SCCA champion Peter Cunningham
TouringCarTimes is proud that it can cover most forms of touring car racing around the globe. One series that does not get a lot of coverage this side of the Atlantic, a championship that we do cover here on TcT, is the North American series the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car championship.
The World Challenge Touring Car class was first introduced back in 1994, and then, just a year later the current class format of Sports and Touring Cars was born. Many major manufacturers and world-class drivers have competed in this prestigious championship and this coming season sees more technical changes to the cars.
The 2008 champion was Peter Cunningham driving a RealTime Racing Acura TSX. He has spent all his racing life in a ‘tin-top’ albeit in a saloon or sports car. He won the 2005 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship and has finished as runner-up in the GT Challenge Championship in 2002 and also in the 1997 North American Super Touring Championship.
TouringCarTimes editor Ed Peters got to talk to the current champion as he prepares for the new season ahead.
In 2007 you finished 5th in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship. This year you finished as Champion. What made the turn-around for you and the team in 2008?
“It’s interesting, because in 2007, the tables were turned in a couple of different ways. As the results accumulated, I was the only RealTime driver to win a race, and it happened twice. Yet my team-mates, who for whatever reasons didn’t find themselves in victory circle, still outscored me in the points to finish third and fourth.
“Then in 2008, the shoe was on the other foot. Pierre Kleinubing won the season opener at Sebring, and Kuno Wittmer won at Virginia, Lime Rock and Mid Ohio. And when it came right down to it, I had amassed more points than them to take the title…
“As far as what changed from one season to the other, who knows? Our guys set forth at the beginning of each of these past two seasons with the same goal in mind, but the results somehow were quite different.”
2009 sees the introduction of new regulations for the Touring Car class. How do you see the Championship panning out?
“I’d like to believe that the RealTime Acura team will still be the team to beat in 09. But the new rules will be a big mix up in the competition packages for everyone.
“At this point, RealTime will be the first team to build and campaign cars to the new, more restrictive rules package. And SCCA Pro Racing is probably not sitting around thinking about what they’re going to need to do to help us to be dominant over the current generation of cars…
“So only time will tell to determine whether the new TSX can beat the old TSX and the rest of the grid.”
Do you think the current global recession that has hit the Automotive Industry very hard will affect the 2009 championship?
“There’s no question that the economic climate will affect the 2009 championship -we can see that all of motorsport will be affected. The good news for the SPEED World Challenge is that the formula is more relevant than ever before. The production-based cars that compete in this championship are closely tied to their road going brethren.
“Our fan base appreciates that and so do the automobile manufacturers. 2009 will be a challenging year, but by the looks of it, the new season is shaping up to be a very competitive one!”
Are you intending to carry on with the Acura TSX?
“We will campaign two new generation Acura TSXs and continue with three of the previous generation TSXs.”
Looking back over your racing career. You have stayed faithful to either sports or saloon cars. Have you ever been tempted into single-seaters?
“Throughout my career, the place to be was in the real cars. The formulated drivers had the prettier driver suits and the prettier girlfriends, but if you wanted to earn a living, for me, the saloons provided the best opportunities.”
Have you ever been tempted into NASCAR?
“Nope. Certainly that would have been the place to be in the North American scene, but it was never a direction that I felt compelled to pursue.”
You took part in the Super Touring era back in 1997 finishing as runner-up in your National Championship. What are your memories of that period and how different are they compared to the cars you race today?
“Those cars were definitely badass. They had more power than what we run now and the 19 inch Michelin slicks were grippier than what the spec tyre is that we run now. In North America though, compared to the heyday of BTCC, our series today has much more depth and competitiveness than the 1996-97 NATTC. That said, I am honoured to have been a part of that series.”
I don’t believe that you have raced outside of the USA. Is there any reason for that?
“I raced in Europe on two occasions, in 2000, for the BMW American Le Mans Series team, at Silverstone and Nurburgring. It was a fantastic opportunity, but at the end of the day, it was not much different than running in the US, other than the 14 hour commute.”
Do you have a favourite circuit that you have raced on?
“If I had to narrow it down to one track, it would have to be Road Atlanta. A world-class facility with every challenge a road course can provide. And I’ve won more than my fair share of races there.”
Finally, two great drivers Australian Mark Skaife and German Bernd Schneider have decided to call it a day this year. How many more years will Peter Cunningham be racing for?
“My 84 year-old father says that he plans to retire in 40 years. And as you discuss this with him year after year, he continues to come up with the same answer: he plans to retire in 40 years.
“But in all seriousness, no, I don’t plan on driving race cars for another 40 years. But I did manage to win the championship even at my advanced age in 2008, so I probably can find my way around for a time yet.”
We would like to thank Peter for his time and Erin Cechal from the SCCA who helped us to secure this interview. Follow the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car championship results on TouringCarTimes throughout 2009.
