Greg Liefooghe in the #20 Stephen Cameron Racing M235i Racing won both Pirelli World Challenge Series Touring Car 40-minute sprint races at Utah Motorsports Campus. A record number of M235iRs to take to the track in a single race, 21 in all, dominated the proceedings, with podium sweeps in both races.
Liefooghe took the lead on an eventful lap one. Series points leader Paul Holton in an Audi RS3 LMS Club Sport went off course and there was a multi-car incident that put the race under yellow for four laps. Liefooghe held onto the lead and motored away when the track went back to green, finishing ahead of 2016 Touring Car champion Toby Grahovec in the #1 Classic BMW M235iR and Anthony Magagnoli, scoring his first PWC podium finish in the #80 Rooster Hall Racing M235iR. Two more M235iRs, the #81 Winding Road Team TFB car driven by Jacob Ruud and the #2 Classic BMW car driven by Jason Clunie finished fourth and fifth.
Liefooghe took command at the start of race two. Another multi-car incident on lap one put the cars under yellow, but the caution period was shorter than that in race one. When the track went back to green Liefooghe led ahead of a battle among his teammate Ari Balogh, Nick Wittmer (#91 ST Racing M235iR), and Grahovec. Balogh held off the duo of Wittmer and Grahovec until late in the race, when he ran wide and they drove past him. In the end M235iRs occupied the top seven positions. The order was Liefooghe, Wittmer, Grahovec, Balogh, Mason Filippi (Winding Road Team TFB #12), Magagnoli, and Stefan Sajic (Zima Motorsports #18).
Points leader Holton finished twelfth. At press time PWC had not released updated points.
The Touring Cars run again at Circuit of the Americas on September 1-3.—Brian S. Morgan
