Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car and Touring Car B kick off their season this weekend at Circuit of the Americas.
The Pirelli World Challenge is looking stronger than ever, with big fields and several standalone races where the series is the headliner, such as the season opener at Circuit of the Americas in Austin this weekend. While the GT3-based GT and GTA classes get most of the attention, and the GTS class is splitting into its own races, the focus for Mazda fans is on Touring Car and Touring Car B.
Touring Car has some new regulations this year. Chief among those is the addition of wings. The added downforce will mean some racers need to do a bit of extra homework to be competitive.
“I think the aero that they added will definitely help us at some tracks, but it may also end up hurting us,” says Adam Poland, entering his second season in the EASTEX motorsports MX-5. “Relatively speaking, the MX-5 is a little underpowered, although it was right there last season. After the first race we will be able to gauge what we need if anything. We’ve got a little more power and the aero, so we’re really excited to see what the car is capable of now.”
Poland finished third in the 2014 championship with a couple of victories. He’s hoping to improve on that and contend for the title in 2015.
“Last season was our first in Pirelli World Challenge, and we were also in a new-to-us car. Now that we’re over the teething pains – developing a new car and learning a new series – I think this is going to be a big advantage for us,” Poland says.
Joining him, and moving from the TCA class where he raced an MX-5 with some success last year, is Ernie Francis Jr. Francis says it will take a lot of consistency to challenge for the championship, but believes his Breathless Racing MX-5 will be up to it.
“We don’t know how well the car will stack up power-wise with the rest of the field, but our brake package is excellent. I believe deep braking and high cornering speeds will give us the advantage,” he says.
Three other TC MX-5s will be present at COTA, driven by Randy Hale, Austin Snader and, joining the series for a full season, Dinah Weisberg in her BERG Racing MX-5.
Two TCA RX-8s from Tech Sport Racing are registered for 2015. Kevin Anderson raced a few races last year in an RX-8. He is joined in a second car by Robby Foley.
Touring Car B, World Challenge’s name for the B-Spec formula, may be the slowest cars on the track; but they consistently provide some of the most entertaining racing. The rules shed some weight from the Mazda2s in the class, so that should help them out. Looking to take advantage of that will be James Wilson and Steve Taake in a pair of Black Armor Helmets Mazda2s and Chris Holter in a Breathless Performance machine.
The 2015 season of Pirelli World Challenge will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network. After COTA, the Touring Car and TCB series head to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Miller Motorsports Park before wrapping up their season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 11-13.
Related Content:
Ernie Francis Jr.: An “A” in PWC
Mazda Racecar: Adam Poland’s PWC MX-5
Parts Spotlight: Mazda2 B-Spec Kit