25 Hours of Thunderhill - BimmerWorld's view

The choice to race at December’s annual 25 Hours of Thunderhill event in northern California isn’t made without great consideration and planning. Racing non-stop through the Saturday-Sunday endurance contest in frigid conditions is enough of a deterrent to keep most teams away, and with an average of 70 cars jockeying for position on the 3.0-mile road course, the risk of damage and destruction filters out all but the most committed entries.
That left teams like BimmerWorld to head cross-country from their base in Virginia to use the ’25 Hour’ as the most severe proving grounds they could find to test the limits of their ‘Production V8,’ a BMW M3-based showcase for the company’s line of aftermarket performance components. And with a number of high-dollar factory racecars present, this event gave BimmerWorld the opportunity to demonstrate how much speed and consistency can be extracted from an unlimited approach to the popular BMW model.
With the exception of one prolonged call to the pits, BimmerWorld’s Production V8 performed flawlessly, recording a fifth-place finish in its class and 12th overall with team owner James Clay, BimmerWorld GRAND-AM drivers Gregory Liefooghe, Dan Rogers, and Seth Thomas, and BimmerWorld Club Racing veteran Harold Petit in charge of piloting the bad-fast BMW.
“I have driven this event twice before and always said I would return with a car we built one day to give it a solid run for the win,” said Clay as he reflected on the outcome of the race.  “The 25 Hour is a brutal race and very challenging, and I was really proud to be there with our BimmerWorld team who made it all run like a routine race day.  The Production V8 car is a big machine and that is what we needed to vie for the overall win.  Even though we didn't wrap it up this year, I think the result was good for our first run at it and I think we will come loaded for bear next year.”
From his perspective as a 25 Hour rookie, Petit was awestruck by what he found with the event and BimmerWorld’s efforts.
“I’m glad I made the trip!” he said. “I want to thank the BimmerWorld team and all our sponsors, especially Red Line Oil. I was a truly impressed by the level of preparation needed, and the dedication of the team members to get through the race was also inspiring. The pits were absolutely full with people and excitement starting Thursday and Friday on the test days all the way thru noon on Sunday when the race finished. I am so excited about coming back next year, and truly hope to make this an annual event for me.”
The amount of preparation required to race for a single weekend at the 25 Hour rivals what’s involved in getting a multi-car team ready for an entire season of GRAND-AM’s Continental Tire Series, and as Clay explains, key technical partners and sponsors play an instrumental role in getting BimmerWorld to the track and staying in the hunt for 25 hours.
“We couldn't have run this race with a program at this level without help from our sponsors,” Clay said.  “Red Line Oil has been tremendous through this whole Production V8 build process.  We worked together to come up with the idea of the car, and I think it is the type of extreme machine that showcases the Red Line product in a very demanding environment.  Hoosier Tire put us on slicks that held up to over two hour stints with excellent grip all the way through.  They even managed to get us some extra sets delivered at the track in less than 24 hours when it looked like we might run short.
“We have been working with Optima Batteries testing a new Lithium product that is super light-weight and impressive and they hand-delivered a special charger we needed.  Motion Control Suspension delivered a last-minute set of 3-Way dampers for spares, which sat happily unused in the trailer. It just seemed like all the companies we are so fortunate to work with really dug in to help and make this event possible.”
Red Line Synthetic Oil VP and COO Cameron Evans was also impressed with what BimmerWorld’s Production V8 achieved last weekend in Thunderhill, and saw the direct influence his company’s products played in making it to the finish line.
"The industry really turns out for Thunderhill and we were very happy with the car's reception,” he said. “Everyone loves that car! From the sounds to the attitude through the corners, the reaction from experts in the automotive business was great to hear. It's a massive undertaking to finish races at this level and the team's success proved what we already knew: Red Line has the right BMW products and BimmerWorld is the right team to show it."
Clay’s team of BMW experts will spend more time analyzing the custom M3 V8 components that came off the car last weekend, with the findings destined to be incorporated into the next wave of BimmerWorld offerings.
“This car has been an ongoing project since 2008, but it has really begun to be a lot of fun this year as the Production V8 project started to take form,” explains Clay. “We have been able to take years of development on this chassis, get rid of all the race rule restrictions, and build the pieces and products we want to run and sell to customers.  The build is a progression, and we actually built a lot of street performance parts along the way as well.  We will be releasing more information on this car and build in the coming months, and the products derived from it will be popping up on our website at a fairly rapid pace.”
The biggest question left for Clay after the 25 Hour is what he has planned for the Production V8’s next outing.
“The whole goal of the Production V8 car is to highlight our products and those of our partners like Red Line Oil in unique and demanding settings,” he stated.  “We are just closing the books on 2012 and while I think we all have some interesting ideas of what is next, we will probably put a little more work into it before it is finalized.  The short answer is that the car will continue to develop, we are still expecting big gains, and the results will be showcased in some interesting and impressive ways.  Tune in - it will be a fun trip!”
Follow the Production V8’s development and progress at www.bimmerworld.com/projects.php

BimmerWorld Returns To GRAND-AM Victory Lane At Barber Motorsports Park

Drivers tend to get all of the credit when they win a race, but as the BMW experts at BimmerWorld reminded its rivals on Saturday, it also takes teamwork, strategy, and an incredible amount of talent amongst the pit crew to earn a trip to victory lane.

BimmerWorld’s three-car fleet of BMW 328is not only survived the crash-filled Continental Tire Series race at the sprawling Barber Motorsports Park facility in Leeds, Alabama, but left with the Street Tuner class win, a pair of top 5 finishes, and the lead in the drivers’ and the teams’ points standings.

At the end of the 2.5-hour event, Gregory Liefooghe and David Levine, drivers of the No. 81 BimmerWorld BMW 328i, were celebrating their first series win, the No. 82 CRC BRAKLEEN® BMW 328i driven by Seth Thomas and Dan Rogers secured a solid fifth-place finish while playing the role of tail gunners and the team’s pit crew was credited by team owner/driver James Clay for their peerless efforts.

“Daytona was a solid start to our 2012 season and we knew we had a great program - the win and strong showing at Barber confirms that,” he said. “We have done a lot of development work over the winter to shore up any sagging performance areas of the car and really left no stone unturned for improvement for this season.  The guys in the shop have been hard at work perfecting the car we put on the track and I think it is starting to really show.”  

Clay also recognized the unique position his team was placed in when a few competitors ahead of the No. 81 fell afoul of the rulebook during a caution period, but knowing those rules paid off for BimmerWorld at Barber.

“This win was made easier for us to some degree by a couple of cars that got caught out with the on-track procedures, and having been on the other side of that in 2010, I know that was a bad deal,” he explained.  “But even without the pure speed to win on this tighter track, the full team executed on this performance, from crew to drivers, to race engineers and we were there to take the opportunity that was given.”

For Liefooghe, one of the most respected veterans in the paddock, his breakthrough win was both emotional and long overdue.

“I have to say this win feels like an accomplishment,” he remarked.  “There is indeed a lot more involved than it shows in our win today. It was a team effort, where the strategy called by our engineer, Dave Wagener, was an integral part of the result.  We managed to stay out of trouble and not make mistakes, and it shows that we have a rock solid program.  This win rewards all the efforts made during the off-season and the hard work that has been put in during the whole race. Although the season is just starting, this result puts us in a great spot for the championship and I think it reinforces the fact that David and I are working well together.”

Liefooghe also had a special message for the man who helped get him to where he is today.

“It is my first win in the CTSCC and it is a big stepping-stone,” he continued. “I would like to dedicate it to my father who supported me and pushed me to follow my passion throughout all these years. Dad, this one is for you!”

With so many cautions happening during his opening stint, Levine didn’t get the opportunity to do much wheel-to-wheel racing, but says the chance to spray champagne as a GRAND-AM race winner was everything he thought it would be.

“I cannot describe the feeling of being a winner in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series in only my third start.  The start of the race was quite frustrating as I only got about seven feet of green flag racing before the GS-class crashes started.  Putting the frustration aside, spraying champagne as a winner has been a highlight in my life and I hope I can keep doing that for the rest of the season. This win is also the first win in a while for our crew chief, David Wagener, so I made it a point to spray him first.  This weekend was truly incredible! Thanks again to the crew and everyone involved.”

The road to fifth was just as exciting for Thomas and Rogers, and when presented with the opportunity to try a high-risk pass for the lead, Thomas says supporting the sister No. 81’s charge to the checkered flag took precedence.

“As a racer, when you see an opening that you think you can squeeze your car into on the last couple of laps you want to take it, but after seeing the No. 81 BimmerWorld BMW in front of me, I had to think about the team and the season’s results.  I thought about the points situation of Greg and David during the caution, and the only way I would go for the spot is if Greg made a mistake.  He didn't, and my job was to protect him as much as possible to give BimmerWorld and BMW a shot at winning the championship at the end of the year.” 

Rogers also supported the “team first” move by Thomas. “Seth and I have known all along that the No. 82 will be a regular visitor to the podium; it's just a matter of when,” he said. “It was going that direction at Daytona until Seth got hit, and on the last lap restart at Barber, we were P2, behind Greg, before we were then shuffled back a bit. A fifth-place finish is great, but it's just a step to the podium for the No. 82 CRC BRAKLEEN® BMW 328i. Congratulations to David and Greg for a second great finish. Bring on Miami!”

The third BimmerWorld entry, the No. 80 BMW 328i piloted by Clay and John Capestro-Dubets, wasn’t as fortunate in the race, encountering contact which dropped the duo well down the finishing order.

“Our run in the No. 80 car was geared up to be a good one, but there were a lot of cars on track and unfortunately, John was one of many that suffered from the close quarters,” said Clay.  “As a driver you are always learning and improving and even bad races teach lessons.  I have a lot of faith in our driving team and as the season progresses, we will continue to tweak and improve.”

Clay also recognized the many layers of support that enabled BimmerWorld to return to its winning ways.

“We had some great support this weekend from the folks at CRC BRAKLEEN® and NAPA, and I was happy with our result with our sponsors watching,” he said. “I am also really proud of all the guys on the team who picked up extra responsibility as our crew chief Jason Marks was at home with his wife preparing to have their first baby.  They did a great job and produced a strong result.”

With eight races left on the calendar, Clay admitted that he and the team will enjoy their results at Barber in the short-term, but won’t let the victory or their place in the championship distract BimmerWorld from its season-long goals.

“It is great to be leading the Championship at this or any point, but all it means is we have had a couple of good races,” he said.  “There is a long season ahead of us and certainly we will put our heads down and continue to produce results.  I'll start getting excited a lot closer to the checker flag at Lime Rock in September.”

Next up for BimmerWorld is Round 3 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on April 27-28. Follow the team’s progress as they prepare for the event at www.BimmerWorldRacing.com

BimmerWorld Ready for Round 2 at Barber After Strong Run in Season Opener

Give the BMW experts at BimmerWorld time to tinker and test its trio of 328i GRAND-AM Continental Tire Street Tuner cars, and the hard-working team from Virginia will fill every possible moment with new ideas and innovations to try.

With a two-month gap between Round 1 of the Continental Championship, held at the famed Daytona International Speedway in Florida, and this weekend’s Round 2 set for Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, team owner/driver James Clay says he’s confident in the overall package BimmerWorld has continued to develop during the recent downtime.

“The BimmerWorld Daytona performance proved to us that our renewed focus on the team is going to produce results, but unfortunately it also showed that some of the other marques in the field are quicker than the BMWs at this point, and we will need some luck to capture the championship we are aiming for. 

“In my experience, the best luck is made, so we have been focusing on both refining the car package with on-track testing, as well as putting a significant amount of effort toward the team and equipment, which I feel is our biggest strength already.  Having all the procedures and pieces in place to overcome adversity will pay dividends and keep our results consistent and will be a good countermeasure to the sporadic, blazing speed of other marques.”

Teamed with John Capestro-Dubets in the No. 80 BimmerWorld BMW 328i, Clay anticipates the handling and braking attributes that helped to steer the No. 81 BimmerWorld car of Gregory Liefooghe and David Levine to the podium at Daytona will play to the team’s favor at the notoriously tough 17-turns, 2.3-mile Alabama road course.

“Our Barber setup is very good, as confirmed by our strong run there last year,” he said. “From a track layout standpoint it doesn't seem like Barber should be good to us, but we will arrive dialed in and that goes a long way.  We just need a little help from the field to limit the yellows and get some long runs, where our effort in consistency will start to pay off.”

Coming off a third-place finish with Levine, Liefooghe says maintaining his edge during such an extended period between GRAND-AM races hasn’t been a challenge.

“Away from the GRAND-AM circuit, I’m working at the Simraceway Racing School, which includes the Audi Sports Car Experience and Mitsubishi Driving School, and I have been doing a lot of private coaching since race season started in early February here in California. Between instructing, coaching and car development for my clients, it adds up to quite a bit of driving each week, which helps me to stay sharp. This second ‘offseason’ has been quite long, and we will need to bring the same focus that we brought to Daytona as Barber is shaping up to be an intense race.”

The third BimmerWorld team car, the No. 82 CRC BRAKLEEN® BMW 328i driven by Seth Thomas and Dan Rogers, was poised to join the Nos. 80 and 81 inside the top 10 at Daytona, but those chances were lost after taking a hard hit by a competitor.

With just 10 races in the championship, losing out on a solid finish—and the points that come with it—can have a dire impact at the end of the season, but Rogers says he and Thomas won’t take extra risks at Barber or any other event to try and make up the points needed to earn a title.

“If we focus on the season long goal of a championship, the unfortunate hit we took at Daytona put us in a deep hole in the championship points race. If we approach the Barber race with a ‘performance mentality,’ and focus on driving the race, we still believe the results will come. 

“Seth and I had only one goal this season – a championship.  The way you win a championship is to perform at your highest level and drive every race, and every lap in each race, consistently and to the best of our abilities.  The results will take care of themselves. I'm really looking forward to Barber. It's a classic road course, which is where I feel most at home.”

Follow the team’s progress this weekend at www.BimmerWorldRacing.com

BimmerWorld start 2012 CTSCC season with a podium and more

Back in 2010 when the Virginia-based BMW experts entered GRAND-AM’s Street Tuner class with a pair of BMW 328is, the team ran inside the top 10 and scored a podium on its Daytona debut. With the expansion to three ST cars for 2012, the same was true as the No. 81 BimmerWorld BMW of veteran Gregory Liefooghe and rookie David Levine placed third, and the No. 80 of team owner James Clay and star sophomore John Capestro-Dubets took eighth at the BMW Performance 200.

The third car in BimmerWorld’s fleet, the No. 82 CRC BRAKLEEN® BMW 328i driven by race winner Seth Thomas and the experienced Dan Rogers, was on pace to join the No. 80 and 81 in the top 10 until a hard hit by a competitor forced them to the pits for lengthy repairs.

Although the incident that befell the No. 82 CRC BRAKLEEN® entry left plenty of points on the table, Clay came away from the wet/dry Round 1 race feeling positive about what the team can achieve across the entire 10-race championship.

“Certainly we have very capable cars and we are seeing the results of a winter of hard work and development, but our competition is tough and has some highly impressive speed,” Clay said. “I had hoped to win the BMW Performance 200 for BMW and we certainly gave it our all. And while we didn’t win, we showed that we have the team to do it when the opportunity arises and it will be a good year for the BimmerWorld guys.”

As the top finishers for BimmerWorld, Liefooghe and Levine got a chance to lead the race and to engage in a thrilling drafting battle on the high-banked portion of the blended oval and road course circuit, with Liefooghe, who drove the final stint, settling for third in the No. 81 after leading with one lap to go.

“The race went well for us and we can never complain about being on the podium,” he said. “It's a great way to rack up points for the championship. Daytona has always been a drafting track and I was expecting to have a lot of action, but the numerous full course cautions and traffic did not play in our favor. On the last restart, I made sure to create a gap, and I managed to get out reach for the Kia and the Mazda to get in my draft, only to have a GS car slow me down and make me vulnerable. That's when my competitors passed me in a two-car draft like a NASCAR restrictor plate race.

“On the last lap I still was set up nicely to get a run out of the bus stop and draft to the finish line, but another GS backmarker thought otherwise and came in the middle of the fight. It's hard to say if we would have won but it would have been a three-wide finish. It was frustrating, but I still feel good about our performance. It feels like we have a much more competitive car this year thanks to the hard work BimmerWorld put in the off-season and that we'll be fighting for wins all season long.”

For Levine, standing on the podium in his pro racing debut was just one of many highlights during the event.

“I am very pleased with our result at Daytona,” Levine said. “It would have been great to bring BMW a win in their title race, but I am still pleased with third. Overall, I was surprised by how clean the racing was. There were several times where there could have been contact but there wasn't any. I really enjoyed my fight with Mark Pombo and Andy Lally. The car was amazing in the rain which made racing for the lead very easy. It was a great weekend and I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the BimmerWorld program.”

Capestro-Dubets was originally scheduled to switch to the role of closing driver this season, but a setback just before the Daytona race meant he will have to wait until Round 2 to take the reins from Clay. With Clay closing out the race in the No. 80, he and “JCD” got their championship aspirations off to a proper start by placing inside the top 10.

“Coming to Daytona this year was a heart break for me because of an injury that happened only days before leaving that would keep me from closing,” said JCD. “I have been preparing and waiting patiently for my chance to show my abilities as a closing driver, and with this injury keeping me from that, the drive from within to put the No. 80 on top grows and grows.
“Daytona was challenging enough last year, being my first time to the track, my first Continental race and being only my ninth race weekend ever! Then, only a year later, to be returning with a broken hand, and running in the top three during my stint, then bringing home a clean car for James was a major result. Overcoming the physical and mental challenge of this race was a victory in itself.”
Finishing 31st in class was hardly a just reward for Thomas and Rogers in the No. 82 CRC BRAKLEEN® BMW 328i, but the longstanding BimmerWorld driver felt the team as a whole gave him every reason to feel 2012 will be a good year for the entire program.

“Even with the lack of judgment by another driver that spoiled our race, I am pumped about what I saw with the BimmerWorld team this past weekend,” said Thomas. “Everyone performed at the top of their game – from the drivers to all the crew guys. This will help us as a team to be at the top in the points all season long fighting it out for team, manufacturer and driver Championships. Dan was solid in the CRC BRAKLEEN® BMW. He found speed when he needed it, keeping us in the fight from the start of the race. He was amazing on a wet track, having never driven the BMW E90 chassis platform on the Continental rain tires. With the speed he has shown so far, we will be fighting for wins and podiums this year.”

For Rogers, the sting of missing out on a top finish soured what should have been a strong debut with BimmerWorld.

“The weekend was good, however, the result was one of the most disappointing I've had,” he said frankly, showing his competitive fire. “Everyone in the BimmerWorld team expects success and in my short time with them, I do as well I guess. I just need to keep looking for a bit more speed to hang with our other drivers in the starting role, but with Seth as a teammate and Wayne Yawn handling our race strategy, we'll be in the game. We have every reason to feel encouraged about the first race, and now we just need to get to the finish at the second race to show what we can achieve.”

Follow the team’s progress at www.BimmerWorldRacing.com as they prepare for the next race on March 30th at Barber Motorsports Park.