41 Entries for PWC at Mid-Ohio

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

After a one-month break, the Pirelli World Challenge returns to action next weekend at Mid-Ohio to begin the home stretch, with seven races to go until determining the 2016 champions.

A total of 41 cars, split between GT/GTA/GT Cup and GTS classes, are on the provisional entry list, which was released on Monday. It features a only a handful of changes since the last round at Road America.

ENTRY LIST: Mid-Ohio

Fourteen of the entries are in GT, led by K-PAX Racing’s Alvaro Parente, who holds a 43-point lead over Patrick Long heading into the 14th and 15th rounds of the season.

Both Michael Cooper and Johnny O’Connell of Cadillac are not out of the championship hunt either, sitting third and fourth, respectively. However, O’Connell’s chances of a fifth consecutive title took a hit at Road America after battling throttle issues in both races.

James Davison, meanwhile, has been reinstated to fifth in the GT title race, after winning his team’s appeal following an incident at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in May that initially stripped him of his runner-up finish.

Only a single Calvert Dynamics Porsche 911 GT3 R is entered in GT for Mid-Ohio, for Michael Lewis, who has been confirmed for the remainder of the season.

The team’s other Porsche, usually driven by Andrew Davis, has moved to the GTA class with team principal Preston Calvert, who steps up from GT Cup.

Calvert’s entry makes up the seven-car GTA entry, which sees the return of the De La Torre Racing Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 for the first time since Jorge De La Torre’s serious accident at Lime Rock Park.

Caesar Bacarella is listed to drive the car, as De La Torre continues his recovery.

McCann Racing, meanwhile, is set for its second consecutive race with its ex-Black Swan Racing Dodge Viper GT3-R, with Autometrics Motorsports making its series return with Joe Toussaint at the wheel.

With Calvert stepping up to GTA, the GT Cup class sees only a three-car entry for Mid-Ohio, with title rivals Alec Udell and Sloan Urry, as well as Corey Fergus.

Seventeen cars are set to do battle in GTS, which, as usual, will have separate 50-minute races, as part of the weekend that includes the Verizon IndyCar Series.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John