1997 SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge


The 1997 SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge season was the eighth running of the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge series. The 1997 season is notable in that it began a thirteen-year era of the touring car class being contested primarily between BMW, Mazda, and Acura. This changed in 2010 with the adoption of an entirely new format. 1997 also saw the end of combined classes, with separate races for each group. This lasted until the 2010 season. After several years of having at least three groups, the series was reduced to only two, a format unseen since the series' inaugural season. This went unchanged for thirteen years, after which the series changed to three and later four groups. After only mild success for three seasons, the Saturn brand got its final wins this season as another blow to General Motors in the series.

Results

RoundCircuitWinning Driver
Winning Driver
Winning Vehicle
Winning Vehicle
1St. PetersburgPeter Cunningham
Peter Schwartzott
Acura NSX
Honda Prelude
2Lime RockKermit Upton III
Kristian Skavnes
BMW M3
Saturn SC
3Mid-OhioPeter Cunningham
Paul Booher
Acura NSX
Saturn SC
4Watkins GlenLou Gigliotti
Michael Galati
Saleen Mustang
Acura Integra R
5Minneapolis Peter Kitchak
Paul Booher
Porsche RSR
Saturn SC
6Topeka Ron Fellows
Johannes Van Overbeek
Saleen Mustang
BMW 328is
7Tros-RivieresPeter Cunningham
Alain Chebeir
Acura NSX
BMW 328is
8Mosport Ron Fellows
Pierre Kleinubing
Saleen Mustang
Acura Integra R
9Pike's PeakPeter Cunningham
Pierre Kleinubing
Acura NSX
Acura Integra R
10RenoLou Gigliotti
Johannes Van Overbeek
Saleen Mustang
BMW 318Ti