The Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series is Grand-Am's showcase for the latest in international and American-made high performance sports cars, coupes and sedans straight from the dealer showroom floor. With major modifications permitted only in the area of safety, the Continental Tire Series is home to the same cars seen on streets and highways around the world every day. The 2010 season marks the tenth year that Grand-Am has owned and sanctioned the Continental Tire Series, which was previously known as the Koni Sports Car Challenge Series prior to 2010 and the Grand-Am Cup Series prior to 2007.
The starting fields for Continental Tire Series races typically feature more than 50 of today's hottest import and domestic production cars that usually race together while competing for both class honors and the overall victory. Series races--which range from 200 to 250 miles in length--are primarily run as the featured support events for the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve. The Continental Tire Series however did step into the spotlight with a few feature races of its own in 2007 and 2008. For the 2010 season the Continental Tire Series will return to supporting the Rolex Sports Car Series for nine of the ten races on this year's schedule.
Like the Rolex Series, the Continental Tire Series is made up of two classes of race cars. The big-bore Grand Sport (GS) class features a rules package that allows exotic international machines like the Audi S4, Subaru WRX STi, Porsche 911 and Porsche Cayman S, BMW M3, and others to go head-to-head with American iron such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger. The smaller Street Tuner (ST) class is Grand American's offering to the import and compact car crowd, with the Mazda RX-8, Mazda-6 and Mazdaspeed 3, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Dodge SRT4, Honda Civic Si, Mini Cooper S, Porsche Boxster, Volkswagen GTi a variety of BMW 3 series and Z4s and other models eligible. In 2010, the GS and ST classes will run combined with each other in every race with the exception of the Lime Rock Park round on Memorial Day Weekend.
All Continental Tire Series classes run on Continental tires, either Koni or AST dampers and at least two drivers must drive in each competing race car under green flag conditions, making at least one driver change mandatory.
GRAND SPORT (GS)
The Grand Sport (GS) class is made up of several factory sports and muscle cars from around the word with minimal performance modifications, but full safety systems. Minimum weights range from 2,700 lbs. to 3,300 lbs.
Engines are tuned to produce between 350 and 475 horsepower depending on the car, and the competition is further equalized by a variety of fuel tank capacities that range from 17.5 gallons for the Porsche Cayman S to 22 gallons for the Chevrolet Camaro. Top speed for most GS cars is over 170 mph.
STREET TUNER (ST)
The Street Tuner (ST) class features a variety of sports cars and high-performance compacts that are as equally popular with Continental Tire Series competitors as they are with today's consumers. Unlike the bigger GS class where V-8s are allowed, ST is limited to four- and six-cylinder engines, although turbochargers and superchargers are permitted.
Engines produce between 200 and 300 horsepower depending on the car, while minimum weights range from 2,200 lbs. to 3,125 lbs. Fuel tank capacities range from 16.9 gallons to 20 gallons in the Subaru Legacy. Most competing ST cars have 17-gallon fuel tanks, including the Honda Civic Si, and the BMW 330i. Other popular vehicles in the ST class include the Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged, Subaru Legacy, Mini Cooper S and the Kia Forte. Like the GS class, the only major modifications allowed in ST are in the area of safety. Top speed for ST race cars is about 150 mph.
Once the cars have been outfitted with the required saftey modifications in the area of roll cages, racing seats, harnesses and driver safety nets, teams are allowed to modify certain suspension settings and add engine power enhancing parts that can be bolted on. Internal Engine modifications are kept very minimal to maintain the methodology of "street-stock" racing. The following modifications are free: ECU reprogramming, cold air intakes, pulley kits, brake pads, brake rotors (provided they're within 5% of the factory dimensions) spring rates, sway bars, limited slip differentials, interior weight removal and anything else required to turn a road going street car into a purpose built street-stock race car. Alignment settings are free on all cars provided that they maintain a maximum camber angle of 3.0 degrees and a minimum ride height of 3.5" from the ground. The Grand-Am Series creates an individual spec line for each that needs certain items unique to itself.
Those individual rules can be found here. 2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series Individual Vehicle Specifications
