PWC: 3 Wins and 2 Championships For Ferrari in Utah
Miguel Molina and Toni Vilander wrapped up the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX series Pro-Pro championship on Sunday with their second victory of the weekend at the Utah Motorsports Complex. It was a banner day for Ferrari, with victories in all three classes in the SprintX season finale. Squadra Corse Garage Italia drivers Caesar Bacarella and Martin Fuentes also emerged as champions in the Am class following their ninth victory of the season, while Wei Lu and Jeff Segal won their second race of the weekend in a charge for the Pro-Am championship that came up just four points shy.
GT Pro-Pro - Molina took the lead prior to his pit stop at the midway point of the hour-long race before turning the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari of Ontario, Toronto, Alberta/Zekelman Industries 488 GT3 over to Vilander. For the second straight day, the Ferrari team maintained his lead following its stop as Vilander brought the red Ferrari 488 GT3 across the line 2.945 seconds clear of the field. The first rival was the Mercedes of Lone Star Racing team driven by Mike Skeen and Scott Heckert.
“It was great – we kept fighting the whole season, and it was just perfect,” Vilander said of the final SpintX race of the year. “I’ve been lucky enough to win championships in Europe, but this was the first one in the U.S., and I rate this one really high.”
Ferri Motorsport Ferrari took the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX championship by 26 points following a demonstrative season that featured six victories and two second-place results in the ten-race championship.
“I’m really happy, because this is my first year in America,” Molina said. “I would like to thank Toni, because he gave me really good advice and the team has been amazing. I’m also happy to help Toni to fight for the overall championship.”
GT Pro-Am - Jeff Segal got off to a great start in the No. 31 TR3 Racing Ferrari of Vancouver 488 GT3, sprinting to third overall and first in class after taking the green flag on the meandering 14-turn, 3.048-mile Outer Course. Wei Lu was unrelenting in his final stint, dominating at the front on the way to a 6.615-second advantage at the checkered flag on the TruSpeed AutoSport Audi of Parker Chase and Ryan Dalziel. The team finished the season with two back to back triumphs following a streak of five consecutive runner-up showings, scoring three total victories and nine podium finishes but coming up just four points adrift of the title. Pierre Mulacek and Anthony Lazzaro finished third, putting Risi Competizione’s No. 82 Biocube Ferrari 488 GT3 on the podium in its debut weekend.
GT Am - Martin Fuentes dodged several bullets on a wild opening lap, gaining three positions and the Am class lead in the process. He and Caesar Bacarella led the rest of the race in the No. 07 Squadra Corse Garage Italia Ferrari 488 GT3, giving them nine victories to go with Saturday’s second-place finish. They shared the championship after amassing a 64 point advantage.
“We had a stressful race yesterday, and today was really good,” Fuentes said. “Caesar had an amazing drive, and I’m so happy for Squadra Corse Garage Italia, they made it happen. It was a good year, with a good championship.”
Last round. Toni Vilander will be battling for the overall championship when the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge GT season concludes at Watkins Glen International on August 31-Sept. 2, featuring a pair of Labor Day Weekend races for the GT and GTA classes on the classic 3.4-mile circuit. Both live streaming and live timing will be provided at world-challenge.com.
