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Fiat driver Jonathan Start is the 2012
Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car B-spec
series champion after wrapping up the title
in his No.00 Fiat 500 at the season finale
round at Sonoma Raceway this past weekend.
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Fiat
driver Jonathan Start is the 2012 Pirelli World
Challenge Touring Car B-spec series champion after
wrapping up the title in his No.00 Fiat 500 at the
season finale round at Sonoma Raceway this past weekend.
Start finished fifth in Sunday’s 40-minute timed event
after posting two fourth-place finishes in Saturday’s
back-to-back, 25-minute race to clinch the title at the
12-turn, 1.99-mile road course.
“Congratulations to Jonathan and his team for capturing
the inaugural World Challenge Touring Car B-spec series
championship,” said Tim Kuniskis, the head of the Fiat
brand in North America. “We’re proud to see that their
hard work paid off and that the solid engineering behind
our Cinquecento is not only able to successfully compete
in Europe, but also to win titles in America.”
Start was excited with his championship win, but it
didn’t come easy. “We kept our Fiat 500 clean and did
what we needed to do to claim the championship,” Start
said. “With all the tight turns, elevation changes and
slow corners here at Sonoma, it was another learning
experience for us. We gained a lot of knowledge this
weekend that we’ll carry on to next year.”
In April, Start got the inaugural season of Touring Car
B-spec competition off to a fast start by posting
back-to-back wins at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah and
followed up with a fourth the next day. The series
traveled across the border in June to Canada (Canadian
Tire Motorsports Park, formerly Mosport) for the second
event weekend where Start posted three third-place
finishes.
“We started the season strong,” said the rookie Michigan
native. “The Fiat 500 was ready to race. Getting those
wins and that fast start carried us through the whole
year. Sonoma didn’t go exactly as we had planned but it
was a strong points weekend. It was the same throughout
the year, we were consistent.”
Modifications for racing in the series are limited to
shocks, springs and the required safety equipment.
“It’s been a great first year for the Fiat program,”
said SRT Road Racing Manager Gary Johnson. “Jonathan
deserves a lot of credit for bringing home the
championship. His fast start with two wins in the season
opener and three third-place finishes at Mosport were
critical. Jonathan drove smart all year and focused on
the title rather than individual race wins. It takes a
real professional to look long term, race clean and
finish every race.”
Pirelli World Challenge Series Touring Car
B-Spec Final Standings (After 9 of 9 rounds)
1. Jonathan Start 866
2. Craig Capaldi 651
3. Russell Smith 515
4. Andre Rapone 480
5. Sage Marie 335
6. Brandon Miller 329
7. Jim Kenzie 314
8. Conner Ford 190
9. Peter Schwartzott Jr. 262
10. Shaun Bailey 252
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