SCCA: Borcheller, Stewart Score World Challenge Wins at Road America

17 August 1998

ELKHART LAKE, Wis.-- Terry Borcheller drove to his third victory of the season in the World Challenge T1 Class race by 4.441 seconds over Bobby Archer on the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course at Road America. Lance Stewart also captured his third win of the season in T2 Class competition with a 2.170-second win over rookie Will Turner.

Borcheller, of Crystal River, Fla., capitalized on the horsepower advantage of his No. 56 Home Improvement/RRR Speedlab Saleen Mustang, capturing the pole and out-gunning the field to extend his lead in the T1 Class Drivers' Championship.

"The car was hooked up as good at the end as it was at the start," said Borcheller. "I knew the Vipers would be strong, but we expected to be strong here, too. I was thankful for the cautions to help conserve our fuel and cool the brakes."

Chasing Borcheller were the powerful Dodge Vipers of Neil Hanneman and Bobby Archer. Hanneman, in the No. 31 Viper Speed Dodge Viper, took the early lead from the outside pole before being passed by Borcheller on lap three. Hanneman then had his hands full of teammate Archer. Archer, in the No. 3 Viper Speed Dodge Viper, was not about to concede anything to Hanneman, making the pass for second on lap 11 and holding off his teammate in a side-by-side finish.

"This is a team made up of volunteer engineers and mechanics who didn't even know each other six months ago, and we are really coming together," said Archer. "This was a great weekend for us in terms of learning the cars. I was able to get a jump on Neil on the last restart and then hold it to the end."

Ron Johnson, in the No. 65 Dura/RRR Speedlab Saleen Mustang, finished fourth, followed by the No. 96 H.P. Motorsports Ford Mustang Cobra of Paul Brown.

In the T2 Class, Stewart started from the pole, recorded the fastest race lap and drove away from the field in his No. 34 DC Sports Acura Integra Type R . Michael Galati, in No. 44 RealTime Racing/Comptech Acura Integra R, challenged Stewart for the lead early, but spun in turn 12 on lap seven, bringing out the first of two full-course cautions, both resulting in no injuries.

"The team is gaining more experience every week and it is showing up in the results," said Stewart. "We knew some of the cars would have problems so our plan was to be conservative and save as much as possible for the end."

Moving up from his fifth-place start was Turner, who drove his No. 92 Turner Motorsports BMW 328is to his first World Challenge podium finish.

"I tried to get Stewart on the restart," said Turner, "but it's great to be on the podium. We have worked around the clock on the car and it gets better every race."

Turner, however, did not have to wait as long as David Rosenblum, whose third-place finish in the No. 18 Quaker State/ICY Racing Saturn SC marked the first podium finish for the World Challenge veteran in his 46th-career start. Hugh Plumb followed Rosenblum in fourth-place driving the No. 50 European Motorsports Technologies BMW 328is, and the No. 66 Seismic Tiger Racing Honda Prelude of David Bruener finished fifth.

"We had nothing but bad luck in the practice session, so we were just trying to keep the car on track," said Rosenblum. "This season has been a struggle, so this is a nice reward for all of the time and effort that is spent to come and race."

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- Results from Saturday's 20-lap, 80.96-mile World Challenge race Road America, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, class, car, laps and reason out.

   1. (1), Terry Borcheller, Phoenix, Ariz., T1, Saleen Mustang, 20.
   2. (4), Bobby Archer, Ft. Worth, Texas, T1, Dodge Viper, 20.
   3. (2), Neil Hannemann, Livonia, Mich., T1, Dodge Viper, 20.
   4. (3), Ron Johnson, Wayzata, Minn., T1, Saleen Mustang, 20.
   5. (10), Paul Brown, Omaha, Neb., T1, Ford Mustang Cobra, 20.
   6. (9), Brian Richards, Pleasant Hills, Pa., T1, Mazda RX-7 Turbo, 20.
   7. (8), George Biskup, Naperville, Ill., T1, Porsche 911, 20.
   8. (11), Randy Roatch, Wichita, Kansas, T1, Porsche 911, 20.
   9. (26), Reese Cox, Marietta, Ga., T1, Chevrolet Corvette, 20.
  10. (12), Lance Stewart, Jupiter, Fla., T2, Acura Integra R, 20.
  11. (17), Will Turner, Newburyport, Mass., T2, BMW 328i, 20.
  12. (21), David Rosenblum, Langhorne, Pa., T2, Saturn SC, 20.
  13. (15), Jeff Demetri, Omaha, Neb., T1, Ford Mustang, 20.
  14. (29), Hugh Plumb, Chadds Ford, Pa., T2, BMW 328is, 20.
  15. (24), David Bruener, Port Edwards, Wis., T2, Honda Prelude, 20.
  16. (18), Michael Giglio, Watertown, Conn., T1, Ford Mustang Cobra, 20.
  17. (19), Brian Wade, Newfield, N.H., T2, BMW 328i, 20.
  18. (27), Michael Sturm, Grafton, Wis., T2, Honda Prelude, 20.
  19. (20), Brad Creger, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, T2, Acura Integra R,
19.
  20. (33), Hugh Stewart, Massipequa, N.Y., T2, Volkswagon Jetta, 19.
  21. (30), Gary Davis, Grosse III, Mich., T2, BMW 325i, 19.
  22. (32), Fred Meyer, Dallas, Texas, T2, Acura Integra R, 19.
  23. (25), Walter Dethier, Warren, Conn., T1, Ford Mustang Cobra, 19.
  24. (14), Pierre Kleinubing, Erexim, Brazil, T2, Acura Integra R, 18.
  25. (6), David Schardt, Dayton, Ohio, T1, Toyota Supra Turbo, 17.
  26. (5), Peter Cunningham, West Bend, Wis., T1, Acura NSX, 11, Mech.
  27. (23), Pierre Bareil, Cap madeleine, Canada, T1, Ford Mustang LX, 10
  28. (7), Pete Halsmer, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., T1, Acura NSX, 9, Mech.
  29. (13), Michael Galati, North Olmsted, Ohio, T2, Acura Integra R, 5
  30. (16), Walter Puckett, Shelby, N.C., T2, Saturn SC, 4, Trans.
  31. (22), Alfred DuPont, Kennett Square, Pa., T1, BMW M3, 1, Mech.
  32. (31), Yan Tom, New York, N.Y., T2, Volkswagon Jetta, 0, Mech.
  33. (35), Johannes Van Overbeek, Pleasanton, Calif., T2, BMW 328is, 0
  34. (39), Mark Reed, London, UK, T2, Oldsmobile Achieva, 0, DNS.
  35. (34), Alain Chebeir, Pelham, N.Y., T2, BMW 328is, 0, DNS.
  36. (38), Steve Lisa, Scottsdale, Ariz., T2, Oldsmobile Achieva, 0, DNS.
  37. (28), Dennis Petersen, McHenry, Ill., T1, Chevrolet Corvette, 0,
DNS.
  38. (36), Chris Wiehle, DeKalb, Ill., T1, Chevrolet Corvette, 0, DNS.
  39. (40), Chuck Hemmingson, West Des Moines, Iowa, T2, Oldsmobile
Achieva,
  40. (37), Dick Read, Hoopston, Ill., T2, Pontiac Sunfire, 0, DNS.
  41. (41), Jerry Isaacson, Long Grove, Ill., T1, Porsche 911 RSR, 0, DNS.


T1 Race Statistics
Time of Race: 59 minutes, 08.799 seconds.
Average Speed: 82.128 miles-per-hour
Margin of Victory: 4.441 seconds
Lap Leaders: Laps 1 - 2, Neil Hannemann; Laps 3 - 20, Terry Borcheller
Fastest Race Lap: Ron Johnson, 2:24.073 (101.148 mph)

T2 Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour, 24.731 seconds.
Average Speed: 80.407 miles-per-hour
Margin of Victory: 1.775 seconds
Lap Leaders: Laps 1 - 20,  Lance Stewart
Fastest Race Lap: Lance Stewart, 2:35.540 (93.691 mph)



World Challenge T1 Drivers' Championship Standings
(Top-five through seven races)

Pos., Driver, Car, Points
1, Terry Borcheller, Saleen Mustang, 180
2, Ron Johnson, Saleen Mustang, 165
3, Peter Cunningham, Acura NSX, 154
4, Neil Hanneman, Dodge Viper, 123
5, Bobby Archer, Dodge Viper, 93

World Challenge T2 Drivers' Championship Standings
(Top-five through seven races)

Pos., Driver, Car, Points
1, Lance Stewart, Acura Integra Type R, 181
2, Michael Galati, Acura Integra Type R, 180
3, Pierre Kleinubing, Acura Integra Type R, 164
4, Hugh Plumb, BMW 328is, 144
5, Johannes Van Overbeek, BMW 328 is, 138