GT Class, competing against Corvettes, Vipers and Porsches.

The car makes 570hp and 450 ft-lbs of torque and weights just 2,800-lbs – a significant reduction from the stock curb weight. As well as stripping out the entire inside of the car, the Gallardo gets additional weight reduction through the extensive use of carbon fiber parts, including a new carbon hood, trunk lid, bumpers and fenders.

No decision has been made on if the Lambo will run a RWD or AWD setup, as there are advantages to both. (The removal of the factory AWD system will certainly help in the weight category, although AWD may come in handy as SPEED World Challenge is one of the few pro motorsports series that still uses a standing start.

The car will be piloted by former NFL quarterback Dan Pastorini, a man who also has had a career as a professional drag racer.

Official Spec Sheet after the jump:
Continue Reading…