Radford, VA – The Sebring race weekend was much less successful than expected for the Bimmerworld World Challenge team.  Plagued by supplier problems, the team arrived at the track with three cars still without engine wiring harnesses.  The crew functioned flawlessly and with help from Sunbelt Performance Engines, had three complete cars by the time of the race on Friday.  Unfortunately, the needed testing and setup and testing time was forfeited. 

Two cars were finished in time to qualify for the race and in the hands of rookie Seth Thomas and James Clay, the cars were placed in the 23^rd and 24^th positions on the grid.  Due to a wing measurement change with fuel load, the #38 car driven by Seth Thomas was moved to the back of the field for the race start.  Matt Richmond in the #37 car started at the back of the grid on Friday with no qualifying time.

In the race, Matt Richmond had a strong start and gained 10 positions to clinch the B&M Holeshot Award for the most positions gained on the first lap.  Seth Thomas and James Clay also gained multiple positions before the double yellow flag was flown for a car in the wall after lap one.  At the restart, all Bimmerworld cars gained position until heating issues eventually brought all three cars into the pits.

“I think that all things considered, this race still showed the strength of the Bimmerworld cars” stated team owner James Clay.  “Seth and I qualified mid-pack in cars with zero setup work, testing, or track time, which is an accomplishment in a field this strong.  Matt Richmond, in a car with zero laps on the track who was also well on the way to claiming the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for the most passes in a race, showed how potent our 2004 package is when working correctly.  Unfortunately this race was a test session for us and now we have our issues resolved and are eagerly awaiting our full strength return to the next race in the series.”

The Speed World Challenge Touring Cars will travel to Bimmerworld home track Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA for an invitational purse race at the Drift Atlanta weekend.  The points series will resume on the Memorial Day weekend at Lime Rock Park.  The 2004 Bimmerworld World Challenge team is sponsored by Ground Control, Hawk Performance, Stoptech, Quartermaster, Silkolene, Eibach, Rogue Engineering, and Bimmerforums.

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