Is endurance racing in the future for World Challenge?
In a conversation with World Challenge President and CEO, Scott Bove, it was revealed that the series is looking into some stand alone events for the 2015 schedule. Part of the stand alone events may be endurance races. While the format and details have yet to be sorted, Scott stated that the races will be held at significant circuits in North America. “What we need to sort is exactly how these races will take place. Our customers are interested, so we need to look into it. We need to be careful though, as pit stops can add to the equipment costs associated with racing and we need to be sure that we don’t excessively don’t add to the cost to compete.”
One idea that has been kicked around is to make a pit stop a mandatory timed affair, in which all competitors must be stopped for a certain length of time.
On top of the endurance possibilities, there are indications in the paddock that the races may include other new competitors next season. It is hoped that by the end of the season Cadillac will debut their GT3 spec racer, while both Lexus and Nissan appear to be on the verge of also joining in. There is also rumors indicating that Acura may be ready to enter the top class with a non-GT3 spec car (tube framed?) and then there is Turner Motorpsorts who entered their BMW at the season opening round at St Pete.
Among the teams mentioned to be interested are two prototype teams which are not currently competing anywhere.
Enge returns – Tomas Enge was a late entry in the World Challenge race here at Road America. Tomas stated, “I got the call about a week ago from the team that I was going to be racing here. I enjoyed racing here in the GT1 days in both the Aston Martins and the Ferrari. I think the Lamborghini should suit the track here well.” That was after the tea apparently resolved an electrical issue which was slowing the car in the early sessions. In the only timed session of the day, quite late in the day, Tomas was the fastest on track with a 2:08.222.
Tomas has been kept quite busy this season, his first back after being forced away from the sport. “Reiter has been keeping me very busy with both the Lamborghini and their Camaro efforts. I’m racing wherever they want me to appear, which is quite nice.”
While it is quite nice for Tomas, there are some that wish he wasn’t here at all. Being a part timer, his success (he won the season opener at St Pete) takes away from the possible results of other competitors, who are chasing the championship. But in the long run, it is viewed as a success for the series – it is yet another serious competitor that raises the profile of the series to not just fans but the teams looking at where to compete in the future.
McLaren hitting it’s stride?
Alex Figge stated that he believes his K-Pax McLaren is finally coming good. “We really haven’t had much time to acclimate to the McLaren yet as a team. We had a good result at Detroit (5th and 6th overall) and I hope we can build on that here. It’s just been a pretty compressed time for us to come to grips yet with the car, but we’re viewing it as a long term project. Right now I’d say that we’re on the short end of the regulations, but we’re closing the gap.”
Tim Bergmeister is back
About 2 years ago, Tim Bergmeister was involved in a very nasty wreck at Fuji Raceway, which almost cost him his life. Thankfully he is back racing again, here in the World Challenge for EFFORT Racing and also in Super GT for Team KTR.
The accident at Fuji occurred when tire went down on him at a fast part of the circuit, making him a passenger and sending him directly into solid object that impacted the door right next to him. The damage was severe and he’ll say he was lucky to have survived it.
After spending the rest of 2012 and 2013 recuperating, he is back in the driver seat, competing with EFFORT in a Porsche. In 2013, he spent the majority of the year with the team, involved as a driver coach, which helped ease his way back into the car and back into competition.
“It’s good to be back. I’m enjoying driving again after having to take so long off. I just wish we were a bit more competitive. I’m struggling to get the pace of the class front runners in the Porsche, because the current front tire doesn’t truly suit our car. It is a 2012 spec tire, which predates the build of this car. It is being addressed and we hope to get things sorted soon.” If the times posted today are of any indication, there may have been progress made. Tim posted the 4th fastest (officially) time of the day in the GT3R Porsche.
Gary Horrocks
