Tough “Brake” For BGB North Of The Border

For Immediate Release

(Ormond Beach, FL, USA – August 18, 2009)  Supporting a single Porsche entry for David Riddle and Kris Wilson, BGB Motorsports’ day ended early when a brake failure led to an on-track collision with another competitor, forcing the #26 C-Max Racing Porsche 997 to retire from the 40th running of the Gran Prix de Trois Rivières.  Taking place on a temporary street circuit in a small town northwest of Montreal, the event is known as the GP3R and is the oldest road race in North America; the town recently celebrated their 375th anniversary earlier this year.  The tight 1.5 mile street circuit is known throughout the paddock as the hardest test of a car’s braking system and this year it caught the BGB team off guard:

“I am disappointed for our drivers and for our team for the work they put in all night on Friday and for the drivers and team of the Kinetic car whose day ended early as a result of the collision.  I must  apologize.  Something similar happened to us last year when we tried to do the right thing and put brand new parts on the car to avoid failure; yet it still happened.  These were brand new, well known brake lines supplied by another competitor that we’ve run for 3 years on our cars without fail.  Both rear caliper lines failed simultaneously and Kris was along for the ride.  It’s a long trip to have your day end this early.”

Suffering from ABS complications during qualifying, David Riddle still managed to qualify 13th, despite not having any ABS.  Anyone that has ever tried to drive a Porsche without ABS knows how tough of a feat this is.  Determined to make up more ground during the race, Riddle wasn’t overly worried.

Sunday’s race was early and got underway at 9:15am.  An early caution period came shortly after the start and with the race being much shorter than a normal Koni Sports Car Challenge Series race, the BGB team chose to go to an early stop strategy and bring in David Riddle for his driver change with Kris Wilson.  Wilson only had a few laps in the car before the brake failure:

“The race resumed and I was trying to make up as much ground as I could; I went down into the brake zone for turn 6 and the car slowed for a brief second and then the pedal went to the floor and I was a passenger at that point.  I tried to avoid hitting the Kinetic car but it’s a street circuit and you’re surrounded by walls everywhere.  There was nothing I could do.  It’s not an experience you want to repeat.”

The 10th round of the 2009 Koni Sports Car Challenge Series will take place at Miller Motorsports Park on September 18th.  Located just outside of Salt Lake City in Tooele, Utah, down the street from the famous Bonneville Salt Flats, the 24-turn 4.5 mile road course is the longest race track on the schedule.  In 2007, while competing against each other, BGB Motorsports and C-Max racing finished 2nd and 3rd as the two highest finishing Porsches.  In 2008, Kris Wilson qualified his car on the pole and led much of the race before being hit by another competitor.  Stay tuned.

BGB Motorsports is an ambitious, professional motorsports business.  The team’s facility is located less than 15 miles from Daytona International Speedway and the headquarters for the Grand American Road Racing Association. The team operates as a customer oriented business, running cars under the Grand American Road Racing, Sports Car Club of America and Porsche Club of America sanctioning bodies.