Pirelli World Challenge Returns to The Glen, With Championships Up for Grabs

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Multiple Pirelli World Challenge championships will be decided this weekend, Aug. 30 - Sept. 2, and what better place to battle them out than at the home of North American road racing, Watkins Glen International?

With a 29-point lead in the overall standings, newly crowned GT SprintX champion Toni Vilander seeks the overall championship, although the R. Ferri Motorsport driver trails Pfaff Motorsports’ Scott Hargrove by eight points in the GT Sprint title.

Hargrove is making his rookie performance in PWC an impressive one with double wins at St. Petersburg and consistent podium finishes both Sprint and SprintX.

Porsche factory driver Michael Christensen is still in the GT points fight along with the K-PAX Racing pair of Rodrigo Baptista and former GT champion Alvaro Parente.

In the GT overall manufacturers’ standings, Ferrari has 140 to Porsche’s 134 and Bentley’s 106, while Pfaff Motorsports tops the GT Sprint team points with 144 to K-PAX Racing’s 138 and R. Ferri Motorsport’s 134.

In the GTA class, Martin Fuentes seeks a repeat of his 2016 title with an 18-point margin over Yuki Harata, while the class title will likely come down to the Squadra Corse Garage Italia and Dream Racing.

In GTS, James Sofronas already collected the GTS SprintX Pro-Am title with Alex Welch, but also leads the overall and Sprint championships heading into the weekend.

The GMG Racing owner/driver, who won the 2017 GTA and GT SprintX Pro-Am titles, holds a 38-point lead over Racers Edge Motorsports’ Harry Gottsacker in the overall title race and 21 points ahead of Lawson Aschenbach in the Sprint championship fight. 

In addition, the manufacturers’ point battle is extremely close with Audi leading at 97 followed by Chevrolet at 89, Ford at 88 and Panoz at 86. GMG tops the teams championship with 179 to Racers Edge at 170 followed by Blackdog Speed Shop at 161, Team Panoz Racing at 158 and PF Racing at 147.

Newly crowned SprintX Am champion Drew Staveley, meanwhile, also leads the GTSA points, but only six markers ahead of Jeff Courtney, with Tony Gapes and Mike Hedlund tied for third in the standings.

A total of 79 cars are entered across the GT, GTS and Touring Car races this weekend. Weekend and Sunday only tickets will be sold along with camping at the facility’s Gate 2 entrance. For more information, visit www.TheGlen.com or call 866-461-RACE.