Terry Borcheller Petit Le Mans

Petit podium finish

 

Terry Borcheller scored a well-deserved GT1 podium finish in the Petit Le
Mans, second-last race in the 2005 American Le Mans Series. He had a short
10-mile commute from his home in nearby Gainesville, Ga., to Road Atlanta in
Braselton, Ga., but a long drive to finish third in the 1000-mile race.

 

Borcheller qualified the Saleen S7R he shared with Ralf Kelleners of
Dusseldorf, Germany, and Johnny Mowlem of London, England. His lap time of
one minute 17.234 seconds (118.393 mph) on the 2.54-mile road course was
good for fifth on the GT1 grid behind the powerful factory teams of Corvette
and Aston Martin.

 

Borcheller drove the first stint of the nine-hour 17-minute race. He started
fifth in class and moved to third on the first lap, but his charge was
stopped by a power-steering problem. He manhandled the car around the track
for 13 minutes until he was able to stop for repairs during a caution
period. He returned to the track sixth in class, one lap behind the leaders.

 

"The power steering belt just jumped off and I had to run the first eight
laps with no power steering. The belt just somehow derailed, came completely
off the pulley. We got a yellow, thankfully, so we could put it back on,"
Borcheller said. "Even though we lost a lap, the boys did a great job under
the conditions – everything was very hot and not easy to get to. Even
rolling the belt back on was a feat, considering they had to use a mirror to
see it."

 

Mowlem took the second stint, followed by Kelleners. The trio rotated
through three times, holding fourth or fifth in class despite problems
including contact with a GT2 car, punctured tires, a transmission issue,
bodywork repair and team penalties. About 30 minutes from the finish, one of
the Corvettes was sidelined, opening up third place for the Saleen.

 

"The whole race was made a lot more difficult than it should have been with
what happened at the start, when we went down a lap. That was very difficult
to make up and we just kept having one thing after another. We pitted 18
times! The lead car pitted half that," Borcheller explained. "We were fast
all night, that's what was frustrating. We had a car that could run in the
front."

 

off-track

 

Borcheller participated in two events during the Petit Le Mans race week. He
drove in a Motorsports Ministries charity go-kart race and spoke to youth
attending a Steve Deal Band concert. "It was great, really good for the
community and the kids who were there," he reported.

 

next

 

Borcheller will drive the No. 15 CB Motorsports Pontiac-powered Riley Mk XI
in a Rolex Sports Car Series race at Virginia International Raceway in
Danville, Va., on Oct. 9.

 

correction

 

Borcheller's Petit Le Mans preview should be revised to show he and Mowlem
led the GT1 class at Mosport International Raceway for two hours of the
two-hour 30-minute race. The preview incorrectly showed the race length as
two hours 45 minutes.

 

online

 

tborcheller.com