By: Trans Am | 2 hours ago New class names for its growing production-based classes are just one of the many visible and behind the scenes changes approaching the March 1-3 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Series opener at Sebring International Raceway.The renamed SuperGT (formerly TA3) and GT (formerly TA4) classes are now aligned name-wise with other “GT” series and classes in North America.As Trans Am Series officials worked hard reaching out to potential competitors over the winter, it became apparent that not everyone was aware the series now includes production-based classes and is an attractive additional venue for racing their GT cars.

Though the Trans Am started as a purely production-based series in 1966, the transition to tube-frame chassis with silhouette bodies beginning in the 1980s left many assuming those are the only types of cars competing.But not so.

“We’ve updated the names for the GT and SuperGT classes to better reflect the kinds of cars competing in them,” said John Claggett, Trans Am Race Company president. “Diversity is a key aspect of these classes. Sports cars, grand touring cars, performance coupes, and performance sedans — all with varying engines and drivetrain layouts — all are welcomed in the GT and SuperGT classes.” Last year, the Trans Am Race Company hired a new technical director with extensive experience in production car officiating, engineering and team management. During the 2018 season, the class philosophies were solidified, and a new rule set was developed that will remain in effect

for an extended period of time to encourage stability, innovation, and growth of the production classes.The liberal eligibility rules allow a wide range of cars, prepared for both professional and amateur classes, to race now and well into the future, aiming to maximize return on investment in equipment......at least for now.....and so they say for now......at least until we get enough cars coming out.“In recent years, the world of professional motorsports has moved more, and more, towards ‘cookie cutter’ race cars delivered exclusively from the factory,” said Aaron Coalwell, technical director for the TA, GT and SGT classes. “While there are some positive aspects to that approach, and Trans Am does welcome these factory-built race cars, it removes all the unique innovation that used to be seen from car to car. We once kicked out the innovators so we could have "uniformity and equality", and we created the cookie cutters.

It has reached the point where customized and tuned street cars are often more innovative than top-level race cars.”
....and we plan to screw over those "innovative little guys" by claiming "diversity". How dare they go faster than the cookie cutters!

The GT and SGT classes represent a different approach by establishing a place to race for individual race teams and tuner shops, to compete with innovative and unique vehicles showcasing their abilities. The Trans Am Series wants to help bring innovation and uniqueness between cars from the various teams back into professional racing....as long as they don't go too fast.

The GT class uses the FIA GT4 cars and Balance of Performance as its baseline. GT4 cars are factory-built race cars, but they are limited-preparation, using a lot of OEM production parts and a limited number of bolt-on aerodynamic parts.


Older GT4 models can now be purchased on the used market reasonably. And for non-GT4 cars, the rules allow significant freedom to make cars prepared for other series competitive in the class with reasonable build and preparation costs.The SuperGT class uses the Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup car with OEM mechanicals and ABS added as the performance baseline due to its level of testing and development, availability, and operational costs. This class has a higher performance potential, and has the most freedom within the rules for innovation. The Trans Am Series was started by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and is still closely allied with SCCA and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. Allowances will be made letting cars eligible for SCCA Club Racing classes such as T1 and GT2 to easily crossover with minor weight and restrictor adjustments, as well as to encourage GT and SGT teams to crossover to SCCA Club Racing events.
In other words, we need more cars added to shrinking fields due to excessively unfair rules and regulations.

There are also a significant number of professionally-built, or factory-built, race cars that have lost eligibility from the professional series they were built for, or will soon lose eligibility, as new models are released.This is a very different approach from most professional series, and is creating great diversity of cars in our growing fields, which will create great racing for the fans.

In order to grow participation in the production classes, Trans Am has begun contacting former competitors to let them know about the many changes made since they last raced with Trans Am. The Technical Department has also started researching what cars from other North American race series, professional and amateur, would easily crossover into the Trans Am GT and SGT classes. Throughout the 2019 season, they will be contacting teams and prep shops to let them know of the opportunities and benefits of racing in the Trans Am Series.




In addition to new rules with longer eligibility periods, the Trans Am Technical Department has instituted more professional technical procedures where all cars go through tech at least once a weekend. This ensures that cars that do not finish on the podium are still following the rules. Following each event, video and data analysis is performed as needed to keep the performance of the various cars balanced.

A little like IMSA holding cars up in the pits because their CREWS are "too fast" getting cars back on the track......and the further screwing them over by disqualifying, or shoving them to the back, because their DRIVERS were more skilled than some other cars.

The Trans Am Technical Department is dedicated to providing the best customer service of any race series by making the technical process as easy as possible.

By: Richard S. James 19 hours ago When the 2019 Trans-Am season kicks off at Sebring this weekend, it will mark the 50th anniversary of one of the most epic seasons the series – or any race series – has seen. 1969 was full of intrigue, with teams seeking fueling advantages to shorten pit stops, acid-dipped cars with vinyl roofs to hide the thin sheet metal, and a tire war between Firestone and Goodyear that damaged relationships to the point racers were trying to purposely take out others on track.In its fourth year, Trans-Am had hit its stride enough that manufacturers were using their substantial resources to win, and Pontiac was willing to pay $5 per car to use the name of the series on a special model of its Firebird (ironically, that model’s engine was too big to be used in the series).Big names in the racing world, and some that would soon be, were involved, and the manufacturers were keen to claim the title. It was primarily a Ford vs. Chevrolet battle, with Pontiac and AMC being bit players. Bud Moore led the charge for Ford with Parnelli Jones and George Follmer driving, while Chevrolet had tasked Roger Penske to win the championship with Mark Donohue leading and Ronnie Bucknum and Ed Leslie playing supporting roles.The series then was still all about production-based Pony cars, but teams were beginning to get creative. Dipping the bodies in acid to make them lighter was becoming commonplace – there was a minimum weight, but by getting the car as far under that weight as possible, the teams were able to add ballast where they wanted it, low in the car. Penske even went too far with one of its cars, causing the team to apply vinyl roofs both to save money on painting and to hide the wavy sheet metal of the too-thin roof.The vinyl tops, while not specifically prohibited in the rulebook, were disallowed mid-season. So was Penske’s 20-foot-tall fuel rig, designed to get fuel into the car as fast as possible during pit stops. But that rig never quite fulfilled its promise, and by mid-season the teams had figured out more efficient refueling methods anyway.Moore’s Mustangs had chopped radiator supports to get the nose as small and low as possible. Penske followed suit with its Camaros. Penske and Donohue had dominated in 1968 and worked to improve the car for the following season, trying a lot of relatively radical stuff, but ended up with a car that, as Donohue wrote in The Unfair Advantage, started out awful and ended up only just as good as the 1968 car.Meanwhile, Bud Moore Engineering came in after Ford pulled the plug on his Mercury racing efforts to try to win the championship. Ford wanted redemption after Penske had beaten Carroll Shelby’s Mustangs in ’68. In the early part of the season, it looked like they might get it. The Firestones the Moore team was running were better than the Goodyears Penske had on its cars, especially in the wet, and the first race at Michigan International Speedway was in the rain. That rain also kept Penske from proving the worth of its extra-tall fuel rig, as the team was changing from wet to dry tires and back nearly every pit stop.That race was marred by a scoring error that at first left Donohue the winner, but Moore and Jones protested and Jones was declared the winner. Legend has it that there were some insults hurled at Penske in the process, strengthening his resolve to win the championship againThe next race, at Lime Rock on Memorial Day weekend, was missing Donohue, who was off racing at Indianapolis; Bob Johnson drove the Camaro. Sam Posey won that race, the lone bright spot for Shelby during the season. Bucknum won for Penske at Mid-Ohio, and Follmer for Moore at Bridgehampton. Jones was the first driver to win more than one race with a victory at Donnybrooke in Brainerd, Minn after a furious battle with Donohue, whose Camaro broke late in the race.Through five rounds, the defending champion who so dominated the previous season with 10 wins had yet to find victory. But that changed at Bryar Motorsports Park. By then, SCCA had decided that several things about the Camaros weren’t right, including some holes in the doors to duct air to the rear brakes and the vinyl top, not to mention the 20-foot fuel rig (Penske would come up with a new fast fueling rig by the next race). Donohue led Leslie, who had taken over the other Camaro due to Bucknum breaking his wrist in a highway accident, to a one-two finish.From that point forward, a Penske Camaro won every single race. Donohue took victories at Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca, Sears Point, and Riverside; Bucknum won at Sears Point. But the late season had other drama. Donohue managed to get a hold of the new Firestone tire for a test at Sears Point, discovering that they were indeed faster. And when those tires landed in the hands of Goodyear, there was much discord in the paddock. In the final race at Riverside, Jones and Donohue came together twice, but Donohue survived to win the race and secure another championship for Chevrolet. Chevrolet had eight wins to Ford’s four, with Pontiac and AMC shut out.That 1969 season is considered by many to be the high point of Trans-Am’s early years. 1970 saw Penske switch to the AMC Javelin and Ford take the manufacturers championship. The gas crisis a few years later made muscle cars passé, the series switched to FIA Group 4 cars, and many thought the glory years were over. But the series continued, changing form and introducing more modified and then finally tube-frame silhouette cars.Today the Chevrolet vs. Ford vs. Dodge battle continues, but it’s more about the drivers such as Ernie Francis Jr., Lawrence Loshak, Chris Dyson and Amy Ruman. There are no more tire wars thanks to partnership with Pirelli. But the battles on track remain fierce. They resume on March 1-3 at Sebring International Raceway.Terms of use: These images are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0. They are attributed to Dave Friedman collection held at the Benson Ford Center and have been cropped slightly from the original. Originals available .

By: Richard S. James | 28 minutes ago For 2019, the class formerly known as GTS – but had been all-GT4-homologated cars since 2018 – has the new name of GT4 America and consists of four championships – Sprint, SprintX, GT4 East and GT4 West. The latter two are two-driver, 60-minute SprintX championships as well. All three SprintX championships get under way this weekend at Circuit of the Americas with a pair of combined races totaling 33 entries.Those entries include some one-offs from Sprint competitors looking to get a jumpstart before that season begins on the streets of St. Petersburg next weekend, so it’s an eclectic mix of racers from all four championships. Although some have declared their intention to run one or the other, that could change as the season progresses and teams discover their niche.“In GT4 we had a very divided paddock,” explains SRO principal Stephane Ratel of how conversations about the coming season went during last year. “Half the people wanted to do SprintX, which are basically the teams that need to finance and need to have two drivers competing. Then we had others that had the resources and didn’t want to share the drive. We decided to let the market decide and have a Sprint series and a SprintX. To the outside world it can look confusing, but with the growth of GT4 it can work. If both can work and both can be financially sustainable, we can continue with both. For the moment it’s about transition and we will see how it progresses.”At some weekends, there will be separate Sprint and SprintX races during the weekend. But the season opener at COTA is all about SprintX and the entry list is varied and intriguing. The national Pro/Am field is short, bolstered by a couple of teams that have declared their intent to primarily race Sprint events, including Jason Bell in a GMG Audi R8 LMS with Alec Udell and Jarett Andretti in the Andretti Autosport McLaren 570S with Karl Thomson. For those having announced their intent to run the full season of SprintX, it’s likely to be a battle between Michael Dinan/Robby Foley in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman Clubsport MR and Sean Quinlan/Gregory Liefooghe in a Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4.The Amateur division is equally as interesting, led by Team Panoz Racing with Preston Calvert and Matt Keegan. Calvert took some victories last year as a solo driver, and Keegan partnered with Ian James for several Pro/Am victories in the Avezzano GT. Together they should be formidable. Auto Technic Racing is bringing a BMW for John Allen and Kris Wilson, and NOLASPORT returns with a new 718 Cayman for Mike Vess and John Capestro-Dublets.The fact that the GT4 East and West entries are almost as long (West) or longer (East) than the national entries indicates the popularity of the East and West championships concept as teams seek to manage budgets by minimizing travel. With COTA centrally located, it makes sense for it to be the spot where both championships can meet.On the East side, if one is looking for strengths, it’s hard to ignore Fast Track Racing/Classic BMW. Fielding BMW M4s for Stevan McAleer/Justin Raphael and team manager Toby Grahovec with Chris Omacht, their consistency and continuity, not to mention being named BMW Motorsports 2018 Sports Trophy Team of the Year for their performance last season, make a solid argument for a championship run. But there are plenty to challenge them, starting with more BMWs, one from Precision Driving Tech for Marko Radisic and Karl Wittmer and another for James Clay and Randy Mueller from Epic Motorsports.There are a couple of strong entries on the Porsche side, with Kelly-Moss and Park Place Motorsports fielding Caymans for some solid drivers. Stuart Briscoe and Andrew Davis will race for Kelly-Moss, while Park Place fields Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman. Former TCA champion Elivan Goulart returns, moving to GT4 with Anthony Geraci in a Krugspeed Ginetta G55. And Adam Poland, last seen racing a Mazda MX-5 in Touring Car, joins GT4 with an Audi R8, bringing Andy Pilgrim as his Am. There are some other interesting entries for COTA, but they have not stated their intention to run a full season of GT4 East.In GT4 East Am, it’s hard to look past Matthew Fassnacht and Christian Szymczak in a Mercedes-AMG fielded by Murillo Racing. This pairing of two champions from different disciplines – Fassnacht won a TCA title and Szymczak is an MX-5 Cup winner – got stronger as the season went on. Kelly-Moss joining with Photon Motorsports to field an R8 for Greg and Eric Palmer; the Fast Track/Classic BMW pair of Jeff Sexton and Ray Mason; and the Bodymotion racing Cayman with Sean Gibbons and, for the opener, Al Carter have potential as well.The GT4 West field is smaller but has some strong entries as well. ST Racing has Samantha Tan and Jason Wolfe in a BMW M4 and Rearden Racing has Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler in an Audi R8 to name a couple of the Pro/Am contestants. In the Am category, it’s hard to ignore 2018 Touring Car champion Vesko Kozarov joining Jeff Burton in a Rearden Racing R8, but there is also The Racers Group Caymans for Derek DeBoer, partnering with Jame Rappaport for COTA, and Chris Bellomo/Kevin Woods. Plus, Ian Lacy Racing is back with a Ginetta for Frank Gannett and Drew Stavely.There are some notable absences for 2019. The Camaros have disappeared – Blackdog Racing will be campaigning McLarens in the Sprint races – and only a single Mustang is entered at COTA, a KoHR Motorsports car for Rich Golinello and Nate Stacy. 2018 champion James Sofronas has moved back to GT, as has George Kurtz.The two GT4 America races at COTA happen at 1:05 p.m. Eastern on Saturday and 10:10 a.m. on Sunday. GT4 America joins Blancpain GT World Challenge America and TC America in the new SRO America family for their season openers. CBS Sports Network will broadcast races in 2019, and some of the series will be broadcast worldwide. In addition all races will be livestreamed across a variety of platforms, including at www.world-challenge.com.