B-K Motorsports Long Beach Report
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: johnt@c2group.com B-K Motorsports BP Lola Mazda Records Strong Finish in Long Beach Long Beach, Calif. – B-K Motorsports earned its second consecutive top-10 finish overall Saturday in the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach. The No. 8 BP Lola B07/46 Mazda MZR-R LMP2 car enjoyed a solid run in the 100-minute race on the historic street circuit in Southern California. Gerardo Bonilla drove a consistent opening stint before handing over to Ben Devlin, who took the car to the checkered flag. "It was pretty challenging," Bonilla said after climbing from the car. "We started really well and the track got very slippery. So it was a struggle to maintain a pace. The tires started really well, but the track temperature got really high." B-K Motorsports, like many other teams, got caught out by the weather at race time. Initial forecasts for Saturday called for cooler and overcast conditions, much like what was seen in the morning. This would have been ideal for the team, as Bonilla clocked the third quickest time in warm-up. But conditions changed by the afternoon, bringing increased track temperature for the race. "I think we were a bit off with the setup change we made overnight and this morning with the colder weather, trying to get a bit more front grip," Devlin said. "So I think we lost out a little bit there. But the tires did a great job, thanks to Yokohama. They've worked hard to produce a soft tire for street racing." John Doonan, Manager, Motorsports Team Development for Mazda also thought cooler track conditions could have better suited the car's setup. "The temperature changed on us," Doonan said. "We felt really good this morning. We were third quick in warm-up, it's just the sun came out. We needed it to stay cloudy and cool, which was what the forecast was for. But there's nothing you can do about it, so we'll just get after it in a couple of weeks." After making the one and only pit stop for fuel and Yokohama tires in the race, Devlin drove the Mazda-powered Lola prototype to a eighth place finish in the highly competitive LMP2 category. "We're just looking to get better every single time we go out," Bonilla said. "That last stint that Ben did showed that we are making some progress. We learned some things with the stint I drove and we're going to figure out what the difference is and go from there." With another solid finish in the books, it's mission accomplished for B-K Motorsports as they now turn their focus back to racing on permanent road-racing facilities. The next round of the American Le Mans Series takes the team to Miller Motorsports Park, which will host a the two-hour, 45-minute race on the circuit's outer course. The team conducted a successful test on the new layout last week and can't wait to return next month. "We wanted to get out of here with a finish," Doonan said. "This is an awesome event, but we're looking forward to a natural terrain course and getting after it. We had a great test in Salt Lake City this past week. So we'll go into there with a lot of confidence and see what we can do. The car is in one piece, so we'll go home with that and get them next time." On Saturday, the team and tire partner Yokohama announced their partnership with the upcoming motion picture "Speed Racer". The stars of the movie were on hand for photo opportunities with Ben, Gerardo, the entire crew, and the team's Mazda LMP2 race car, which carried "Speed Racer" decals this weekend. "Speed Racer" hits theaters nationwide on May 9. B-K Motorsports' next stop will be at Miller Motorsports Park for the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels on May 16-18. SPEED Channel will provide live coverage of the two-hour, 45-minute race on starting at 3:00 p.m. EST on May 18. 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.americanlemans.com. NOTE: For additional images for editorial use, please contact John Thawley at johnt@c2group.com Photo Credit: John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group ________________________________________________________ John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group ~ 248.227.0110