Pirelli World Challenge “SprintX” Coming to Lime Rock
Lime Rock Park’s first major spectator event of the year is the Pirelli World Challenge GT series, Friday, and Saturday, May 26 and 27. Of the 2017 championship’s 11 race weekends, just five were “hand-picked” to enjoy its exciting SprintX format – including Lime Rock.
So, what is SprintX?
Across the world, there are basically two types of GT racing (i.e., race cars based on production sports cars). There are sprint races – short, quick competitions, usually an hour or less – and endurance races, which are between two-and-half and 24 hours long and by rule, employ two or more drivers per car.
In the U.S., the short sprint GT races are conducted by Pirelli World Challenge (PWC), while the long endurance GT races are conducted by IMSA WeatherTech (at Lime Rock July 22).
PWC SprintX is a terrific hybrid of these two types of GT competition. The races are still short – in this case, 1 hour – but there is a mandatory driver swap at 25 minutes.
Which means all the teams have to hire a second driver for the SprintX races; “hired gun” racers from different GT series around the world join the regular PWC drivers.
For instance, brothers Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor, the young-gun sons of endurance racing legend Wayne Taylor, are hitching up with the Cadillac PWC team. The brothers are teammates on their Dad’s IMSA WeatherTech team, and in January, March, and April, they won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Bubba Burger Grand Prix at Long Beach, respectively, in their Cadillac DPi prototype. Jordan will be co-driving with Johnny O’Connell in the no. 3 Cadillac ATS-V.R., and Ricky is pairing up with Michael Cooper in the no. 8 Caddy.
There are a total of eight Pirelli World Challenge races over Memorial Day Weekend, Friday and Saturday, May 26-27 at Lime Rock Park.
In addition, the “anti-concours concours,” the Royals Garage Car Show, is on Sunday the 28th. Wayne Carini will be a special guest at the show, supporting this year’s beneficiary, Autism Families Connecticut.
Click on either image for ticket info…
At Lime Rock, parking is free, youths 16 and under are free (w/accompanying adult), paddock access is free, and vets and active military (and for Memorial Day weekend, their immediate families) are free.
Sources: Rick Roso/Lime Rock Park PR