Over seven months have passed since the green flag waved at Daytona International Speedway in January, opening the inaugural VSCA SportsCar Championship season.
Six championship rounds later, the series now visits to Plymouth, Wisconsin and Road America for its penultimate race of the year, which also serves as the season finale for the VSCA Sprint Cup.
VSCA Sprint Cup Championship Battle
The VSCA Sprint Cup, of course, is the in-series championship consisting of the season’s sprint races at Laguna Seca, Mid-Ohio, CTMP and Road America as its season finale.
In the Sprint Cup P2 Prototype class championship it is The No. 43 Dallara of Torque Freak Racing holding a solid 90-point lead over the No. 79 Dallara of Champion Motorsports and the No. 7 Dallara of Element SimRacing.
Meanwhile, things are even tighter in the Sprint Cup GT3 class standings as the No. 6 Porsche of Torque Freak Racing sees Kinetic Racing’s No. 67 Porsche right on their heels with a mere 30 points separating the two.
“This is the first championship finale this season and of course we’re excited to see how it all plays out. We’ve seen some tremendous competition all year long, in the last three VSCA Sprint Cup races. No matter which team comes out on top, it will be well deserved.”, says VSCA co-founder Benjamin Fischer.
The VSCA Sprint Cup may see its season finale at Road America’s 14-turn and 4.05-mile (6.51 km) long circuit, but the VSCA SportsCar Championship is still making the biggest headlines.
VSCA SportsCar Championship P2 Prototype Battle
With Road America being the penultimate championship round in the series, the pressure is on for the teams that find themselves in the middle of contention for the overall championship.
Element SimRacing’s No. 7 Dallara team is leading the P2 Prototype championship standings ever since winning at Watkins Glen in June and will look to defend the top spot before heading into the season finale at Road Atlanta in October.
The two-time race winners from Germany will be the hunted at Road America, knowing full well it will take a solid performance to keep the advantage.
One team that only knows too well, how quickly one can lose the points lead and championship form is the No. 747 Dallara of Lone Wolf Motorsports.
The Danish team won the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona and lead the championship standings through June but has dropped to seventh place in the championship after a horrific crash and DNF at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
On the flip side, there is the No. 43 Dallara of Torque Freak Racing, currently sitting in second place in the P2 Prototype championship standings.
Scoring a third-place finish in last month’s VSCA Canadian Sports Car Challenge at Mosport allowed the No. 43 Dallara to gain 70 points on championship leaders Element SimRacing.
World of SimRacing and the No. 51 Dallara team sit in third, but at 220 points have a gap that realistically speaking may be too large to overcome in just two races.
“It looks like it’s a two-horse race for the P2 overall championship. But you never know. Certainly, it will be an exciting race to watch this weekend.”, Benjamin Fischer added.
VSCA SportsCar Championship GT3 Prototype Battle
A lower class doesn’t mean a lower level of competition by any means. The GT3 class in the series is perfect proof for this.
Heading into Road America, three-time race winner, the No. 6 Torque Freak Racing Porsche, holds a 50-point lead over the No. 67 Kinetic Racing Porsche, who seem to follow them like a shadow all season long.
Out of a total six championship rounds, the two cars have combined for four (!) one-two finishes.
As a result of this dominating consistency, the next-closest competitor– the No. 84 Porsche of Fischer Motorsport, is a distant 500 points behind and won’t be a factor in the championship under normal circumstances.
“I think we’re just going to go about it the same way that we had for the last six rounds: Just focus on what we need to do, focus on where we are on the track and who we’re actually racing and who we’re not racing.”, said Kinetic Racing’s Nicholas Sceats last Sunday in the latest episode of VSCAracing.com’s Podcast Series “Ten Questions with…”.
“We’re still going to apply that pressure all the way through Road Atlanta. We will be there!”, Sceats added.
Apex Racing TV’s final broadcast of 2022
Apex Racing TV will cover Saturday’s Elkhart Lake Sports Car Challenge at Road Atlanta in their final broadcast of the 2022 season. Coverage will start Saturday at 15:30 GMT / 11:30 am ET with the race scheduled to start at around 16:00 GMT / 12 pm noon ET.
Prior to Road America, rumors in the paddock have it that VSCA has been planning on potentially expanding its broadcast deal with Apex Racing TV for 2022, to cover all championship rounds.
However, feedback has been mixed among VSCA SportsCar Championship team managers due to the increase in entry fee such an expanded broadcast deal would likely go with.
VSCA co-founder Benjamin Fischer on the topic: “We are still in the planning stages for next season. The broadcast deal, if there will be one, is only one of many things that are part of the discussions we have among Organizers and with the members.”
“We do know that the members like the series format we provide. Still, there are several things we want to improve going into next season. But there is always a balance to be kept, especially when it comes to the question if improvements cost money. We will continue talks with the members and internal discussions the next few months and will look to make the decision that’s best for the league.”
New teams making season debut at Road America
Road America will see some new faces on the grid. Delta Racing will see their No. 4 BMW M4 GT3 make its season debut. Right out of the gate, the team from Brazil has posted the fastest lap time in Free Practice 1.
Torque Freak Racing meanwhile enters a second GT3 car, the No. 359 Porsche 911 GT3R in the final two races of the season.
In total, Saturday’s Elkhart Lake Sports Car Challenge expects a 45-car grid, 15 P2 Prototypes and 30 GT3 cars.