Champion Racing was a

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

team based in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2 ...

, USA. Founded in 1994 by Dave Maraj, a former

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Spor ...

driver from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, as the motorsport wing of the Champion Motors

car dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maint ...

, the team has campaigned various Porsches and

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The o ...

s in North American road racing series. Champion Racing's extensive record includes a win at the prestigious

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, and 5 straight

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

LMP1 championships, 2 as a private team and 3 as a factory team under the name Audi Sport North America.

Porsche years

Champion entered their first race at the 1993

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second ro ...

, finishing 21st overall and 7th in the Invitational GT class with a Porsche 911 Carrera 2 driven by Justin Bell, Mike Peters, and Oliver Kuttner. Mike Peters later stopped race driving and became team manager for the team. In 1994, they entered a 911 Turbo in several IMSA GT races, including the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

and 12 Hours of Sebring. For the 1995 season, Champion partnered with Michael Colucci Racing (MCR), and the team moved up to a 2 car team with a pair of 911 GT2. Champion running the #72 car (964 chassis) and MCR running the #74 car (993 chassis). After an accident put them out a Daytona,

Hans-Joachim Stuck Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1 January 1951), nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of pre-WW2 racing driver Hans Stuck Life and career He was born in Garmisch-Part ...

and Bill Adam finished 2nd in the GTS-1 class at Sebring. They also collected class podiums at Watkins Glen and Sears Point in the #74 car. In 1995 the team adopted the livery of a white background with various streaks of colours that has since become indelibly associated with the team. In fact, this livery was used on all Champion Racing entered cars, except for the special Stars & Stripes variation, using the blue and read colors of the

American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

only, as tribute to the victims of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. In 1996, Stuck and Adam won the GTS-1 class at Sebring with the #74, the first major win for Champion Racing. In 1997 Champion scaled back to a one car team, taking over the reins of the #74 Porsche with Stuck, Adam, and

Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Boutsen (born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One. He competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix (163 starts), winning three rac ...

finishing 2nd in class at the 1997 Daytona 24 Hours. For 1998, Champion Racing purchased a

Porsche 911 GT1 The Porsche 911 GT1 is a car designed and developed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche AG to compete in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street-legal version for homologation purposes. The limited-production street ...

Evo. The team ran a full season in the USRRC GT1 class, winning the

6 Hours of Watkins Glen The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...

and finishing on the podium in 3 other races, winning the makes (Porsche) and drivers (Boutsen) championships. The team also competed in three PSCR races; Boutsen,

Bob Wollek Bob Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation aft ...

, and

Andy Pilgrim Andrew Pilgrim (born 18 August 1956 in Nottingham) is a British-born racing driver, who became a United States citizen in 1998. He has competed in the SCCA World Challenge, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and NASCAR. Racing career H ...

finished 2nd in GT1 and 3rd overall at the

, Boutsen and Wollek won the GT1 class at

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

in June (3rd overall), and Boutsen, Wollek and Ralf Kelleners won the GT1 class at the inaugural Petit Le Mans, finishing 3rd overall, earning an automatic entry to the

1999 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th 24 Hours of Le Mans, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1999. The race had a large number of entries in the fastest Le Mans Prototype classes, with Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lola Cars, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, P ...

. In 1999, Champion ran the GT1 in the new

. Due to the regulations, however, they were forced to run in the Prototype class against theoretically faster cars. They scored their best result in the

, finishing 4th overall and in class. The team also raced a

Porsche 911 GT3 The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...

-R in the

, finishing 2nd in the GT class. With no place to run the GT1 in 2000, Champion changed cars to a Lola B2K/10 with a Porsche engine. The team entered only two ALMS races (Sebring and Sears Point) and failed to finish either one. They also entered the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, finishing 7th in class and 21st overall. The team spent most of the season developing the car, with the aim of a high finish at the 2001

br>
Daytona 2001 started well; the team qualified 6th. However, a loss of oil pressure seven and a half hours in caused the car to retire. The team came back to finish 2nd in the Daytona finale at the end of the season. The team finally found some success with the Lola at the 2002

, finishing 4th. After the race, the team would abandon the project, however Oliver Kuttner's Pegasus Racing would run the car in the latter half of the season.

World Challenge GT with Audi

In 2000, Champion partnered with

to develop and run the Audi S4 Competition in the

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional ...

Speedvision World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club si ...

series' GT class. For their first season, the pair of cars would be driven by reigning Touring Car champion

Michael Galati Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

winner Derek Bell. Bell finished 9th in the opening round at

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. Galati would take 2nd in the championship, winning at

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

and taking two other podiums. In 2001, Galati won the GT drivers' championship, taking 4 wins, and Audi won the manufacturers' championship by 1 point over Acura. In 2002, Galati would repeat as champion, with Bell 7th, and Audi 2nd in the manufacturers' standings. In 2003, Champion debuted the new Audi RS6 Competition.

Randy Pobst Randy Franklin Pobst (born June 26, 1957, in Dayton, Ohio), also known as "RFP" or "The Rocket," is an American race car driver and journalist for ''Motor Trend'' magazine. Active in the SCCA World Challenge GT series and the Grand American se ...

finished on the podium at the first five races of the season, and won the last two rounds to take the Drivers' championship, and the manufacturers' championship for Audi.

American Le Mans Series

2001–05 (Audi R8)

In 2001, Champion Racing bought an

Audi R8 The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006. The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufactu ...

for competition in the

. The team finished 8 races of the 10 round season. The team claimed a third-place finish at both the

and

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ar ...

as well as a second-place finish at the

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

round. The team finished 3rd in the LMP900 class championship. For 2002, the team continued to compete with their Audi R8 in the full American Le Mans Series season. Having claimed a second-place finish at both the

and

the team finished the season 2nd in the LMP900 class championship, behind the factory Joest Audi team. 2003 saw even more success for Champion Racing. After a second-place finish at the season opening

, the team went on to claim 4 overall victories including a win at

. Champion Racing finished the season 2nd in the championship, only 7 points behind the factory Audi team. In 2004, all the teams hard work paid off. With the absence of the factory Audi and Panoz teams,

Dyson Racing Dyson Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Poughkeepsie, New York in the United States. Founded by Rob Dyson in 1974, the team competed successfully in North American sports car racing series, including the IMSA GT Champions ...

became the team's main rival. After a second-place finish at the season opening

, the team claimed 7 overall victories and claimed the LMP1 team and drivers championship. For 2005, the team campaigned the American Le Mans Series with its Audi R8 for the 5th straight year. Despite fierce competition from the Dyson Racing team, an overall victory at the

led to another 6 victories for the Champion Racing team. At the end of the season, the team claimed its second LMP1 team and drivers title.

2006–08 (Audi R10)

In 2006, Champion Racing earned full-factory support from Audi and took over the Audi Sport North America title from

Joest Racing Joest Racing is a sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany. Early years As a combined driver/team owner, Reinhold Joest first began ...

. The team started the season with an overall victory at the

with the brand new

Audi R10 TDI The Audi R10 TDI, usually abbreviated to R10, is a diesel-powered racing car from the German car manufacturer Audi. The car dominated Le Mans, winning each year from its 2006 introduction until it was replaced by the R15 in 2009. It was designe ...

. With the new car needing more testing and development, the team returned to the Audi R8 for 3 races. The R10 returned to competition at

Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's third oldest continuously o ...

. The team claim overall victories at 9 of the 10 races comfortably giving the team the LMP1 team and drivers championship titles. 2007 saw the Porsche and Acura LMP2 cars become the team's biggest challenge. Rule changes by the

ACO ACO, AcO, or Aco may refer to: Organizations * Accountable care organization, healthcare organization characterized by a specific payment and care delivery model * Aco Records, a British 1920s record label * ACO, C.A., a Venezuelan holding compan ...

made LMP2 cars the ability to compete for overall victories, particularly at the smaller, tighter tracks on the ALMS schedule. Despite claiming 12 straight class victories, the

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...

Porsche RS Spyders were able to beat the Audi R10s 8 times for overall victory. By the end of the season, the team claimed the LMP1 team and drivers championship titles. In 2008, Champion Racing fought back against the competition of the LMP2 cars. Despite losing out on a victory at the

, the team claimed 10 class victories as well as 7 overall victories in the 11 race season. At the end of the season, Champion Racing claimed their 5th straight LMP1 team and drivers championship title. At the end of the 2008 season, Audi announced its withdrawal from the American Le Mans Series, citing economic pressures. While Audi would continue to compete in select ALMS events, it would contest them with Joest Racing, bringing to an end Champion Racing's motorsport activities.

External links

Official site

References

{{Reflist American Le Mans Series teams 24 Hours of Le Mans teams American auto racing teams Pompano Beach, Florida Intercontinental Rally Challenge teams Audi in motorsport Auto racing teams established in 1994 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2008