BIMMERWORLD DRIVERS GAIN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS IN THE STREETS OF ST PETE 

RADFORD, VA (April 7, 2005) – The BimmerWorld Racing took two top ten positions and climbed in the 2005 Championship points race at the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg on Sunday. 

During the practice sessions on Friday, James Clay in the #36 car had engine issues early on.  "It is tough to sit out during a session while my competitors learn the new circuit and get faster" explained Clay, "but the crew got my car running perfectly and my teammates gathered good information and really helped me get up to speed quickly."

The Friday qualifying session saw improvement as the BimmerWorld team closed in on the suspension setup for the changing track.  Seth Thomas came out hard with a fast lap in the first qualifying session, which put him briefly on the pole for the race.  In the second session, Matt Richmond's #37 BMW 325i was the fastest BMW on the starting grid in 5th position.  Clay claimed the 7th spot, directly behind Richmond on the grid, while Thomas settled out to 14th.  "I am happy with the results of the weekend so far and I think our starting positions are great with the power output of some of the cars in the field at this point" stated Clay.

On race day, the BimmerWorld cars got a launch off the start and moved to positions 3, 5, and 12.  Matt Richmond drove an excellent race, losing one position on a restart to finish a career high 4th. "Every weekend I hope my performance will represent the hard work this team puts in to every event.  This weekend was the best I have ever felt in the car and I think it showed" said Richmond.  "We get stronger every time out and perfection is our goal."

James Clay ran most of the race in 5th until a minor engine issue popped up.  "Everything was running great until late in the race.  A car went off in front of me and apparently tossed some debris into my car and it began to slowly overheat."  Clay coasted the car over the finish line to finish a strong 7th.

Seth Thomas in the #38 BimmerWorld car started strongly and then lost control in the unforgiving concrete canyon circuit.  "My wreck was unfortunate and prevented us from putting three cars in the top 10 again.  "I am looking forward to Road Atlanta - we definitely have momentum and this is our  home track. Watch out for the BimmerWorld Boys there!"

The Round Two results place Matt Richmond 3rd in championship points (41) and James Clay 4th (40).

The Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg will be broadcast on SPEED TV, Sunday, April 10th at 1 PM EDT.  The BimmerWorld team returns to its home track at Road Atlanta for Round 3 of the 2005 Touring Car championship April 14-16.  This event will be televised live on SPEED TV, Saturday April 16th at 4:00PM EDT.

The 2005 BimmerWorld World Challenge team is sponsored by Ground Control, Hawk Performance, StopTech, Silkolene, Eibach, Rogue Engineering, Bimmerforums, and the Wheelchair Foundation. For more information on BimmerWorld Racing, visit www.bimmerworldracing.com.

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