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BimmerWorld: Utah SPEED Touring Car Race Report
3-car BimmerWorld BMW team continues to build momentum going into the
Lime Rock double-header this weekend.
Dublin, VA (5.21.08)
Coming off a team best 2nd and 3rd place finish at the previous SPEED
World Challenge touring Car round at VIR, the BimmerWorld BMW E90 team
went into last weekend’s race at Miller Motorsports Park with modest
expectations from the 3 mile track.
“It’s a perfect track layout for front-wheel drive cars, so we knew we’d
be in for a good fight with our rear-drive E90’s,” said BimmerWorld owner/driver
James Clay.
Qualifying at the Tooele, Utah track found the top seven positions filled
with FWD cars; BimmerWorld ace Seth Thomas was the first RWD car, starting
8th. James Clay would start 10th, with Nick Esayian in 13th.
Clay rocketed off the start line, moving up to 4th heading into turn
one, but as a few cars attempted to crash directly in front of his BMW
E90, Clay was forced to abandon the position while taking avoiding action.
“That was one of my better starts, but as cars began to spin in front
of me, I had no choice but to back off and pick my way past.”
In the 42-minute long race, Thomas improved one spot to 7th, Esayian
two spots to 11th, and Clay, suffering a brake fitting failure just two
laps from the end, fell from 8th to 16th.
As Thomas kept touch with the lead pack, Esayian was engaged in a race-long
duel with an old adversary. “I had a pretty nice race early on with Chip
Herr. We changed positions multiple times; the racing was close and super
clean. We’ve gone door to door many times and I really respect Chip and
enjoy the tight quarters racing. The two of us always have a good laugh
after the race. Unfortunately he did get the best of me at Miller, but
we’ll fix that at Lime Rock..” he said with a smile.
While the team’s results weren’t as strong as they earned at VIR, Thomas
knows a championship-caliber team like BimmerWorld will take the highs
and lows in stride. “So far this year we have shown the speed of the
BMW by setting fast lap after fast lap. We are heading to a track that
is known for being a BMW track in the series so you will see us moving
up in points after this weekend. As far as us being this close to the
points lead without any factory effort at this point shows how competitive
this series is along with how well built of a car the BMW. This is a
car that is showing race winning speed on a very limited budget because
we have put all the right tools in place to put us here. Lime Rock will
help us to prove this correct.”
With the Lime Rock double-header this weekend in Connecticut, the BimmerWorld
trio is looking forward to returning to a track that better suits their
BMW’s. And with Thomas currently 5th in the driver’s championship, Clay
8th, and Esayian 11th, coming out of Lime Rock with all three drivers
in the top-10 in the driver’s championship is a goal for the Dublin,
Virginia-based team.
For Nick Esayian, memories of last year’s Lime Rock event provide extra
motivation for him this weekend. “I’ve supported the Special Operations
Warrior Foundation for the last five years or so. They provide grants
for the kids of special operations folks killed in training or action.
Last year, prior to the race, on Memorial Day I was trying to think of
a way to show the veterans and their families at the track and at home
on TV my appreciation for their sacrifice. We took a massive American
Flag around the track on the parade lap. It was pretty moving seeing
the fans and workers around the track standing up and saluting the colors.
These folks were the veterans... It was pretty moving. On the other hand
it was a HUGE flag and I was a little worried on the down hill about
hitting the bridge... We cleared it but my arm was pretty sore by the
time we made it around. It was worth it.”BimmerWorld: Utah SPEED Touring
Car Race Report
3-car BimmerWorld BMW team continues to build momentum going into the Lime
Rock double-header this weekend.
Dublin, VA (5.21.08)
Coming off a team best 2nd and 3rd place finish at the previous SPEED World
Challenge touring Car round at VIR, the BimmerWorld BMW E90 team went into
last weekend’s race at Miller Motorsports Park with modest expectations
from the 3 mile track.
“It’s a perfect track layout for front-wheel drive cars, so we knew we’d
be in for a good fight with our rear-drive E90’s,” said BimmerWorld owner/driver
James Clay.
Qualifying at the Tooele, Utah track found the top seven positions filled
with FWD cars; BimmerWorld ace Seth Thomas was the first RWD car, starting
8th. James Clay would start 10th, with Nick Esayian in 13th.
Clay rocketed off the start line, moving up to 4th heading into turn one,
but as a few cars attempted to crash directly in front of his BMW E90,
Clay was forced to abandon the position while taking avoiding action. “That
was one of my better starts, but as cars began to spin in front of me,
I had no choice but to back off and pick my way past.”
In the 42-minute long race, Thomas improved one spot to 7th, Esayian two
spots to 11th, and Clay, suffering a brake fitting failure just two laps
from the end, fell from 8th to 16th.
As Thomas kept touch with the lead pack, Esayian was engaged in a race-long
duel with an old adversary. “I had a pretty nice race early on with Chip
Herr. We changed positions multiple times; the racing was close and super
clean. We’ve gone door to door many times and I really respect Chip and
enjoy the tight quarters racing. The two of us always have a good laugh
after the race. Unfortunately he did get the best of me at Miller, but
we’ll fix that at Lime Rock..” he said with a smile.
While the team’s results weren’t as strong as they earned at VIR, Thomas
knows a championship-caliber team like BimmerWorld will take the highs
and lows in stride. “So far this year we have shown the speed of the BMW
by setting fast lap after fast lap. We are heading to a track that is known
for being a BMW track in the series so you will see us moving up in points
after this weekend. As far as us being this close to the points lead without
any factory effort at this point shows how competitive this series is along
with how well built of a car the BMW. This is a car that is showing race
winning speed on a very limited budget because we have put all the right
tools in place to put us here. Lime Rock will help us to prove this correct.”
With the Lime Rock double-header this weekend in Connecticut, the BimmerWorld
trio is looking forward to returning to a track that better suits their
BMW’s. And with Thomas currently 5th in the driver’s championship, Clay
8th, and Esayian 11th, coming out of Lime Rock with all three drivers in
the top-10 in the driver’s championship is a goal for the Dublin, Virginia-based
team.
For Nick Esayian, memories of last year’s Lime Rock event provide extra
motivation for him this weekend. “I’ve supported the Special Operations
Warrior Foundation for the last five years or so. They provide grants for
the kids of special operations folks killed in training or action. Last
year, prior to the race, on Memorial Day I was trying to think of a way
to show the veterans and their families at the track and at home on TV
my appreciation for their sacrifice. We took a massive American Flag around
the track on the parade lap. It was pretty moving seeing the fans and workers
around the track standing up and saluting the colors. These folks were
the veterans... It was pretty moving. On the other hand it was a HUGE flag
and I was a little worried on the down hill about hitting the bridge...
We cleared it but my arm was pretty sore by the time we made it around.
It was worth it.”
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