At the end of January, Burton Racing made its racing debut in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series at the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona, FL (January 26-27). The team was enthusiastic about the fresh start of the season, and overall was very pleased with the weekend. “The race was going well; we had 3 good pit stops which really reflects the depth and experience of our race team. Coming into the last pit stop we were P6. After a quick splash and go, we left the pits at P1, leading the pack,” reports Keith Burton, owner of Burton Racing. Unforutnately, late in the race, with driver Terry Borcheller at the wheel of the 23ST car, the car was run high into the wall by another car on the track. The car was completely unusable, and in the weeks following, the team worked tirelessly to construct an entirely new car in Indianapolis.
The team just completed at 2-day test at Barber Motorsports Park (Birminghan, AL) in preparation for the race weekend at Barber on March 29-31. The test went very well. On Thursday the team addressed a few technical “gremlins;” they worked very hard through the night to sort those out, and by mid-morning on Friday, the car was on the track. Burton Racing ran a total of 80 laps on Friday, where great progress was made in both the reliability and technical performance aspects of the new car.
More pictures posted soon!
Burton Racing is pleased to announce its entry into the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series for the 2012 season. The team will be fielding the #23 BMW 128i Coupe in the Continental Tire ST class. The drivers will be Mike LaMarra and Terry Borcheller. Burton Racing is proud to partner with WeatherTech, Excelda, Dreyer & Reinbold BMW Indianapolis, Sparco, Bondurant School of High Performance Driving as sponsors.
Mike LaMarra, an exemplary business man with an enthusiasm for racing and life, excelled at racing in the Ferrari North American Challenge and now looks to add to his racing resume by competing in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Series.
Terry Borcheller is a successful Sports Car champion whose more than 50 wins include three Daytona 24-hour and one Sebring 12-hour endurance races. He finished on the podium his first time at the 24 Hours of LeMans, and has completed that race each of the five times he has competed. Overall, Terry has secured a total of 6 professional Sports Car Championships.
Mike and Terry will be supported by a crew with rich experience in all levels of racing. Owner Keith Burton, with a background in open wheel and sports car racing, will be joined by engineer Peter Hansel and crew chief Luis Perocarpi. Together they will be leading the crew of Claudio Novoa, Sam Smith and Kevin Gainey.
Bringing their unique blend of passion, performance, and professionalism to the track, Burton Racing is ready to make a serious run at the championship in 2012. “It’s an honor to work with these drivers and the group of sponsors we have this year. The team has worked tirelessly preparing everything we need for the season ahead and is ready to get going at Daytona, “ says Keith.
Be sure to follow Burton Racing’s inaugural Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition, the Grand-Am 200 at Daytona International Speedway, in conjunction with the prestigious 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona, January 27-28, 2012. Broadcast of the Grand-Am 200 will occur February 5 at 3:00 pm ET on SPEED Channel. You can also keep up Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge news and updates at www.grand-am.com.
February 25, 2012 9:36 am | 
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