GT, Touring Car Mosport Race Report

BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO (May 23)-Bobby Archer, in the No. 32 Viper Speed Dodge Viper, won the season-opening Speedvision GT Championship race at the 2.459-mile Mosport International Raceway over George Biskup, in the No. 22 Biskup Racing Porsche RSR. David Schardt finished third in the 58:01.357 race that started seven different manufacturer models in the first eight positions. "To get a win this weekend was a momentous feat," said Archer. "Ten days ago we started a complete rebuild on the car, and we only had seven laps in practice and qualifying prior to the race." Archer scored his sixth-career World Challenge win, and his the first since the 1991 Mosport event, in a race that finished under caution, but provided tight racing action for the top four positions between Archer, Biskup, Schardt, and Bill Cooper. "When we came to Mosport, our goal was to keep the car on the track and finish the race," said Biskup, who takes the early lead the Red Line Oil Rookie of the Year race. "This is a great start for our season, and we will continue to try and put in consistent performances at every event." Cooper, who started on the pole, led the first 22 laps of the 58:01.357 race, and seemed to have command of the race before a faulty clutch dropped the No. 75 Les Stanford Chevrolet Corvette back to third. Archer then inherited a lead he would not relinquish, fending off repeated challenges from Biskup and Schardt, in the No. 94 Hikari Racing/Toyota Racing Development Toyota Supra Turbo. "We were lucky that Bill (Cooper) had problems went out," said Archer. "He really had the field covered with power and handling. You never like the race to finish under caution, but we'll take it." The trio developed a 23-second lead over fourth position before a lap 26 incident, resulting in no injuries, forced the field to finish the race under the yellow flag. Biskup's runner-up finish, and Schardt's third were respective career-best World Challenge finishes for each driver. "Over the winter, we were able to get a lot of things sorted out with the car," said Schardt. "This is a very demanding track, and the Hikari Works Toyota Supra Turbo was great today. The team really did a great job this weekend." Bill Cooper was able to keep his car in the race to finish fourth, followed by Derek Bell in fifth position, in the No. 30 Speedvision Legends of Motorsports BMW M Coupe. Bell made his Speedvision GT Championship debut as part of the Speedvision Legends of Motorsport program as both driver and in-race commentator for the Speedvision Network. Bell is not eligible for Drivers' Championship points. After one round of the 1999 Speedvision GT Championship, Bobby Archer leads with 32 points, followed by Biskup (28), Schardt (26), Cooper (27) and Gary Smith (21).

Bowmanville, Ontario -- The results from Sunday's 28-lap, 68.852-mile 1999 Speedvision GT Championship at Mosport International Raceway, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out.

1. (5), Bobby Archer, Ft. Worth, Texas, GT, Dodge Viper, 28. 2. (2), George Biskup, Naperville, Ill., GT, Porsche 911 RSR, 28. 3. (3), David Schardt, Dayton, Ohio, GT, Toyota Supra Turbo, 28. 4. (1), Bill Cooper, Phoenix, Ariz., GT, Corvette ZR-1, 28. 5. (7), Derek Bell, Pagham Sussex, England, GTB, BMW, 28. 6. (20), Gary Smith, Bradford, Pa., GT, Ford Mustang R, 28. 7. (21), John Kohler, Bradford, Pa., GT, Ford Mustang R, 28. 8. (12), Walter Swick, Concord, Ohio, GT, BMW M3, 28. 9. (14), Peirre Bareil, Cap de la Madeline, QB, GT, Ford Mustang LX, 26. 10. (13), Dennis Petersen, McHenry, Ill., GT, Chevrolet Corvette, 26. 11. (18), Alain Chebeir, Pelham, N.Y., GT, BMW M Coupe, 26. 12. (6), Peter Kitchack, Excelsior, Minn., GT, Porsche 911, 26. 13. (17), Walter Dethier, Warren, Conn., GT, Ford Mustang Cobra, 26. 14. (11), Terry Lackey, Hickcock, Texas, GT, Chevrolet Corvette LT-4, 24, Crash. 15. (16), Scotty B. White, Puyallup, Wash., GT, Chevrolet Corvette C5, 24, Mech. 16. (4), Pete Halsmer, Bloomfield, Mich., GT, Acura NSX, 18. 17. (8), Paul Brown, Omaha, Neb., GT, Saleen Mustang, 11, Mech. 18. (9), Reese Cox, Marietta, Ga., GT, Chevrolet Corvette C5, 8, Mech. 19. (10), Bob Schiesser, Brookfield, Conn., GT, Saleen Mustang, 8, Crash. 20. (19), John Heinricy, Holly, Mich., GT, Pontiac Firebird, 3, Mech. 21. (15), Kelly Bradley, Hitchcock, Texas, GT, Chevrolet Corvette LT-4, 1, Mech.

Time of Race: 58 minutes, 1.357 seconds. Average Speed: 71.198 miles-per-hour Margin of Victory: .80499 seconds Lap Leaders: Laps 1-22, Bill Cooper; Laps 23-28, Bobby Archer Fastest Race Lap: George Biskup, 1:33.165 (95.018 mph)

Provisional point standings for the 1999 Speedvision GT Championship Through Round One of Nine

Pos., Driver, Car, Points 1, Bobby Archer, Dodge Viper, 32 2, George Biskup, Porsche 911 RSR, 28 3, Bill Cooper, Corvette ZR-1, 27 4, David Schardt, Toyota Supra T, 26 5, Gary Smith, Ford Mustang R, 21 6, John Kohler, Ford Mustang R, 20 7, Walter Swick, BMW M3, 19 8, Peirre Bareil, Mustang LX, 18 9, Dennis Petersen, Corvette, 17 10, Alain Chebeir, BMW M Coupe, 16 11, Peter Kitchack, Porsche 911, 15 12, Walter Dethier, Mustang Cobra, 14 13, Terry Lackey, Corvette LT-4, 13 14, Pete Halsmer, Acura NSX, 12 15, Scotty B. White, Corvette C5, 12 16, Paul Brown, Saleen Mustang, 10 17, Reese Cox, Corvette C5, 9 18, Bob Schiesser, Saleen Mustang, 8 19, John Heinricy, PontiacFirebird, 7 20, Kelly Bradley, Corvette LT-4, 6

GALATI TAKES SPEEDVISION TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING-ROUND WIN

BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO (May 22)-Michael Galati, in the No. 19 Galati Racing Acura Integra R, won a rough-and-tumble Speedvision Touring Car Championship race at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn Mosport International Raceway by 12.318 seconds over Pierre Kleinubing, while Hugh Plumb finished third. "Pierre and I had some great racing today," said Galati. "I was really trying to take care of my car and wait for a good opportunity. I had more top-end speed, but the car was a little squirrely. Pierre was very fast in the corners, and making the pass for the lead wasn't easy." Galati, from Olmstead Township, Ohio, started the 28-lap, 68.85-mile race second, and followed Kleinubing's No. 42 Comptech/RealTime Racing Acura Integra R for the first 19 laps of the 1:01:48.293 contest, 12 of which were under full course caution-the result of two on-course incidents, resulting in no serious injuries. On the first lap after the race's second restart, Galati found the opening he was looking for going into turn five to take the lead for good, leaving Kleinubing to battle with the Acura Integra Rs of Hugh Plumb and Taz Harvey. Kleinubing and Harvey waged an intense door-to-door battle over the course of the next two laps, with Kleinubing ultimately taking over the runner-up spot for good on lap 21, after Harvey went off course at turn five. "Taz and I bumped pretty hard a couple of times, It's just one of those racing things," said Kleinubing. "He may have been too aggressive, but I just kept my boot down and did what I could to keep in on the track. This championship is going to be very close, and it's hard to tell who is going to be in contention." The 1998 Rookie of the Year Plumb, in the No. 43 Comptech/RealTime Racing Acura Integra R, held on to finish third, followed by rookies Bill Beilharz (No. 83 Patent It! Mazda 626) in fourth and Alfred DuPont (No. 51 European Racing Technologies BMW 328is) in fifth. After one round in the 1999 Speedvision Touring Car Championship, Michael Galati leads the Drivers' Championship Point Standings with 32, followed by Pierre Kleinubing 29, Hugh Plumb, 28, Bill Beilharz, 23, and Alfred DuPont, 21.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Can. - Results from Saturday's 28-lap, 68.85-mile Speedvision Touring Car Championship race at Mosport International Raceway, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out.

1. (2), Michael Galati, Olmstead Township, Ohio, Acura Integra R, 28. 2. (5), Hugh Plumb, Chaddsford, Pa., Acura Integra R, 28. 3. (1), Pierre Kleinubing, Erexim, Brazil, Acura Integra R, 28. 4. (6), Bill Beilharz, Scottsdale, Ariz., Mazda 626, 28. 5. (8), Alfred DuPont, Wilmington, Del., BMW 328si, 28. 6. (13), Jason Potter, Oxford, Ohio, Honda Accord, 28. 7. (11), Kevin Schrantz, Boulder, Colo., Acura Integra R, 28. 8. (10), Stephane Trahan, Leval, Quebec, Can., Volkswagen Golf, 28. 9. (19), Chris Reinke, Wilmington, Ohio, Ford Contour, 28. 10. (18), Brian Wade, Newfields, N.H., BMW 328is, 28. 11. (17), Alain Chebeir, Pelham, N.Y., BMW 328i, 28. 12. (15), Mike Richards, Gaithersburg, Md., Mercedes-Benz 190, 28. 13. (22), Gary Davis, Grosse Isle, Mich., BMW 328si, 28. 14. (23), Rick Ellinger, Rockville, Md., Mercedes-Benz, 28. 15. (25), Jeff Tarr, New York, N.Y., BMW 328is, 28. 16. (24), Fred Meyer, Dallas, Texas, Acura Integra R, 28. 17. (20), Ken Payson, Worchester, Mass., Mazda Miata, 27. 18. (9), Fred Pignataro, East Northport, N.Y., Ford Contour SVT, 23, Mech. 19. (21), Joel Solly, Colden, N.Y., Honda Accord, 23. 20. (3), Taz Harvey, Danville, Calif., Acura Integra R, 22. 21. (16), Mark Reed, London, England, Mazda 626, 19, Mech. 22. (14), Steve Lisa, Scottsdale, Ariz., Mazda 626, 12, Mech. 23. (26), David Rosenblum, Langhorne, Pa., BMW M3, 12, Crash. 24. (12), Joe Nonnamaker, Canton, Ohio, Mazda MX6, 11, Crash. 25. (7), Kurt Buchwald, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, BMW 328is, 11, Crash. 26. (4), Kristian Skavnes, Sparta, N.J., Acura Integra R, 3, Mech. 27. (28), Grant Lockwood, Cumming, Ga., Honda Prelude, 0, DNS. 29. (27), Paul Gargiulo, Greenwich, Conn., BMW 328i, 0, DNS. 30. (30), Will Turner, Newbury Port, Mass., BMW 328is, 0, DNS.

Time of Race: 1 hour, 1 minute, 48.293 seconds. Average Speed: 66.841 miles-per-hour Margin of Victory: 12.318 seconds Fastest Race Lap: Kristian Skavnes, 1:36.931 (91.326 mph) Lap Leaders: Laps 1-19, Pierre Kleinubing; Laps 20- 28, Michael Galati

Provisional point Standings for the 1999 Speedvision Touring Car Championship Through Round One of Ten

Pos., Driver, Car, Points 1, Michael Galati, Acura Integra R, 32 2, Pierre Kleinubing, Acura Integra R, 29 3, Hugh Plumb, Acura Integra R, 28 4 , Bill Beilharz, Mazda 626, 23 5, Alfred DuPont, BMW 328si, 21 6, Jason Potter, Honda Accord, 20 7, Kevin Schrantz, Acura Integra R, 19 8, Stephane Trahan, VW Golf, 18 9, Chris Reinke, Ford Contour, 17 10, Brian Wade, BMW 328is, 16 11, Alain Chebeir, BMW 328i, 15 12, Mike Richards, Mercedes-Benz, 14 13, Gary Davis, BMW 328si, 13 14, Rick Ellinger, Mercedes-Benz, 12 15, Jeff Tarr, BMW 328is, 11 16, Fred Meyer, Acura Integra R, 10 17, Ken Payson, Mazda Miata, 9 18, Fred Pignataro, Ford ContourSVT, 8 19, Joel Solly, Honda Acord, 7 20, Taz Harvey, Acura Integra R, 7 21, Mark Reed, Mazda 626, 5 22, Steve Lisa, Mazda 626, 4 23, David Rosenblum, BMW M3, 3 24, Joe Nonnamaker, Mazda MX6, 2 25, Kurt Buchwald, BMW 328is, 1 26, Kristian Skavnes, Acura Integra R, 1