BimmerWorld Racing

Back to Florida...

2010-03-10T10:43:00.015-05:00

So it's back to Florida for the third time in 3 months (rough, I know) and this time we were in Miami for round 2 of the CTSCC. Homestead Miami Speedway is a banked oval with a road course in the infield. Like Daytona, only smaller. The oval is smaller, the banking is not as steep, and the infield portion is much tighter than Daytona.

After hearing warnings of how cold it was from friends in Miami, we had beautiful weather all weekend. Much nicer than what we had been dealing with in NC and VA the last few months.

Thursday was a promoter test day which consisted of the team unloading and setting up in the morning and then we were on track for a few hours in the afternoon to dial the cars and drivers in. Even if everything goes smoothly, this makes for a hectic/busy day for the team. In our second session, I recall a GS Porsche (very loud car) passing me and once it pulled away, I was still hearing a loud car and the note seemed to change with the revs of my engine...weird. I discussed the issue with the team and brought the car back to the pits. I had somehow managed to blow a hole in the exhaust near one of the oxygen sensors. With the limited time between sessions and the amount of work required to fix the problem, James and I had to skip the final session. We formed a game plan for the practice and qualifying sessions on Friday.

We hit the ground running Friday morning with two practice sessions before lunch. I focused on a few areas of the track that needed some attention and I was pleased with the results. The BimmerWorld crew had the cars dialed in and we were ready for qualifying later in the day. Bill and I decided to go out at the back of the pack for qualifying and I was able to put together a few clean laps to put the car in 11th place on the ST grid.

Saturday consisted of a final morning practice before the race which was spent doing a few laps and practicing pit stop/driver changes. The BimmerWorld crew consistently nails the pit stops and with James and I doing some driver change practice a few weeks earlier, everything went as planned.

We had the usual pre-race "fan walk" but the grid procedure was different than the one we used in Daytona. There was a bit of a mix up about the procedure and several cars ended up starting the race from pit lane including both of our cars and the APR VW's.

Once the race started, we had our work cut out for us but it was definitely an exciting ride! This race had fewer cautions than we expected and I was able to work my way from 31st back to 10th or 11th during my stint. During the second caution, there was confusion among the officials which led to me losing some spots during the wave-bys for the ST cars. We pitted during that caution which lessened the impact but it was still very frustrating and confusing for the team. After a beautifully executed pit stop, James was underway. He was steadily picking up spots until more confusion by the officials during a caution near the end of the race hurt us again. James was running 7th or 8th when the officials ordered our #80 to get in front of the #25 (the lead ST car). James and the team repeatedly questioned this but the officials were adamant that we "make it happen". So James reluctantly went to the front before the green flag flew. About a lap later, we were told that the #80 had to go back to where it was during the caution causing James to miss several laps of racing for position with the 5th and 6th place cars.

Our 7th place finish wasn't bad considering the snafus during the caution periods and was a big improvement over our Daytona finish. Bill and Seth had another great race and finished in 4th in the #81 car, awesome work guys! Overall it was another very strong showing for the BimmerWorld/GearWrench Team and I expect that to continue throughout the remainder of the season.

I think Bill covered the Jimmy Buffett issue quite nicely in his post, so all i'll say is that I'd be happy to never hear another Buffett song again...ever.

Next up - Round 3 at Barber Motorsports Park...stay tuned!

-David White

(photos courtesy of Curtis Creager of CreagerImages)

Homestead Recap (or How I learned to Hate Jimmy Buffet Music)

2010-03-07T17:11:00.022-05:00

It seems like race weekends are defined by all the weird stuff that happens. Kind of like a family vacation,.... only doubly so.

Seth and I had prepared for the race by joining Chin Motorsports for a two day event a couple of weeks ago. Chin runs a great event with lots of track time. Mark and Maria treated us like royalty and arranged for our run group to get a session on the pro course (less infield but includes Nascar #3-#4) for one session on Sunday. We got tons of track time in my IP race car with lots of support from Randy Mueller of Epic Motorsport. This included a major engine overhaul (head gasket and harmonic balancer) Saturday night so we could run on Sunday. It's a true friend that will stay up all night so that someone else gets to drive. Especially since he gave up a Bahamas trip to do it! Thanks Randy!The result was that Seth got me to where I was very comfortable and fast on the track and had started working on some technique improvements that are costing me time.

So fast forward to this race weekend. We had a promoter test day starting at 1 PM on Thursday. My only real job was to get the feel for the car since I was already pretty comfortable with the track. The lack of aero and running on our series spec Continental enduro tires verses Hankooks can sure take one's bravado away! At any rate I put down some decent times and was getting more and more comfortable with the BimmerWorld/GearWrench E90.

On Friday we had two practice sessions then a 15 minute qualifying session at 5:05. Dave and I decided to go out at the tail of the pack for qualifying, get a nice gap, then do our fliers. Dave went out a little in front of me, due to me being held up to be scolded by a grid official. I really had no idea what my infraction was at the time because the guy was yelling at me through my helmet, earbuds and engine noise. So I go out at the very tail and allow what I thought was a big enough gap (about 200 yards) to the two cars in front of me. Despite this being a single class, that wasn't enough of a gap and I caught them by T3. I made the mistake of backing off to build another gap for the next lap instead of making the best I could of out of that lap. On the next flier I was on a good lap for me through T5 (T1-T4 were usually my weakest parts) but when I hit the brake zone for T6 all hell broke lose. The car had an electrical short which killed ALL power. I locked up the brakes and spun to a stop in the middle of T6 facing oncoming traffic. For about 5 minutes I fiddled with various combinations of master switch, ignition, start button, etc. while watching cars come at me under waiving yellow, until blessedly, I got power again and got the car started. I got one lap on flat spotted tires before the session ended so I qualified pretty poorly (P28). Dave did an awesome job qualifying P10 with what would be one of the fastest lap times we would get out of the cars all weekend.

The electrical short was diagnosed as a broken wire hidden by shrink tube in the right rear quarter of the car (coincidentally, the corner I crushed in my test day mishap at Daytona).

Morning practice on race day went well and we were ready to go. Due to a misunderstanding of the schedule we missed gridding our cars properly so both Dave and I had to start from the back of the field. This wasn't too much of a change for me since I had qualified so poorly but for Dave and James it was a real setback. We started working our way up through the field. Within two laps, the GS leaders had caught us and things started getting really wild with a fair amount of carnage but we continued to make our way through the field. Due to worries about a cooling issue we had been fighting in the #81 car we pitted early under a FCY and did the driver change at just over 30 minutes into the race. Seth got in and started doing his usual magic of cutting through the field. One of the many incredible things about Seth (besides of course that he is Seth Thomas!) is that he can consistently put down qualifying speed laps in the heat of racing. While everyone else in the field falls off by .5 seconds or more from their qualifying times in racing, Seth kept hitting fast lap after fast lap regardless of traffic or race conditions. When the normal pit rotations came around we were leading the race for a while, but we needed to bring to Seth in for a splash of fuel due to the early stop. We ended up in fourth just behind my friend (now SOB) BJ Zacharias in the a RSR Mini. Congratulations BJ!

Meanwhile Dave and James drove an outstanding race without error on their parts and ended up in seventh. But for a series of very bizarre race control instructions and some bad moves from competitors they would have been higher. I'll leave it to them to explain the weird stuff. All I can say is that it should be entertaining to watch Speed TV try explain it on the air.... which probably means they will keep the coverage on the GS cars while the most crazy stuff is going on.

Despite some bad luck, the team held together and came away with both cars in the top 10. In this field, that is a great accomplishment and we are all very proud and pumped for the next race at Barber. The crew did outstanding jobs on all of our pit stops which is critical to having any chance of success in this series.

Thanks to the lovely Crystal Mueller for helping the crew with various tasks but, most importantly, for arranging our food for the weekend. It was delicious and makes a big difference going into an enduro!

So why do I hate Jimmy Buffet music now?

Homestead has a paddock wide PA system that played Buffet music almost non stop from 8 AM until we escaped at around 6 PM. Now unlike some of the other team members, I didn't mind a little Buffet now and then and usually Florida is a good place for it...... but 10 hours a day? Really?

As I finally made it to my departure gate Sunday morning I realized that the most demanding toughness training that comes from pro racing isn't from the racing itself, the hours practice, or even the continual comparison of every minutia of one's driving techniques to drivers like Seth, James and Dave. It comes from the continual challenge of dealing with airports like Miami International (and driving on the streets in places like Miami). But that's a whole other story!

Bill Heumann

The big news from Homestead!

2010-03-05T14:42:00.002-05:00

At least it is occupying some of our downtime. Continental Tire has started a “Fan Favorite” program Where fans (you) vote on your favorite car/team. Tell me more! OK:

• How do I vote? Text ST80 to 20123 between 12AM EST Friday (that’s late night for you kids and 6 hours before work on Friday for the kids headed to an office) and Midnight Sunday. And you can vote as many times at your fingers are feeling frisky. Beat the pros’ personal record of 58 in 2 minutes...
• What does it cost? Nothing. Well – normal text rates apply, so it actually depends on your cell plan, but nothing or next to it.
• What do I get? Our gratitude knowing that you are supporting our team for now. In the future, a chance to win free tires for your valuable minutes spent (this will be done every race). Try it out this weekend to make sure you have the process dialed in for when you are going to win something…
• Why bother with no free tires this weekend? Because we appreciate it (and because we are competitive).

Thanks for participating (because we know you all will).

Pit Stop Practice - And Damage Update...

2010-02-23T21:47:00.003-05:00

-James Clay

Its Tuesday, so it must be pit stop practice time... We were a little behind where we wanted to be at Daytona with our stops. The crew did an awesome job, but the driver handoff wasn't quite where we wanted it. Everything has to flow super-smoothly so that if we hit a snag, we have time for it. It is also pretty annoying/distracting to still be working on tightening belts or hooking up a helmet blower/drink tube/radio while cruising out of pit lane, so time to refine all the little procedures and program them into muscle memory.

Dave White came up to the shop, Chas (our driver helper) stayed late, we put on our coats and hoodies to make the belts more difficult, and got to work. After about 30 minutes of mostly constant swaps, we are in the game. Everything is flowing like clockwork. And who knew - getting in and out of a racecar repeatedly with full winter clothes is actually somewhat of a workout. So now fuel takes 40 sec for a full load and we are down to about 30 on a driver swap - right on!

Damage update - Turns out the #80 car took a bit of a whack at Daytona. No real surprise to anyone that saw the TV coverage, and really none to me after feeling my kidney for a few days (this is actually pretty rare with today's safety gear - even in our massive Watkins Glen wreck which is the scariest I have ever been in, I wasn't sore at all afterward). However, the extent of the damage is pretty impressive. The fuel door wasn't closing quite right and sure enough, the quarter has a wave in it now. The fuel cell cradle took a whack also and is being replaced. Most of it falls under "target of opportunity" for the next trip to the body shop - which is likely to be some time this season if I put on my fortune teller's hat. The guys in the shop are close to having everything straight and pretty again and we will be at 100% for Homestead.

That's racing...

2010-02-01T21:26:00.007-05:00

First off, congrats to Bill and Seth for their 2nd place finish in round 1 of the CTSCC! Nice job guys!

After weeks of hard work by the folks at BimmerWorld and Steve Bassen (Bassen Autobody) to get the cars ready for the Daytona race, it was finally time to go racing. When I arrived at the track Wednesday afternoon, I got to see the cars in full race livery for the first time. They look awesome!

Thursday consisted of a couple of meetings, two practice sessions, and qualifying at the end of the day. The meetings were brief and to the point as usual and it was time to hit the track. We spent most of the practice time working on pit stops and making sure the cars were dialed in. It had only been a few weeks since we were testing at Daytona so it didn't take long for the BimmerWorld crew to nail down the setup. Since I'm new to this series and to pro racing, one of my main goals for practice was to get comfortable with being on track with 75+ cars from two different classes.

Qualifying in CTSCC is a 15 minute session but each class has it's own session so things are a lot less hectic on track. The car felt great and I was able to put together a few very nice laps and put the car in 3rd place on the grid. We were very optimistic about the race!

On Friday, we had a final practice session, a driver's meeting, a "fan walk" and the race in the early afternoon. We spent the practice session working on pit stops and driver changes. The team was nailing the stops and everyone was ready for the race!

The fan walk is essentially a meet and greet in the pits before the race. The cars were gridded up on pit lane and we had a chance to meet and interact with fans. Very cool for Grand-Am to do this I think.

The Race - After a couple of pace/formation laps, it was time to get down to business. My goal was to hand over the car to James mid-race in one piece and in position for a strong finish. Starting 3rd made it easier to avoid trouble at the start but mid way through the 2nd lap, we had our first full course caution. After a few laps behind the pace car, it was time to give it another shot. I think that lasted for another 2 laps before we were back behind the pace car again. The third time was the charm and we had green flag racing for a while. I got shuffled back a few spots but was able to work my way back up to 3rd or 4th before another caution period at about the mid-way point of the race. Perfect time to pit and hand the car over to James.

The crew nailed the pit stop (4 tires and fuel), then they nailed it again on the #81 car with no time between the stops. James was off to do his thing. He was running strong and working his way towards the front. After another caution period, he was running in 4th place right behind the 2nd and 3rd place cars when a competitor drove straight in to the back of him in the brake zone for turn 1. The impact sent him sideways in to the car in front of him damaging the front suspension. With 25-30 minutes to go, we were done...

A very disappointing finish to an awesome weekend. Hopefully our luck will change and we'll be at front of the pack at Homestead next month!

-David White

So much for the afterglow

2010-01-30T17:16:00.000-05:00

Our team is accustomed to sprint races, but the 4 months leading up to Daytona were very much a mad, mad rush. It was almost surreal that we had round 1 of the season yesterday.
Great to be past this and let life settle out a little - 5 months until Homestead. And while that settles out, I will be thinking about what could and should have been in our race yesterday. Hoping for a lot more at Homestead and that Round 1 isn't an indication of how we will need to drive for the rest of the year.

the luck of the irish

2010-01-29T22:49:00.000-05:00

Or something... Before I complain, first I want to congratulate Bill and Seth for a great performance today. And equally if not more, the BimmerWorld crew for getting the 81 car back together, building such amazing cars in the first place, being totally on top of the situation this weekend and doing the massive amount of work required to be prepared for anything thrown at us. Awesome job.
Now about our race. Dave did an awesome job qualifying the car in 3rd and starting the race with a solid stint. We hit the needed yellow right in time, did a driver change, and came out in 4th. I played it safe for a good while. In a tangle with a MINI and one of the APR cars for a while that was hurting the cause to catch the leader, so I tucked in to work for the overall goal. Moving forward, 1 car pitted (we were good on fuel for the race) and I got past anoher shortly after another restart. So again in 4th, we came into T1 and things started to stack up a little which was good because my car and the 3 in front were all right together. Bad becaise when I got blasted from the back, I was close enough to the car in front of me to send me spinning into them sideways, bending a tie rod.
I spun pretty hard off in the T1 runoff and got it stopped and pointed back out quickly. With the car having a crazy toe issue, it would truck along and then violently move to the left when the right front tire got any loading at around 80mph. Not a safe car to keep on the track, so our day was done.
So weekend 1 is down, some good and some bad. The cars directly follow the development work we spent the last 4 years on in World Challenge so we have been able to get on pace with no head scratching. I can't wait to get to Homestead in March for another crack at the podium!
James Clay

My First Pro Race with BimmerWorld by Bill Heumann

2010-01-29T22:28:00.008-05:00

After much anticipation and no small amount of anxiety on my part, we finished our first CTS race in Daytona with a second place finish.

Before I give a condensed version of the race, let me say that in fact the stickiness of Champagne does get rather irritating when it dries!

We had an awesome race and a some good luck that helped move us from 27th at the start to the podium. First on the list of things that worked perfectly was the BimmerWorld team. The cars were perfectly prepared without a mechanical issue all weekend. The team did not make a single mistake in our pit stop which is remarkable because we ended up pitting two cars at once. Our race strategy was solid. For those of you who follow endurance racing, you know that if you run a race without mistakes, your odds of success are very good.In my case, if you run a race without mistakes, and have Seth as your co driver, your odds of success are REALLY good.

The joy of our success in the #81 car is somewhat dampened by the poor luck that caught up with #80. For those of you who haven't been following the results, Dave White qualified in P3 with a 2:09.something. I believe this is the "team" best time. Dave started his first pro race in the front and was dicing it up nicely, and acting like he thought he belonged there! He was passed under yellow by at least one car that no corner workers witnessed so it was let stand. When he handed the car off to James, they were running in 4th. James kept the car in 4th and was patiently following 3rd when he was rear ended entering T1 and knocked into the car into the car front of him. The damage wasn't too bad overall but the tie rod was bent and they had to retire. Their car was perfect, the crew was perfect, the strategy were perfect, and the drivers were strong....but the luck was bad today.

In the #81 car the luck went the other way. I managed to make up some ground from our starting position and moved us up from 27th to about 17th at about an hour into the race. At that point, an incident brought on a Full Course Yellow (FCY) and our team engineer, Wayne Yawn, wisely called for both cars to come in during the pit window. I think Seth was about 20th when he took the car back out. Seth started right away knocking out 2:10's consistently and just chewed through the field. I am not sure what the tally will be but I think about 5-6 cars that were in front of him had various incidents or mechanical issues but the rest of them he simply drove past. He was closing on the race leader at about .5 seconds per lap when they stopped him by throwing the checkered flag. What a drive!

Seth will turn around and try to accomplish another heroic task tomorrow in the Rolex 24 driving the Autometrics Porsche Cup Car. He will be the starting driver from the back of the GT field since the qualifying co driver, Cory Friedman, had to rush home as his wife went into labor. Good luck to Cory and family. Be sure to watch the Rolex as Seth carves up that field.

Special mention for Steve Bassen and the BW crew for the heroic effort it took to get our car back together so quickly and perfectly after my prior visit to Daytona. Thanks to Jason Marks and Ryan Kuhn, crew and #81 car chief respectively. Thanks to Wayne for doing all of our thinking so the drivers don't need to. Thank you to every one of the BimmerWorld team for your part of this effort. Most of all, thank you to James for building the BimmerWorld team and giving me the opportunity to be a part of it. To a man, they are exceptional individuals!

Southbound and Down, Loaded Up and Truckin'

2010-01-26T20:26:00.003-05:00

Almost. A couple of busy days here to get everything ready. The plain blue cars that we tested at Daytona a few weeks ago (and arrived back as 1.5 cars) are now fully decked out in the 2010 BimmerWorld/GearWrench livery. Lots of vinyl laid down yesterday and today and they look great! Vinyl was my contribution, which is seemingly the best job for the team owner. "What can I do to help? Oh, go put on some stickers? OK, I'll do that"... At least I still feel important, and that's what matters.

Our team's good friend and miracle-worker Steve Bassen may deserve more credit than my decal job. In 1 week, he turned around our testing wreck that required a right side replacement (yup - all of the right side) into something straight and shiny. I can't express enough how important it is to our success to have a body shop that understands racing and will return our cars quickly and with all the parts we need.

The guys had to work Sunday to finish up the assembly and all the equipment. With pit stops now in the mix, we had to add some gear and to make it all manageable, we built more carts to have everything in its place and able to roll out of the trailer in an assembly with minimal digging.

I preach this so often at schools and to drivers I work with - get EVERYTHING ready before the event. There will be enough work that pops up once you get there so the notion of "I'll just do that at the track" is one to be avoided at all costs. We have about 10 checklists that have all been gone over to make sure everything in its place, including everything from a car nut and bolt and electronics systems to our decal list. I am pretty sure we won't be sitting on our hands trying to fill the time in Florida though.

Everyone here has done an awesome job with their part of making our team successful. I am headed out tomorrow morning, driving down. Lots of rules to re-read over and over so it all flows without questions out on the track. In about 36 hours, we strap in for real and I can't wait!

James Clay

Pit Stop Practice

2010-01-20T23:09:00.006-05:00

Full dress rehearsal for drivers was this afternoon/evening. We felt pretty good at Daytona Test Days and the crew is very much on it. We have all done this before in club enduros, but we are looking at a minimum of a 2 minute mandatory pitstop in those, in which we do a driver change, dump more fuel than the CTC cars, and can do 4 tires easily with about 30 seconds to spare all at a leisurely pace - and not being able to do fuel and mechanical work together.

Now however, fuel should be the limiting factor due to the mandated hose size and restrictor - everything else has to be sped up to match 40 seconds of fuel flow (assuming an empty tank). So a little faster, not a ton. How does it change?

From a crew perspective, we added a second gunner/tireman, so we have one front and one rear with a jackman. The jack is a $750 3-pump, not the Harbor Freight deal. The guns are $500+ each and tuned up for speed internally with nifty features like a 40/60 split in power so 40% of capacity in the on direction, 60% off, you never should get it tighter than you can remove quickly. And the guys are on it, good under normal conditions, and now actually training more than a few runs a few times a year so they are awesome. Obviously damage and mechanical issues can play a part here, but hopefully that is a low percentage deal.

On the driver side, it is just a matter of a lot of steps done methodically. The cars are built with a focus on entry/egress speed so that helps. There are more goodies to deal with so that hurts - belts, radio, drink tube, helmet blower, pitlane speed limiter, nets x2 on the left (side head and side window). We use Schroth Enduro belts which are critical to the speed - lots of little features to make them work quickly. That coupled with some craftiness on component placement and surgical tubing and we can get it done in about 30 seconds.

Unfortunately our weather isn't cooperating and while we race in the rain, I don't go for hanging out in 40 degree rain as an exercise. Practice has been moved inside.

So after some driver dry-runs (full gear), we added in the rest of the guys and it looks like we can easily beat the fuel. A few more goes at practice without the drivers and more practice at Daytona before the race and we should be fairly tuned up. Bungling a pit stop to the tun of 30 seconds or way more is realistic and happens. If cars are evenly matched and at best a 0.5 second difference in lap times if you push really hard as a driver, you would be lucky to be able to recover from a bad stop in a stint. Hopefully with all the guys here putting in 110% effort for the last 3 months down to "little" details like this will pay off next week. I know I am getting fired up and I am glad racing starts in January for us this year instead of the March of years past - I wanna go fast!

James Clay

Racers, Rock Stars, Presidents and Impersonators....

2010-01-15T11:07:00.011-05:00

The last couple of days were supposed to be some intensive coaching from Seth and a lot of seat time at Sebring but "the best laid plans of mice and men..."

I probably should have stayed home given the way the trip started. After an agonizing 45 minute delay due to an accident on the expressway I got to the airport with 4o minutes before departure. Not a big deal for a little airport like Louisville. When I got to security, they wanted to check my helmet bag since the number of wires and jacks in the com system must have made it look like a bomb. They unzipped my bag and I see little plastic pieces fall out! The forced air nozzle on my brand new, beautiful, Arai GP5 lid which was newly painted (by Savage Designs) was broken.

Sitting at the gate in Charlotte waiting for my connecting flight to Orlando I was working on getting my zen back. I got a smile on my face thinking about what a great experience this is and that I very well could be the most famous person in the gate area now that I was a PRO racer. This lasted all of about 30 seconds before I see this guy sitting there.....

After a few moments he pulls out a guitar and starts singing a fairly good " West Virginia, mountain momma....."
At this point I realize he is impersonator...... and I still could be the most famous person since this is technically a DQ.

The cheapest car rentals in Orlando resulted in Seth driving a Nisan Cube while I was in a manual transmission Nissan Versa. I thought I had the better end of this deal until Seth took off and I couldn't figure out where reverse was. Fortunately, Florida is flat and I hopped out and pushed it back far enough to get out.

PBOC puts on a great event with Winterfest and they were super accommodating to our change of plans and special requests. Thanks to Joanne Schwartzman and all of PBOC for being so nice and helpful to us. Sebring is such a fun track I regret we are not racing there in the CTS this year.

I had rented the equivalent of JP lite (JPl) for Thursday coaching (with passenger seat for ride alongs) and the equivalent of an IP lite (IPl) for the 6 hour enduro that I was going to run with BMW Club Racer, Jean Luc Bergeron. Night practice at Sebring went well with Seth putting down a fast data lap that caused people to claim our IPl car should be bumped up 2 classes!

The coaching went well although we were hindered by not getting much use of the car we intended to use with two seats so we could jump back and forth. Randy Mueller was paddocked near by and coaching PBOC racer, Robert Chang in his beautiful E46 M3 (pretty similar to well built CM). Robert was super gracious and helped us out with a loan of a car which had a passenger seat. After riding a session with Seth, it was even more clear that there is a lot I can learn from him. He is super precise, quick and smooth. All of his techniques are textbook quality.
We did get about 10 minutes in the JPl on Thursday with Seth riding with me so he could see my driving style. He gave me some things to work on in the 3 hours of seat time I would get in the enduro.

Jean Luc qualified our IPl well then it's race time! He had a good start and had moved up a couple of spots in the field after two laps. All of the sudden he limps the car into the pits...... and we are out with an engine failure! So now I am kind of standing there with my suit on and realize that at this point I am kind like an impersonator of racer, at least for the day. For a few hours, I hang on to hope that either the IPl car will be repairable or that I'll get some seat time in the JPl, but at about the 3 1/2 hour mark, that cars dies with a mechanical failure!

It's now time to call it quits so before heading home. I go to dinner with Randy and Robert to get some time to catch up and thank them for helping with the use of Robert's car. Unfortunately Randy barely finishes the "turf" and about half of the "surf" before he has to give it back up due to Lobster Poisoning. I am glad to report that he has recovered and is mostly OK.

The final piece of weirdness from this trip was the return flight which had Elvis on board! Sorry no pictures of this one but you know what he looks like!

WINTER Testing…

2010-01-14T08:34:00.025-05:00

VIR Shakedown - BimmerWorld arranged for a pre Daytona shakedown at VIR last Monday. It was roughly 15 degrees when we got to the track and it didn’t seem to warm up much from there. The cold temps delayed our start but we finally got underway and made some real progress. After the initial shakedown laps, we spent some time getting familiar with the cars and started making some suspension tweaks. A few things I immediately noticed about the new cars is that they have a little less grip than I am used to from racing BMWCCA prepared class cars (the spec tires are a little harder and the cars have no real aero grip) and they are very sensitive to driver input. I'll definitely be working on being smooth and patient with my inputs.

The cars are absolutely gorgeous and the build quality is second to none. This is a testament to BimmerWorld’s race car building experience and their intimate knowledge of the E90 chassis. We were all very happy with the cars and the progress that was made at VIR.

Hopefully Daytona will be warmer…

Daytona Test Days – So it was a little warmer in Daytona but not much. Apparently Florida is seeing unusually cold temperatures…greeeaaaat! If you haven’t already picked up on it, I’m not a big fan of cold weather…at all.

Friday – We stopped by the Grand-Am offices on the way to breakfast so everyone could pick up their credentials for the season (apparently I was the only one that had his credentials mailed to him). After breakfast, we headed over to the track. If you’ve never been to Daytona International Speedway (DIS), it’s MASSIVE! I’m pretty sure you could fit a few other speedways in the infield. Overall, the facility is very impressive. After separating and handing out all the crew and driver gear (the whole team is decked out in new Alpinestars gear – very nice stuff), we headed over to the driver’s meeting. The driver’s meeting was pretty brief and to the point (surprisingly nobody asked what the yellow flag meant).

James and I had visited DIS late last year to learn the track so we basically hit the ground running in the first session. The cars were fast right off the trailer and I spent most of my seat time the first day getting more comfortable with the car and driving in a new series. We worked on tweaking the car’s setup a bit along with figuring out what kind of fuel mileage we can expect. I felt like it was a very productive and successful first day in CTSCC!

Saturday – We left our hotel Saturday morning to find out it’s sleeting/snowing/raining…in Daytona Beach, Florida. Really? When we got to the track we heard that there was some ice on the track and the track officials were trying to thaw it out. A perfect way to start the day. The early morning Rolex series session was cancelled and we decided to skip our first session (at 11am) because the track was still wet, cold, and it was still raining/sleeting. Apparently this was a popular decision since very few cars went out in that session. The track was dry for our afternoon session and we picked up where we left off from the previous day, working on setup and any driver/line issues that needed to be addressed.

Sunday – After thawing out some Saturday night, we arrived to much nicer conditions (albeit still cold) on Sunday morning. The Sunday sessions were spent mostly on pit stops and driver changes since this is a very important part of endurance racing. We practiced several pit stops and I was very impressed with how well everything went. The BimmerWorld crew is on top of their game! I did discover during one pit stop that I have to unbuckle (not just loosen) my harnesses before I can get out of the car…who knew?

Overall I felt like the Daytona test went great. We have great cars, an amazing crew, and a solid driver lineup. I’m very optimistic about BimmerWorld’s first season in CTSCC and can’t wait to get back to Daytona for our race at the end of this month. Hopefully it will be warmer…

Photos courtesy of Curtis Creager of Creager Images

Experiences of a Pro Rookie

2010-01-12T21:47:00.007-05:00

Florida is not supposed to be this cold! Ok, it is North Florida in January but snow and ice on the track? Seriously? This is colder than Mid Ohio in October! I can’t wait to get back North where at least the buildings have heat.

My real awareness of making it to the pros was when I got to the hotel room I was sharing with Seth. The room was equipped with black lights for mood and plastic under sheets. To cap it off the HVAC unit wouldn’t blow hot air. To show that I am not the most inexperienced member of the team in all things, I called the front desk to find out that if you want heat you turn the rheostat all the way to cold as opposed to the highest temperature setting. Other, more experienced team members resorted to leaving the oven on and open if they were in an efficiency room or sleeping mostly clothed if they didn’t have an oven.

This was my first visit to Daytona and it is an unbelievable track and facility. I have driven some other famous tracks, but this one takes the prize for wow factor. It is so large and so impressive with so much history in evidence that it is simply in a category of its own. Furthermore, it is fast. Really fast. The track itself is easy to learn your way around but like most, not so easy to master.

I am really fortunate to have opportunity to race with BimmerWorld and to be paired with Seth Thomas. The team is so unbelievably serious and professional…at least at the track. Outside of work they are somewhat less professional, but certainly more… “entertaining.”

The Continental Tire Challenge Sport Car Series (CTC) is run by Grand Am. They run a very efficient and friendly organization. The guys in the paddock from the other teams that I met were very helpful and kind to the rookie (who is old enough to be their father if not grandfather in some cases).

My goals for this test and tune weekend were to figure out the car, the track and a little bit about what the heck I am doing. I had some success on all counts but not as much as I had hoped for.

My first event as a BimmerWorld driver in the Continental Tire Challenge Series started in a pretty normal fashion for my style of doing things in racing…by crashing our newly built BMW E90 328 into the inside wall of T1 at Daytona. I came on the brakes too hard while still on the banking…or maybe it was the wall’s fault?

Before this, Seth had set the fast lap of Session 1 in our car so the car is good and is capable of running where we need to run. The build quality is superb. My IP racecar was built by BW and I have been able to see several of the cars they have built over the years. While those were all great cars, these CTC cars are clearly the best. They are simply, works of art. Well ok, #81 is a little less artistic now!

We are back at Daytona the end of this month for the first race of the season. In the mean time, I am off to Sebring for a day of coaching from Seth then a run in the PBOC 6 hour enduro.

Congrats! BW off to a great 2009 season.

2009-03-20T12:15:00.002-04:00

Congrats to Seth Thomas who piloted the #38 BimmerWorld / Gearwrench BMW to his first victory at Sebring today.

Stay tuned for more details, photos, videos, and race reports.

Way to go Seth!

Road Atlanta Post Race Review

2008-10-09T08:00:00.003-04:00

We spoke to the guys after an exciting Touring Car race that unfortunately didn't have the expected results. See below as Nick talks about a charity that is close to his heart, and James tells us his side of some on track incidents.

The 2008 season is over so the free t-shirt offer is winding down. We'll do a 2008 season wrap up where we ask the guys as many questions as they'll answer (possibly released in parts so they don't cramp up their driving hands typing).

Get your questions in while you can at:

questions@bimmerworldracing.com

(James) It seems like you guys do a pretty extensive check of the cars between sessions. Can you talk about the importance of that process, and what your guys are checking / doing before the car goes back out on track?

[James Clay] Our cars are full solid mounted (bushings, etc) and driven extremely hard every time they touch the track (if you aren’t turning your best possible lap every time, you are wasting money running it around the track) they need quite a bit of maintenance. The crew has a checklist of all the wear parts to review and inspect/replace if needed. The car is cleaned so the guys can inspect for leaks, cracks, etc. Past that, we do a lot of tweaking on the cars for setup between sessions. The drivers in World Challenge come fast out of the box to the track – a lot of the speed difference as the weekend progresses is captured by small tweaks to the car. Finally, after the day is over and certainly before qualifying or the race, the car gets a thorough inspection and nut and bolt to make sure everything is as it should be and ready to run full-tilt with no issues.

(James) ***Spoiler Alert*** You had a run in with multiple Tri-Point Mazda's during the race. It was unclear - given some of the angles and footage - exactly what transpired but seemed like you held your line and were maybe 'squeezed' a little too much resulting in various contact. What did it look like from your seat?

[James Clay] I am not at all happy about my Atlanta race. Specifically with the Tri-Point cars, I had two issues with contact, both of which I ended up on the “good side” of, but the truth is no one wins in this situation and it is bad for everyone. I had one place on the track that I could pull off a pass in our cars – acceleration on the back straight where I would gain about 4 car lengths out of the draft and into a very hard braking zone where our cars always excel. The first contact with Espenlaub happened on our 3rd or 4th time through 10a together – every time I was pushing it a little harder to set up a turn 12 pass that put me on the podium in 2007 here. I feel like the contact on this occasion was due to Charles slightly crossing the track under braking after we had both chosen our positions and were under threshold braking – not a time to change your plan for evasion. Charles and I talked after the race and had a gentleman’s agreement on the matter and I consider it case closed – certainly I imagine it will be on the broadcast and you can draw your own conclusion.

World Challenge Road Atlanta: Turn 10a: James Clay and Charles Espenlaub from Craig Geiger on Vimeo.

Saini on the other hand was blatantly crossing the track under braking when he lost sight of me and didn’t think about the blind spot we all learn about in driver’s ed. After the race in our “discussions” I was told that I had more room on my right that I should have used, but I guess the engineer in me realized that the coefficient of friction with two tires on grass is not as good as when you keep them on pavement so I chose to maintain my line along the edge of the track. I have plenty of thoughts on the matter but this one will hopefully be in the broadcast as well and I think the fans will see who was at fault.

(Nick) Tell us a little bit about your involvement with SpecialOps.org.

When I started racing WC in 2004 I knew I was fortunate to be able to race at this level. To give something back I was evaluating charities and a friend of mine in San Diego told me about the Special Operations Warriors Foundation and explained how they help the kids of the SF guys killed in action or training. I contacted them and they had people at Sebring working with the SCCA, Realtime, and I to promote the cause. When we met some of the kids the foundation had helped as well as some of the SF guys, it became a mission of mine to bring awareness to this special charity. These guys leave their families for sometime 18 months, they go to the darkest corners of the earth to deal with things the average person will never know about, and they do it for little pay and at great risk to themselves. My small contribution is to let them know someone is looking after their kids if the worst happens.
Find out more about SpecialOps.org and what you can do to help here.

(Nick) Road Atlanta featured what is probably a BimmerWorld first, with a team driver taking the wheel behind a GT Mustang. Can you give us a little insight into how the TC / GT cars compare?

Mike Davis has been very generous in allowing me to test some of the ACS cars. I didn’t even qualify the car so I squeezed a hardship lap in and started from the back and we immediately had a brake problem. Those are the problems that never improve with time so I pulled it off. Having tested the GT cars in the past they simply have more weight, power, and ultimate grip... The Touring Cars require more finesse as well as keeping the momentum of the car up, especially when you are in traffic with 15 other guys all within a second. The GT cars have such a big performance envelope you really don’t get a break in the action as things are happening at a much faster pace. I’d love to race in both classes but it's tough to jump from one car to the other, not to mention the economics. I give Galati and Randy a lot of credit to be effective in both classes.

(Nick) You had a great race at Road Atlanta and a good finish. How does it feel ending the season on a high note?

At a minimum, this is where I expected to run all season. I’m pleased having a good result and finishing up the season with three top tens but overall I wasn’t satisfied with what I accomplished this year. There is no question running against the factory teams is a challenge and as we saw some of the teams could put almost anyone in their cars and they were a hero... And good for them. Our development continued through the year and we finally got there at the end of the year where we were able to keep pace. I feel confident the E90s will be the car to beat in 2009. If you have a bad last race you have six months of sleepless nights and anxiousness. This finish put me at ease and motivates me to get ready to fight and win next year.

RA - Radio info and cheap tickets for Students

2008-10-01T05:37:00.002-04:00

Seth will also be 103.7 FM Bulldog Radio in Athens this morning around 9am if you missed their interview last night at the Zone.

You can listen on the internet here!

Also Friday only Students with a valid Student ID get $25 off their ticket price. This is for Friday only and at Gate 4.

Come out and see BW race on one of the best tracks in the country!

Road Atlanta Warm Up!

2008-09-29T20:14:00.010-04:00

Some more reader submissions and a few questions for the guys on Road Atlanta.

If you're in radio range and can pick up 790AM (The Zone) listen for Seth Thomas and other WC drivers as they are interviewed on Mike Bell's popular program "The Speed Zone". Or if you're near downtown they'll be broadcasting live from Fox Sports Grill.

9/30 at 7:00pm to 9:00pm more info here and here!

Time is running out with the season ending. If you have any remaining questions you want the guys to tackle send to:

questions@bimmerworldracing.com

On to the questions! If you're local to Atlanta please stop by and watch the guys battle it out at Road Atlanta on Friday. We'll be in the paddock area. You can find the event schedule here. Last year was an amazing race in the wet that had Clay on the podium in third, while Seth led almost the entire way until an unfortunate spin at the end of the back straight took him out of the race. Come see if the guys can end a great season with some great racing at one of their home tracks.

(James) How much (if any) support do you get from BMW, and is there any technology shared with the WTC cars? Reader: Gerry Sparks

[James Clay]The BMW support network is interesting and a little confusing. I can say that we don’t get a check at the beginning of the year to cover our racing budget… Unfortunately, our specs are a bit different that the WTCC cars so we had to do a lot of the development on the cars ourselves and come up with our own racing solutions. On the plus side, we have really engineered this car from the ground up and we are a lot sharper for the time spend in R&D, which is evident when we design parts to sell our customers. A few parts we use are WTCC spec though, and we talk to the BMW engineers when we are having an issue and they can typically point us in the right direction.

(James) Care to comment on the proposed 2009 rules? Do you forsee any positive / negative impacts for the BW team? Reader: Kurt Ristow

[James Clay] I think it is way too early to tell. Certainly with Acura building new cars for 2009 and Mazda for late 2009/2010, things will be shuffled up a bit. Acura will have to contend with the same modern larger chassis that we work with, so we won’t be the only ones crying the blues on frontal area. Mazda will be in a new 3, which is a smaller car, but they will move to a Macpherson strut with this change as well, so that will ding them a little bit. We have been working a lot through the season this year and will continue to do so to make our package stronger, but it will certainly be a dynamic year in 2009.

(James) Do you guys get to talk to each other on the radio during the race? What's the regular chatter like? Who's the most talkative? Reader: Jesse Clark

[James Clay] The general rule is the most talkative is the one being hit. I prefer not to talk a lot and really our whole team follows suit. In the past, we have run separate channels for different drivers that do like to talk, but everyone is on the same one this year, which I prefer for strategy and information sharing. I will tell you though that if you don’t see the problem, you might BE the problem… I have been told that during test sessions, I spend more than my fair share of time discussing handling issues to get the car sorted…

(James) What preparations or work does the team do in the off season to prepare for next year? Is there any time off or does the team go right back at it on Monday after Petit Le Mans?

[James Clay] Everyone has to take a little time off. The guys get some vacation time. We go to the SEMA and PRI shows to meet with sponsors, look for new ones, get ideas, find new products to sell (for BimmerWorld), etc. The cars also undergo a full strip to a bare chassis and then refresh sometime through the winter – everything comes apart, is cleaned and inspected, then reassembled as a fresh car. Testing typically starts for us in January, but every winter is different, depending on the demands of the workload.

(Seth) I know the World Challenge series switched to Toyo R888’s for this season. How has this new tire affected the set up’s over the Toyo Ra1? Also how much are the tires shaved down in order to race on them? Generally what have you learned about these tires over the course of a season in comparison to the RA1's Reader: Mike Carter

[Seth Thomas] We started off the season thinking the R888 was going to be a very similar tire as the RA1 was. It appeared the compound was the same just with a little bit stiffer sidewall. This might be the case but the tires do require a different setup. The cars on the R888s didn’t like the stiffer setup that we had run before that which made them very twitchy. Since then we have done a lot of testing to get setup right with these tires and made a lot of changes to the cars. Basically what we have found with the R888s shaved to 3/32nds is they like a little bit of a softer spring setup and slightly less camber.

(Seth) Do you feel the BMW is easier on the tires than the front drive World Challenge cars? Do you have an advantage later in the race? Reader: Kurt Ristow

[Seth Thomas] I do think so because the FWD cars will burn off their front tires a lot quicker than we do. So later in the race they are having a problem getting the cars pointed where they want entering the turns. I have seen some of the tires on the FWD cars be very close to showing cords after a race. We have our cars setup so they are neutral to begin with and the get a little bit on the loose side later on. This is not a huge factor as the race goes on since they stay predictable and do what they do best throughout the race.

(Seth) Thanks for soliciting questions and comments from those of us over at BimmerForums.com! World Challenge TC races once featured large, diverse fields. In recent seasons though, only a couple of touring car models have proven competitive (Acura, BMW & Mazda this year) and the majority of racers drive for multi-car efforts. The result has been races like this season's Watkins Glen event, where about 1/3 of the field raced for a single team. Do you see this trend as being beneficial for the series? In what ways do you see the World Challenge evolving to better compete for spectator and sponsor attention? Reader: Ian Trenbeath

[Seth Thomas] You guys are more than welcome. It is fun having a group of BMW guys that a cool to hang out with all over the country. The series having teams with multi-car efforts that make up the majority of the field is a positive for the series. It improves the level of competition and car prep with every team. Look at the results from this year. The qualifying for most of the races is determined by less than 1 second from first to 10th or 15th. The competition doesn’t get any closer. The evolution of World Challenge from here will only be better. The series is doing things to help keep the competition where it is and to make it easier on new competitors coming into the series. They are doing things to help increase our fan base and keeping the series on the front page of fans viewing. A couple of examples are creating a Facebook page with links to all the teams websites, videos from in-car footage, dates and times of driver appearances. This Tuesday Randy Pobst and I are doing a radio interview in Atlanta after we test our cars to help promote the race at the Petit LeMans.

(Seth) We know you spend a lot of time coaching club level drivers. Do you think that with enough time and effort the average racer could make it to the WC ranks, or is there a certain level of talent and ability that can't be taught? What qualities do the top level drivers all share?

[Seth Thomas] Yes I do. I was the average racer once. I started out doing BMWCCA Driver Schools at Road Atlanta and all the tracks in the southeast. So I think I started from the roots and did what it took to get here. I didn’t hire a coach so it took me a little bit longer than if I had but I learned a lot along with way. And I am still learning. I benefit from having James and Nick around. They act as my coaches on race weekends. The advantage to having a driving coach is the future racer will gain knowledge of how to drive faster, do it consistently every lap, and how to handle certain race situations a lot quicker than I did. They can learn without having to experience them first hand, which can be costly.

Every top level driver has one thing in common, the will to win. We all want to win and we all want to do it every time we drive a car on the track. Nobody is faster than me and nobody is going to beat me. We are always looking for ways to be faster than our competitors and when our competitors are faster than us, we keep searching for how we are going to come out on top. The continual search for going faster is what makes us top level drivers. We never become stagnant with where we are. We are always wanting the next tenth of a second even if the data tells them it isn’t there. We want it!

(Nick) Do you ever see the opportunity/possibility for a BMW Club racing event to run as a support race for a WC/TC event? Reader: Jenny Santoso

[Nick Esayian] Anything is possible but right now motor sports is about economics. When you have a televised series you tend to share the weekend with other televised series to share costs. In the past we have shared weekend with Formula BMW so depending on what BMW and BMWCCA have up there sleeve (ala VW Cup) we could see something similar.

(Nick ) What is the paddock atmosphere like? Is it anything like club racing where there’s a friendly, hang out after the race together feel to it? Does the pro-level competition, manufacturer involvement and dollars involved take that away? For example, what’s the best practical joke that’s been played in the paddock by one team on another, or does that just not happen? Reader: Eric Henrich

[Nick Esayian] I think the first few races in the WC paddock are a bit intimidating for a new driver. The WC paddock is pretty tight on and off the track and it takes some time for a new guy to gain the respect of everyone on the track as well as being party to the shenanigans off the track. All the drives and teams are constantly giving each other shit and playing practical jokes. Nothing to serious but when you spend 60 plus days with a group of guys doing what we do, you tend to become a big family, albeit a competitive one. From my experience the camaraderie is the same in pro racing as it is in club racing. Lots of fun and a lot of characters.

(Nick) With a company like Debt Cures and the economy where it is currently at, you're probably doing all right! Thoughts on how this will impact motor sports in the coming months / year, if at all?

[Nick Esayian] We saw the clouds on the horizon in early 2007, wrote the book, hired a host, and produced the infomercial. The government had guaranteed all these home loans via Freddy and Fannie to get people into homes that should not have been. Once that happened the greed ensued and banks, builders, and everyone else saw easy money. Add credit card debt in, 2nd mortgages, and the supply of homes outrunning demand and you have a mess. I blame the government for the “social experiment” which started all this. We have sold over 1,000,000 books and collateral on TV and a few hundred thousand units in retail so we are doing ok. Based on the email we have gotten we have helped a lot of folks. It’s been a life changing success but these things have a finite life cycle so we are already working on the next project.

(Nick) As BimmerWorld approaches the last race of the season on one of their 'home' tracks, how much of an advantage does that local knowledge and experience give? Is it more of an advantage in a pure lap time sense or more in a race craft sense (knowing where passes will work / won't)?

[Nick Esayian] Most of the WC guys have raced on all these tracks multiple times so unless we hit a new venue on the schedule like VIR I don’t think it makes a huge difference. Look at Mosport. The entire TC field was less than .7 second apart on the grid and there were guys in the field that have raced that track literally dozens of times. This group is probably the most competitive in any type of motor sports today. That’s a big claim but it is the truth.

The Question most fans want to know the answer to!!

2008-09-03T17:30:00.012-04:00

As questions from our BimmerWorld fans have come in, one has stood out-

"How did you get here (WC)?"

We've modified several of these reader submissions into a group of all encompassing queries for the guys.

We'll make each give their own account and send everyone a T-shirt that helped us come up with these! Thanks for the great questions and keep them coming. The team is busy prepping for their season finale at Road Atlanta and since that is BW home turf and a fast track with lots of elevation changes. Don't miss it - the final race is sure to be exciting!

Send a question, if we use it we'll pay you back with a T-shirt. questions@bimmerworldracing.com

(ALL) Your driver bios on the site give a small glimpse into your background, however it seems that everyone is eager for more information. Specifically can you talk about how you got started, previous series (club or pro) that you've raced in, any autocross experience you may have, and any other experience / training you think has prepared you for racing at the pro levels.

[James Clay] I got my start with the BMW Car Club of America, working up through the ranks of their driving school program. I had a friend that invited me to my first track school and since then, I was hooked. In my first year of driving, I worked up to an instructor in schools and started racing with the BMW CCA, then SCCA the following year. I took a break from racing for about a year after a bit of frustration with mechanicals and so that I could resolve all the problems with my - then private racing effort. When I came back, I had started BimmerWorld and the team that is with us now, the company, and I all grew together through various club racing into World Challenge.

I have autocrossed in the past, but it just wasn't enough time behind the wheel for the effort. I ocassionally do an auto-X event more to hang out with friends, and I am happy to say I have gotten a lot better!

Working through the ladder of development from one series to a more competitive one, and so forth, I have spent a huge amount of time instructing and coaching (invaluable seat time), and of course continually working on physical and mental conditioning to stay sharp. One of the things I figured out early when I was racing jetskis - if you aren't in shape so you are working to keep your head above water, you are wasting your time. Same in a car - if after the intense concentration for a straight hour, plus all the heat and physical work in the car, you get out tired, you need to hit the gym!

[Nick Esayian] Someone posted a flyer at my college for an SCCA autocross in 1989. I showed up as a novice and won the novice class as well as a the F Stock class... This “old guy” PD Cunningham had everyone kissing his a$$. He told me, “Nice job” and when I found out who he was that really got me going.

I’d never even been to a car race and PD Cunningham asked me to bring my street car to use as a pace car at an SCCA National at Blackhawk. After seeing the start I was sold. Got my novice permit and waiver... Won my first eight races, Rookie of the Year in CenDiv, and things started rolling from there.

Among all the club racing, Dodge sponsored the Neon Challenge Series, which really gave me a boost. I did well and there was generous prize money to fund my effort. We used that car to win some NASA pro races and then I realized I really was going to need some help, as I didn’t have the cash to get to the next level. I certainly was on my own financially, so all the help I got along the way from guys like Ralph Porter, Gary Johnson at Dodge, PD, Nathan Bonneau, Acura, Robert Davis, Mazda Motorsports, TRD, Rick Gilhart, Bill Banner, Sandy Silverberg, Al Thom and Autotechnica (really dating myself) made all this possible. Without these guys dotting the timeline of my career I would be at home watching on TV.

[Seth Thomas] When I was in college a couple of my friends had started doing driver’s schools with the local Porsche Club chapter. They kept telling me how I should do it but being a college student my money was being spent in other places. Finally I gave in the day I bought my first BMW M3. I signed up for the local BMW Clubs driver’s school at Road Atlanta. I had always thought I was a pretty decent driver on the street and would be able to hold my own.

At my first school I did a decent job, showed some improvements and potential but I was schooled by my instructor in his E30 325. After this I was hooked and kept doing any school that I could find in the southeast.

From here I hung out with some guys that were building an E30 318 to race in SCCA Club Racing. They wanted me to help drive in some of the enduro races. That is how I started racing and it hasn’t stopped since then. The challenge is to always try to make yourself faster and better driver.

(ALL) What do you feel are the biggest challenges / changes in going from a club race series (BMWCCR, NASA, SCCA) to the professional levels?

[James Clay] It is tough to go from being king of the hill to the back of the bunch. That is all part of developing yourself as a driver or developing a team though - if you are surrounded by a high level of competition and work to meet it, you improve by default. Most drivers in the World Challenge field could go to a club race in any competitive car handed to them and win. The trick is going past that level, with the diminishing returns of everything in life, and figuring out how
to set your car up to get on power earlier - 10' earlier, carry 1 more MPH, etc, or how to do the same as a driver.

[Nick Esayian] Pro Racing, more specifically World Challenge is just way more competitive. At Mosport the entire field was .8 second apart. It’s silly. There are guys that have a better change of winning but the top 15 guys could win a race and no one would be surprised. I used to go to club races and expect to win and come home with a trophy. The level of competition in World Challenge is probably closer than ANY type of auto racing in the US.

[Seth Thomas] Details. In a pro level setting there are a lot of details that help to make the good teams as good as they are. It starts with the car prep and ends with the drivers. Everything makes a difference. If you are 1% off the mark with your setup then you are going to be 10th instead of on the pole or 2nd in qualifying.

The same goes for driving. It is a different level of drivers you are competing against. Instead of always racing the 3 or 4 guys in your class that you are always around it is all the drivers at the track that weekend. Every driver in the race has shot at winning and getting around them in not as easy as driving past them. You have to work on passing them and you have just as tough of a time keeping them behind you. Driving at this level is 100% about consistently driving the car as the maximum level of grip for the entire time.

(ALL) What are your future career goals as it relates to racing?

[James Clay] Excel and win! I have always loved World Challenge and it is really where I want to be. It is hard in road racing to look very long term because it is a fluid landscape. Certainly I keep my eyes open for opportunities, but it isn't in my nature to go to a series just to win more races with less competition. BimmerWorld as a company also thrives on the development of a technical series like World Challenge where engineering is done at a fairly high level.

[Nick Esayian] I love World Challenge. It’s competitive, the cars are cutting edge, and the series is growing, we race with NASCAR/IRL/ALMS, it’s on TV, big crowds, and the standing starts are awesome. If I could run a car in Touring Car and GT at the same time I would be fulfilled. We will see next year. My goal is to win a championship in WC. For that to happen you need to be in the right car during the right year, be consistent, finish all the races, and have a little luck. I’ve put some of those components into each season but I need to be more focused and put them all together.

[Seth Thomas] The number one goal for me is to win the driver’s title in World Challenge. I feel this is certainly possible with the BMW and the BimmerWorld team.

The other goals I have are to drive in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Petite LeMans. Both of these have been races I have watched for years. They both feature some of the best drivers in the world that I would like to compete against. The Petite LeMans is at my home racetrack where I would definitely like to drive at night.

(James) Everyone is aware of the critical role sponsors play in keeping teams afloat. Without naming specific sponsors, what are some of the specific ways in which they provide support, i.e., cash, materials, research or some combination of these? Reader: Dave Taylor

[James Clay] There really is no set formula. The best sponsor relations are as beneficial or more to the sponsors as they are to the team, and of course it really depends on the nature of the sponsor's business. For example, product sponsors, or sponsors that make a product associated with the car would typically supply more on the parts and engineering side than cash, and in return get race testing of their components for durability or design/tuning as well as the marketing support, etc - and those benefits are also specific to the need. On the other hand, M&Ms likely doesn't supply their NASCAR team with product to use or test - that is more of a straight money deal. Some deals are incredibly convoluted as far as who pays, what benefits are included, etc, but it is all about making sure everyone benefits for the effort. If it sounds confusing and you have some corporate money to spend, my door is always open :)

(Nick) What changes do you have to make to your driving style switching between a front drive and rear drive car? Reader: Kurt Ristow

[Nick Esayian] The laws of physics are the same for front and rear drive cars... The biggest differences are power application and the different setups between the RTR (Real Time Racing) cars and the Bimmerworld cars. In the rear drive cars you get a much better start and coming out of the corners you can go to partial throttle a bit quicker. In the front drive cars you have to wait a bit longer to get on the pipe but when you do you can roll it on faster. The BMW’s were really stiff and low at the beginning of the year and now we have moved away from that a bit.
In the end I think the rear drive platform will ultimately be the fast way around. The front drive guys can pitch it in there and if you get loose you mash the throttle and as long as you are on dry ground you can gather it in. If you start throwing the BMW around, albeit may have similar limits, you are going to experience much more “dramatic” recoveries.

(Seth) Who is your favorite non-Bimmerworld WC driver to race against and why? Reader: Jesse Clark

This is a tough one. Every driver in World Challenge is a great driver who is tough to compete with. Nobody is your favorite to race against because in the best case scenario you are out front not really worrying about racing somebody. I guess though if I was racing a guy in the middle of the race or on a last lap scenario I would prefer Charles Espenlaub.

I think he is a great driver who really drives his car to the limit at all times. One of the things you know with Charles is that he will race you fairly and cleanly. At the same time he will make you earn your position. It is funny because when I see him as my next guy to pass I actually don’t look forward to it. He is one of the toughest guys to pass on the track. At the end of the day when you have battled with him in a race you feel like you earned the spot and results of the race.

Q&A - Mosport Recap and "Did you win a T-shirt?"

2008-08-26T08:00:00.017-04:00

Today is our first round of reader submitted questions. Keep checking back since we'll be posting more of these during our down time and as the guy's schedule's permit. Special thanks to everyone that has submitted a question for the team so far. Please keep them coming! Lots of good stuff we'll be addressing in weeks to come.

You can submit your questions to:
questions@bimmerworldracing.com

Also take a look at our media page for selected photos from each event. This isn't the podium shot the BimmerWorld team wanted, see what they had to say about the race below.

(James) You had a strong race until the car broke. Half shafts have been a problem before, typically these break on starts due to the shock. Any speculation on what caused this one to go?

[James Clay] Absolutely! Unfortunately, this is the first time we have broken one of these race-spec shafts. We have broken stock shafts, two versions of diff flange, one diff pinion gear, and one stock and one race version of CV cages (ed. - pretty much evey driveline part). We are balancing a huge amount of stress in the driveline and this is the next weakest part. Anyway, I broke it in what was to be my passing move for the lead – I was on the leaders bumper hard into turn 5a, took a good line and got on the gas (in torque 3rd gear) with authority, and tracked out farther than normal on the exit curbing to maintain my extra speed. The front-wheel cars break axles with the added stress of bouncing and slipping on curbing, and this was the first time for us. When we say our parts our "Race Proven" this is what we mean!!

(James) You had a strong start and were in second place before the incident with the car, was it a matter of deja vu? Give us a prediction for the outcome if things had gone a little differently with the car.

[James Clay] You bet – just like Road America 2 weeks earlier – same qualifying position, better track position during the race, but the same feeling that the race was mine and it was a matter of time until I decided to make a real move for position. We had good cars and should have won this one. Next prediction – a repeat without the mechanical issues at the finale (Road Atlanta) in a few weeks.

****Reader submission****
(James) viewing the in-car video from Road America, it appears that there is quite a bit of deflection in the steering column. Can you tell us what modifications have been made in that area, and why the deflection may be present? Submitted by: Scott Lang

[James Clay] The steering columns in our cars are lightweight replacements. We use a collapsible shaft for safety, then extend it to fit the driver, and support it with a bearing in the firewall and one close to the wheel instead of the heavier stock configuration with a full length housing. The tubing has a little give to it and as far back as we sit in the cars (plus I like my wheel closer to me for better control), my extension is longer and probably deflects more.

(Nick) Do you feel that drivers repress some of their personality for fear of offending potential sponsors? And if so how do you think this ultimately impacts their marketability. Some of the biggest names in NASCAR are pretty outspoken at times.

[Nick Esayian] I do and it is unfortunate. The F1, Indycar, and NASCAR interviews are so predictable it is almost painful to watch. Look at Boris Said... He runs a handful of races per year and people love him because he doesn’t script everything and talks like a real person. John Force, same thing... You don’t need to be obnoxious or rude but all these guys sound the same. You need to simply be yourself, have fun, and realize people at home watching on television want to know what you are feeling - not to hear about how the Widget Winding car was running great...

(Nick) Your fast race lap wasn't even a second off the fastest time for the day. What needs to happen to improve your finishing order? The speed appears to be there, is it a matter of luck, timing, car setup, competition, or all of the above?

[Nick Esayian] I’m pretty comfortable with the car now. It has been silly going from the front at Sebring to struggling. Every weekend we have been close but half a tick off and I’ve been unable to break through which is frustrating. I’ve been a little slow on my set up changes in the practices and will usually notice a single area I need to improve on when reviewing data. The three of us all review data and learn from each other. There is no question I can win... It is on me at this point.

****Reader submission****
(Nick) The best part of a race weekend is no doubt the racing itself, but what would you say your least favorite part of a race weekend is? Talking to the press? Pre race butterflies? Submitted by: Peter Tyson

[Nick Esayian] The worst part of the weekend is certainly the travel to and from the events. The airlines frankly stink. Every company in the US with a big union influence is a disaster... Airlines, public education, auto industry.... There is nothing worse than flying across the country with a late departure, on a dirty plane, served by rude people, only to land and then have to wait to get my now damaged luggage. Last weekend I flew on Mike Davis’ new 747 (ACS Microsystems and GT driver) and I’m sold that is the way to go. Adoption papers are on the way to him as we speak.

(Seth) The race won't be broadcast until Wed. Can you give us a play by play on the final lap?

[Seth Thomas] I don't know if Speed will allow that!! It was basically a 4-5 lap ordeal of me trying to work on getting around Chip. His car was a little bit better than mine coming out of a couple of the turns but mine was significantly better through 8,9, and 10. I had been working getting the pass through there but couldn't make it happen. On the last lap I thought to myself, "if he leaves the door open in T10 I will try to get in there since it would be for a 2nd place". He left the door open and I went for the pass. I had the position but bounced off his car. This caused the rear to step out into the dirt coming out of T10 and that was all she wrote. It was a tough move that I know I could have pulled off but I didn't plan on making contact.

(Seth) Does the fact that you already had a podium finish (at VIR) change how aggressive you were going into the last lap, or does that even play a factor in how you apporach a race?

[Seth Thomas] No, that doesn't change it. I knew spraying some champagne with the guys at the end would have been awesome but I also knew I had a better car than Chip's. So I wanted to prove it. It is late in the season with no championship hopes in sight so it was a move you have to go for. I settled at VIR and I didn't want to settle at this race.

****Reader submission****
(Seth) – You’ve had a great season so far with some near wins, you seem to be consistently in the hunt for a win, and Road Atlanta is obviously a strong track for you. If you do what we all know you can and you pass the checkered flag at Road Atlanta in front of the pack, do you have any plans to upstage Clay’s smoky burnout at Road America? Submitted by: Ryan Staub

[Seth Thomas] I have a few thoughts on that (which are top secret). I think the best answer is Clay set the early example for how this type of celebration should be done. As we all know Clay and I generally try to one up each other. I would say it is safe to say when this does happen I will definitely leave my marks at Road Atlanta! Stay tuned!!

Q&A with the BimmerWorld Drivers – Mosport Momentum

2008-08-19T08:00:00.005-04:00

The World Challenge Touring Car guys face a hectic race schedule with Mosport hot on the heels of Road America. Before the team heads back up north they took some time to answer our questions.

Check out their comments below, and be sure to send us any questions you might have. We’ll get the guy’s thoughts, and give you credit!
questions@bimmerworldracing.com

(James) TV and Movies would have us believe that when you're ready to pass the car in front of you, it simply requires a downshift and stepping on the gas. In reality it probably isn't that easy. Can you tell us a little bit about getting past a car in World Challenge? Is it a matter of being aggressive enough to make the move? What does it take to get past and make it stick?

[James Clay] Not quite that easy... The cars are so evenly matched in World Challenge that your position is given to you when another driver makes an error or you spend several laps evaluating the car in front, deciding where you have the most advantage, then execute. It is a real chess game and it isn't about being aggressive - certainly you need to be to a degree, but you can't pass just because you want to. If we were any more aggressive I think any car in the field would go flying off the track - they are being driven to the limits every turn, braking zone, and straight.

(James) Put your team owner hat on for a second. World Challenge is all over the map with its schedule. What type of logistics does it take to get the team, spares, and cars up to an event? Has the high price of diesel made any difference this year?

[James Clay] Well this has actually been an easy year with 9 of 10 races east of the Mississippi. This year the transporter costs us about $0.75 per mile for fuel alone to run! Plane tickets aren't getting any cheaper either and with 15 people to shuttle around the country it adds up. To support a team at the level needed for this series takes good guys and a lot of them - one of the biggest expenses for any race weekend for us.

(Nick) Since James is crediting you with the Junior Engineer title, can you tell us some of the keys to making a car handle in the rain? Will rain at Mosport negate any advantages the BMW's might enjoy?

[Nick Esayian] I am certainly no engineer but softer seems to be the ticket in the rain. The key is to balance softer with transition and how quickly the car takes a set... Wayne’s got a plan so I’m confident we will be ok unless it snows. Even with last years super stiff setup in the E90 Clay was all over the bumper of my front drive TSX. That’s proof the BMW is a great platform to start with. Certainly rain negates (a bit) our ability to start feeding throttle as early as we usually do, but these rain races have so many variables it’s difficult to predict what is going to happen.

(Nick) You're part of the WC Vision LLC, which is looking to improve the overall marketing of the World Challenge series. If you could wave your magic wand what changes would you make to the series?

[Nick Esayian] There is no question the first three things we would change...

1.) A more attractive TV deal – Better production (more resources), better on air times, better format... Whether that be a reality type show, live TV, etc. I can’t tell you the answer yet. The economics will make that determination.

2.) Boosting the TC field – TC is great racing... Boosting the field is really the result of building confidence in the series with those potential teams that may be considering building cars, a tight and consistent rules package, and the series profile attractive enough to make it worth stepping up from Grand Am to WC.

3.) A title sponsor. Video game producer, energy drink, electronics retailer, or an auto association like SEMA.... It makes no difference to me who it is. We have a great demo and can provide a package that makes business sense in terms of ROI. We just need to get in front of some of these folks and get a deal done. Right now WC is like a blue chip stock in a down market. We are undervalued. If someone buys in now, as the series matures, they are going to get a huge value for their money. I can guarantee that.

Now get me that wand so we can get onto the rest of our list.

(Seth) You've had some great starts this year with a few holeshot and hardcharger awards. What are some of the keys to getting a good start in WC? Or is it simply your cat-like reflexes and reaction time?

[Seth Thomas] That is a simple answer, RWD BMW. The fact that our cars have a great 1st gear along with the great drivetrain of the BMW's help out tremendously. Every time I am lined up for the start of the race it is time to focus. Staying focused on the lights and getting a quick drag launch from the car is the key. I have been known to attempt a few of these starts on the streets from time to time when the local law enforcement isn’t around. The only problem there is usually a little bit more tire smoke. ;-)

(Seth) Mosport is a high speed track with some pretty scary corners. How does this track stack up on your favorite's list? Do you prefer faster tracks, or something that is maybe more technical?

[Seth Thomas] My preference would be the fast tracks. It seems that most drivers are g-force junkies. The faster tracks give us the g-force fix we are all looking for. The feeling I get when I top the hill at T2 in Mosport at over 100 MPH with the rear sliding out... of course you need to do this to get a good run through the turn all while going down a hill can’t be beat. Same with Road Atlanta and T12. There is nothing like it!!!

Q&A with the BimmerWorld Drivers – Thoughts on Road America

2008-08-14T11:38:00.003-04:00

We checked in with the BimmerWorld drivers a few days after the Road America race to get Clay’s thoughts on his first trip to victory lane, Seth’s predictions for the future, and Nick on what not to order from hotel room service.
Check out their comments below, and be sure to send us any questions you might have. We’ll get the guy’s thoughts, and give you credit!

questions@bimmerworldracing.com

(Clay) You've said that you've driven harder to finish worse than at Road America. What were the one or two key breaks that you got during the race that made it all come together?

[James Clay] That is definitely the case, but it wasn't race breaks that made it work. Really, the whole team was just on it all week. We made a big jump in setup early in testing and the car was just good. I was a little worried when I got hung out on the start and shuffled back to 6th, but having a car that was dialed in, and finally ending up on the positive side of contact in turn 1 at the restart made the run to the front smooth sailing. The fast laps of the top 7 cars were within a couple of tenths, and I wasn't the fastest, but this weekend luck went my way with proper track position.

(Clay) It is often mentioned that certain tracks favor different types of cars. Conventional thinking being that the larger engines of the BMW's have the advantage on the higher speed tracks. Can you elaborate on that and maybe describe the important pros / cons of the BMW at the World Challenge level as compared to a front wheel drive and / or double wishbone setup?

[James Clay] I do think that at this point, we have a slight power advantage, but we are also bigger with more frontal area (increases drag) so it really only shows up when we are in the draft it seems. Our Macpherson strut front suspension isn't as good as an a-arm for racing purposes, but it didn't hurt us as much this time without the fast back and forth transitions. I think the biggest thing that made the cars work this weekend was the brakes - I could consistently brake inside the 4 marker at Canada corner while the rest of the field seemed to be at the 4.5-5 marker. That is just a testament to the Performance Friction brakes and pads on the car more than a particular design-specific attribute.

(Clay) You seemed pretty confident for your first trip to the podium. Obviously anyone at the WC level isn't new to winning as they work their way up, but given the trials and tribulations you guys have all gone through this has to be very special. Has it hit you yet, or is this just the natural culmination of hard work and to be expected?

[James Clay] Not sure if confident is the right word, but I certainly do think the team deserves it, so I am not overwhelmed or surprised. If we didn't think we could win races, we wouldn't be working so hard to do it! Definitely this is good affirmation of all the hard work we have all put in and makes the guys feel better about the late nights fixing the stuff from weekends that didn't go as well.

(Clay) It probably isn't common knowledge but Seth's sister was in a bad wreck this year, and you've recently had a close friend in the hospital. Is it harder to concentrate on racing when things like that are going on away from the track? Does it put any type of perspective on racing for a living?

[James Clay] Certainly as much effort as I put into driving and racing, and as much as I put it in front of other things, the parts of life that are the most important aren't about a piece of metal. It was a busy week for me before this weekend and after with hospital visits, but I wouldn't have missed them for anything. Certainly to be passionate enough about racing to put in the effort required takes making it a priority, but in the end it is a job.

(Clay) You mentioned the important roles of Wayne Yawn your engineer and Jason Marks your crew chief. Can you give us any indication of the impact or changes these guys have made that has allowed you to get to the podium 3 times this year?

[James Clay] Well certainly Jason Marks, as the crew chief and team leader, plus all the other guys that have been with the team for years, make the opportunities so that we can go out and win. Someone pointed out that in our podium picture, Marks and Dave Simpkins (our two longest-term employees) weren't in it - they had continued on with their responsibilities to take the car to impound. That is dedication. Wayne just got lucky (kidding...). Honestly, Wayne has made big strides with the cars this year and they are nothing like what he started with. I also have to thank junior engineer Nick Esayian for pushing us out of the comfort zone and questioning some of our old setup assumptions which is also a big part of why the cars are currently as good as they are.

(Seth) You were right behind Clay's time in qualifying. Do all of you share a race setup, or are you still experimenting up to and including the race? Are there individual 'tweaks' based on driving style for each car?

[Seth Thomas] For the most part our setups are the same. We might differ in setup by some of the shock settings or possibly a slight variation in spring rates. These are our individual tweaks and ones that also suit the slightly different driving styles each of us have.

(Seth) Clay has been your teammate for several years now, is he holding out any speed secrets on you? Seriously a lot has been said about the team's bad luck, but 3 podium finishes for the year isn't too shabby. How do you feel about your chances for the rest of the year? You had a strong race at Road Atlanta going in the wet last year and that is your home track.

[Seth Thomas] This weekend he was holding something out on me. James qualifying ahead of me, and winning - then we definitely know he had some tricks in the bag. For the most part though, we don't have any secrets. The data we get shows us where all the speed is at.

The rest of the year should be awesome for the team and for myself. Mosport is a track that James and I always do very well at. Road Atlanta is my home track where I know all the speed secrets. Plus I owned the track in the wet last year and I look for a repeat this year. So the rest of the year should yield some very memorable finishes for us and include some champagne spraying ceremonies.

(Seth) To follow up on that, has he given you a hard time at all about getting the first victory?

[Seth Thomas] No I think he has been too busy surfing the internet looking at pictures of his smokey victory burnouts. Just kidding! He has actually been busy working on making the cars faster for a short turn around before Mosport.

(Seth) How closely matched are the E46 cars of Sofornas and Martinelli compared to the E90's, do you feel there is a particular area that the E90's enjoy an advantage?

[Seth Thomas] The E46 cars are still great cars in Touring car competition. They are still fast in a straight line and still brake well, since they have the same PFC (Performance Friction) brakes we do. Every year the suspensions get better and better which keeps making the cars faster. The E46 has had 8 years of development which makes it towards the end of its life cycle for development within the rules. The E90 is just beginning and is already faster than these cars in the corners. It is a lot more stable of a car now with all the development BimmerWorld has been doing. So put the PFC brakes, better motor, stiffer chassis, and better suspension and the E90 shines over the E46 cars and still has potential to get even better!

(Nick) You were able to advance several positions and had a solid race. Also it seemed like this race had less contact than we've seen recently. Did the SCCA say anything to the teams, or does Road America have more room than maybe other tracks?

[Nick Esayian] After the fifth time being collected from behind this year I blew a gasket at Mid Ohio in the pit lane after the race. My behavior was probably a bit over the top but I think the TC (touring car) guys collectively were tired of so much contact. Road America is not a place to be cavalier with contact as the Kink, Turn 1, and Canada hold severe consequences if you have an off. We all respect each other enough not to play rough at a place like that.

(Nick) Being the Road America expert would you like to take credit for giving James the tricks he needed to win his first race?

[Nick Esayian] James did a great job all weekend with little or no help from me. The only real advice I gave was related to some reference points to keep the distance driven between turns as short as possible. PD (Peter Cunningham) showed me the tricks almost fifteen years ago so I felt obligated to pass them on.

(Nick) You were slightly behind on qualifying was this a setup issue, or traffic?

[Nick Esayian] I had food poisoning and was in the hotel room sick up until about 20 minutes prior to qualifying. The guys poured me in the car, PD gave me a tow and one of the Mazdas decided to do some blocking which cost us a top six on the grid. This was unfortunate considering how close the top 12 cars were in the race. Starting position was everything. My bad for eating the quesadilla at the hotel. Clay tells me only bagels and pasta at Mosport.

(Nick) Mosport and Road Atlanta would seem to favor the BMW's any predictions or is that bad luck?

[Nick Esayian] I agree. Our cars don’t have the low end torque of the big four cylinders of the Mazdas and Acuras. Once we get up over 100mph the E90’s inline six likes to stretch it’s legs. Fortunately Wayne Yawn, our engineer, has done an unbelievable job of getting these cars to handle. Our crew, under Wayne’s close watch, put a plan together and executed it mid season to get up the cars to where they are now. A tough job to say the least with the schedule the way it was.

Q&A with the BimmerWorld Pro Racers!

2008-08-06T11:35:00.006-04:00

At the start of the season we discussed how awesome it would be to have a behind the scenes blog that we would all contribute to during race weekend. It was a great way, we thought, to bring our fans along for the great ride that it is a Speed World Challenge race weekend. Well as with most ideas success lies in the execution, and it turns out we’re really pretty busy trying to win races during the weekend and too tired or busy before and after. So, since we value our fans we’re experimenting with ways that we can give you a behind the scenes glimpse of the action in a format that is schedule and race friendly. Here is our first attempt! Hope you enjoy.

Send your questions to questions@bimmerworldracing.com.

(Nick): At Mid-Ohio you seemed to be making good progress and moving up through the pack until you got tangled up with a Mazda that sent you off track. That driver received a stop and go, obviously that doesn't help you too much. Thoughts on your race?

Qualifying was disappointing after we started the weekend so strong. I made up about ten spots with a great start and the typical first lap chaos. The multiple yellows put the pack on my butt every time I managed to extend out and gain some breathing room. I was in 6th for more than half the race and struggled with oversteer in the slow stuff, but managed to gap the car behind me in the faster turns. He apparently got impatient and thought he could suspend the laws of physics for a few seconds. It didn’t work and he drove through the grass and into my door sending me to the back with yet again a bent up car. Needless to say Charlie (Putnam) is a brilliant guy, and was driving a great race, but he certainly was not at the top of his game at that moment.

(Nick) With almost a full season with the Bimmerworld team, how is the transition going? Has it been more or less difficult than you initially thought?

Our guys are top notch in terms of professionalism and putting the work in. That’s a big compliment since my benchmark is Realtime. Unfortunately our results don’t reflect their efforts. Out of the box at Sebring we were really in the hunt and my 4th place qualifying showed that. I’m not sure what the issue has been but we have been struggling to keep pace in terms of low and mid speed handling and frankly I’m a bit frustrated as we are getting beaten by guys we should be able to show our bumpers to. James, Seth, and I alternate at being quick each session but we have consistently been off the pace. Our competition keeps raising the bar, we have to have faith that the (SCCA) tech guys have their thinking caps on, and dealing with getting hit every other race doesn’t give me cause to celebrate either. It has been tough and I’ve been struggling to stay positive but that’s racing. The worst are the calls from my old club racing buddies who see some of the new guys that they beat at the Runoffs jumping into a WC car and finishing up front... It’s really not that easy and being in the right car, at the right track, on the right team, and not getting cleaned out is a big part of the equation. The top 15-16 guys in Touring Car are all very talented. Everyone struggles but we know if we keep pushing and our guys keep up the good work the results will come.

(Nick) Given Bimmerworld's previous results at Road America you're in a position to have the most race laps and experience here. Have you shared any tips or tricks with your teammates?

My career started at RA in 1992 so I do have a lot of laps there. There are certainly some tricks to shortening the track and I’m happy to share any insight I may have with the boys. Unfortunately PD (Peter Cunningham) taught me most of them.

(Seth) You ventured off track during the Mid-Ohio race to avoid other cars and had to come in to clear the radiator and still managed to finish 6th with what amounted to a stop and go. That has to make you happy, thoughts in general on Mid-Ohio? It seemed like getting back to the front may have taken all the tires had to give?

I would say the tires on the car from Mid Ohio were very similar to the tires after Sebring. They were done! What a blast coming up through the field though. Patience and racecraft were being tested every lap.

(Seth) Was there any option to stay out with the radiator, or did engine temps force you to come in?

There wasn’t an option at all. The temps on the engine from the Keyhole to Thunder Valley went from 180 degrees to 225 degrees and rising. It was come in, or end the race early. It is so disappointing to watch all your hard work gaining positions disappear in a moment and then leaving pit lane knowing that you have to do it all over again! At that point it was staying focused and trying to make the best of it.

(Seth) You've gotten a few Hardcharger / Holeshot awards this year, and while not as satisfying as podium finishes, it certainly shows that the race craft and driving ability are there. Is it simple bad luck keeping you from the top?

I wouldn’t say it is bad luck, because we keep managing to finish in the top-10. I would say that it is more of getting caught out in qualifying with a setup that doesn’t quite suit the track, or the new tires we have on the car. And then when it comes race time we have the car dialed in. The rest of the scenario is my fault. At Mid Ohio, my worst qualifying effort this year, I made one big mistake on the first lap which was the lap to get the fast time on the tires. This was the difference in a Top-5 qualifying effort to 15th starting spot.

(Seth) How important is qualifying towards the top in this series? It seems that the closer to the front the less chance of getting caught up in traffic and having problems.

Huge! Qualifying in the Top-10 is the most important start to a race. The cars are so closely matched that if you aren’t close at the start then you don’t stand much of a chance to challenge for the lead. Plus when you have 5 Acuras and 5 Mazdas both going for the manufacturer’s points it makes it a lot tougher to move up through the field.

(James) Any consideration to adding a body shop to the BimmerWorld suite of services?

Certainly it would be profitable, but I don’t think Bassen Autobody, who is one of our great partners, would appreciate the competition. It is wild to have the level of contact we have recently, but honestly we came through a lot of races unscathed earlier in the season, which is equally if not more rare, so maybe it is good karma to call it even? And really Bassen’s shop does some amazing work to be able to put us in a position to race all 3 cars after Watkins Glenn and still have time for our team to do their work on the car as well.

(James) You had to visit the pits to fix some damage during the Mid-Ohio race after being an innocent bystander in an Acura spin out. How much power was your car down from the closed exhaust?

It was another disappointing piece of bad luck. I could actually hear the exhaust trying to blow air out – like trying to blow up one of those really long animal balloons and getting nowhere. I looked at data after the race and I was able to maintain my qualifying corner speeds through the race which was a good trick, but I was losing about 10MPH on the longer straights. Not sure how much power that equates to but it hurt about 3-4 seconds a lap.

(James) World Challenge is so competitive with less than a second between first and tenth. With the field that close what can you do to stay out of trouble and on the track? Does it change how aggressive you are during at least the first few laps?

Easy!! – start at the front and watch the fun in the rearview mirror. Mid-Ohio was really tough because we had done some productive testing and spent a lot of shop time on the cars, aside from the Watkin’s Glenn repairs. We had a good setup but just couldn’t get it to the front of the pack. If you don’t start at the front, you have to either be really lucky or claw your way up through traffic and take your lumps along the way.

(James) Road America seems to be a good track for the BMW's and Road Atlanta is almost a home track for BimmerWorld, how important is a strong finish to the team?

After a rough mid-season, a strong finish is super important for me, my co-drivers, and the whole team who has been putting in double-time to get a good result. If the complaints of the Mazda’s and Acura’s ring true, we should be lapping the field with the long straights of Road America, so I am certainly looking forward to it. For once I hope they’re right!

(James) Has it been difficult to keep morale up with the team after all the ups and downs this year or is it just part of racing?

It is part of racing, but that doesn’t mean it is easy. I heard recently that racing is a sport of losing and you very rarely win. But certainly I wouldn’t mind sneaking one in here.

The best things come in 3s

2008-06-19T13:32:00.002-04:00

Or something like that. Check out the Watkins Glen in-car video on the site. That was by far the wildest wreck I have ever been in (and I have had my share...). PRetty scary stuff - I was pretty loose in the car after the second hit due to belt stretch and looking at more of the field headed directly at me. Luckily, everyone else avoided and everyone walked away from it no more than a little banged up. A testament to the safety of the cars we run and the safety gear built into them.

A week later and we have one car back from Bassen Autobody - our miracle worker. We start testing for Mido Ohio shortly. Onward and upward. The good thing is it would be pretty hard to get worse than last race!

Acura/Mazda Sandwich

2008-06-07T19:03:00.002-04:00

Watkins Glen is one of those tracks that you love to drive at. For me I love it. This track has so much history and is such a great track to drive on. The whole week I have been pumped to be here. At the same time I think my teammates have been too. We have been working on some very new setups with out suspension that really didn't come together until the last minute with the right combination. This was qualifying for me where I put the E90 BimmerWorld 325 into 6th place. I did have a little bit of a better lap going until another car decided it was time to treat qualifying like a race. He put his nose in on me instead of trying to work together. I let him by instead of risking damage to the car and creating extra work for the crew. Tune in tomorrow for the race to find out how many positions we all advance during the race!

Rollin' the dice

2008-05-25T17:26:00.002-04:00

Well we all struggled throughout the run up to race one at Lime Rock... The race wasn't much better. We all improved our position and we all are in the top ten in points but we are not overly happy with not being up at the front. All three of us are capable and these cars are capable of running at the front. Normally we would test big changes but we are going to roll the dice with a big setup change tomorrow and see how it goes. A ten minute qualifying doesn't leave much time if we blow it so it will be all or nothing. Stay tuned!