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The SCCA Pro Racing Universe Challenge lost Speed as the title sponsor for 2010, though they’ve picked up the brand-new class of racing and the brand-new schedule which features four double-header events with back-to-back racing upon Saturdays as well as Sundays. 2010 will additionally see GT, GTS and Touring Car classes in churned on-track movement for the first time given 1999.

Th is weekend was a initial As well as second) race of the deteriorate, the Acura Sports Automobile Challenge of St. Petersburg, run upon a streets of St. Pete’s. Whilst the top-billed IndyCars have had their competition deferred until after currently since of torrential rains, the WC boys as well as girls were able to fist dual action-packed events into a weekend.

Follow the burst to see how rounds asingle as well as two of a 2010 World Plea championship went down.

[Source: SCCA Universe Challenge | Images: SCCA Pro Rac ing, Inc.]

We’re starting to be following this series all season, as you: A) Like a cars B) Like the marks and C) P rivately know asingle of a drivers using in GT – the latter of that carrying promised us exclusive info via the deteriorate. Hopefully you’ll find it as engaging as you do.

Universe Plea, for a uninformed, is an SCCA Pro array that features factory homologated vehicles with comparatively couple of modifications. It is a descendant of Salon Batch racing, which has seen a likes of Tommy as well as Constable Archer, Lou Gigliotti, Andy Pilgrim, Steve Saleen, John Heinricy, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Pierre Kleinubing, Cost Cobb, Peter Cunningham, Check Auberlen and Randy Pobst scoring titles since its pregnancy in 1972.

The top-rung GT category features cars similarto the Porsche 911 GT3, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Ford Mu stang GT and a… Volvo S60, go figure. A Furloughed Automobile category changed the bit over the off-season to extent a modifications allowed. The comparison TC cars are rightaway authorised for the new GTS class. Whereas a GT cars have 425-525 horsepower, TC and GTS contenders are four-seaters with roundedoff 235-275 hp. Cars sim ilarto a Acura TSX, Honda Civic Si, Mazda RX-8, Scion tC, BMW 325 as well as Mazda6 have up the bulk of the margin.

Starting into 2010, last year’s GT runner-up, James Sofronas, in the No. 14 Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3, is approaching to be this season’s front-runner with last year’s champ, Brandon Davis, dropping down to TC this year. His teammate, Dino Crescentini, is the man upon the inside this year, as well as he is entrance off of the ninth-place finish in last year’s championship carrying longedfor the few rounds after an early-season accident. Dino as well as James were two of the seven drivers who nabbed the win last year in a ten race report. Crescentini will commander a No. 4 Centric Parts/Stoptech Tellurian Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 in 2010.

Qualifying for St. Petersburg ended with K-Pax Racing’s Randy Pobst upon pole in his Volvo S60. Crescentini put his Centric Part s/Stoptech/GMG 911 GT3 in second, just forward of Sofronas. Andy Pilgrim (K-Pax Racing Volvo S60) was fourth with Jason Daskalos (Viper), Kuno Wittmer (Dodge Motorsports Viper), Tony Rivera in a brand-new Nissan/Brass Monkey Racing GT-R, Patrick Lindsey (Horton/Sloan Bonds 911 GT3), rookie Steve Ott (Nissan/Brass Monkey Racing GT-R), as well as Brian Kubinski in a Carlisle Companies Chevrolet Corv ette rounding out a tip ten.

A small GTS margin lined up thusly: Peter Cunningham gridded his Acura/RealTime Racing TSX initial in class, 17th overall, followed by teammate Scrape Esayian, rookie Kevin Helms (DBA/Carbotech/AST/Exedy Honda Civic Si), Michael Pettiford (Go4It Racing Schools/Hawk) Pontiac Solstice GXP, as well as beginner teammate Tom Lepper in another Solstice. Davis lined up at the back of the field in his Acura/RealTime Racing TSX after posting no time in quali.

TC had the final 9 spots on a grid with Symbol Hein (Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Honda Civic Si) grabbing the top class qualifying time, followed by rookie Todd Buras (Irish Mike’s Racing Volkswagen Jetta GLI) and fellow rookie Robert Vigourous in a DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC.

Saturday’s competition hadn’t even proposed prior to Crescentini was out with an electrical glitch, but teammate James Safronas was still in a hunt, trying his hardest to transport in a Volvos. Trade was a new issue for these guys to say with, a alternative classes providing sufficient division to keep the whole container bunched up by a majority of a competition. Jason Daskalos’ Dodge Viper was ahead of Safronas for most of a race, though wasn’t ever means to challenge a Volvos. On a lap-16 restart, Sofronas made his move, muscleaction past Daskalos and earning the Invisible Potion Purify Pass of a Race. In a end, Randy Pobst hold off teammate Andy Pilgrim for a win, a 23rd in his World Plea career.

In GTS, Peter Cunningham never looked behind once the competition proposed, starting flag-to-flag in his No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. A big surprise was Brandon Davis, who had missed subordinate after signing during the eleventh hour with Acura/RealTime Racing, relegating him to the back of the container during a begin. Although he used a yellows to help tighten a opening, as well as finished the very important second, Davis never really challenged Cunningham for the lead. Their teammate Scrape Esayian, made it a purify sweep of a podium for the group after Kevin Helms had a steering in his No. 04 DBA/Carbotech/AST/Exedy Honda Civic Si give out. Michael Pettiford and Tom Lepper finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in their Pontiac Solstice GXPs.

A Touring Automobile category was an additional interesting race-within-the-race, with the first-time leader crowned in the driver and manufacturer categories. THE bit of comic service came when rookie Todd Buras tried to line up for the standing start. When a automobile that had competent forward of him decided to start from array line, he felt he should move up to which open mark. A marshals suspicion otherwise. He corroborated up to his original container with five seconds to go prior to a green. When the immature did come, Buras l aunched his No. 49 Irish Mike’s Racing Volkswagen Jetta GLI hard – sharpened retrograde down a grid. He had left the automobile in retreat, and struggled to find first prolonged enough to be the few spots further behin d by a time he got rolling in the right direction.

Amazingly, the slip-up seemed to buoy the rookie, pushing him up through the container as well as in the future into first where he eventually finished. It was a initial for Buras, the first for Volkswagen as well as a initial for us – we’ve never heard of such the screw-up leading to a win in a vital motor racing series. Buras passed polesitter Mark Hein’s No. 38 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Honda Civic Si after the restart, leaving Hein and Robert Stout in his No. 18 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC to battle for second. When Hein had the tire go down, Stout was awarded a MTM Special Ops Most appropriate Pierce of a Competition in avoiding the spinning Civic. Stout’s teammate, Dan Gardner, prisoner third in a No. 36 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lepper & Associates Scion tC, as good as the Sunoco Tough Charger for moving up 9 places in a race.

Upon Sunday, Buras repeated a attainment, minus the retreat movement. Buras got divided clean from his second-place starting position, but forsaken to fourth into Turn Asingle. Polesitter Symbol Hein was again during the front, though as a Furloughed Cars came out of Turn Three, they found Patrick Lindsey’s GT Porsche sitting sideways in their path. Buras chose his trail wisely as well as shot into the lead. Hein and Robert Vigourous began a conflict for second which saw them swapping positions several times until Vigourous finally put his No. 18 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC forward for good with Hein holding onto third.

Stout’s pass of Hein upon path 24 in Spin 10 earned a Invisible Potion Clean Pass of the Competition. Driving the No. 36 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lepper & Associates Scion tC, Dan Gardner earned both a Optima Batteries Most appropriate Station Start of a Competition and the Sunoco Tough Charger endowment upon his way to fourth place. Eric Meyer nabbed fifth in his Mazda RX-8.

GTS saw the own repeat opening, with Peter Cunningham completing another flag-to-flag win in his Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. That extends Cunningham’s jotdown win sum to 34 in a series. Brandon Davis was once again second, this time putting more pressure on his teammate, finishing just 0.544 seconds behind at a checkers. Their RealTime partner, Scrape Esayian, accomplished third, giving a group an additional lectern sweep.Kevin Helms (Honda Civic Si) as well as Michael Pettiford (Pontiac Solstice) finished the tip 5.

A GT class was the only group which saw a different leader in between Saturday and Sunday. After pulling out with electrical problems upon Saturday, Dino Crescentini done up for it on Sunday, powering away from his second starting onallsides and heading a rest of the approach in his No. 4 Centric Parts/Stoptech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3. Crescentini actually had the slow start, though had sufficient movement starting into asingle to get past polesitter Randy Pobst’s No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60.

A win was Crescentini’s third in a Universe Challenge series, this time violence teammate James Sofronas by 0.848 seconds at a finish. Andy Traveller brought his No. 8 K-Pax Racing V olvo S60 home in third after removing passed by Sofronas on a race’s second restart following Lindsey’s turn. A competition was actually slowed by the pair of counsel periods and ended up time singular to 50 minutes, though which didn’t moderate a excitement for the Centric Parts/Stoptech/GMG group. As Crescentini explained, it wasn’t just a cakewalk either.

“A start was unequivocally scary for me since the launch control wasn’t operative and I had to do it manually,” Crescentini pronounced. “WE haven’t finished which in the while. I had alittle fitness upon my side with Randy [Pobst, a polesitter] slipping up as well as WE took advantage of which. The car was so beautifully set up by a guys at GMG, as you saw in practice as well as qualifying. It seemed like each time WE strike slower trade, I was means to get by as well as whoever was at the back of me seemed to get held up, so WE got really propitious.”

Pobst was fourth after pitting to deal with some overheating problems, followed by Jason Daskalos (Daskalos Developments Dodge Viper) in fifth as well as Kuno Wittmer in a No. 13 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Viper. Rob Morgan (Porsche 911 GT3), Brian Kubinski (Chevrolet Corvette), Tony Rivera (Nissan GT-R), Jeff Courtney (D odge Viper and Tony Gaples (Chevrolet Corvette) dull out a top 10. Rivera warranted a MTM Special Ops Move of a Race in a No. 97 Nissan/Brass Gorilla Racing Nissan GT-R for his lap-26 pass of Courtney after following him for several laps.

Sofronas rightaway sits atop a Championship standings after two rounds, with 210 points. Traveller is second, with 204, followed by Pobst (198), Crescentini (192) as well as Wittmer (155). Volvo leads the Manufacturers’ Championship, with 16 points, followed by Porsche (14), Dodge (four) as well as Chevrolet Asingle.

The subsequent stop for the Universe Challenge array will be the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 16-18.