Pirelli put the wraps on a highly successful three-year run as the lone tire supplier of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with a record-setting performance in Saturday’s season-ending Utah 250 at Miller Motorsports Park. Pirelli ended both its season and series finale with 153 qualifying, race and race lap records to its credit since partnering with the series in 2008. The new record additions in the Daytona Prototype category all came from the race and championship-winning No. 01 Telemex/Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas that established Daytona Prototype qualifying, race and race lap records on Miller’s 3.048-mile outer course layout to put the exclamation point on the most successful single-car season in series history. The No. 01 won a record nine of 12 races this year and lead driver Pruett gave some of the credit to Pirelli’s performance both this year and in past seasons. While Pruett, Rojas and the No. 01 Ganassi team were wrapping up Daytona Prototype honors and fittingly delivering Pirelli’s final Daytona Prototype records, the No. 69 FXDD/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT of Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal clinched the GT class team and driver championships with a sixth-place finish. The titles were the first for Assentato, Segal, Speedsource and Mazda in Grand-Am Rolex Series competition. While the No. 69 wrapped up the GT championships, several other teams joined with Pirelli to set new GT records on Miller’s outer course. The class-winning No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R of Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis established a race record of 90.350 mph while Eric Curran set the qualifying mark in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Marsh Racing Corvette when he won the pole on Friday with a lap time of 1:51.659 (98.271 mph). The fastest race lap record was established by Paul Edwards in the No. 07 Banner Racing Chevrolet Corvette who turned a 1:52.507 flyer on lap 56. Pirelli’s P Zero Bonus Club also wrapped up the season at the Miller finale with a “wild card” event open to all eligible teams. The No. 01 team pocketed its first P Zero Club Bonus since winning March’s Grand Prix of Miami, but this time cashed in with a “double rollover” $15,000 payday that had been building the last two races. The No. 01’s total P Zero Bonus Club earnings for the season was $20,000, matching the single-race take earned by the No. 99 Gainsco Auto Insurance Chevrolet Riley team for its first victory of the season at New Jersey Motorsports Park in July. Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty finished second Saturday in the No. 99 while Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli finished third in the No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara. On the P Zero Bonus Club GT front, the No. 57 earned a single-race bonus of $5,000 for its first win after the No. 07 won a record $35,000 one race ago in the Montreal 200.
Sports Car Challenge Championship Battles Go Down to the Last Lap
With a championship battle that changed with every lap and a fight for the lead that went down to the very last moment of the season, the final race of the 2010 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge was the best yet. Rum Bum Racing's Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi brought the rookie team a third race win on the season as the duo once again held off the hard-charging Roush Racing Ford Mustang of Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. to score a razor thin victory in the Utah 200 at Miller Motorsports Park on Saturday. The team won the opening race of the year in Daytona and then went on to close out the year with three podium appearances in a row. The Ford Mustang of Roush and Johnson took their second-consecutive runner-up finish to close the year on another high note. Sharing the podium was fellow BMW runners Joey Hand and Michael Marsal, who were an outside chance to take the championship at the onset of the 2.5-hour race. After a bold pit call saw the Turner Motorsport team take just two Continental tires during the stop, the duo bolted to the front. But with the other runners taking on four new tires, they were powerless to defend and finished third, ending their shot at the championship title. Instead, long-time leaders Charles Espenlaub and Charlie Putman powered to fifth at the finish and scored the Grand Sport championship. The Street Tuner (ST) Class Championship could hardly have been closer, as the two teams were tied in points and had the championship decided by a tie-breaker. Entering the event, the Bimmerworld BMW of Bill Heumann and Seth Thomas enjoyed a healthy 19-point lead. But just moments into the race, that was called into doubt as a driveline problem caused a lengthy pit stop for repairs. The team fought back to make it on track, but the damage was done as the finish put the No. 81 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW 328i on par in points with the No. 74 of David Thilenius and Lawson Aschenbach.
Toyo Scores Seven Wins at 2010 SCCA Solo National Championship
Toyo Proxes R1R extreme performance tire scored seven wins and swept three class podiums in the Street Touring classes during the 38th running of the SCCA Solo National Championship in Lincoln, Neb. Using coned courses set up on the open expanses of the Lincoln Airpark, 1,200 of the country’s top amateur racers converged, making it the largest competition of its kind in the world. Toyo Proxes R1R shod cars scored the following class finishes at Lincoln: ST (Street Touring) – 1st through 4th (podium sweep); ST Ladies – 1st through 6th places (podium sweep, all six cars competed on Proxes R1R tires); STS (Street Touring Sport) – 1st and 2nd; STS Ladies – 1st, 2nd and 3rd (podium sweep); STX (Street Touring Xtreme) – 1st; STX Ladies – 1st and 2nd; and STR (Street Touring Roadster) – 1st. Team Toyo drivers were a big part of that success. Jeffrey Wong captured the ST class win with his 1991 Honda Civic Si, while Bill Bounds scored a second in Tim Smith’s 1989 Honda Civic Si (Smith placing fourth.) Successful Team Toyo ladies included Leslie Cohen who won the ST Ladies class driving a 1989 Honda Civic Si, while Michelle Seelig finished second in STS Ladies while driving a 1989 Honda CRX Si. Another Team Toyo cone-specialist, Ken Motonishi, scored the first-ever SCCA Solo National Championship win for the STR class. He defeated a field of 51 cars with his 2009 Mazda MX-5. “We congratulate all of the drivers that won their classes and finished on the podium with Toyo Proxes R1R tires,” said Stan Chen, manager of events and motorsports, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “This has been an outstanding week for the Proxes R1R in SCCA racing, and we are proud it has become the tire of choice for capturing championships.”
Pastrana Sets Fastest Time in Mt. Washington Auto Road
The 149-year-old Mt. Washington Auto Road has seen the likes of horses and carriages, camels, people, bicycles and most famously, competition racecars. Last week, traveling at an average speed of nearly 72 mph in a Vermont SportsCar-prepared, BFGoodrich-shod 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car, four-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana reached the summit faster than anyone else in history by clocking an officially timed run of 6 minutes 20.47 seconds. He bested the previous record by more than 20 seconds. Amazingly, Pastrana achieved the impressive time on his first ever high-speed run to the summit. Pastrana has effectively thrown down the gauntlet in advance of the legendary Mt. Washington "Climb to the Clouds" Automobile Hillclimb, which will take place in 2011 after a 10-year hiatus. The 7.6-mile-long Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile; the serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dangerous drop-offs above the mountain's tree line as it winds its way to the 6,288-foot summit of the Northeast's tallest peak. The road, which features more than 100 turns, is mostly paved but features a technical dirt section that is approximately one mile long. The road climbs 4,618 ft from an altitude of 1,527 feet with an average grade of 11.6%. Pastrana was up to the challenge, and on his first attempt was able to set his fast time. He beat "Climb to the Clouds" Hillclimb record holder Frank Sprongl's time of 6 minutes 41.99 seconds, set in 1998. Pastrana attempted three more runs but each time he was slowed by near zero visibility conditions at near the summit, as low rain clouds inundated the area. Pastrana's test session was officially sanctioned by RallyCar (formerly Rally America). Pastrana, with his Vermont SportsCar team, as well as officials from the Mt. Washington Auto Road, conducted the Red Bull Speed Chasers test session to evaluate the road conditions ahead of the 2011 Climb to the Clouds, which will make a return June 22-26, 2011, as part of the 150th anniversary of the Mt. Washington Auto Road.
Pirelli Concludes Thrilling GP3 Season
One chapter closes and a new one opens for Pirelli: the inaugural GP3 season came to an end this weekend in Monza, the heartland of motor racing in Italy, and the famed Italian tire manufacturer now looks forward to supplying Formula One, GP2 and GP3 at the pinnacle of single-seater racing from next year. The new eight-round GP3 Series – which took place exclusively at Formula One race meetings this year – was designed as a stepping-stone to GP2, which in turn has proved to be the established route to Formula One, with 11 drivers graduating in recent seasons. The qualifying session at Monza, with its two supplementary points, crowned the first GP3 Series champion: Mexico's Esteban Gutierrez, driving for the ART team from France, which also clinched the teams' title. Gutierrez dominated the weekend, setting fastest time in practice and qualifying to clinch the title before crowning his achievement with a hard-fought win in race one on Saturday afternoon. Sunday's second race was claimed by Robert Wickens, in a sensational drive from fifth on the grid.
Formula Drift Round 6: Point of Impact Results
Formula Drift entered Sonoma, CA for Round 6: Point of Impact with Vaughn Gittin, Jr. taking his second victory of the season and increasing his points lead heading into the last round of the season on Oct. 8-9 at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Calif. The competition was fierce and made for another exciting event with the drivers putting it all on the line before heading into the Finals. The Top 4 competition consisted of a battle between current champion Chris Forsberg in his NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z against two-time Formula Drift champion Tanner Foust in his Rockstar Energy Scion TC for third place. Foust took the victory and maintained his third place status overall in the point standings. The final match-up pitted Vaughn Gittin Jr. in his Monster Energy/Falken Tire Ford Mustang against Ryan Tuerck in the Mobil 1/Maxxis Pontiac Solstice. Gittin edged out Tuerck for his second victory of the season increasing his lead overall in the championship standings with only 1 event remaining in the season. With only 1 event remaining in the 2010 Formula Drift season the action heats up and a champion will be crowned at Round 7: Title Fight.
Ogier Wins WRC in Japan
In terms of difficulty, world championship rallies don’t get much harder than Rally Japan. With its blend of fast, sweeping gravel roads and narrow and technical sections, the event requires plenty of skill and experience to master. Although the threat of rain that had been forecast in the build-up to the event subsided, the surface on the bulk of the stages quickly deteriorated and became coated in small rocks and sharp stones. And while there was no rain, the gravel roads remained damp under tree cover, which made for an inconsistent stage surface with both slippery sections and areas of good grip. Ruts also formed because of the effect of tires digging into the soft gravel, which made it difficult for drivers to keep their cars on the optimum line. Sebastien Ogier, who secured his second win at WRC level in Japan on Pirelli’s soft-compound Scorpion tire, had plenty of skill but no prior experience of the demanding stages on the island of Hokkaido when he took the start in Sapporo on Thursday evening. It made the 26-year-old’s triumph even more impressive. “I’m very happy because this is my first time in Japan and I did not expect to take the victory, so it’s really amazing,” said the factory Citroen driver. “Very quickly we found a good rhythm and confidence in the car, which was perfect all rally. I was very happy with my drives in Portugal, where I also won, and in Finland but this weekend was different because I had to be more strategic. I didn’t know the stages, so on the first two days I had to be careful but today, when they were new for every driver, I had a big push and it worked very well for me.” Petter Solberg, who captured the first of Pirelli’s four wins on Rally Japan back in 2004, took second in his privately-run Citroen with Jari-Matti Latvala third for Ford after a thrilling final day, which began with the top four crews covered by 15 seconds. Jari Ketomaa, who is contesting the SWRC with support from Pirelli as his prize for winning the Finnish championship in 2009, took top honors in the class for normally aspirated two-liter cars at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta S2000, and Patrik Flodin claimed victory in the PWRC. While Flodin proved unstoppable in his Subaru Impreza, another notable performance came from Hayden Paddon, who was competing in Japan for the first time. Paddon, from New Zealand, is one of five drivers contesting six rounds of the WRC this season as part of the Pirelli Star Driver training program. Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer, Paddon took second in the showroom class. Up next on the World Rally Championship schedule is Rallye de France from Sept. 30-Oct. 3. The all-asphalt event, which is based in Strasbourg in the Alsace region of the country, concludes with a stage in Sebastien Loeb’s home town of Haguenau, where victory for the Citroen driver would make him world champion for a seventh time.