B-K Motorsports Pre Race Review - St. Pete

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

B-K Motorsports No. 8 BP Lola Mazda MZR Ready For The Streets of St.  
Pete

After a disappointing start to the 2008 season at the 56th Mobil 1 12  
Hours of Sebring, B-K Motorsports and the No. 8 BP Lola B07/46-Mazda  
MZR-R LMP2 are ready to take on the streets of St. Pete in the second  
annual American Le Mans Series Acura Sports Car Challenge of St.  
Petersburg, April 4-5. Having rebuilt the Lola from the ground up, the  
team feels well prepared to face the challenges of the demanding  
temporary street circuit.

"There is much we didn't get to do at Sebring," said 2008 Rookie of  
the Year contender, Gerarod Bonilla. "I think everyone on the team is  
super hungry. This Mazda team and all of our partners at BP, Castrol,  
and Yokohama deserve a solid performance.  We have lots of unfinished  
business, and we're excited to get on with it."

"I'm very excited," said Bonilla of his first trip to the event along  
the Tampa Bay water front. "Even just to stand on the grid during pre- 
race ceremonies will be very special."

With Sebring's bad luck behind them, everyone on the team is focused  
on the task of chasing victories.

"These B-K guys never stop moving forward," said Mazdas Motorsport's  
Team Development Manager, John Doonan. "To see them keep their  
attention on the bigger picture and not getting down is testament to  
the quality of the people on this team and their commitment to  
excellence."

This will be the second appearance of the American Le Mans Series on  
the streets of St. Petersburg and the first of three races on  
temporary street circuits.

Coverage of the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg will be  
live April 5th at 1:30PM EDT on ABC.

About Mazda:

On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of  
America than any other brand of vehicle. At the track, you’ll see MX-5  
Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models  
competing, because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car. In fact,  
the largest road-racing class in the U.S. is the SCCA’s Spec Miata  
class, with over 1,500 first- and second-generation Miatas tearing up  
America’s racetracks, making it the most-raced production car in the  
world. Mazda’s involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship  
with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one of the world’s premier road-racing  
circuits, and the Skip Barber Schools for driving and racing.


Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Mazda North American Operations  
oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of  
Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly  
900 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc.,  
located in Ontario, Canada, and in Mexico by Mazda Motor de Mexico in  
Mexico City. For more information go to www.mazdausa.com

About BP:

BP markets more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline every year to U.S.  
consumers through 13,000 BP and ARCO branded retail outlets and  
supplies more than four billion gallons of fuel annually to fleets,  
industrial users, auto and truck manufacturers, railroads and utilities.

BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former  
British Petroleum, Amoco Corporation, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and  
Burmah Castrol. BP is a global producer, manufacturer and marketer of  
oil, gas, chemicals and renewable energy sources. For more information  
go to www.bp.com

About Yokohama Tire Corporation:

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and  
marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a  
global producer and distributor of premium tires since 1917. Servicing  
a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire  
Corporation offers a complete line of tires, including high- 
performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, as  
well as off-the-road mining and construction applications. For details  
on Yokohama’s environmental efforts, go to www.ecotreadsetters.com.

American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series is the premium brand of motorsport in  
North America, featuring high-tech sports cars from the most  
prestigious automobile manufacturers in the world. Its unique four  
classes of competition showcase exotic, open-top prototypes and  
sophisticated production-based GT cars, all competing on the track at  
the same time. The American Le Mans Series competes at the premier  
road racing tracks across North America and at selected temporary  
street circuits in major urban markets. With a 2007 television package  
that includes five network broadcasts on CBS and NBC and seven  
telecasts on SPEED, plus live broadcasts across Europe, the Series  
delivers a global marketing platform that is unmatched in motorsports.  
The Series, founded in 1999 by Georgia entrepreneur Don Panoz,  
represents a mirror image to the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, the  
world’s most famous and authentic automobile race. The American Le  
Mans Series features elite marques such as Audi, Porsche, Corvette,  
Aston Martin, Ferrari and Panoz, and premium brands such as Michelin,  
Yokohama, Kumho, Lowe’s, Shell and many others. To follow the series,  
go to www.americanlemas.com.

Photo Credit: John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group