The PWC Series Rounds 5 and 6 Races at Belle Isle did not Disappoint
The Pirelli World Challenge series tore up the streets of beautiful Belle Isle in Detroit this weekend for rounds 5 and 6 of the 2014 season. The weather could not have been better for a great weekend of racing in the Motor City.
The GTS, GT, and GT-A classes raced in round 5 on Saturday, and round 6 on Sunday. Both races were about 50 minutes long and provided clean, close racing. There was only one full course caution during the weekend. In Saturday’s race, Craig Capaldi, of Richmond Township Michigan, met the wall on the exit of a turn on lap 16. The damage to Capaldi’s No. 68 Wolverine Bronze Ford Mustang Boss 302S ended his weekend.
Capaldi’s fellow Michigander, Dean Martin of Westland Michigan, had a much better weekend winning both rounds from the GTS pole position and setting Saturday’s fastest lap in his No. 50 Picture Cars East/Rehagen Racing/Ford Mustang Boss 302S. In Saturday’s race, Jack Baldwin in the No. 73 RESET-MD/Stop Tech/Motul Porsche Cayman S defended second place from a hard charging Nic Jonsson in the No. 36 Kia Motos America, Kia Optima who started ninth.
In Sunday’s GTS race, it was Tony Buffomante in his Ford Mustang Boss 302S finishing second to Martin. Mark Wilkins finished third in the No. 38 Kia Optima. Jack Baldwin retains the overall series lead by just one point over Wilkins, with his fourth place finish and Sunday’s fastest lap.
Dan Knox took the GT-A win in Saturday’s race with his No. 80 ACS Mfg/Performance Speed Tech/ SRT Viper GT3 R. Knox had a great restart after the full course caution which helped him fend off the No. 32 Spectra/United Steel/Valspar Audi R8 Ultra of Bret Curtis and the No. 54 Black river Caviar Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 of Tim Pappas, who finished second and third respectively.
Sunday in GT-A, Marcelo Hahn rebounded from his race ending contact with the turn 6 wall Saturday, to put his No. 0 Reiter Engineering/Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 in the top spot. Michael Mills, in the No. 41 Effort Racing/Porsche GT3R, also came back for contact on Saturday to finish second Sunday ahead of Saturday’s winner Dan Knox, who came in third.
In GT, Johnny O’Connell proves the he owns the Motor City by pulling off the double win in the No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V R from the pole in both rounds and setting fastest lap Saturday. Andrew Palmer finished second, keeping his, GMG Racing, Audi R8 Ultra ahead of Anthony Lazzaro’s, R. Ferri Motorsports, No. 61 Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia.
Sunday’s GT race saw O’Connell’s team mate Andy Pilgrim, Who suffered from mechanical break failure on Saturday, make it a Cadillac 1-2 finish by taking second in the #8 CTS-V R ahead of Andrew Palmer’s Audi R8 Ultra.
The next race weekend for the Pirelli World Challenge will feature the GT, GT-A, and GTS classes sharing the spotlight with the touring car classes in Wisconsin for the Cadillac Grand Prix at Road America, June 19-21.