Pirelli World Challenge Mid-Ohio Race Recap
The GT, GT-A, and GTS classes battled each other, as well as Mother Nature in a rain shortened round 11 of the 2014 championship. Making a late season debut in GTS was the No. 42 RealTime Racing Acura TLX GT driven by series veteran Peter Cunningham.
The RealTime team was impressive; gaining ten spots, from 23 to 13 by the time round 11 ended with a red flag due to heavy rain. The weekend was full of exciting racing and attrition due to wet track conditions. As always, Mid-Ohio proved why it is a favorite among drivers and spectators.
Taking the win in GT round 11 was Ryan Dalziel who was subbing for Tim Bergmeister in the No. 31 EFFORT Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. Dalziel started fourth in his PWC series debut. Dalziel quickly ran down leader, and pole sitter, Mike Skeen. At lap 17 the race officials waved the caution flag due to the weather conditions. After running a few laps under caution, it was clear to race officials that the conditions were worsening.
The race was red flagged at the 30 minute mark. The decision of the No. 2 CRP Racing Audi R8 Ultra team to call Mike Skeen into the pits under the red was a gamble they quickly lost. Skeen would have to settle for third behind Dalziel and points leader Johnny O’Connell in the No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V R.
In GT round 12, Ryan Dalziel again amazed everyone, winning from pole in the No. 31. Mike Skeen had fallen as far as five seconds back when a caution bunched the cars again. After the restart, Skeen could not get his No. 2 Hawk Performance Audi R8 Ultra around Dalziel’s Porsche and would finish second. Anthony Lazzaro brought the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia home in third.
In GT-A round 11 the day belonged to Michael Mills in the No. 41 EFFORT Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. Jim Taggert in the No. 7 Taggert Autosport Porsche 911 GT3R finished second with Albert von Thurn und Taxis in the No. 24 Reitner Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo in third when the red flag flew.
Round 12 for the GT-A category ended much the same way, with Mills completing a dream sweep weekend for EFFORT Racing and von Thurn und Taxis and Taggert switching spots on the podium.
No one could catch Lawson Aschenbach in the Blackdog Speed Shop No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro. Winning both rounds seeming easily. The Camaros were given a larger air intake after the Toronto race. Many of the teams felt that the other GTS cars have advantages over the air restricted Camaros. Alec Udel managed to keep his No. 17 Watson Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302S ahead of the No. 36 Kia Optima of Nic Jonsson in round 11.
Round 12 saw Aschenbach take the weekend GT-S sweep with the No. 36 and No. 38 Kia Optimas on Nic Jonnson and Mark Wilkins finish second and third.
The next stop for the PWC is the Grand Prix of Sonoma. Friday August 22 to Sunday August 24 for the GT, GT-A, and GTS classes rounds 13 and 14. The races will be broad cast on NBC Sports Network Saturday August 30 at 1:00 P.M. and re-aired on Thursday September 5 at 12:30 A.M. EDT.
The races will also be available on www.world-challengetv.com after the initial television broadcast.