Four BMWs in top 10 in Mosport Touring race
BMW of North America, LLC Notes and Quotes SCCA Speed Touring Car - Round 2 Race Mosport International Raceway Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada Saturday, May 17, 2003 Four BMWs in Top 10 in Mosport Touring Car; Auberlen second A race-long charge by Bill Auberlen in his No. 93 Turner Motorsport BMW 325 scored him a close second-place finish to winner Pierre Kleinubing, in an Acura. Auberlen was runner-up by only .318 of a second, starting from his eighth-place qualifying position. Three more BMW 3 Series racers finished in the top-10, rounding out a strong day for BMW in Round 2 of the SCCA Pro Racing Speed Touring Car Championship at Mosport International Raceway. Carrying an extra 40 pounds of REWards weight from his win at the season-opener at Sebring, Fla., Auberlen could not make a final pass for the lead, but his second-place finish keeps him in the driver's championship points lead by one point ahead of Kleinubing, as the series heads to Lime Rock Park next weekend a track where Auberlen and his BMW won in 2001. Will Turner finished fourth in his No. 92 Turner Motorsport BMW 325, while Speed Touring Car rookie Matt Plumb scored a career-best sixth in his No. 50 duPont Motorsport BMW 325. Rounding out the top ten for BMW was Ken Dobson in his No. 7 Chili Pepper Racing 325Ci. BMW and Acura are now tied in the Manufacturer¹s Championship as the series heads to Round 3 at Lime Rock Park in Lime Rock, Conn., on Saturday, May 24. BILL AUBERLEN, No. 93 TURNER MOTORSPORT BMW 325i: "We did the best we could do and collected almost all of the points we could have. I could feel the REWards weight, but I could still make passes in most all of the corners. Straight-line speed is where we need to look now. On to Lime Rock where the BMW is always strong." WILL TURNER, No. 92 TURNER MOTORSPORTS BMW 325i: "I am happy that one of the Turner Motorsport cars finished on the podium today. It was very close between Fitzgerald and me for third at the end, but I came up a bit short. I think we may be a little out-powered right now, but Lime Rock is a good equalizer. We will see next week." Unofficial BMW finishing positions: 2 (93), Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, Calif., BMW 325i 4 (92) Will Turner, Newburyport, Mass., BMW 325i 6 (50), Matt Plumb(R), Newport, R.I., BMW 325 8 (7) Ken Dobson, Carmel Valley, Calif., BMW 325Ci 13 (27) Nic Jonsson, Dankeryt, Sweden, BMW 325Ci 14 (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci 15 (36), James Clay(R), Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i 16 (98), Robert Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci 22 (94), Frank Selldorff, Boston, Mass., BMW 325i 23 (51), Alfred duPont, Kennett Square, Pa., BMW 325 24 (37), Matt Richmond(R), Mooresville, N.C., BMW 328i 28 (35), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., BMW 325i 31 (33), Brad Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., BMW 328i 33 (98), Neal Sapp, Ellicott City, MD, BMW 325Ci 35 (79) Nick Woodhouse, Vancouver, BC, BMW 325i