CTSCC - APR pulls amazing 1-2 finish at Watkins Glen

Against all odds APR Motorsport pulled out a fantastic 1-2 finish at Watkins Glen this past weekend. Considering how things were at the start, this seems almost impossible to believe. APR has always seemed to do well at Watkins, with their first Continental Tire victory coming at the track in 2009. All three APR VW GTIs started from the back of the pack. The #171 championship car of Ian Baas and Ryan Ellis had an engine let go in qualifying which meant they started at the back of the pack.



The 181 and new 161 Mk5 GTI (replacing the now-retired / written-off GS class S4) were moved to the back of the pack for a technical infraction of some sort, which was doubly disappointing as the Gleason brothers in the 181 and Nate Norenberg in the 161 (along with Josh Hurley) were set to start 3rd in ST.

Despite all that, the team regrouped and passed the entire ST field and ended up at the front of the pack. That's 55 cars! The equivalent of starting from the back and passing the entire field for victory at Le Mans from a number of cars passed standpoint.



The final finish was the 181 in first, 161 in second, and 171 in 31st. Ian lost the driver's championship points lead after suspension problems set them back in the field.



Although it's unfortunate for Ian to get bumped from the lead of the driver's championship, APR and VW remain in very strong positions, with VW retaining the manufacturer lead by one point over Mazda, and APR sitting fourth in team points. Ryan Ellis remains in the top five in the driver's championship.

With four events remaining it's crucial for APR to keep it together and finish strong in every event.

For more: www.grand-am.com / www.aprmotorsport.com

_WRS

CTSCC - Kevin Gleason kills in qualifying, starts P2 at Lime Rock

APR Motorsport is looking good going into this weekend's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park. VW Jetta TDI Cup veteran Kevin Gleason ran a scorching sub-60 second lap to take second place on tomorrow's starting grid. For a track as tight and technical as Lime Rock, a strong starting position is key. Kevin will start tomorrow's Grand Am CTSCC race in the #181 and hand over to brother Chris to finish out the event.



Championship points leader Ryan Ellis will end up P14 on the grid, with the small track making for tight, and slow, qualifying in the 171 GTI. Ian Baas will be co-driving with Ryan.



APR Motorsport is in need of a good weekend, as the previous round at VIR race was challenging to say the least. Both GTIs struggled and placed off the podium, while the star-crossed S4 was finished off in a heavy shunt. The S4 is done for, and a new chassis is being prepped, but it effectively ends the APR effort in GS for this season.

The race is tomorrow at 10:30am - check out www.grand-am.com for live timing and scoring. The race will be broadcast on Speed TV sometime in the future...

Best of luck to the APR crew! Unfortunately tight time and finances means no trip to Lakeville this year, maybe next. With a strong finish, APR drivers Ian Baas and Ryan Ellis should stay in the hunt for the championship.

_WRS

CTSCC - APR Motorsport victory in ST!

APR Motorsport's Ian Bass and Ryan Ellis earned their second victory in as many races, piloting their Mk6 VW GTI (sponsored by Driver's Gear, Motul, BBS) to the winner's circle in this weekend's Kia 200 at Homestead Miami. With APR edging out the iMoto Mazdaspeed 3 and RSR Motorsport's MINI Cooper S for the win, and locking down fourth position with the #181 GTI of the Gleason brothers, APR and Volkswagen are now in firm command of the championships, both with 70 points over nearest competitor Kia who has 56. Likewise Baas and Ellis are tied for first place in the driver's championship, at 70 points each, with Kinetic Motorsports / Kia driver Nic Jonsson in third with 56 points.



Round three will see the GS and ST class cars running at APR's home track of Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama on April 7-9th.

For more see grand-am.com / goapr.com

_WRS

Flash result: APR wins in ST!

APR motorsport took their first victory of the 2011 season at today's Grand Am 200, round one of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Drivers Ian Baas and Ryan Ellis took command of the race starting from pole position, and led the ST class the majority of the event. A fierce battle developed at the end of the race, with Baas dicing and trading the lead with Nic Jonsson in the Kinetic Motorsports / KIA Forte Koup (co-driven by Andy Lally), with Baas emerging victorious. The BimmerWorld 328i took the final podium spot.

Image: APR Motorsport

_WRS

CTSCC - Round 1 from Daytona - APR Motorsport on ST pole

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

CTSCC - Tonight at 9 on Speed...

Tune tonight at 9pm EST for the broadcast of last weekend's final race of the CTSCC season, which took place at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. I haven't posted the results yet (although they're all over if you look) as APR was finally showing a strong hand from the start rather than struggling mid-pack.



The Mk6 took it's first poll position and has a hungry pack ready to take it down as soon as they can. Will the boys from Alabama be able to hold them off? Find out tonight...

speedtv.com
goapr.com

_WRS

CTSCC - APR Motorsport on pole position in ST

The final round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge begins at 2:45ET today, at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. APR Motorsport has scored pole position in the ST class with the #91 Mk6 GTI. This is the first time that the Mk6 has been on pole, and the strong starting position should aid them in a strong finish in the ultra-competitive CTSCC. If they can end the season on a high note it should prove to be a great boost for 2011. Check it out at 2:45ET today, live on Grand-Am.com - live timing and scoring plus live audio.

We here at Der Wolfsburg Rennsport apologize for a slacking coverage of the CTSCC. Things have been extremely busy outside in the real world so the time to keep up has been missing from the schedule.

_WRS

Video Post: In-car from Watkins Glen with Josh Hurley (APR)

I'd like to apologize for my super slacking of updates about the APR gang and their efforts in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. It's not for lack of caring, mainly just lack of time. (and let's face it, the Le Mans 24 is going to take pretty much any and all focus that I can muster from initial testing and practice, until that checker flag drops on Sunday afternoon.)

APR has not had the break-out year they were likely hoping to have, or continue, after numurous successes last year. Like so many other series, it would seem that legislation which puts turbo motors at a disadvantage has continued to keep the GTIs down on power in ST, and combined with bad luck it's been enough to keep them out of the winner's circle. There have finally been some podium appearances however, so it's not all for naught.

Lime Rock Park saw the 181 car combo of Hurley / Stadtlander just get nudged out of a podium spot, with a 4th place result, but the following weekend at Watkins Glen they managed 3rd in class after having lead for a good portion of time.


This weekend the CTSCC teams are at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course, and it's not looking good so far. Of all four APR cars, only two show up on the qualifying sheets, and only one of those is actually locked into a position, with the #171 Mk5 GTI (now piloted by Baas / Halpin) coming into 24th position and the 181 as not having a qualifying time. It would appear that the #01 S4 (and #91 Mk6) has been put on the shelf for the time being. I'll try and find out a little bit about that, but I suppose the effort of fielding a full 4 cars, in two classes has proven to be more than the APR team can muster, at least for now.

The race is scheduled for 1:15pm start tomorrow, EST.

_WRS

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge: Bosch Engineering VIR 200

APR Motorsport will take on the rest of the GS / ST field today at 3:30 PM, at Virginia International Raceway, better known as VIR. The number 01 S4 grids at P11, with Ian Baas putting in a solid qualifying run, as seen above. The ST GTIs start off 10th (171), 14th (91) and 24th. (181) Not the best spread overall, with the highest placed VW Jetta of Irish Mike's starting 7th, but with the long race almost anything can happen. Although showers were expected, the weather maps are looking pretty clear, so it should be a very exciting day indeed. The crew from NGP Racing is in attendance today, and with a little luck we might have some great pics from Benji from the VA shop...

_WRS

Be sure to check out live timing and scoring at Grand-Am.com.

Continental Sports Car Challenge: Porsche 250 @ Barber Motorsports Park

APR takes on the rest of the field at this weekend's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with some added firepower to the arsenal. Their latest and greatest ST class car, the Mk6 GTI, has been completed and will see APR owner / Team Principle Stephen Hooks take a seat in this weekend's race. This brings the total number of APR-supported cars to four, which is quite an undertaking.



Both ST class Mk5 GTIs remain, with the Mk6 being piloted by Hooks and Australian racing star Tom Drewer. It will be interesting to see what sort of performance advantages the TSI motor may afford (or not) the Mk6, as compared to the FSI motors which have been pretty thoroughly developed within the limits of the rules.

The GS class S4 should hopefully fulfill its destiny as a race winner, as it has previously shown the speed, but not the problem-free race required to win in the competitive CTSCC series. George Achorn from Fourtitude.com is down in Alabama to provide a first hand account and a little moral support to the four-ringed sedan.

APR is the defending ST class race winner at Barber (their 'home' track), and there will no doubt be extra pressure to perform a clean sweep of both CTSCC classes in front of friends and family in attendance.

For more:
Grand-am
APR Motorsport
Fourtitude on Facebook (live updates throughout the weekend)

_WRS

Round two of the Continental Tire Sports car Challenge

The second round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge is this weekend, the Homestead 200 in Miami Florida. APR will be there with two GTIs, but probably not the Mk6 which we've been following, plus their nearly-new GS class B8 S4. Combined class practice starts at 8:40am, with a second round at 11:40am. GS qualifying is at 4:35pm, followed by ST at 5:05pm, and finally the race on Saturday at 1:05pm. The race is scheduled for 2.5 hours, and should be a real battle if the last round at Daytona is anything to go by. APR is looking to avoid the costly mistakes that kept them off the podium, and should be in real contention throughout the weekend.

Find out more, including live timing and scoring for practice, qualifying and the race at Grand-am.com.

On a completely unrelated note, Robert from Lufteknic is down in Homestead this weekend as well, supporting a Porsche team. Not sure which class, I forgot to ask...but either way we've got some teams to route for!

_WRS

Anatomy of a race car - APR Mk6 GTI Build up

Ever wonder what it takes to turn a stone-stock GTI into a seriously competitive machine for this year's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge? Well wonder no more. APR has been working overtime to replace their aging Mk5s with the new Mk6 this season, and although they weren't ready for the Daytona opener, things are moving along swiftly.



The car was stripped down to absolutely nothing in a mere two days, with every unnecessary bit removed to reduce weight as much as possible. Sound deadening? Gone. Power windows, gone. Sunroof, gone. Plus every little bracket or piece of metal that is deemed as expendable.



Not even the wire harness escaped unscathed, with a huge 14lbs of extra wire ripped out. It's amazing to think how much weight these cars carry in luxury and conveniences for the modern day driver.



Check out the doors....! No need for power windows at 140mph plus.



The cage, like everything else at APR Motorsport, has been done in-house. The motor is currently being rebuilt before re-installation, along with a DXD clutch and rebuilt 6-speed gearbox. APR is typically tight-lipped on power outputs, as you would imagine, but modifications to the 2.0t engine are very limited, with the stock turbo remaining and boost being specified at a very strict limit.



The car just came back from paint, and should be really sharp once all the graphics are done. I'll keep updating as things move along for the 2010.



www.GoAPR.com

_WRS

Continental Sports Car Challenge: Fresh from Florida 200

At the drop of the green flag for yesterday's Fresh From Florida 200, none of the APR Motorsport cars were in prime position for a quick or easy victory. Although solid times were managed in the warm ups, the brand-new supercharged B8 S4 in GS, and the two GTI Mk5s in ST, were starting towards the back of each of their respective classes. Still, it was a long race and anything could happen. Unfortunately it did, but not in a good way for the APR Motorsport team.



Ian Baas put in a strong performance in the APR S4, quickly and steadily moving up from 29th position to the top 10 before the first round of pit stops. Baas pushed the supercharged six up to a high of 6th place before handing of to co-driver Mark White. White re-joined in around 27th spot, and hung around the mid 20's for the entirety of his time in the car. Changing back to Baas at the second and final pit-stop once again saw the S4 on the move, before a puncture on the very last lap took the car out of any contention for a top-ten finish. The S4 ended in 19th position.

The potential is there, with the big sedan showing surprising speed compared to the more 'pure' sports racing cars such as the Porsches and BMWs, but naturally some teething problems were to be expected for the first time out. Matt Plumb was the eventual GS class and overall winner, in the #13 Rum Bum E92 BMW M3.



The results in ST were almost exactly the same as those in GS, in fact, you could substitute the names and problems and it would be almost 100% accurate. The 171 was piloted by last year's 3-time winner Mike Sweeney, with new driving partner Mike Halpin. 181 also had an APR veteran of 2009 behind the wheel, Josh Hurley, joined by Kevin Stadtlander. Both GTIs battled their way through the field, with Sweeney and Hurley handling first round driving duties. They eventually overcame the Jetta GLIs from Irish Mike's Racing before piercing the top-ten, much like the S4 had done.

After the first round of pit stops Halpin and Stadtlander took over for the 171 and 181, with Stadtlander putting in a particularly strong performance. The sheer number of cars in ST meant that the smallest problem or delay could cost precious positions on the track, and unfortunately for APR, problems for the team showed up in the waning laps. After his fantastic performance, Stadtlander handed the 181 over to Hurley within striking distance of a podium finish. It was not to be however as one of the Civics punted Hurley off the track with a hit from behind, ultimately moving him well outside the top ten. The 181 and 171 finished 15th and 16th in class. The ST class winner was the always quick Compass 360 Honda Civic of Aschenbach / Thilenius.

APR Motorsport showed real promise and speed in the Fresh from Florida 200, but the momentum carried from their outstanding late 2009 performances could not translate into victory in yesterday's race. You can bet they'll be working hard to prepare for a more successful round at Homestead Florida, on March 13th.

More info: Grand-Am.com / GoAPR.com

_WRS

Grand Am: CSCC First race of the season! 01/29/10

Today is the very first race of the Grand Am season. 1:45pm to 3:15pm, EST. Although TV coverage on Speed TV is delayed until February 13th, live timing will be available at Grand-Am.com, and I'm sure APR and other teams will be updating their various Twitter and Facebook pages accordingly. Taking place as a support race for the Rolex 24 at the world-famous Daytona International Speedway, APR Motorsport will be doing battle in the GS and ST classes of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. (Formerly known as the Koni Challenge) Honestly I am far from a fan of the Rolex series itself...the Daytona (D-U-M-B) Prototypes are possibly the ugliest racing cars this side of Death Race 2000 and they are far from interesting to watch.

Seriously...talk about a face only a mother could love. The best description I've ever heard of these cars is 'elephantine turtles.' Pretty accurate, no?

That said, the Continental Sports Car Challenge (also sanctioned by Grand Am) is everything that good racing is. Somewhat ironically, the success of the series is thanks to a sliding scale of weight, displacement, turbo boost and other factors which keep the diverse field close to the same times on the track. This is just like IMSA of days gone by, and is exactly the opposite of the approach with the DPs, which are the same car with very little to change in way of set up, horsepower, or anything else.



The ST and GS classes feature close, exciting, and cars that are not all that far removed from the ones which you and I drive on the street. More accurately cars that you and probably other people drive on the street, since my newest car is 15 years old, but you know what I mean. Anyways, when the Continental Sports Car Challenge comes to a track near you I highly recommend going to see it in person. It's great fun, the teams are fantastic, and the racing is absolutely some of the best you will see anywhere in the world. Better than F1, better than NASCAR, and better than half of the other series out there. I guarantee.

_WRS