Panoz making strides in PWC GTS competition

Certainly one of the bigger pre-season surprises in Pirelli World Challenge was that Panoz Auto Development would be bringing its Avezzano to the series' GTS class with a team run by motorsports veteran Tom Milner. While Panoz had a long history of racing both prototypes and its road cars, most of its competition had been in endurance racing. World Challenge was a new venue for the company.

Panoz initially announced a two-car team with GT4 homologation, however, the company had to back off that ambitious plan for 2017. The car is instead racing under the legacy GTS rules as a single-car effort with longtime Panoz racer Ian James. The more concentrated effort seems to be paying off, as the team has moved from a pair of DNFs at the season opener at the Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg to a podium finish at Lime Rock Park over Memorial Day weekend.

"We definitely started off the season behind the other cars," said James (pictured). "It was a real rush to get to Saint Petersburg and the car was basically just finished the week before. First we had to figure out the reliability of it, get the car in a specification where we could start looking for performance, and that didn't really come until the second round. VIR was very positive, and Mosport we had some issues just with the balance of the car, stuff we hadn't experienced before. We learned a lot there. I'm happy we're just knocking on the podium every weekend. We're here to win, so the expectations are pretty high. I think we're on track to win one of these things before the end of the year."

Indeed, that nearly happened at Lime Rock. James started second in the first round at the Connecticut track and took an early lead before polesitter Rodrigo Baptista found a way back around in the Flying Lizard Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR. The two ended up crossing the line nearly side by side. In second race James again found himself leading when a mechanical failure took him out. So his prediction of a win this season is hardly far-fetched. In all, it's an impressive effort to take a limited-production car and have the Avezzano GT racer fighting for wins in four weekends.

"The chassis didn't even get started with assembly until the end of January, and the beginning of March was Saint Petersburg," James explained. "From the fabrication department all the way to the race team guys, basically it was a four- or five-week process to scramble it all together. The engine had to be assembled – the Chevy LS3 engine – gearbox, drivetrain ... it has to be made, because there's nothing off-the-shelf. It's a testament, really, to the Panoz organization. They have all these facilities in house to be able to do it." Panoz Motor Sports Group owns racecar chassis builder Élan Motorsports Technologies along with Road Atlanta and the lease to Sebring International Raceway.

Still, the car had little testing before the season began – just a single-day shakedown. So race weekends have been spent refining things like ABS and traction control and working out the reliability. James said that he and the team have found the box the car likes to run in in terms of setup, so they're confident that it can be pretty good off the trailer.

Born in Epsom, UK, James started his career in karting and junior formulae in Europe, but most of his career has been in endurance racing. He has several class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and an American Le Mans Series P2 championship. In his first season of World Challenge, he's relishing the opportunity to be a bit selfish again.

"World Challenge has been a good experience," he said. "It's a really friendly paddock, really good access for the manufacturers and the fans. It's kind of cool to be back in a sprint format. After so many years of endurance racing and two-driver format, you need to become selfish again. You're normally working with your teammate to make things better, and now it comes down to being all on your shoulders again. But it's good because you're in control of your own destiny and you can set the car up exactly how you want it."

James and the rest of the GTS teams will be back in action this weekend at Road America, part of the Verizon IndyCar Series Kohler Grand Prix. For the first time, GTS will be paired with Touring Cars (limited TC entries only – no TCA or TCB) for its two races. GT/GTA/GT Cup will also run a pair of sprint races at Road America. The GT/GTA/GT Cup races on Sunday will have same-day coverage on CBS Sports Network at 3 p.m. Eastern. GTS will be shown on CBS Sports Network on July 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern.