Photos by SCCA Pro Racing, Inc.

One of the West Coast’s most intense racing weekends begins tomorrow on the streets of Long Beach, CA. Friday will see the return of the Pirelli World Challenge Championships to action in round three of the series. Long Beach’s 11-turn, 1.968 mile temporary street course will see more action this weekend than a Fast & Furious movie marathon.

Brandon Davis, out of nearby Huntington Beach, will carry the Mustang flag into the Pirelli World Challenge Championships’ GT class, taking on Corvete, Porsche and Cadillac alike. The carbon fiber over tube frame race car makes its season debut this weekend. Davis, who took the 2009 World Challenge GT Championship, can always be counted on for a great performance.

Mustangs continue to fill the ranks in GTS class, where no fewer than seven pony cars are set to take on the competition, which includes Porsche Cayman, Mitsubishi EVO, Honda S2000 CR and Acura TSX entrants. Making the long trip to Cali are Jason von Kluge, from Ann Arbor, MI, Richard Golinello out of Oldsmar, FL and Brad Adams from New Orleans, LA. Strategically situated Eric  Foss from Dallas, TX, returns to competition, as do Salt Lake City, UT, drivers Ben Crosland and Pratt Cole.

Local entrant, Paul Brown, from Covina, CA, returns after showing good form and bad luck in the series’ second race in St.Petersburg, FL. With 38 cars on the entry list for all three classes, the action at Long Beach should be spectacular, between the concrete barriers and some significant closing speeds on portions of the track.

Pirelli World Challenge practice begins at 4:20 pm PST tomorrow, with qualifying early on Sunday morning. The green flag drops at 4:15 pm in the afternoon. Entering its 22nd consecutive season, the Pirelli World Challenge is North America’s top production car-based racing championship.