RACING LINES Brian Morgan, motorsports editor bmorgan@roundel.org

2011 Club Racing season begins at Sebring -TIRE RllCK CCA Club Race at Sebring International Raceway 1/ 15 Drstance: lll.aps

Snowpocalypse 2011 hit much of the East Coast just a few days before Winterfest this year; it was reported that every state in the union had snow somewhere that week--except for Florida. So it was with relief that the dri­vers from all over made it to Sebring for the first Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Race of the season, some coming all the way from Canada.

For some, it was the relief of a mid-win­ter break from the snow. For others, it was the relief of having survived the trip; more than a few drivers had to drive through the conditions left behind by the weather, includ­ing severe ice in Atlanta.

Not only was thi s year 's race a wonder­ful break from winter, it was also a warm-up for the May Club race at Sebring, when Sun­shine Bimmers/PBOC host their first-ever premier race. Winterfest followed its tradi­tional format: a mixed-marque field con­testing a six-hour enduro on Thursday, a 90-minute enduro on Friday, and two sprints (30 and 40 minutes) on Saturday and Sunday,

with the sprints counting as points-paying BMW CCA Club races. A number of the Club racers also participated in the enduros.

Leading up to the race, it appeared that there would be an excellent turnout, with sixteen racers registered, eleven inC-Modified. By the time the weekend arrived, thirteen racers showed up; nine were running C-Mod. The big question in many people's minds was whether Randy Mueller could continue to dis­play the dominance he showed last year. He did exactly that, and more, ticking off laps almost three seconds faster than last year!

Race One on Saturday was the feature sprint. Jean Luc Bergeron put his co-driver from the enduros, Mark Antoine Camirand, into his C-M E36 M3, hoping that he could steal some of Mueller 's thunder. Their hopes were high when Camirand qualified on the pole, with Mueller 's E46 M3 beside him. Douglas Wilson and Allan Lewis, both in E46 M3s, qualified on the second row.

Hope continued at the start when Cami-

Class Pas. Pas. Driver Car Best Lap 1 1 CM Randy Mueller E46 M3 02:13.7 2 2CM Mali< Antoine Camirand E36 M3 02:1S.8 3 3CM Douglas Wilson E46 M3 02:18.3 4 4 CM Amir Farahmand E46 M3 02:21.6 s SCM Harold Petit Jr. E46 M3 02:22.2 6 6CM Eric Zimmermann E46 M3 02:22.9 7 7CM Isidore Papadopoulos E36 32Sis 02:2S.1 8 SCM Nlan l.ev<s E46 M3 02:20.1 9 liP Dick Hunter E36 32Sis 02:26.2

10 lKP Fred Sl'itzer E30 32Sis 02:4S.O 11 liS WtlltamMay E36 32Si 02:44.9 12 1 JS Sripalhi Haputantn E36 32St 02:42.4 DNF CM Robert Chang E46 M3 02:24.S

1/ 16 Distance: 171.aps

1 1 CM Randy Mueller E46 M3 02:16.1 2 2CM Jean Luc Bergeron E36 M3 02:17.S 3 3CM Douglas Wilson E46 M3 02:19.0 4 4 CM Nlan Lel'is E46 M3 02:20.2 s SCM Amir Farahmand E46 M3 02:20.6 6 liP Dick Hunter E36 32Sis 02:2S.O 7 6CM Isidore Papadopoulos E36 32Sis 02:2S.4 8 1 JS Snpalhi Haputantn E36 32Si 02:41.2 9 1KP Fred Sl'itzer E30 32Sis 02:43.9

10 liS Willtam May E36 32Si 02:40.6 DNF CM Robert Chang E46 M3 02:21.6

rand got a good jump and pulled ahead, while Mueller, Wilson, and Lewis approached Turn One together, with Robert Chang's C-M E46 M3 not far behind. Wilson prevailed over Mueller and Lewis into Turn One, but later in the first lap, Mueller passed Wilson into

World Leading Performance 2501 SYNDER AvE. PHI LA., PA- 866.714.2002

www.VACMOTORSPORTS.coM

· CNC manufacturing · Custom machining · Dyno tuning · Roll cage fabrication · Engine building · Full service body shop · Race car prep. · General maintenance

VAG is an official supplier ot.-

SCHRIC~ --.. ..,..;... @brembo

102 ROUNOEL • APRI L 2011

BMW CCA Club Racing is supported by The Tire Rack (title sponsor); BimmerWorld (Club Racing Schools title sponsor); HMS (official supplier of safety gear); Evosport and VAC Motorsports (premier sponsors); Sunoco Race Fuels (official fuel supplier) and Grassroots Motorsports magazine (associate sponsor).

Tum Ten- and then, two laps later, he caught and passed Camirand; try as he might, Cami­rand could do nothing to keep Mueller behind him, and he could not keep up with Mueller after the pass. By the time lap three was com­pleted, the order at the front was set, with Mueller pulling ahead of Camirand and Wilson settling into third, followed by Lewis, who had a great battle going with a PBOC driver. Chang suffered throttle-cable prob­lems early in the race and had to retire.

Meanwhile, Amir Farahmand, in his first Club race, was advancing, picking offC-Mod E46 M3 competitors Harold Petit Jr. and Eric Zimmerman. Sripathi Haputantri (J-S E36 325i) and William May (I-S E36 325i) swapped positions several times, with May ahead at the end of the race. Late in the race, Lewis experienced a problem with a control­arm bolt; he had to park the car on the last lap.

The race ended with the first four cars spread far apart, with Mueller well ahead of Cami­rand, Wilson another 33 seconds behind, and Farahmand 31 seconds behind Wilson. Dick Hunter's !-Prepared-winning E36 325is was the first non-C-M car in the finishing order.

When drivers re-qualified for Race Two, Mueller took the pole ahead of Wilson, Berg-

eron (taking his car back from Camirand), Lewis, and Farahmand. Farahmand, who had been improving all weekend, got a great jump on the start and streaked up through the middle of the front two rows to poke his nose into the lead approaching Tum One. But he could not hold on to the position and fell back to second.

Chang, starting tenth on track due to the presence of PBOC drivers, also had a great start and jumped into fifth by Tum One. Berg­eron and Wilson got past Farahmand in the Three-Four-Five complex , followed by Chang under braking into the hairpin .

The leading pack then settled down to Mueller, Bergeron, Wilson, Chang, Farah­mand, and Lewis. The top three drivers pulled away quickly, leaving the next three to run nose-to-tail for a few laps. Then, on the fifth lap, Chang's differential broke, locking his rear wheels when he entered Turn Three. His car wiggled badly under braking, but he caught it and was able to stop it safely.

On the same lap, Lewis was able to pass Farahmand entering Turn Ten. The rest of the race was uneventful aside from William May having to come in early. At the end, C-Mod runners Mueller, Bergeron, and Wilson fin­ished in the top three positions.- A/lan Lewis

JE Forged Pistons for all BMW Engines M10, M20,M30,S50,S52,S54,M50,M52,M54,M42,M44,Etc

COMETfC ......... Stock replacement High Compression Race Engines Low Compression Turbo and Supercharger Applications Stroker and Long rod Engine combinations Custom Block, Head, Crank and Rod Combinations

http://www.bmwforgedpistons.com Complete machine shop services and custom engine

building for the discriminating BMW Owner and driver.

Forged Rods Head Porting SS Valves Springs Retainers Camshafts Boring Balancing Crank Grinding Heat treating Coatings Hardware

International Sales and Export. We ship anywhere in World

1 818 764-1901 1 818 764~0155 Fax

AIM Autosport switches to BMW power: The Canadian AIM Autosport Grand-Am Rolex Series team is switching from Ford power to a Dinan­BMW V8 in its Daytona Prototype. Mark Wilkins and Burt Frisselle, who have driven for AIM since its Rolex Series debut in 2007, will drive the team's Riley-BMW in Rolex Series competition AIM did not run at Daytona in January; it was to begin its season at Homestead in March.

Prodrive sets 2011 Mini WRC schedule: The UK-based Prodrive rally team has announced the 2011 schedule for its Mini John Cooper Works World Rally Championship car. As anticipated, the car- running a partial season in 2011 in prepara­tion for a full season in 2012-will make its debut in the May WRC Rally Italy Over the course of the season, the team will also enter WRC rallies in Fin­land, Germany, France, Spain, and Great Britain. Prodrive will enter two of the Mini Countryman­based 1.6-liter turbocharged cars in the series for the driver/navigator teams of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle and Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio.

Mini showed the S2000 customer version of the car at the Geneva show in March. This car, powered by a normally aspirated two-liter engine, was to make its debut in Rally Portugal, the third event of the 2011 season, in March.

WTCC targets U.S. rounds in 2012: Marcello Lotti , promoter of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, has met with Ali Arsham, director of the West-Coast-based U.S. Touring Car Cham­pionship, to discuss the possibility of adding the first-ever U.S. WTCC event to the 2012 schedule. WTCC has run in Mexico, but has not run north of the border. Arsham said, "It would be an honor for the USTCC to contribute to bringing the World Championship to the United States. Sharing the same event would be a terrific benefit for both championships, and I'm looking forward to working together with Marcello Lotti. The next step will be choosing the right location and date for a common race meeting."

BMW is not entering a factory team in the WTCC in 2011 , but its BMW TC customer car, using the new FIA-spec turbocharged 1.6-liter engine that will also see action in the Prod rive Mini rally car, will be campaigned by Roberto Ravaglia's ROAL Motorsport. WTCC veteran Tom Coronel will do the driving.

APRIL 2011 • ROUNDEL 103