B-K Motorsports are ready after the Le Mans break
B-K Motorsports
Fernandez
de Ferran
Click a link to go directly to that story!
B-K Motorsports
Saukville, Wis. -- With the early summer eight-week break over, it's back to business for B-K Motorsports as American Le Mans Series competitors roll into the newly renovated Lime Rock Park this weekend for the Northeast Grand Prix. The fifth round of the 11-race championship marks the start of a long summer stretch of races, and the team's No. 8 BP Lola B07/46 Mazda is primed and ready to attack.
B-K Motorsports hasn't stood still since the last round at Miller Motorsports Park, as drivers Ben Devlin and Gerardo Bonilla have been busy developing the Lola-Mazda's package while other teams were off competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After completing multiple test days, the Yokohama-shod LMP2 prototype should be in good form for the upcoming stretch of races. It will be a grueling run that will take them across the country, with five events scheduled over the next eight weeks.
"Our team is constantly growing stronger," Bonilla said. "We've been very busy developing our BP Lola Mazda package during the 24 Hours of Le Mans break. This doesn't come easy, as its never just one particular area, rather its the effort of every department stepping up, including us drivers. The new configuration at Lime Rock will be a fun technical exercise. The busy summer stretch may be tough, but it's a great elixir that satisfies our need to be racers. I'm looking forward to it!"
Devlin, meanwhile, took time out to compete at Le Mans, making his first start in the twice-around-the-clock French classic. He achieved his goal of finishing the race, coming home sixth in LMP2 aboard a British-entered Radical SR9. With the one-off race now behind him, Devlin has shifted his sole focus back to the B-K Motorsports program.
"It was very short notice to do Le Mans, but it was a great experience for me," Devlin said. "To finish sixth was more than anyone could have asked for. It was a very good run. We learned a lot from that and we can bring some of that forward. Hopefully we can be there with Mazda and B-K together in the future."
This weekend, Devlin and Bonilla will steer the BP Lola Mazda around Lime Rock's brand-new "Optional" circuit layout, part of a $5 million upgrade and repaving project at the Northwestern Connecticut circuit. The 31-day overhaul of the facility was completed late last week. Track officials have stated that the upgraded 1.51-mile, 10-turn course will most certainly bring a new lap record.
With strong results in the last three races behind them, B-K Motorsports is as confident as ever to carry that momentum to Lime Rock, a place which traditionally has suited the lighter and more nimble prototypes. LMP2 cars swept the first four finishing positions overall last year, which bodes well for the team's Mazda MZR-R-powered Lola in this year's two-hour and 45-minute race.
"The B-K team has been working very hard since the last event in Salt Lake," said John Doonan, Manager, Motorsports Team Development for Mazda. "The team and their partners have done multiple test days both on and off the track. Lime Rock, with all the development that has gone on there, will be an interesting event for everyone in the field. All of us at Mazda are looking forward to some strong results in this upcoming stretch of races."
Fernandez
Lowe's Fernandez Racing Prepares for Northeast Grand Prix
Drivers in the American Le Mans Series are looking forward to their first tours around the newly paved Lime Rock Park circuit this weekend when Round Five of competition -- the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix -- takes place in rural Connecticut. The aggressive $5 million repaving and upgrade project included a circuit facelift, a new entrance and two new spectator areas.
Lowe's Fernandez Racing's Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz are ready to return to the saddle following a seven-week break in the schedule. Their time off included a successful two-day test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last month with newly-signed third driver Michel Jourdain Jr. who will make his debut with the team at the Petit Le Mans in October.
Fernandez and Diaz recorded their best finish of the season in the last race at Salt Lake City where, after holding the overall lead for 25 laps, the duo fell victim to contact and an unrepresentative fifth-place result.
Race Notes:
* Circuit -- 1.51 mile, 10-turn permanent road course
* Saturday's race will last 2 hours 45 minutes with a 2:05 EST
start
* A driver may not drive more than two hours total in the race
Of Note:
* This is the second appearance for Lowe's Fernandez Racing at
Lime Rock
* Fernandez and Diaz started sixth overall last year after qualifying
was canceled due to thunderstorms; the pair encountered a rare
mechanical problem in the race (left rear suspension failure) and
were classified 25th overall
* Following four rounds of ALMS competition, Fernandez and Diaz sit
10th in the standings, 21 points outside the top five
* The team claimed their best result of the season at Salt Lake City in
May with a fifth-place finish and have started on the front row in
the last two events
* Fernandez and Diaz claimed three podiums and six top-five results in
their ALMS debut last season
FERNANDEZ ON THE MODIFIED CIRCUIT: "I am really looking forward to seeing all the work they have completed at Lime Rock. Last year was my first time here and it was one of the bumpiest tracks that I had ever driven. That combined with the concrete patches which had zero grip made it a real challenge to set up the car. The improvements should make a big difference. Despite our problem in the race last year, I really enjoyed coming to this event and also the fan support. We've had a few weeks away from the race track which has allowed me some family time [son Niko was born in May], and now it is time to get back to business."
DIAZ ON APPROACHING THE MIDPOINT OF THE SEASON: "We have been knocking at the door a lot and hopefully this is the weekend that we get the job done. The car we had at Salt Lake City was unbelievable. It was so good. I am really excited about getting back on track this weekend and I'm looking forward to the remaining races. We had two podiums and a fourth-place result in the final six races last year and now, with a year's experience, our expectations are for wins. We should have a strong second half of the season."
About the Drivers:
Adrian Fernandez... enters second season of ALMS competition claiming three podiums and six top-five finishes in 2007 debut... is a veteran of 12 years at the top levels of open-wheel competition, winning in both Champ Car (CART) and IndyCar Series (IRL) competition... debuted in sports car competition in 2006, winning the Mid-Ohio Rolex Sports Car Series race and claiming four additional top-five finishes... began competing in select NASCAR Busch Series events in 2005, driving for Team Lowe's Racing and Hendrick Motorsports... finished fifth in the IndyCar Series championship in his inaugural season in 2004 with three wins... missed the 2000 Champ Car championship crown by only 10 points, finishing second in the series to Gil de Ferran... has garnered numerous awards over the years including "Athlete of the Year in Mexico"... named one of Mexico's 300 most influential people by a national magazine in 2006... 44 years old from Mexico City...resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., with wife Catalina, daughter Valentina and son Niko.
Luis Diaz... enters second season of ALMS competition claiming three podiums and six top-five finishes in 2007 debut... entered sports car competition in 2004 netting eight wins in the Grand-Am series over three years as well as Rolex Sports Car Series Team Championship honors in 2006 and a second-place result in the driver championship co-driving with Scott Pruett... was named "Driver of the Year" in Mexico in 2006... won the Mexico Formula 3 championship in 1998... earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Indy Lights Pan-American Championship, Mexico Formula 3 Championship and Formula Reynard Series Mexico... U.S. open-wheel success includes a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Atlantic championship... began racing go-karts at the age of 12, winning several national championships... 30 years old from Mexico City... resides in Toluca, Mexico, with wife Carolina... nickname is "Chapulin" (Cha-poo-leen) which means grasshopper.
About the #15 Lowe's Acura ARX:
* Powered by the 3.4-liter Acura LM-V8 engine
* Chassis is the Acura ARX-01b, the latest version of the ARX-01a chassis which was developed by HPD [Honda Performance Development] through a technical partnership with Wirth Research in England
* Tires are Michelin
Lowe's Fernandez Racing Key Personnel:
* Tom Anderson, co-owner/managing director (founded Fernandez Racing with Fernandez in 2000)
* Steve Miller, general manager (eighth year with the team; reunited with Diaz who he worked with in 2000 in Indy Lights)
* Mike Sales, team manager (as a chief mechanic, has had a decade long relationship with Adrian Fernandez which includes victories in Champ Car, IndyCar Series and Grand-Am competition)
* John Ward, race engineer (is in is ninth year as a race engineer for Adrian Fernandez; designer of many Eagle chassis for Dan Gurney's All American Racers including the Eagle Mk III IMSA GTP car which won the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 1992 and 1993)
* Tony Leith, chief mechanic (eighth season with the team; was a lead and chief mechanic in ALMS in the late '90s with Panoz Motorsports)
LAKEVILLE, CT. (9 July, 2008) -- Ex-Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran, young French star Simon Pagenaud and the de Ferran Motorsports squad make their return to the American Le Mans Series this weekend at Connecticut's newly revised Lime Rock Park circuit.
The team's Panasonic-sponsored Acura ARX-01b raced for the first time at the previous round of the championship in Salt Lake City - finishing 3rd on debut. While neither de Ferran nor Pagenaud have raced at Lime Rock Park previously, all ALMS teams will face a revised Lime Rock layout in 2008 - the track recently undergoing a US$5 million redevelopment.
GIL DE FERRAN
"Following the great result in our debut race at Salt Lake City, Lime Rock is likely to be a challenging weekend for our team given our lack of familiarity with the venue. Neither Simon nor I have driven there before and none of our technical team have any experience at Lime Rock.
Preparation is the key to a good performance and unfortunately we were unable to do any pre-race testing as the circuit was going through extensive remodeling. In addition, this will be a two day weekend with limited on track time, all of which will weigh against our preparation.
"However, on the positive side, this weekend will be somewhat of a clean sheet of paper for most competitors as the track is newly repaved and the layout has changed slightly, so our lack of experience will not be as big of a handicap as it could have been.
"On the whole, I am looking forward to getting back in the car, going racing again and coming home with a decent result! This long break that we've had since the last race has given us an opportunity to tick many more items on our 'to do' list and the whole team is more prepared than we were going into Salt Lake."
SIMON PAGENAUD
"Lime Rock Park will be another unique challenge for Gil and myself. I have taken the chance to study the track layout and look at some video and photos, but I haven't raced there before. It normally doesn't take me too long to learn the tracks - it depends a little on the length.
"Lime Rock is pretty short so I am not expecting too many problems.
"Since our debut, I had the chance to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That was a great experience for me. Because of its length, that track is very challenging to learn but I still had the opportunity to do a lot of miles in a sportscar.
"Unfortunately, we didn't finish the race but it was still a great learning experience for me."