BGB Podium At Trois Rivières Darkened
By Collision And Injury For Teammates
 For Immediate Release
(TROIS RIVIÈRES, QC- August 22, 2007) The plan was simple; conserve the car until the end of the race. During each team meeting it was reinforced that the goal was just to survive the race and score as many points as possible in Sunday's 2007 Gran Prix de Trois Rivires. As the #38 Porsche of BGB Motorsports crossed the finish line in 3rd place, albeit on fumes from a stretched fuel gamble, the celebration for teammates Hugh Plumb and Craig Stanton was short lived. Teammate Mikel Miller's #83 Porsche was on its way back to the paddock on a flatbed with Miller on his way to the Centre hospitalier regional de Trois-Rivires to be examined for stomach pain and continual bleeding as a result of an accident involving the Turner Motorsports BMW and the concrete barrier at the end of the 2nd back straight.
Saturday's Street Tuner race left a lot of teams worried about brake problems as several cars experienced brake failures and even brake fires. Teammates Hugh Plumb and Tim Traver, in the #38 and #83 Porsches, were to complete their opening stints and deliver their cars to their codrivers. Craig Stanton and Mikel Miller had their orders to maintain a pace until the end before they could push the car. For the #83 Simplenet.com/Performance Drink/Jetalia Porsche the plan was not without opposition. On lap 2 Tim Traver had pit for a new left rear tire due to contact by the #5 Mustang. On his way back, he was penalized for speeding in pit lane and had to return again to the pits. Luckily the caution flag came out and Traver was able to get back on the lead lap with some quick strategy. As the 1st caution period started, Hugh Plumb executed phase one of the strategy; Plumb and Traver did an excellent job at the start of the race. While their stints were short the start of the race was difficult with rain pouring down on half of the track making for slippery conditions.
When the race went green Stanton and Miller began to move their way up through the field. Conserving the car, the #38 and #83 Porsche pushed as far as 3rd and 7th executing the plan as intended. A late race caution flag came out again; during the restart Miller was given a penalty for procedure while trying to avoid a stack up in front of him involving a pair of Mustangs. The unanticipated run to pit road shortened his fuel window, requiring another stop on pit road. At this point Miller found himself among the leaders. As teammate Craig Stanton passed by in 3rd place Miller attempted to follow. Suffering from a wounded gearbox he found himself in a situation on lap 86 as the #97 Turner Motorsports M3 attempted to pass Miller. Unable to fit his BMW in a hole between the Porsche and the wall the contact caused Miller to hit the concrete barrier on his right only to ricochet over and hit the other concrete barrier with an impact great enough to break the wall. Miller returned to the paddock but was experiencing continued pain and bleeding. Released from the hospital on Monday morning he was found to have a lacerated urethra.
"Mikel was released yesterday,Ó added team manager John Tecce. "I'm going to stay up in Trois Rivires with him until the pain subsides and he can fly. He can't really function on his own right now. I really enjoyed our visit to Trois Rivires and I could think of worse places to stay, but for Mikel and me not to be able to return to our normal doings is difficult. This is the 2nd time the #83 has sustained heavy heavy damage as a result of on-track activities involving this particular car and driver, the first being an indirect incident at Daytona. You can't be overly optimistic when you race on a street circuit. The repercussions can be very dangerous and very expensive. I expect a lot out of our drivers and their competitors; I've seen the video and the pass was terribly over optimistic and probably not even worthy of being called an attempt at a pass.Ó
This weekend's podium in the Gran Prix De Trois Rivires helped maintain the #38 Porsche's 4th place spot in the 2007 Team Championship. With 2 races remaining, the 2nd and 3rd spots in the Championship are still open. Drivers Jeffrey Segal and Jep Thornton look to have a lock on 1st place, but the BGB team will continue to push as hard as they can and score as many Championship points as possible.
For more information, photos, and videos, visit http://teambgb.com. |
