Round two of the Pirelli World Challenge 2014, is the Roar By The Shore, presented by Kia on the legendary streets of Long Beach, California.
This is once again, not only the 25th season of World Challenge, but it's the 40th anniversary, too, of the Long Beach Grand Prix. All the drivers want to win here. This is the second consecutive street race. Now, we saw a wild one at St. Petersburg last time out, too. Mike Skeen's team has switched to the Audi R8 LMS Ultra. The fans got to get up close and personal with the race cars on Pine Avenue the Thursday night before the race.
This race will be a street fight. Watch Tomy Drissi and the Spider Man Aston Martin. 40 cars are starting this race. Johnny O'Connell had a horrendous race at St. Petersburg, and he did crash out of this race last year. Can Nic Jonsson and Mark Wilkins improve in their Kia Optima's? Kia sponsors this race. Corner exit speed is a strong suit for the Kia Optima race car.
Turn one is great for overtaking. Watch into turns two through four, using all the road, but don't hit the wall. Turns seven and eight are tight. Don't overtake. Watch out for the slower GTS cars. Carry momentum through turns nine and ten, and into the hairpin at turn eleven. The weather is beautiful. Watch the braking zone into turn one. Johnny O'Connell has pole in GT with a new track record. Jack Roush Jr. sits on pole in GTS, in his Ford Mustang.
Drivers, start your engines! We're ready to race, setting off on their warmup lap. Johnny O'Connell and Andy Pilgrim are on the front row. The field is lined up, for the start of this one. At the start, Andy Pilgrim may have jumped Johnny O'Connell. Tony Buffomonte tries to pass Nic Jonsson. Tim Bergmeister also tries to squeeze by into the fountain turn as there's a wreck with Lawson Aschenbach and David Sterckx. Ouch! The yellow comes out immediately. David Sterckx, Jack Baldwin, and Lawson Aschenbach are all involved in this scrum.
The GTS guys get compressed into the GT field, and it is a concertina. Then, everybody is playing dodge 'em cars. Everyone needs to cool down. But, Baldwin and Aschenbach will have to come from behind. The Cadillac's have good launch control. They are heavier, too, so they get more heat in the tires than the GT3 cars like the Audi's and the Ferrari's. Tim Pappas didn't get a good start in his Black River Caviar Mercedes SLS AMG GT3.
With these GT3 cars, they are not set up for these tires, and they are not set up for bumpy, American race tracks like they are for smoother pavement on venues in Europe. The next race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, will provide for a better venue for the GT3 cars, because it's a pure race track, with smooth pavement. It's now game over for Lawson Aschenbach. He's out of the race here at Long Beach.
Black Dog Speed Shop and Chevrolet, have a great looking race car. It has a lot of character. Lawson Aschenbach and Tony Gaples, have a car that has a vintage flair to it. These are GT caliber drivers in a GTS category team. They won a title last year, in their first year of running the car in World Challenge. But, Lawson Aschenbach knows it's game over for this race. Sterckx couldn't get on the brakes, and Jack Baldwin also pounded the wall.
Baldwin was a race winner in World Challenge last year, too. Cadillac runs 1-2 right now. Ferrari is third. James Sofronas started eighth, and is up to fifth. He won in this race last year, from pole, running in his Audi R8 LMS Ultra. Andrew Palmer is his team mate, and Palmer is becoming a better and better road racer. Take a look at Nic Jonson in the Kia Optima Turbo, as well. We're ready for a restart as the lights are out on the safety car. It's Cadillac, Cadillac, Ferrari, McLaren, Audi. Go! Robert Thorn is pushing his McLaren and theres a bit of argy bargy between the McLaren's as Mike Hedlund and Tim Bergmeister are pushing.
Nic Jonsson, Jack Roush Jr. and Tony Buffomonte are all in a battle. Kia is running much better than they did at St. Petersburg. The front tires get worn out with a front wheel drive, turbocharged car. Whoa! Jonsson runs wide in the braking zone, and Buffomonte is right there. Johnny O'Connell continues to lead, with Andy Pilgrim in second place. Pilgrim is a real veteran of road racing, and has been at it for a long time, after first running the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1996, and his career began in his homeland of England, in the Renault 5 Cup in the 1980s, before he became a U.S. citizen in 1998.
Nic Jonsson opens his GTS lead as we're almost halfway through this race. Jack Roush Jr. chases Tony Buffomonte, and, Alec Udell is coming forward. Last year, he could not run this race because he wasn't old enough, even though he ran the whole season. Andy Lee is running well in GTS with his Chevrolet Camaro. Watch for the curbs, so you don't break the suspension. Anthony Lazzaro is gaining on the two factory Cadillac's.
Lazzaro has run in Formula Atlantic at Long Beach. This is his first time running in sports cars. James Sofronas is coming, and so is Andrew Palmer. Roush Jr. wants by Buffomonte. Mark Wilkins is also pushing ahead in the sister Kia Optima, trying to get by Alec Udell in the Watson Racing Ford Mustang. Set your tire pressures, but make sure to watch them during the race. Roush Jr. is hounding Buffomonte, and likewise, Udell is being hounded by Wilkins. But, Alex Figge has braking issues in the chicane for the second year in a row!
Figge drove a Volvo S60R for the same Kpax Racing team last year, and had the same issue. The leaders are coming towards a lapped car. Ric Bushey in the Nissan 370Z as well as another car. We've got a shade over 20 minutes to go in this contest, folks. This is an awesome race so far. Porsche is back in World Challenge, and of course, they are synonymous with sports car racing in both prototype and GT divisions, and, in customer, and factory capacities.
World Challenge is a sprint race. So, it's giving 110% through the whole race. Tim Bergmeister is running well right now in the #31 Porsche 911 GT3. Alex Figge is actually still running. It might have been his team mate Robert Thorn who went off the road. Andy Lee's car is smoking. Meanwhile, Bergmeister is dealing with the new tires. He said that the car is ttoally trimmed out, so they are down on cornering speed as opposed to straightaway speed.
We've got 15 minutes left in this race. Mark Wlkins is about to be passed. But now, i'ts the Cadillac's and the Ferrari, running into the GTS cars. O'Connell is controlling the pace as Andy Pilgrim runs wide, catches a cone, but is still running at speed. Cadillac wants to run well at Long Beach, and sees waht the festival atmosphere can do, in order to promote their brand. Cadillac has built a great race car as Andy Pilgrim passes Buz McCall in his Porsche Cayman S.
Pilgrim came by a backmarker. He's running very well, as O'Connell and Pilgrim both run their own lines. We are under ten minutes left in this race now. Anthony Lazzaro also wants to come by, as the Cadillac's pass the GT4 spec TRG Aston Martin of Nick Esayian in the GTS class. It's Cadillac, Cadillac, Ferrari, in the top three. Oh! Tomy Drissi has crunched the Spiderman Aston Martin, running into the back of a competitor.
Nic Jonsson leads Tony Buffomonte. Jack Roush Jr. is behind Buffomonte. Nick Mancuso could have a problem as Tomy Drissi is out of his home race. He's run well in the past in Trans Am and other sports car classes. Anthony Lazzaro slices his Ferrari past the Camaro of Tony Gaples. Lazzaro now wants to get by Pilgrim. That was close! It's on! Uh oh. The #80 SRT Viper GT3 of Dan Knox spins. No harm, no foul. Can Lazzaro and the Ferrari take the fight to the Cadillac?
Spare a thought for Dan Knox. He was sick for this race, getting a couple of IV's a day to help with dehydration. Lets hope he finishes the race. We're coming to the end of this race. Nic Jonsson still leads GTS. The Kia Optima leads the two Ford Mustang's. Lazzaro is coming. Nic Jonsson is pulling out a lead in GTS, for Kia. Kia's sponsorship of this race, is paying dividends. They'll get a good finish in this race. They've also been able to push the car, but manage their Pirelli P Zero tires.
One lap left. One minute or so left on the clock. Keep it clean, and go for a Cadillac 1-2. Don't take your team mate out. It'll be Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O'Connell finishing 1-2. O'Connell wins it! It's his first World Challenge win at Long Beach! Kia gets a double podium in GTS in the Kia Optima. 1-3 for Kia with Jonsson and Mark Wilkins.
Overall/GT: #3 Johnny O'Connell Cadillac CTS-V
GTS: #36 Niclas Jonsson Kia Optima
The next World Challenge race, as mentioned, is at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, next weekend. Stay tuned for a report on that event, in the coming weeks.
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