Isn't Peter Cunningham on the board of directors or have some lead role in the SPEED World Challenge? Then why is Peter also running full time in the Koni Challenge series? Isn't this like sleeping with the enemy? I know there's no laws forbidding people of doing this but running both series full time - thats crazy.

Peter sits on the board of the newly announced WCVision, a group of private individuals, granted team owners/drivers within World Challenge, that have formed a group to help market and promote World Challenge, while allowing SCCA to focus on sanctioning the series and maintaining the rules package. They, WCVision, do not own nor operate World Challenge.

As to PD running Koni, I am sure it was a business decision. He is in the racing business of making money. I am sure Acura had an idea, aka $$$. That team, iMoto, is made up of current and former Wold Challenge drivers; Foo, Wittmer, Cunningham,

OnaFlyer - 19 July 2008 11:29 AM

Peter sits on the board of the newly announced WCVision, a group of private individuals, granted team owners/drivers within World Challenge, that have formed a group to help market and promote World Challenge, while allowing SCCA to focus on sanctioning the series and maintaining the rules package. They, WCVision, do not own nor operate World Challenge.

As to PD running Koni, I am sure it was a business decision. He is in the racing business of making money. I am sure Acura had an idea, aka $$$. That team, iMoto, is made up of current and former Wold Challenge drivers; Foo, Wittmer, Cunningham,

Since PD sits on the board I'd thought there be some legal issues with him running in the Koni Challenge but guess not.

I agree that PD is probably running the KC for the money more then anything. The WCTC isn't paying for pennies and plus the competition I feel just isn't there no more. Sure the KC may have the image for some as being more amateur then anything but there are some really good tough teams out there and plus leading 40+ cars at a time must feel good.

But then again, one has to remember that Koni Challenge is a Grand Am series, and Grand Am was orginally spawned from the SCCA(Robert Edmundson and Jim France bought GA off of the SCCA in 1999).

Also, there are drivers who do ALMS and GA(most notably Porsche factory drivers). IMSA, SCCA, and GARRA allow this to appease the OEM factories that run in those series. Also, this weekend, IMSA/ALMS, SCCA, and the IRL Indy Car Series shared the weekend. So I see no reason to complain, when such deals are basically helping to keep lower level pro sportscar racing alive.

They bought GA from the SCCA in 1999??? Say what???

I think he's referring to the SCCA sanctioning the USRRC in '98-'99 but is confused on ownership of the series.

Danske - 21 July 2008 11:27 AM

I think he's referring to the SCCA sanctioning the USRRC in '98-'99 but is confused on ownership of the series.

As far as I understand(from reading about it-albeit months ago-at sportscarpros.com), the Grand Am series had it's origins in the SCCA sanctioned USRRC series. At that time, Jim France and Robert Edmundson where heads(or soon to be heads) of what is now Daytona Motorsports Group, and France was(and still is as far as I know) head of International Speedway Corp.-owners of Dayton International Speedway.

And, of course(as with many other things over the years), the SCCA took a lot of flak(mostly from teams/car owners, etc.) for how they ran the USRRC(including an argument with the FIA over rules and sanctioning issues)-leading to Edmundson and France to either buy the series off of the SCCA in a take over, or when the SCCA put it up for sale, or when teams started to walk out, or what ever prompted them to inherit/buy the series(?).

What did prompt the Edmundson/France ownership of USRRC/GARRA?

Danske - 21 July 2008 11:27 AM

I think he's referring to the SCCA sanctioning the USRRC in '98-'99 but is confused on ownership of the series.

Thats what I thought too.

AIUI, the '98 USSRC wasn't bought, but it did die and many of the same non-SCCA people involved in it were involved in the founding of Grand-Am. Koni (Grand-Am Cup), however, was previously Motorola Cup (North American Street Stock Championship).

Aha, a history page of street stock: http://www.powellmotorsport.com/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=20

Although that page doesn't detail who all sanctioned Motorola Cup. I believe it was SCCA-Pro for the US rounds and...err..the Canadian national FIA arm for the Canadian rounds, and then Grand-Am in the latter years before it was taken over.