2012 Pirelli World Challenge Explained

The 2012 Pirelli World Challenge season was the 23rd running of the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge series. All races were televised by NBC Sports Network. All telecasts were tape-delayed, with all races being streamed live.^[1]

Format change

The series began using a four class format. A new "touring car B-spec" class was introduced, similar to the SCCA's amateur divisions, using vehicles such as the Fiat 500, Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Mazda 2, and Nissan Versa.^[2] ^[3] The new class debuted at the event at Miller.

Schedule

Four rounds were announced November 11, 2011,^[4] with an additional three rounds announced November 18,^[5] and the round at St. Petersburg announced January 4.^[6] A second Touring Car race was later added to the Mid-Ohio round. The GT and GTS classes had 12 races, Touring Car had 14, and Touring Car B-Spec had 9.

Rnd	Date	Circuit	Classes	Supporting
1	March 24		GT, GTS, TC (x2)	IndyCar Series
2	April 15		GT, GTS	IndyCar Series/American Le Mans Series
3	April 28–29	Miller Motorsports Park^[7]	GT, GTS TC, TCB (x3)	K&N Pro Series West
4	May 11		GT, GTS, TC	American Le Mans Series
5	June 1–3		GT, GTS (x2)	IndyCar Series
6	June 22–24		GT, GTS (x2) TC, TCB (x3)	Headliner
7	August 3–5		GT, GTS, TC (x2)	IndyCar Series/American Le Mans Series
8	August 24	Sonoma Raceway (Indy course)	GT, GTS TC, TCB (x3)	IndyCar Series

Race results

Rnd	Circuit	GT Winning Car	GTS Winning Car	TC Winning Car	TCB Winning Car
Rnd	Circuit	GT Winning Driver	GTS Winning Driver	TC Winning Driver	TCB Winning Driver
1	St. Petersburg	3 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	50 Ford Mustang Boss 302S	03 Mazdaspeed3	Did not participate
		Johnny O'Connell	Justin Bell	Michael Cooper	Did not participate
		1 Porsche 911 GT3	50 Ford Mustang Boss 302S	03 Mazdaspeed3	Did not participate
		Lawson Aschenbach	Justin Bell	Michael Cooper	Did not participate
2	Long Beach	8 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	68 Porsche Cayman S	Did not participate	Did not participate
2	Long Beach	Andy Pilgrim	Jack Baldwin	Did not participate	Did not participate
3	Miller Motorsports Park	Did not participate	Did not participate	71 Honda Civic Si	00 Fiat 500
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Todd Lamb	Jonathan Start
		Did not participate	Did not participate	03 Mazdaspeed3	00 Fiat 500
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Michael Cooper	Jonathan Start
		1 Porsche 911 GT3	20 Chevrolet Camaro	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Patrick Long	Andy Lee	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Did not participate	Did not participate	33 Volkswagen GLI	45 Honda Fit
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Tristan Herbert	Sage Marie
4	Laguna Seca	6 Volvo S60	42 Acura TSX	71 Honda Civic Si	Did not participate
4	Laguna Seca	Randy Pobst	Peter Cunningham	Todd Lamb	Did not participate
5	Belle Isle	3 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	20 Chevrolet Camaro	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Johnny O'Connell	Andy Lee	Did not participate	Did not participate
		3 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe	20 Chevrolet Camaro	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Johnny O'Connell	Andy Lee	Did not participate	Did not participate
6	Mosport	02 Chevrolet Corvette Z06	36 Kia Optima	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Mike Skeen	Michael Galati	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Did not participate	Did not participate	43 Volkswagen GLI	73 Honda Fit
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Jeff Altenburg	Andre Rapone
		Did not participate	Did not participate	03 Mazdaspeed3	73 Honda Fit
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Michael Cooper	Andre Rapone
		Did not participate	Did not participate	82 Honda Civic Si	73 Honda Fit
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Gary Kwok	Andre Rapone
		02 Chevrolet Corvette Z06	38 Kia Optima	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Mike Skeen	Mark Wilkins	Did not participate	Did not participate
7	Mid-Ohio	6 Volvo S60	42 Acura TSX	03 Mazdaspeed3	Did not participate
		Randy Pobst	Peter Cunningham	Michael Cooper	Did not participate
		6 Volvo S60	60 Porsche Cayman S	71 Honda Civic Si	Did not participate
		Randy Pobst	Kevin Gleason	Todd Lamb	Did not participate
8	Sonoma	9 Volvo S60	20 Chevrolet Camaro	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Alex Figge	Andy Lee	Did not participate	Did not participate
		Did not participate	Did not participate	08 Volvo C30	45 Honda Fit
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Robert Thorne	Conner Ford
		Did not participate	Did not participate	71 Honda Civic Si	90 Kia Rio
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Todd Lamb	Russell Smith
		Did not participate	Did not participate	03 Mazdaspeed3	92 Kia Rio
		Did not participate	Did not participate	Michael Cooper	Jeff Lepper

Championships

Drivers' Championships

Championship points are awarded to drivers based on qualifying and finishing positions. In addition, 5 bonus points are awarded to a driver leading a lap during a race, and 5 bonus points are awarded to the driver leading the most laps.^[8]

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Race	140	110	95	85	80	76	72	68	64	60	57	54	51	48	45	43	41	39	37	35	33	31	29	27	25
Qualifying	15	12	9	6	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

GT

Pos	Driver	Car	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points
1	Johnny O'Connell	Cadillac CTS-V	1	2	3	2	7	1	1	2	10	3	7	5	1348
2	Andy Pilgrim	Cadillac CTS-V	5	3	1	4	3	3	4	10	5	4	5	2	1199
3	Randy Pobst	Volvo S60	12	9	2	5	1	15	9	11	DNS	1	1	3	1137
4	Lawson Aschenbach	Porsche 911 GT3	4	1	5		4	2	2	4	2	6	3	4	1112
5	Alex Figge	Volvo S60	3	12	13	13	2	4	3	12	3	12	2	1	1095
6	Mike Skeen	Nissan GTR	DNS	14	14			13	14			11	8	13	887
6	Chevrolet Corvette Z06				3	6			1	1					887
7	Steve Ott	Porsche 911 GT3	10	5	9	6	5	5	15	3	4	7	13		788
8	Tony Gaples	Chevrolet Corvette	8	6	16	9	11	11	10	5	6	8	9	12	767
9	James Sofronas	Porsche 911 GT3	2	4	4	6	15	7	5						723
9	Audi R8 LMS										5	6			723
10	Jason Daskalos	Nissan GTR	13	DNS	17	12	14	14	12	9	11				417
11	Jeff Courtney	Porsche 911 GT3	7	7	15		12					14	10	9	415
12	Tomy Drissi	Porsche 911 GT3	6	11	6		9	8	7						413
13	Fred Roberts	Dodge Viper						12	11	7	9	9	12	14	413
14	David Welch	Ferrari F430	9	8	10	DSQ								11	407
14	Porsche 911 GT3						6	6							407
15	Brett Sandberg	Porsche 911 GT3								6	7	10	11	6	341
16	Anders Hainer	Audi R8 LMS			11	10	13	10	13					10	339
17	Madison Snow	Porsche 911 GT3				8		9	8	8	8				336
18	Justin Marks	Porsche 911 GT3	11	13	8	11	8								281
19	Jordan Taylor	Cadillac CTS-V										2	4		210
20	Dino Crescentini	Porsche 911 GT3	14	10	7		16								166
21	Patrick Long	Porsche 911 GT3				1									145
22	Patrick Lindsey	Chevrolet Corvette Z06										13	14	16	142
23	Brandon Davis	Porsche 911 GT3												7	72
24	Michael Hedlund	Porsche 911 GT3												8	68
25	Bret Curtis	Porsche 911 GT3					10								60
26	Brent Holden	Porsche 911 GT3			12									DNS	54
27	Craig Stanton	Mercedes-Benz CLK-AMG												15	45
28	Brian Kubinski	Chevrolet Corvette			18										39
29	Erich Joiner	Porsche 911 GT3				DNS									0
Pos	Driver	Car	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th–10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate

GTS

Pos	Driver	Car	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points
1	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	2	2	7	8	1	2	3	7	6	1	3	2	1366
2	Andy Lee (R)	Chevrolet Camaro	4	3	9	1	5	1	1	9	4	11	7	1	1264
3	Jack Baldwin	Porsche Cayman S	5	7	1	4	2	4	2	6	2	6	8	12	1185
4	Michael Galati	Kia Optima	7	10	11	3	6	8	6	1	5	5	5	5	1055
5	Nick Esayian	Acura TSX	17	5	4	5	4	6	9	17	12	2	9	16	859
6	Justin Bell	Ford Mustang	1	1	2	10	13	7	5			26	25	3	821
7	Mark Wilkins	Kia Optima					8	11	15	2	1	7	6	4	705
8	Alec Udell	Ford Mustang	18	15		9	7	19	21	5	3	13	21	9	700
9	Brad Adams	Ford Mustang	9	8	6	6	14	9	8	11	8	15	16	15	690
10	Harry Curtin (R)	Chevrolet Camaro	12	17	10	16	9	17	10	12	11	24	13	8	620
11	Ric Bushey	Nissan 370Z	DNS		13	11	12	18	14	13	14	23	12	7	503
12	Aaron Povoledo	Ford Mustang					3	3	18	4	15	10	19		497
13	Jason von Kluge	Ford Mustang	3	4				5	4			12	22		436
14	Richard Golinello	Ford Mustang	16	6				20	22	8	7	22	20		394
15	Don Istook	Audi TT RS			16	13	11	13	17			20	17	11	376
16	Roger Miller (R)	Ford Mustang	15	11	5			21	19			17	24	14	368
17	Karl Poeltl	Porsche 911	6	9						10	10	14	14		356
18	Bill Ziegler	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo	10	12	17	14	17	22							339
18	Pontiac Solstice GXP										25	18	DNS		339
19	Brian Kleeman (R)	Nissan 370Z	11	14	15			16	20			19	11	DNS	322
20	Kevin Gleason	Porsche Cayman S										3	1		263
21	Todd Napieralski (R)	Chevrolet Camaro	19	13				14	11			16	15		257
22	Mark Klenin	BMW M3				12	10	10	13			18	DNS		234
23	Dane Moxlow	Ford Mustang					16	12	7	DNS		21	23		231
24	Greg Shaffer	Nissan 370Z	13	19	14		15			15	DNS				226
25	Al Carter	BMW M3										4	2		207
26	Colin Braun	Kia Optima	14	16	3	2									198
27	Alfonso Perri (R)	Ford Mustang	8	18	12	DNS									161
28	Paul Brown	Ford Mustang								3	9				159
29	Mark Boden	BMW M3										9	4		149
30	Lou Gigliotti	Chevrolet Camaro			8									6	144
31	Charles Putman	BMW M3										8	10		128
32	Craig Capaldi	Ford Mustang						15	12						99
33	Ernie Jakubowski	Porsche Cayman S								14	13				99
34	Ben Crosland	Ford Mustang				7									72
35	Robert Stout	Nissan 370Z						23	16						72
36	Bryan Heitkotter (R)	Nissan 370Z												10	60
37	Vafa Kordestani (R)	Maserati Trofeo												13	51
38	Dan McKeever	Ford Mustang				15									45
39	Steven Goldman	Chevrolet Camaro								16					43
40	Tom Felt	Honda S2000 CR				17									41
41	Scott Bove	BMW M3				DNS									0
Pos	Driver	Car	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points

TC

Pos	Driver	Car	STP		MIL			LGA	MOS			MDO		SON			Points
1	Michael Cooper (R)	Mazdaspeed3	1	1	4	1	4	5	2	1	4	1	14	3	2	1	1767
2	Todd Lamb (R)	Honda Civic Si	2	2	1	3	2	1	3	6	10	3	1	2	1	2	1659
3	Ryan Winchester (R)	Honda Civic Si	9	13	2	2	3	DSQ	4	7	2	5	2	5	5	3	1212
4	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	5	12	5	4	5	4	7	2	3	6	11	4	4	4	1119
5	Patrick Seguin	Volkswagen Golf GTI	13	10	11	10	9	3	DNS	9	8	14	12	8	8	9	810
6	Tristan Herbert	Volkswagen Golf GTI	10	3													671
6	Volkswagen Jetta GLI			12	11	1	7	6	8	DNS	DSQ	DNS					671
7	Gustavo Michelsen (R)	Honda Civic Si	4	7	3	6	7	6									476
8	Jeff Altenburg	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	7	11				2	1	10	DNS						456
9	Travis Wolcott (R)	Volkswagen Jetta GLI										2	8	6	3	10	439
10	Robb Holland	Honda Civic Si	6	5													432
	Volkswagen Jetta GLI			10	5	11	DNS
	Volkswagen Golf GTI											6
11	Karl Thomson	Honda Civic Si			6	9	10							11	6	8	416
12	Peter Schwartzott	Honda Civic Si							DNS	DNS		10	4	7	9	5	361
13	Fred Emich (R)	Volkswagen Jetta GLI						8	11	DNS	5	7	10				337
14	Robert Thorne (R)	Volvo C30												1	7	7	306
15	Gary Kwok (R)	Honda Civic Si							5	DSQ	1						228
16	Tom Kwok (R)	Honda Civic Si							8	3	9						227
17	Steve Blethen (R)	Mazda RX-8							9	5	6						220
18	Michael Pettiford	Volkswagen Jetta GLI			7	7	6										220
19	Marlin Langeveldt (R)	Mazda RX-8							10	4	7						217
20	Tommy Boileau (R)	Mazda RX-8			8	8	8										204
21	Tom Lepper	Chevrolet Cobalt SS												10	10	6	196
22	Anthony Rapone (R)	Honda Civic Si	3	4					DNS	DNS							189
23	Don Istook	Volkswagen Jetta GLI												9	11	11	178
24	Carl Rydquist (R)	Mazda RX-8										13	DNS	12	DNS	12	159
25	Ray Mason III	Honda Civic Si										8	5				148
26	Carl Hober	Honda Civic	8	8													136
27	Aaron Povoledo	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	12	6													130
28	Roberto Ricciardelli (R)	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	11	9													121
29	David Tuaty	Honda Civic Si										12	9				118
30	Tom Martin (R)	Volkswagen Golf GTI										9	13				115
31	Ian Baas	Volkswagen Golf GTI										DSQ	3				101
32	Alex Popow	Volkswagen Golf GTI										4					97
33	Jan Heylen	Volkswagen Jetta GLI			9	DNS	DNS										84
34	Brandon Peterson	Honda Civic											7				72
35	Bob Roth (R)	Honda Civic										11					57
36	J.D. Mobley	Mazda RX-8			DSQ	DSQ	12										57
37	Enzo Riccardelli	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	DNS														0
Pos	Driver	Car	STP		MIL			LGA	MOS			MDO		SON			Points

TCB

Pos	Driver	Car	MIL			MOS			SON			Points
1	Jonathan Start (R)	Fiat 500	1	1	4	3	3	3	4	5	5	946
2	Craig Capaldi (R)	Ford Fiesta	3	3	3	2	2	5				651
3	Russell Smith (R)	Kia Rio	7	6	6				2	1	2	630
4	Connor Ford (R)	Honda Fit	5	DNS	2				1	2	3	584
5	Andre Rapone (R)	Honda Fit				1	1	1				480
6	Sage Marie	Honda Fit	4	4	1							335
7	Braden Miller (R)	Ford Fiesta	6	5					6	4	DNS	329
8	Steve Gatrell (R)	Honda Fit							3	3	4	293
9	Peter Schwartzott, Jr. (R)	Mazda 2				5	4	4				262
10	Shaun Bailey	Mazda 2	2	2	DSQ							252
11	Brad Adams	Mazda 2							5	6	6	235
12	Jim Kenzie	Kia Rio				6	6	6				234
13	Jeff Lepper	Kia Rio			5						1	230
14	PJ Groenke (R)	Mini Cooper				4	5					165
15	Joel Lipperini	Honda Fit						2				110
16	Dan McKeever	Ford Fiesta			DSQ							0
17	Michael J. Lliteras	Kia Rio	DNS	DNS								0
Pos	Driver	Car	MIL			MOS			SON			Points

Manufacturer championships

Manufacturer points are awarded according to the highest-finishing car from that manufacturer. Only manufacturers that are SCCA Pro Racing corporate members receive points.^[8] Points are awarded on the following basis:

In addition, one bonus point is awarded to the pole-winning manufacturer. In the table below, the manufacturer's top finishing position is shown, with pole winner in bold.

GT

Pos	Manufacturer	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points
1	Cadillac	1	2	1	2	3	1	1	2	5	2	4	2	82
2	Volvo	3	9	2	5	1	4	3	11	3	1	1	1	69
3	Porsche	2	1	4	1	4	2	2	3	2	6	3	4	68
4	Chevrolet	8	6	16	3	6	11	10	1	1	8	9	12	28
5	Nissan	13	14	14	12	14	13	12	9	11	11	8	13	0
Pos	Manufacturer	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th–6th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Points)
Purple	Did not finish
Blank	Did not participate

GTS

Pos	Manufacturer	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points
1	Acura	2	2	4	5	1	2	3	7	6	1	3	2	68
2	Ford	1	1	2	6	3	3	4	3	3	10	16	3	54
3	Chevrolet	4	3	8	1	5	1	1	9	4	11	7	1	52
4	Kia	7	10	3	2	6	8	6	1	1	5	5	4	41
5	Nissan	11	14	13	11	12	16	14	13	14	19	11	7	0
Pos	Manufacturer	STP		LBH	MIL	LGA	DET		MOS		MDO		SON	Points

TC

Pos	Manufacturer	STP		MIL			LGA	MOS			MDO		SON			Points
1	Honda	2	2	1	2	2	1	3	2	1	3	1	2	1	2	106
2	Mazda	1	1	4	1	4	5	2	1	4	1	14	3	2	1	91
3	Volkswagen	7	3	7	5	1	2	1	8	5	2	3	6	3	9	56
4	Volvo												1	7	7	10
Pos	Manufacturer	STP		MIL			LGA	MOS			MDO		SON			Points

TCB

Pos	Manufacturer	MIL			MOS			SON			Points
1	Honda	4	4	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	67
2	Fiat	1	1	4	3	3	3	4	5	5	44
3	Ford	3	3	3	2	2	5	6	4	7	36
4	Kia	7	6	5	6	6	6	2	1	1	33
5	Mazda	2	2	6	5	4	4	5	6	6	28
Pos	Manufacturer	MIL			MOS			SON			Points

Notes and References

Web site: TV schedule for 2012 . 2012-02-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312054019/http://www.world-challenge.com/event/season.php?y=2012 . 2012-03-12 . dead .
Smith. Steven Cole. Another Great Show. Autoweek. December 24, 2012. 62. 26. 68.
Web site: Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car B-Spec Class Announced. SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge. Sports Car Club of America. 9 January 2012. 11 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120121070526/http://www.world-challenge.com/news/story.php?story=2325. 2012-01-21. dead.
Web site: 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Schedule, Touring Car B-Spec Class Announced. SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge. Sports Car Club of America. 9 January 2012. 11 November 2011. 21 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120121105119/http://www.world-challenge.com/news/story.php?story=2326. dead.
Web site: Three More 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Dates Announced. SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge. Sports Car Club of America. 9 January 2012. 18 November 2011. 21 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120121092053/http://www.world-challenge.com/news/story.php?story=2330. dead.
Web site: Complete 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Schedule Announced. SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge. Sports Car Club of America. 9 January 2012. 4 January 2012. 9 February 2013. https://archive.today/20130209200541/http://www.world-challenge.com/news/story.php?story=2339. dead.
The GT and GTS classes raced on the 3.048miles Outer Course, while the TC and TCB classes raced on the 2.2miles West Course.
Web site: 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Regulations. Sports Car Club of America. 22 June 2010. 7 July 2010. 29–30. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716013402/http://cms.scca.com/documents/Pro%20Racing/rules/2010%20PRR%20Version%2018.pdf. 2011-07-16. dead.