SCC: Watkins Glen: BGB Motorsports race report

ANOTHER TOP-10 FINISH AT WATKINS GLEN FOR THE PORSCHE CAYMAN AND

(Ormond Beach, FL, USA - June 9, 2010) BGB Motorsports teammates Keith Carroll and Duncan Ende recorded their first top-10 finish of 2010 in the #23 Racer's Roast Porsche Cayman following Saturday's 70-car Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series race from Watkins Glen International Raceway in Watkins Glen, New York. Ende's drive to 6th place would have recorded the best finish to date for the Porsche Cayman but the Los Angeles, CA based driver had to contend with the strong V8 power that dominated most of the event, and settle for 10th place honors. The team's 2nd Cayman entry featured Steve Jenkins of Glenview, IL, and Jean Francois Dumoulin of Trois Rivières, Quebec, Canada, driving the #38 BRM Watches/Laps.com Cayman; the two finished in 12th place driving together for their 2nd time in as many races, narrowly missing another consecutive top-10 finish. The 3rd and final BGB Motorsports entry of Stewart Tetreault of West Hartford, CT, and Guy Cosmo of West Palm Beach, FL finished in 18th in their Porsche 911; that finishing position, however, was not indicative of the car's performance during the race, as the two fell down the order following Cosmo's great drive to 5th place. A late-race stop to pit road to repair a wheel damaged by contact with another competitor, removed all possibility of finishing up the order. As the race wound down, for the 2nd event in a row, BGB Motorsports was poised to have 3 entries finish in the top-10; Cosmo sat in 5th place, Ende in 6th and teammate Dumoulin back in 12th but it just wasn't their day, as the tight racing and door banging of the series influenced the end result for 2 of the 3 cars.

With less than a week between the Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen rounds, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series teams did not have much turnaround time to prepare for the 6th race of the 2010 season. On track activity for the BGB Motorsports team went smoothly during Thursday's pre-event promoter test and during official Grand-Am practice on Friday. Friday evening's qualifying yielded season-best qualifying performances for all BGB pilots as Steve Jenkins led qualifying for the Porsches, qualifying 7th. Teammate Keith Carroll of Stuart, Florida qualified a few spots back in 14th while Tetreault completed BGB qualifying in 20th.

When the green flag fell for Saturday morning's race, all three BGB Porsche pilots put their heads down and continued improving on any performances thus far in the season. Jenkins found that his competitors don't make it very easy to get by them, and the #38 Cayman had to come to pit road to repair a cut tire. At the same time, Keith Carroll and Stewart Tetreault began moving up through the field. During the race's first full course caution on lap 22, Carroll and his #23 Cayman enjoyed a clean stint, passing competitors to deliver the car to his codriver Duncan Ende in 5th place. Tetreault followed suit handing off his car to codriver Guy Cosmo in 12th place. In an orderly fashion, the BGB Motorsports pit crew executed 3 simultaneous pit stops for the 1st of two times during the event, as Jean Francois Dumoulin took over the controls of the #38 Cayman from the 13th spot.

Shortly thereafter another full course caution flag came out and the BGB crew went to work again, fueling all 3 cars at once to keep all three entries in contention for a strong team finish, as Cosmo and Ende beat several cars out of the pits to restart 6th and 9th respectively. When the racing resumed for the 2nd time at the race's half way point, all required pit stops were completed and it was in the hands of the drivers. Strong stints by all 3 closing drivers had things looking pretty good but late in the race, things didn't go according to plan. The team will once again look to put this event behind them, as they head to Mid Ohio Sports Car Course in Mansfield, Ohio on June 17th for the 7th round of the season.

Following the Watkins Glen round, the #83 BGB 911 falls back one spot to occupy 7th in the Team Championship, while the #23 Cayman moves back into the top-10 to occupy the 9th spot. With some mixed results during the beginning of the season, the #38 Cayman entry gains traction, and moves further up the order to 15th. While the team continues to try and finish 3 race entries in the top-10 each time, they'll look to realize that goal by hopefully finishing 3 cars in top-10 in points in the Team Championship over the next 4 races.

-source: bgb motorsports