DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The new Automatic Racing BMW M6 turned its first laps on the race track during testing at Daytona International Speedway throughout Monday and Tuesday.

David Russell, Jep Thornton, Jeff Segal, Joe Varde and Tom Long were all on hand to drive the No. 09 BMW M6, completing 151 laps throughout the two-day test hosted by Riley Technologies. The M6 is a new entry into the GT class of the Grand-Am Rolex Series, but expectations are high after such a positive start to the new chapter in Automatic Racing’s history.

“It was really a textbook two days. It couldn’t have gone better,” said an enthusiastic Russell. “We learned a lot, and we learned that we’ve got to change certain things, but Riley delivered us a reliable car for the test. We’re looking forward to making the changes necessary to have a successful test in January and on to the 24 Hours. Lozano Brothers Porting built the motor and it ran perfect the whole time; there wasn’t a single glitch.”

“It was a surprisingly good test,” added team owner and driver Jep Thornton. “Since we’re really the first team to race the M6, we expected to be making a lot of changes as we develop the car, but we were pleased with how strong the M6 was from the start. Only minor changes need to be made as we prepare for Test Days and, of course, the 24 Hours.”

The Automatic Racing M6 has been on the go for the past few weeks. Riley Technologies prepared the car before it arrived in Orlando just in time to be unveiled during the Performance Racing Industry Show last week.

From there, Automatic Racing had one week to get the car ready for the Daytona test. With the data from there, the team knows what needs to be done to prepare for Test Days at Daytona from January 4-6.

For Test Days, Automatic Racing will have the GT-class M6 on track as well as its four BMW M3s, which compete in the Grand Sport class of the KONI Challenge Series. While most people are busy preparing for the holidays, the Automatic crew will be preparing their five cars for the first test of 2008.

More information about Automatic Racing’s entrance into the Rolex Series with the No. 09 BMW M6 can be found online at www.AutomaticRacing.com.