The 2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge kicks off today at 1:30pm EST, with the Grand Am 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Like other large tracks, the CTSCC is running combined classes at Daytona so both GS and ST cars will be on course at the same time. You can check out live timing and scoring for the race at www.grand-am.com - and it will be broadcast live on SpeedTV at 3pm on February 5th.
The good news for VAG fans is that APR Motorsport, who like previous years is flying the flag in the CTSCC, earned pole position in the Street Tuner class with new driver Ryan Ellis behind the wheel of their new-for-2011 Mk6 GTI 4-door. This is a very strong indicator that 2011 could finally be the year that APR Motorsport has what it takes to clinche the championship. The Mk5 GTIs were always a bit down on power, and for the Mk6 to be on pole it's clear that APR has been doing a lot of homework on getting the absolute maximum from the 2.0t TSI. Ellis managed a 2:06.818 to get ahead of the DeMan Motorsports Porsche Boxster, and the always-fast Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si.
The disappointment is in Grand Sport, where the B8 S4 qualified a low 19th in class, reportedly due to minor suspension trouble. We saw flashes of brilliance from the supercharged sedan last year, but it was plagued with teething troubles and APR had a rough go of it. APR's Jeff Mishtawy is usually quite adept at calling race strategy and consistently puts the team in the position to win, but with the competitiveness of the CTSCC, starting back in 19th does not always bode well for podium finishes. If the car can hold together, it should do well.
Here we go! The first event for 2011 in the USA is almost underway...
_WRS
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