built to conquer the greatest battle of all. your ... - World Challenge

The Series
Corvette. Robin Liddell scored a victory at Cleveland, and Dino Crescentini broke into the
winner's column in his very first SPEED GT race (Portland). Sonny Whelen earned SPEED
GT Rookie of the Year honors and finished 12th overall in the point standings.
After winning Championships in 2003 and '04, Bill Auberlen only made cameo
appearances in SPEED Touring Car 2005. He did well at the events he ran (two wins and
three podium finishes), but his downgraded role in the series opened the way for an epic,
season-long showdown between individual drivers and their teams. Peter Cunningham,
World Challenge's most successful driver in history, earned his 29th career win to
jumpstart his and his RealTime Racing team's season. Not to be outdone, Randy Pobst, a
former SPEED GT champion who signed on with Tri-Point Motorsport in the off-season, put
Mazda on the map with a win at St. Petersburg in Round Two. The new RealTime livery got
plenty of time in the spotlight as Pierre Kleinubing won the next three races (Road Atlanta,
Mid-Ohio, Cleveland), giving Acura a stronghold on the Manufacturers' Championship.
Auberlen's return and maxed-out REWARDS weight stopped Acura's winning streak cold
as Auberlen won Rounds Six and Seven (Lime Rock, Infineon) - the last rounds he would
compete in. A first win by Eric Curran at Denver followed by another first-time winner in
Charles Espenlaub at Mosport highlighted the next two rounds and set up best-finisher
take all between Acura and Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. John Angelone stole
the show to a degree, handily winning in an Audi, but Peter Cunningham rose to the
occasion once again, finishing third (a spot in front of Pobst), which clinched the Drivers'
Championship for Cunningham and another Manufacturers' title for Acura.
New faces and seasoned veterans combined to make 2006 a year for the SPEED
World Challenge record books. SPEED GT saw the debut of two new cars: the Aston Martin
DB9 and the right-hand drive Nissan Skyline GT-R. Both turned quite a few heads in the
paddock and the Aston Martin squad was able to notch a fifth place finish at Road America
with driver Johnny Mowlem.
New drivers were also causing a stir in SPEED GT. Rookie Lawson Aschenbach was
practically flawless in his first full-season of SPEED GT competition. Behind the wheel of
his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, he climbed the podium steps three times, including a win at St.
Petersburg, and never finished worse than ninth. Numbers like those gave veterans Lou
Gigliotti and Andy Pilgrim a run for their money and helped Aschenbach become the first
driver in SPEED GT history to win the Championship in their rookie season. Thanks to an
equally strong performance from Porsche teammate Ricardo Imery and guest
appearances by Randy Pobst, Porsche won a tight SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Championship
by a scant three points over Dodge.
The RealTime Acura squad was once again the team to beat in SPEED
Touring Car, but this time it was Pierre Kleinubing leading the charge. Kleinubing collected
seven podiums in 2006, including wins at Infineon and Miller Motorsports Park,
on his way to claiming his fourth SPEED Touring Car Championship. Tri-Point Mazda
driver Randy Pobst fought all the way to the finale with Kleinubing, but would fall
short for the second year in a row. Show signs of a future champion, Chip Herr collected
the most wins (three: Mid-Ohio, Road America, Road Atlanta), but lacked the
consistency of veterans Pobst and Kleinubing, finishing a career-best third in points.
In addition, Kleinubing’s four poles in 2006 pushed him to the top of the career-poles
list with 30. The RealTime Acura crew posted four wins in 2006, which was enough to
help Acura clinch the Manufactures’ Championship after Round Ten at Road Atlanta.
Defending SPEED GT Champion Lawson Aschenbach returned in 2007, but
traded in his Porsche for a ride with Team Cadillac. Porsche’s efforts to defend its
Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine were headed instead by K-
PAX Racing’s Randy Pobst and Michael Galati. It was the Corvette of Eric Curran however,
that looked poised for a Championship run, taking the first two races with ease. But,
poor luck and several DNFs throughout the season kept Curran from capturing his first
World Challenge Championship, even with two more wins at Mid-Ohio and Mosport.
38 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide
Instead, it was Pobst fighting for the Title with Aschenbach and his Cadillac teammate
Andy Pilgrim. A string of podium finishes mid-season, including wins at Watkins Glen and
Toronto, gave Pobst a comfortable margin over Pilgrim heading into the final round at
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where he earned his second-career SPEED GT
Championship by 16 points. Pilgrim and Aschenbach’s hard work would not go
unrewarded though, their efforts earned Cadillac its second SPEED GT Manufacturers’
Championship.
The first two rounds of the SPEED Touring Car schedule provided some
foreshadowing for how the 2007 season would shake out. Mazda’s Jeff Altenburg won
both races by small margins over teammate Pobst, with defending Champion Pierre
Kleinubing and his Acura in third. Kleinubing would stand on the podium three more
times, but was unable to score a World Challenge victory in 2007, his first winless season
in World Challenge since his 1997 debut. Altenburg and Pobst meanwhile continued to
put in solid finishes. Pobst even made history, sweeping both Touring Car races at
Watkins Glen in addition to the GT win. The duo’s stellar performances earned Mazda its
first Manufacturers’ Championship a round early at Road Atlanta. The Drivers’
Championship on the other hand, would go down to the wire at Mazda Raceway Laguna
Seca. While leading the race and in position to claim the Championship, contact with
Kleinubing sent Pobst into the gravel at Turn Two and handed Altenburg his first SPEED
Touring Car Championship, while Peter Cunningham took his second win of the season.
Randy Pobst returned with K-PAX/3R in 2008 to defend his SPEED GT
Drivers’ Championship and help Porsche wrestle away the Manufacturers’
Championship Presented by RACER Magazine away from Cadillac. Their primary opponents
underwent a transformation in the off-season, becoming Team Remington
Cadillac and adding Michael McCann to partner Andy Pilgrim.
Pobst’s Championship defense got off to a great start with a win at Sebring,
followed by a runner-up finish to Brandon Davis at Long Beach. Davis’ win in the ACS
Ford Mustang Cobra proved his performance in the rain at Sebring was no fluke and
launched him into title contention with Pobst and Pilgrim.
Pobst collected his second win of the season at Watkins Glen, but, as always,
Pilgrim wasn’t far behind. The Cadillac driver even collected five-straight podium finishes
from Sebring through Mid-Ohio.
Road America became a turning point for the season, as DNFs for both
Pilgrim and Davis, and a third-place finish for Pobst, allowed the defending champ to
pull out a point lead with four races remaining. Two more podium finishes and a win
at Detroit in that final stretch sealed the deal for Pobst. Though Brandon Davis won
the season finale at Road Atlanta and shared the podium with Pilgrim, Pobst’s lead
heading into the final round was too much to overcome, giving him his third World
Challenge Championship. The Manufacturers’ Championship was clinched by Porsche
a round earlier at New Jersey Motorsports Park when James Sofronas took his firstever
World Challenge victory.
The 2008 SPEED Touring Car Championship was one of the most thrilling in
series history. A podium sweep by the RealTime Acuras of Pierre Kleinubing, Peter
Cunningham and Kuno Wittmer at Sebring, was an excellent prelude of what was to
come in the 2008 season. Following Kleinubing’s win at Sebring, Wittmer took his
first World Challenge victory at VIR by inches over the BMW of Seth Thomas.
VIR was also the last race for defending champion Jeff Altenburg, who parted
ways with the Tri-Point team to pursue a SPEED GT drive. That left Charles
Espenlaub, Jason Saini, Jeff Daniels, and Tindol Motorsports drivers Michael Galati
and Chip Herr to carry the torch for Mazda, winner of the 2007 Manufacturers’
Championship presented by RACER Magazine.
Rookie and 2007 MX-5 Cup Champion Saini put Mazda on the board first,
taking an emotional first win at Miller Motorsports Park, but Acura answered back
2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide 39
The Series