TEAM REPORTS (VALENCIA,SPN.)- ART REPORT World Finals for Formula BMW

Atlantic Racing Team (ART) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia hoped to finish well at the Formula BMW (FBMW) World Finals (November 22-25) in Valencia, Spain. Due to the financial limitations of their 2007 drivers, ART decided to go with a competitor's driver, Indianapolis resident Eric Morrow. Without any testing of the new driver and the new FB2 FBMW car, the car and tools were shipped to Valencia. Success would be the result of good and solid on-site preparation.

While most of the world-class teams had at least two cars and a lot of equipment, ART was one of the few one-car teams at this famous race track. Team Owner, Ingo Strackerjan, had the following thoughts on the event in Valencia.

"At first, it was quite depressing to see many teams there with their trucks/trailers and all kinds of equipment, four cars, spares and lots of personnel running around, while we looked like lost children in a candy store - eyes wide open! However, it became very clear after the first of the six heat races and the subsequent World Final race that much was smoke and mirror.

"The overall performance of the cars was very close and our's was at times faster than that of the leading drivers and teams. So it really was up to the driver and the maintenance team to out-perform the competition. And here ART out-shined the best of the best. Not only did we not have any mechanical problems, but we also out-ran some of the fastest cars. Many of the other teams failed in this regard and missed the rare opportunity to give their driver the chance to shine in front of all the BMW Motorsports personnel.

"Eric Morrow continued to improve, got faster and became more acquainted with the not so polite driving style of the European and Asian driver elite. This resulted in a 'visit' to the race director and a slap on the wrist for using the same methods as the European drivers in the previous heat. Lesson learned and Eric 'adapted' his driving style once more! He did an outstanding job and we wished that there had been more time and funding/sponsorship prior to this event for Eric and ART for testing. Our original sponsor had to bail out at the eleventh hour and we were only able to continue with the program thanks to a last minute contribution by Kartbahn Indoor Karting in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We were in such a rush that we didn't have time to organize signage for Eric's car!"

Eric and at the ART team finished 19th overall out of a total of 37 drivers. Many of the drivers had raced in Valencia in 2006 and were trying their skills for a second time. This fantastic result would not have been possible if not for the diligent work and long preparation hours put in by Kevan Falsafi, Crew Chief, Mark Elliott, Lead Mechanic and Lucas Strackerjan, Engineer.

Results can be seen in detail at formulabmwusa or atlantic racing.