BimmerWorld Racing Captures Podium Finish at the Lime Rock Park 120 Race

BimmerWorld Racing Captures Podium Finish at the Lime Rock Park 120 Race

BimmerWorld Racing owner James Clay and co-driver Tyler Cooke recorded their best finish of the IMSA Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge series so far this year when they placed third in the Street Tuner (ST class) Saturday at Lime Rock Park with their BimmerWorld Racing No. 84 OPTIMA Batteries turbocharged BMW 328i (F30 chassis).

Ari Balogh and Greg Liefooghe also had an excellent result in the two-hour contest, as they placed sixth in a similar car fielded by the Dublin, Va.-based team, the No. 81 Powerflex BMW, to duplicate their best result of the season to date.

Clay, of Blacksburg, Va., qualified fourth, just 0.360 of a second off the pole-winning time for the 1.53-mile, seven-turn road course about 100 miles from New York City. He set the car’s fastest lap of the race on lap four and remained in fourth place throughout his stint until he led four laps around the halfway mark when the top three cars pitted under green. He pitted shortly thereafter for fuel, fresh Continental tires, and to turn the car over to teammate Cooke, of Matthews, N.C.

Cooke was back in fourth place only seven laps later. He advanced to third on lap 102 with about 14:20 remaining when the drivers who had been second and third tangled in front of him. The one who had been third got the worse end of that tussle and ended up in a tire barrier, and a little later Cooke brought his BMW home for the final podium position.

Balogh, of Menlo Park, Calif., qualified 16th but he’d advanced to ninth before most of his rivals began their pit stops, and he was fourth when he pitted under green to turn his BMW over to Liefooghe, of San Francisco. The latter was ninth at the halfway point before rising to sixth at the finish despite a track that was getting more slippery by the minute.

The race will be shown on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, July 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern. The next event is Aug. 3-6 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. More information is available at imsa.com.

James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., team owner and driver, No. 84 OPTIMA Batteries BMW 328i (F30 chassis):
“I think we probably got what we could have gotten today, and maybe a little bit more. We definitely didn’t have the pace of the MX-5s on the track, but we had a good pace. We had two consistent cars. We were more consistent than I thought we’d be. The car didn’t fall off, and that was one of our biggest concerns. We were able to gap everybody behind us and keep the car in a good position to turn it over to Tyler. Tyler had a heck of a drive, and we’re pretty happy.”

Tyler Cooke, Matthews, N.C., driver, No. 84 OPTIMA Batteries BMW 328i (F30 chassis):
“Not bad. Finishing third at Lime Rock is like a win for pretty much any car in the field. It was a great race. The track really fell off at the end, but we were running a consistent pace. We held it in fourth and then moved into third.

“The guys did an amazing job. We had a short time period to get this car ready, but they nailed it. Hats off to BimmerWorld, all the sponsors, and BMW North America.”

Greg Liefooghe, San Francisco, driver, No. 81 Powerflex BMW 328i (F30 chassis), which he shares with Ari Balogh of Menlo Park, Calif.:
“The car was good. We didn’t have the pace in qualifying but in the race, we were really good. I think we can be happy with the results. The car ran really well. We found some speed this weekend. I’m pretty happy. Ari drove the first stint very well, and the car was really good.

“I think Road America is going to be a good track for us. We’re a little bit more of a power car than a handling car, so we might have a little bit of an advantage there so we’re looking forward to that.”

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ABOUT: BimmerWorld is renowned as a leader in BMW aftermarket and tuning expertise and competes in the IMSA Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge series with a pair of BMW 328is (F30), where the Virginia-based outfit has become a routine winner and championship contender.

BimmerWorld Unveils Technical, Commercial Partnerships For Continental Tire Series Campaign

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With an expanded four-car roster ready to vie for the 2014 Continental Tire Series Street Tuner Championship, the Virginia-based BMW experts at BimmerWorld have secured an impressive array of commercial backing and technical support to bring their goals closer to reality.

Team owner/driver James Clay discussed many of the companies whose branding will be carried next season, including some that have become synonymous with BimmerWorld’s striking fleet of BMWs.

“This will be the third year CRC has joined us as a primary sponsor,” said Clay. “Beyond general branding and promotional work, BimmerWorld will also be the racing industry partner program supplier for CRC Brakleen®,as well as for their full product range this year through our CRCMotorsportSupply.com venture. We have been partnered with CRC for ten years now, and we are proud to take the next step forward with supplying the premium CRC product line to teams in our paddock as well as those in a variety of other racing series.”

“Our partnership with Johnstone Supply is important to us because they are like family,” Clay continued. “Johnstone’s support of BimmerWorld Racing, through their stores in Texas and Louisiana, adds a strong B2B partner to our network, as well as good friends and mentoring as our operation continues to grow and succeed.”

BimmerWorld’s reputation as an elite BMW aftermarket and tuning specialist has been amplified through relationships with numerous technical partners. Each company Clay has assembled within the BimmerWorld fold has brought unparalleled cornering, braking, and acceleration performance to the professional team and BimmerWorld performance customers alike.

“With the change in suspension regulations this year, we are once again able to align ourselves with the staff of Motion Control Suspension (MCS) with whom we have worked since 2003,” Clay explained. “Their new MCS brand and product line is the next evolution of their premium race-winning damper designs and we are excited to be able to use the same products we have been selling to our customers and using on our other program cars in our professional program. This renewed technical partnership is a tremendous asset as we prepare to fight for the 2014 Championship.

“Our BMWs have always been standouts under braking. We have used Performance Friction brakes exclusively since 2005 when we first tested with them, and we credit PFC with this major team strength. We test new products every year but we always come back with the same result and proudly wear the PFC logos on our car and sell their products as our premium line in our BimmerWorld store. With new pad compounds released this year, we continue to have the best options for friction on our cars.”

Packed race tracks with grids of 60 or more cars can present significant engine cooling problems, which BimmerWorld continues to address and overcome with help from Red Line Oil and C&R Racing.

“Red Line Oil has been in our cars since day one at BimmerWorld Racing,” Clay noted. “We have always been happy with the results in a variety of applications, and with the challenging temperatures in our new turbo-engined BMW F30, Red Line gives us critical durability and protection in a very challenging environment.

“And C&R Racing, armed with new exchanger core technology, has developed a new cooling system for both our E90 and F30 racecars to keep them operating at optimal temperatures, even with the tight drafting and prolonged stressed operation in our series.”

Producing horsepower, torque and transmitting that energy to the ground has been entrusted to two BimmerWorld staples.

“Diffsonline continues to be a strong technical partner,” Clay remarked. “Focused on our non-engine driveline, they have provided our engineers with the tools to continue to improve our cars’ performance, and helped reduce critical driveline failures. With the release of the F30 last season and continuing work this year, Diffsonline continues to develop new solutions as needed for this new platform.

“Also, Eric at Electronspeed, along with CRD engines, has done a tremendous amount of work on our new F30 engine and management system over the last several months, and without their support we would still be fighting to get this car on track. We have a long development road ahead of us, but we have the best team on the job to make rapid progress.”

Known for sharing close quarters and trading paint throughout each race, Bassen Autobody will once again keep BimmerWorld’s Continental Tire Series cars smooth and sparkling.

“The Bassen Autobody team will have more work than ever with four BimmerWorld cars to keep on track, but we can sleep knowing that when the unexpected pops up, we have capable partners like Bassen to handle it,” said Clay.

In addition to the partners listed above, BimmerWorld will also represent BimmerForums, Chin Motorsports, LaminX, Miller Welders, Racetech, Rays, Rogue Engineering and Sparco in 2014.

Next up or BimmerWorld is this weekend’s Roar Before The 24 test at Daytona International Speedway, a precursor to the season-opening Continental Tire Series race on January 24 at Daytona.

Follow the team as it prepares for the new season by visiting www.BimmerWorldRacing.com