Terry Borcheller - Watkins Glen race

race day!

 

Terry Borcheller packed a full race weekend into one day, and made every
moment count. With his usual No. 54 Bell Motorsports/Feeds the Need Doran
JE4 sidelined for the Sept. 24 Rolex Sports Car Series race at Watkins Glen
International, Borcheller moved to the No. 15 CB Motorsports Pontiac-powered
Riley Mk XI. Commuting between an American Le Mans Series test at Road
Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., and Watkins Glen, N.Y., Borcheller had only a
30-minute warmup in the Riley before the two-hour 45-minute race.

 

Borcheller, of Gainesville, Ga., shared driving duty with Hugo Guenette of
Blainville, Qué. Guenette qualified 15th on the 39-car grid with a lap of
one minute 48.511 seconds (112.8 mph) on the 3.4-mile grand prix road
course. He drove the first stint of the race, charging as high as eighth
place before settling at 10th. Borcheller took over after 53 minutes,
returning to the track 15th. He steadily moved through the field to finish
fourth, just 0.489 seconds behind the third-place podium position.

 

"It was kind of a high and low day – and it wasn't a race weekend, it was a
day for me. It was sad because the Bell guys weren't here and the 54 wasn't
running. There were a lot of fans who were shocked. It says a lot for the
series and the team, what they're trying to do to get people behind the car
and the drivers," Borcheller said.

 

"CB Motorsports is just a great group of guys and really on it. I could push
and the car would go faster. The stops were great, the strategy was great,
the car was great, Hugo did a fantastic first stint and it was a fun race!"

 

Doran to Riley

 

Borcheller has driven the No. 54 Doran JE4 since the Rolex Series Daytona
Prototype class was introduced in 2003. He drove a Riley Mk XI for the first
time on Saturday. The difference? "We've had the balance as good with the
Doran, but the Riley seems to have more overall grip," he said.

 

expensive hits

 

Borcheller avoided several crashes during his stint, but he was frustrated
by the amount of carnage during the race.

 

"There are still some guys who are making some moves that are costing them
pretty big. That's unfortunate for a lot of people, because not only does it
put them out of the race, it's expensive," he said, noting incidents such as
the multi-car crash that took fellow Pontiac drivers Max Papis and Butch
Leitzinger out of the race. 

 

"When I see guys in trouble like that, I try to give them courtesy, not run
them over. I saw Max and Butch were in trouble, so I wasn't trying to go as
fast as I could through there, I was trying to make sure that they had
enough room to stay on the track. The guys behind me seemed like they were
trying to gain a position! You can't drive like that; it's too dangerous."

 

next

 

Borcheller will drive a Saleen S7R in the 1000-mile or 10-hour Petit Le Mans
at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., on Oct. 1.