SRO GT4 America Sprint X – Round 1 at Sonoma Raceway

The BimmerWorld Racing haulers pulled into Sonoma Raceway last week and rolled out a fresh-looking trio of BMW M4 GT4s ready to get to work. New liveries, new driver suits, and a couple of new drivers all looking to get this season started off right.

While Sonoma Raceway provides beautiful rolling hills, sunny skies, and perfect temperatures, it’s not without its own list of challenges. The infamously slippery track surface makes tire management throughout a 60-minute race just as important as overall speed. In the past, the BMW hasn’t produced the best results at Sonoma, so the team knew they had their work cut out for them. Team principal James Clay noted, “While it’s tough to start the season on the track you know is your worst, it allows us to really dig in and work on developing the car which will help us throughout the rest of the year.” With a qualifying position of P4 for the No.36 OPTIMA Batteries / Racing to End Alzheimer’s M4 GT4 driven by Clay and Nick Galante, it showed that the speed was there, they just had to make it last.

During Saturday’s race, each of the three BimmerWorld cars managed to move up from their starting positions with the No.36 running P2 overall and into the TV spotlight while taking the lead just before pitting. As the race went on and the tires started to fall off, it was all about managing the car, and the ability to race hard up front slowly faded. When the checkers flew, Bill Auberlen and James Walker, Jr., had the best finishing position with P4 in the Red Line Oil No. 34. The No. 94 TAC Energy / GO Organic M4 GT4 of Chandler Hull and Jon Miller managed to carve their way through half of the field finishing up 15 positions, proving these new teammates worked well together and will be fun to watch in the upcoming races. Sunday’s race was a repeat of Saturday with drivers struggling to make the tires last and battling hard in the middle of the field.

While the overall results of the weekend weren’t what they had hoped for, it allowed for gaining an immense amount of data on tire management. The team looks forward to taking the development work gained at Sonoma and having it pay off at some of their stronger tracks in the schedule where the BMW can stretch its legs.

FOLLOW BIMMERWORLD AT: https://www.facebook.com/bimmerworld

STAY UP TO DATE WITH BIMMERWORLD NEWS AT: http://www.bimmerworldracing.com

ABOUT: BimmerWorld is renowned as a leader in BMW aftermarket and tuning expertise, with operations spanning from stock, aftermarket, performance, and racing parts sales and development through racing from club to professional levels. BimmerWorld Racing competes primarily with the BMW Motorsport M4 GT4 in North America in both SRO and IMSA Championships, where the Virginia-based outfit has become a frequent winner and championship contender.

BimmerWorld Racing: 2021 SRO GT4 America Season Announcement

BimmerWorld is proud to announce its return to the SRO Motorsport America series, bringing three BMW M4 GT4s to compete in GT4 America Sprint X for the 2021 season.

Despite the challenges endured by competitors throughout the 2020 season, team principal James Clay captured the drivers’ championship in TC America, Chandler Hull finished fourth overall in TC, and the duo of Bill Auberlen and James Walker, Jr. finished third in the overall season championship in Sprint X Pro-Am. BimmerWorld topped off the SRO season with Clay, Auberlen, and Hull taking home the win in the inaugural SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8-Hour Endurance Race. Building from the success in 2020, BimmerWorld returns with three cars and six drivers for the 2021 season.

Bill Auberlen and James Walker, Jr. return for their second season together behind the wheel of the Red Line Oil BMW M4 GT4 now wearing No. 34. Throughout their first season together, the duo managed to net three wins, two podiums, and several top-10 finishes placing them third overall in both team and driver standings. Auberlen and Walker were quick to show they could not only work well together and win races but also make their BMW blazingly fast. At the end of the year, Auberlen captured the most CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Awards for the 2020 season.

James Clay and Nick Galante will be driving the No. 36 OPTIMA Batteries / Racing To End Alzheimer’s BMW M4 GT4. Galante previously won the 2018 IMSA ST championship in a BimmerWorld F30 328i and drove the team’s M4 GT4 in the 2020 IMSA season, but this will be his first year in SRO, and 2021 will also be the first year the duo have shared a car as teammates. In addition to OPTIMA Batteries, a core BimmerWorld partner, Racing to End Alzheimer’s will continue their partnership with BimmerWorld Racing which started in 2018. Racing to End Alzheimer’s is focused on raising awareness of the disease and funding the cure. For the 2021 season, names of friends, family, and loved ones affected by this debilitating disease will be featured on the car based on donations to the cause.

Chandler Hull returns to SRO racing action for 2021 and, like Clay, is making the jump from his TC M240iR to a full-time M4 GT4 Sprint X Silver class entry along with Jon Miller, who is a new addition to the BimmerWorld driver line up. Hull and Miller will be piloting the TAC Energy No. 94 M4 GT4 and, like the rest of the 2021 team, brings both talent and BMW racing experience. Hull had an exceptional 2020 season that netted him several podiums, 4th-place overall in the drivers’ championship for TC America, and a win in the Indy 8-Hour as part of the three-driver BimmerWorld team. He also captured several podiums and a win in another M4 GT4 Silver entry. Jon Miller has his own list of accomplishments over the past few years; last year he claimed second place in the drivers’ championship in the GT4 America Silver class division along with six podiums throughout the year and finished second in the Indy 8-Hour in a competing BMW car.

The BimmerWorld Racing team heads to Sonoma Raceway on March 5-7 for the first two races of the season.

The BimmerWorld Racing team is supported by the following sponsors:

No. 34: Red Line Synthetic Oil Corporation – Manufacturers of more than 100 high-end lubricants that have the reputation of performing better than any other product on the market, regardless of price. Using cutting-edge technology, Red Line responds to the technical challenges of today’s performance industry, utilizing knowledge gained from racing to create high-performance products for track cars and street vehicles alike.

No. 36: OPTIMA Batteries – The Ultimate Power Source. Unbeatable starting power, light weight, superior cycling capability, and extreme resistance to the most common causes of battery failure make OPTIMA Battery our choice for our own BMWs. OPTIMA also delivers the innovative OPTIMA Digital 400 and 1200 Battery Chargers for all automotive and marine batteries.

No. 36: Racing To End Alzheimer’s – Honoring loved ones who are or have been affected by Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia depends on the generosity and participation of our fans, our racing team, and our corporate sponsors. 100% of all donations go to our beneficiaries with additional corporate-matching funds. All costs and expenses are funded by sponsor Legistics.

No. 94: TAC Energy – One of the largest independent wholesale fuel distributors of refined petroleum products in the United States. With an extensive supply network across the U.S., as well as regional sales offices across the country, TAC can service almost any customer’s fuel needs.

Core BimmerWorld technical partners include:

PFC Brakes – Leading brake friction and component manufacturer.
Lifeline Fire & Safety System – Leading manufacturer of fire safety equipment and fire safety systems to the motorsport industry.
Diffsonline – Provider of differentials to meet the demanding needs of customers, from street machines to professional race teams.
Johnstone Supply – The top cooperative wholesale distributor in the country and a recognized national leader in the HVACR industry.

Additional team sponsors include:

Go Organic – Leader in organic gummy vitamins and lozenges.
OZIUM – Clinically proven air sanitizers that eliminate, not mask, odors.
Pretzilla – The pioneer in fresh, soft pretzel bread.

2021 GT4 Sprint X schedule consists of 14 races at seven tracks:

March 5-7: Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, CA
April 30-May 2: Circuit of the Americas – Austin, TX
May 21-23: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – Ontario, Canada
June 11-13: Virginia International Raceway – Alton, VA
August 27-29: Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI
Sept 17-19: Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, NY
October 15-17: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, IN

FOLLOW BIMMERWORLD AT: https://www.facebook.com/bimmerworld

STAY UP TO DATE WITH BIMMERWORLD NEWS AT: http://www.bimmerworldracing.com

Round 3: SRO Championship – Sonoma Raceway

Coming off a strong showing at VIR, the BimmerWorld Racing team had a lot of momentum heading into the beautiful hills of Sonoma. This week in California would be two races for the TC America class and three for the GT4 Sprint X series.

 Right off the bat, James Clay in his No. 36 OPTIMA Batteries / Pörq M240i Racing was showing the speed he would have all weekend long. In qualifying, Clay missed the pole by a mere .055 seconds – that’s how close this series is. In fact, for several laps prior, he was tied with the exact same time for the pole, down to the thousandth of a second – they ran the exact same lap time. That’s insane competition!

Chandler Hull and his No. 94 TAC Energy M240i Racing had a rough start to his weekend, but the team rallied and gave him a car that he could keep at the front of the field and deep into battle in both races, finishing in fifth each day.

James got the top spot on the podium with a win in Friday’s race, and he fought hard down to the very last corner for the lead, finishing with a solid second-place in the next race, well ahead of the rest of the field. These two finishes add extremely valuable points for the overall championship, moving him to second in the overall driver’s standings.

The Red Line Oil M4 GT4 piloted by Bill Auberlen and James Walker, Jr. had a great start, again posting the fastest time in practice. When it came time to qualify, many in the field found speed that the Red Line Oil M4 GT4 struggled to match. In this extremely competitive series, qualifying well is crucial, and starting mid-field means luck has to go your way on top of being fast in order to move up several positions. Auberlen and Walker did a great job running a very clean race and nailing pitstops, but the results weren’t what they had hoped for.

 The BimmerWorld Racing team heads back across the U.S. to their home base in Dublin, VA to do a quick refresh on the cars before loading them back up to head to Road America on August 27-30 for Round 4.

FOLLOW BIMMERWORLD AT: https://www.facebook.com/bimmerworld

STAY UP TO DATE WITH BIMMERWORLD NEWS AT: http://www.bimmerworldracing.com

Sonoma Win Leads to Portland Anticipation for Copart/BimmerWorld Racing

Coming off the team’s first win in the SRO TC America Championship at Sonoma Raceway in June, Copart/BimmerWorld Racing heads into Portland International Raceway this weekend with high confidence and great BMW racecars for drivers Cameron Evans and Chandler Hull.

Evans led flag-to-flag from pole position to take his first professional win at June’s Sonoma Raceway in the Sunday round, the sixth of 16 on the schedule. Hull placed fourth in his debut at the challenging circuit, as well as picking up the Hard Charger and Fastest Start awards from the series. The duo now sits fourth and sixth in the championship points standings.

Both drivers recently returned from Germany, where Evans took part in his second Nürburgring 24-Hour race. Hull completed his first RCN time trials, gaining experience toward his Nordschleife A-permit and his upcoming debut in the VLN Series in August with the Sorg Rennsport team in a BMW M240iR.

BimmerWorld Racing president James Clay said, “In one sense, we’re a new team with new cars, new drivers, and new to the series, but our Copart Racing effort falls under our multi-decade BimmerWorld team that competed in World Challenge Touring Car during the 2003-2009 seasons. We’re extremely familiar with a range of modern BMW racing platforms, and it’s been cool to see our work translate into results so quickly this season. These M240i Racing machines are a known quantity, and we think we have a nice package sorted out at this point, validated last round with our first win.”

“Portland is a historic track. I love the layout, and we have many friends and fans in the area,” Clay continued. “I’m excited to return. This is a super-competitive class, and we’ve improved our results every weekend, so I’m eager to see what the boys can get done this weekend.”

Pre-race Quotes Follow

Cameron Evans, Ketchum, ID, driver, No. 82 Copart/BimmerWorld BMW M240iR:
“Getting my first pro win was very satisfying, especially considering Sonoma is like a home track for me, and I was surrounded by family and friends. Even my dog was there! We were quick, and that pace should carry over to Portland where Chandler and I both have experience. The Rose Cup weekend is coming back in prominence, and we want to keep this points momentum in the championship.”

Chandler Hull, Dallas, TX, driver, No. 94 Copart/BimmerWorld BMW M240iR:
“Sonoma was a great weekend for our team. It was my first time there, and thanks to our Copart/BimmerWorld guys, I got up to speed quickly and had a solid weekend. My teammate, Cameron, got his first pro win, at his home track nonetheless, and our team continued to show how great they are. I’m excited for Portland this weekend. I did an endurance race there, and we’re looking to carry our momentum with us at such a historic track.”

FOLLOW BIMMERWORLD AT: https://www.facebook.com/bimmerworld

STAY UP TO DATE WITH BIMMERWORLD NEWS AT: http://www.bimmerworldracing.com

ABOUT: BimmerWorld is renowned as a leader in BMW aftermarket and tuning expertise. It competes in the IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge series in the Grand Sport (GS) class with a BMW Motorsport M4 GT4, where the Virginia-based outfit has become a winner and championship contender. It was also the Street Tuner champion of that series in 2018. 2019 also marks BimmerWorld Racing’s return to the SRO TC America Championship in the Touring Car (TC) class with two Copart-sponsored BMW Motorsport M240i Racing cars. Additional sponsorship comes from Lund International, OZIUM Air Sanitizer, Cyclo Industries, Red Line Synthetic Oil, Lifeline Fire and Safety Systems, AMP Research, and Performance Friction Brakes.