2015 News
Dalziel Sweeps GT Weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Heitkotter, Thompson Win in GTA and GT Cup
- 03 August 2015
For Immediate Release- From Pirelli World Challenge
LEXINGTON, Ohio -- For the second straight year, Ryan Dalziel, of Windermere, Fla, swept the GT weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, winning Round 15, part of the StopTech Grand Prix presented by MOMO. Bryan Heitkotter, of Fresno, Calif., won in GTA and finished third overall, while Colin Thompson, of Doylestown, Pa., won Round 13 of the GT Cup presented by MOMO class.
From pole, Dalziel, in the No. 31 EFFORT Racing/World PMO Porsche 911 GT3R launched cleanly off of the standing start and led through turn 1 into the Keyhole, closely followed by second-on-the-grid, JD Davison, of St. Petersburg, Fla., in the No. 33 AE/ReplayXD/NISSAN NISMO Nissan GT-R-GT3, and third-on-the-grid Heitkotter, in the No. 05 Nissan GT Academy Nissan GT-R GT3. Heitkotter also started from pole in the GTA class.
Behind them a full course yellow ensued as the No. 16 of Chris Dyson, of Pleasant Valley, N.Y. in the Bentley/Breitling/Mobil 1 Bentley Continental GT3 bogged off of the start and the No. 19 of Drew Regitz, of Denver, Colo. in the WWW.IRACERCOACHING.COM Stephen Cameron Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra sat wounded on the front straight. Dyson was able to get his No. 16 machine moving, but Regitz's Audi would need assistance from the safety team to be removed from the track.
On the lap 2 restart, Dalziel maintained his lead over Davison and Heitkotter, while GT Cup polesitter Thompson led Saturday's class winner Alec Udell, of The Woodlands, Texas, in the No. 17 Amsource Capital/Panther Pipeline GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and Sloan Urry, of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the No. 02 Security National/Engel & Volker TruSpeed Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. While Heitkotter led in GTA and ran third overall in the race, Austin Cindric, of Mooresville, N.C., in the No. 25 Blancpain Racing Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 REX, who had started third in class, passed Frankie Montecalvo, of Highlands, N.J. in the No. 66 Bayshore Racing Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3.
Dalziel was never challenged in a dominating second straight win, over Davison in second and Heitkotter, who finished third overall and first in GTA. Thompson and Udell battled for the majority of the GT Cup race but Thompson defended well for the win. Brett Sandberg, of Allendale, N.J. in the No. 18 Zoro/Truspeed Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup finished third. For Heitkotter it's his fifth GTA win of the year, while Thompson secured his 10th win. Cindric and Montecalvo finished second and third respectively in GTA.
Results are provisional until posted final. With the win, Dalziel moves into the GT Drivers' Championship lead (1319 to 1305 points) over Olivier Beretta, of Monte Carlo, Monaco, who finished fourth on the day in his No. 61 Ferrari of Ontario/Toronto/Alberta R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia. Henrique Cisneros, of Miami, Fla., who finished 10th in the GTA class in his No. 30 MOMO NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia continues to lead over Montecalvo (1417-1389) in GTA. Thompson continues to lead in GT Cup presented by MOMO.
Of note, Dalziel won the Cadillac ATS-V Move of the Race for working through traffic after the lap 20 yellow. Bill Ziegler, in the No. 95 Swisher Racing BMW E89 Z4 GT3 won the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award for gaining four positions when the lights went out. The MOMO GT Cup Turning Point of the Race was the first caution that allowed Udell and Thompson to get clear of their competitors. The Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race Award went to Cindric for his pass on Montecalvo to gain second on lap 10. Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., in the No. 42 RealTime/Acura Motorsports/HPD Acura TLX-GT gained eight positions during the race and won the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award.
"I never thought I would say that I could do better than last year's two wins here, but, with two wins and two poles, we did it," said Dalziel. "Last year's weekend was a sweet introduction again to Pirelli World Challenge. The only thing we improved on was to take the two poles. We didn't get fastest lap today so we didn't get the triple. We put World PMO on the car this weekend and I think that was our lucky charm. The Porsche and my style seem so suited for this track. The Porsche is always very good in places with the second gear left and right turns and corners that change directions. We knew we had a good chance to win this weekend and that was our goal. We worked hard this weekend and I'm going to enjoy it with team tonight. I wish I could run all of the races for the championship but with the WEC schedule, it was the cards I was dealt. But we can get maximum points in the future races you never know what can happen at the end of the season."
"It was a fantastic day and a great weekend for the Always Evolving Nissan GT Academy Nissan Nismo Motorsport Team," said Heitkotter. "We were surprisingly quick here. We have a big car and we didn't expect to be this quick especially the twisty nature of the Mid-Ohio track. The team is very intelligent and has done a great job in setting up the car. We are testing different things every weekend. James (Davison) and I are moving up in points now but I lose the A status now. It's good to get that GT badge on my car and race up front with guys like my teammate James and Ryan (Dalziel). Ryan is ridiculously fast here and we were teammates here back in 2011. Thanks so much to the Nissan and the team."
"I can't ask anything more from the team this year with 10 wins," said Thompson. "It's not just a single athlete sport. It's a full team effort and Kelly-Moss really knows how to work together. It's been an incredible weekend with winning both poles and now bringing home a win today. After a poor start Saturday and then fighting back for a second to Alec Udell, it was a great battle with Alec. I threw everything at him and he didn't shake. It was definitely well earned. I was able to stay in front of him today and bring home the win. It was a great event for us."
Results are provisional until posted final. With the win, Dalziel moves into the GT Drivers' Championship lead with 1319 points over Olivier Beretta with 1305. Henrique Cisneros (1417) continues to lead over Frankie Montecalvo (1389) in GTA. Thompson continues to lead in GT Cup presented by MOMO.
GT, GTA and GT Cup presented by MOMO drivers now head to Miller Motorsports Park, Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23. Watch the races from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on CBS Sports Network, Sunday, August 9, 4 p.m. Eastern.
LEXINGTON, OHIO - Results from Sunday's 35-lap, 79.03 mile Pirelli World Challenge Championship GT/GTA Round 15/GT Cup Round 13 race, part of the StopTech Grand Prix presented by MOMO at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, with finishing position, class, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out (if any).
1. GT, (1), Ryan Dalziel, Windermere, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3R, 35.
2. GT, (2), JD Davison, St Petersburg, Fla., Nissan GT-R GT3, 35, -.875.
3. GT, (3), (A)Bryan Heitkotter, Fresno, Calif., Nissan GT-R GT3, 35, -3.042.
4. GT, (5), Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo, Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, 35, -3.832.
5. GT, (8), Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga., Cadillac ATS-VR GT3, 35, -7.360.
6. GT, (6), Michael Lewis(R), Laguna Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3R, 35, -7.852.
7. GT, (7), Kevin Estre, Lochau Austria, McLaren 650S GT3, 35, -8.222.
8. GT, (12), (A)Austin Cindric, Mooresville, N.C., Lamborghini GallardoGT3REX, 35, -15.168.
9. GT, (10), (A)Frank Montecalvo, Highlands, N.J., Mercedes Benz AMG SLS GT3, 35, -15.588.
10. GT, (14), Mike Skeen, Charlotte, N.C., Audi R8 LMS Ultra, 35, -16.104.
11. GT, (13), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Cadillac ATS-VR GT3, 35, -16.531.
12. GT, (20), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TLX-GT, 35, -19.167.
13. GT, (21), Ryan Eversley, Atlanta, Ga., Acura TLX-GT, 35, -19.574.
14. GT, (11), Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, N.Y., Bentley Continental GT3, 35, -19.930.
15. GT, (17), (A)Martin Fuentes, Mexico City, Mexico, Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, 35, -21.006.
16. GT, (18), (A)Eric Lux, Buffalo, N.Y., Mercedes Benz AMG SLS GT3, 35, -21.238.
17. GT, (16), (A)Bret Curtis, Austin, Texas, BMW E89 Z4 GT3, 35, -24.285.
18. GT, (15), Duncan Ende, Los Angeles, Calif., Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, 35, -24.610.
19. GT, (23), (A)Christina Nielsen(R), Aarhus Denmark, , Aston Martin Vantage GT3, 35, -28.228.
20. GT, (22), (A)Eduardo Cisneros(R), Miami, Fla., Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, 35, -28.757.
21. GT, (9), Robert Thorne, Littleton, Colo., McLaren 650S GT3, 35, -29.757.
22. GT, (27), (A)Bill Ziegler, Ponte Vedra, Fla., BMW E89 Z4 GT3, 35, -32.747.
23. GT, (19), (A)Henrique Cisneros, Miami, Fla., Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, 34, -1 lap.
24. GT, (4), Butch Leitzinger, Rebersburg, Pa., Bentley Continental GT3, 34, -1 lap.
25. GT, (24), (A)Joseph Toussaint(R), Houston, Texas, Porsche 911 GT3R, 34, -1 lap.
26. GT, (28), (A)Jorge De La Torra, Mexico, , Aston Martin Vantage GT3, 33, -2 lap.
27. GT, (25), James Sofronas, Pound Ridge, N.Y., Audi R8 LMS Ultra, 28, -7 lap.
28. GT, (26), (A)Drew Regitz, Denver, Colo., Audi R8 LMS Ultra, 0, -35 laps.
29. GTC, (29), Colin Thompson, Doylestown, Pa., Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 35.
30. GTC, (30), Alec Udell, The Woodlands, Texas, Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 35, -.588.
31. GTC, (32), Brett Sandberg, Allendale, N.J., Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 34, -1 lap.
32. GTC, (31), Sloan Urry, Salt Lake City, Utah, Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 34, -1 lap.
33. GTC, (33), Lorenzo Trefethen(R), Napa, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 34, -1 lap.
34. GTC, (34), Mitch Landry, Lake Charles, La., Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 34, -1 lap.
35. GTC, (35), Victor Gomez(R), San Juan, Puerto Rico, Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 34, -1 lap.
36. GTC, (36), Preston Calvert(R), Potomac, Md., Porsche 911 GT3 CUP, 31, -4 lap.
Time of race: 51 minutes, 06.917 seconds.
Average speed: 92.766 mph
Margin of victory: .875 Seconds
Lap leaders: Laps 1-35, #31 Ryan Dalziel
Fastest race lap: #33 JD Davison, 1:20.916 (100.459 mph)
Fastest qualifier: #31 Ryan Dalziel, 1:21.022 (100.328 mph)