It's hard to believe but the 2011 World Challenge racing season is already halfway through. StopTech's favorite race series has logged six of the twelve races planned for the year, so the World Challenge is taking a summer break until August.
James Sofronas has once again surfaced as the poster boy for StopTech in the No. 14 GMG Porsche, rolling into the summer months on top of the Drivers Championship standings. However, there have been many poignant successes for other drivers and teams along the way.
The season started with a bang when a trio of Porsches equipped with StopTech brakes landed 5 of the 6 GT Class podium spots over the two-race, season-opening weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg. This included two first place finishes by Patrick Long in the No. 45 Privacy Star/Entrust Porsche 911 GT3, a second place finish by Centric Parts CEO Dino Crescentini in his No. 4 Centric Parts/StopTech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 and two more podiums earned by James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3.
The series moved right into StopTech's own backyard when the Grand Prix of Long Beach hit Southern California. Local favorite and winner of the event in 2009, Sofronas made it three podiums in a row with an inspired performance for a second place finish after a rough start. In the Touring Car class, Robb Holland from Gainesville, Georgia, finished third in the No. 66 K-Pax Racing Volvo C30 equipped with StopTech brakes.
The series moved on to the Utah Grand Prix, where Sofronas kept the pressure on for his fourth podium finish in a row. While Crescentini logged the fastest lap, Sofronas scored enough points to take the overall lead in the Drivers Championship, where he still sits today. Meanwhile StopTech-equipped cars took all three Touring Class podium spots with Aaron Povoledo capturing his first World Challenge TC win in the No. 88 K-Pax Racing Volvo C30 from a 5th place start.
The last race before the break brought a great story when 18-year-old Ben Crosland earned his first World Challenge win at the Pirelli Grand Prix of Mosport Victoria Day Speedfest. He put a punctuation mark on the victory by scoring another visit to the podium with a second place finish during the following day's race with the StopTech-equipped Ford Mustang. The weekend, and first half of the season, wrapped up with Sofronas still sitting on top.
The next race takes place in Mid-Ohio and is only 62 days and 17 hours away. We didn't do the math, but there is a countdown clock. You can find that at www.world-challenge.com, the official World Challenge site. Of course you can always check here for Team StopTech updates too.
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