BTM Motorwerks Perseveres at the USTCC Season Opener at Buttonwillow

BTM Motorwerks Owner/Operator and racer Brad McClure drove his Porsche 996 to a 4th place finish Saturday evening narrowly missing a podium finish in the opening race of the 2014 United States Touring Car Championship.  The 2-Hour Twilight enduro held on the 2.75 mile Classic Course at Buttonwillow Raceway Park started in the daylight at 6:20 p.m. and ended two hours later in the pitch-dark.

As reigning 2013 USTCC Champion in the TC class, Brad is going after the GT Class Championship in 2014 but this first race in his new Porsche had its challenges.  After qualifying first in the field of 26 entrants with a Best Lap of 1:55.70 Brad settled into second place in the early going keeping the leader in sight and, holding to the pre-race plan, turned laps consistently on average under the 2:00 minutes/circuit mark.

Then after 55 minutes a call came in from Brad on the radio that the Porsche had stopped and appeared to be out of gas.  After recycling the system Brad got the Porsche going again and came in for an earlier than expected pit stop.

In the rush to get back in the game we had a small gas spill during the pit stop and then the marshalls dinged Brad for excessive speed in the pit lane.  The result - a six minute extra “stop & hold” penalty in the pits for both infractions which put us out of any chance for the win.

Brad soldiered on running consistent fast laps and made up some time on the leaders but was only able to get back up to 4th at the finish.

Brad’s teammate Mike Sekhon began his 2014 campaign by qualifying 2nd in the TC class with his BTM Motorwerks built and prepared BMW M3.

Mike’s pre race optimism for a top finish faded early in the race when the control tower announced to the team that Mike’s transponder (brand new) was malfunctioning and that they were not able to record times for every one of Mike’s laps.  The crew called Mike in and reset the transponder but the situation still persisted.  This led to a finish well down in the charts because although Mike ran the entire distance and got some good seat time his his newly built M3 race car, the official results had him only doing about ⅓ of the laps he actually ran.  This was extremely disappointing for the very competitive Mike and BTM Motorwerks crew, both of whom came to Buttonwillow to win.

Brad and Mike are now looking forward to the next USTCC stop on the calendar at Spring Mt. Raceway in Pahrump, NV, May 3rd & 4th, and both hope to score class wins in their respective GT and TC category’s.

About BTM Motorwerks

BTM Motorwerks is a Diamond Certified Specialized Service Center for Porsche, BMW, Mini, Cooper, Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes with 6 Bays and plenty of parking, conveniently located at 1661 S. Bascom Avenue, Campbell, CA.

At BTM Motorwerks, Porsche, BMW, Mini Cooper, Audi and VW are our specialty so we understand & know these cars exceptionally well.  We have extensive experience in System Diagnostics, Engine Management, Antilock Brakes, Dynamic Stability and Climate Control Systems.  We can rebuild your engine or handle regular factory scheduled maintenance and everything in between.  Relax and let BTM Motorwerks be your Car Doctor.

“We’re known for our straightforwardness, honesty and integrity.  Our training, certifications and advanced tooling are all geared toward German cars, so customers can feel comfortable knowing they’re getting specialized, expert service.  We take a team approach to getting work done, and our ultimate goal is to provide high-quality work at a fair price. “Brad McClure, Owner/Operator.

  

BTM Motorwerks Racing Dominates rounds 1 & 2

Team BTM Motorwerks racing Dominates Rounds 1 and 2
 - Michael Shawhan - Driver
 - Brad McClure - Driver & Team Owner
 - Mike Cesario - http://racersdrive.com/ Marketing
 - Bill Shawhan - Crew
 - Gary McClure - Crew

Spec E30 Rounds 1 & 2

Sonoma CA, March 14 & 15.
The Spec E30 field of 24 drivers with veterans and several newbies to field which is great.
Qualifying - Michael Shawhan Team BTM Motorwerks was P1 with a 1:55.9 P2 Larry Fraisier 1:56.3 P3 Tim Barber 1:57.0 P4 Matt Row 1:57.4 and Brad McClure 1:57.8 for p5.
The start of the race was exciting. Larry almost jummped the start, then the flag dropped and Michael missed 2nd gear which let Larry get the lead with Tim in Second, Michael in 3rd with McClure in 4th. Michael was on fire and charging after Larry and Tim with McClure hot on Tim's bumper. Michael got by Tim and battled side by side with Larry for several laps eventually Shawhan got the lead.. McClure got a great exit of t11 and drag raced Tim up into T2 and it then it was a competition to see who would out brake each other in to t2. McClure thought he was the king of braking, but Tim pulled a miraculous braking maneuver that got his position back. A fuel leak on McClure's car causing massive oversteering on left turns allowed Matt Row get by for 4th and McClure in 5th.
Results: Shawhan wins Round 1, P2 Fraiser, P3 Barber, P4 McClure (Matt Row DQ'ed)  http://www.mylaps.com/en/classification/2988515?perClass=1

Sunday
Qualifying. Shawhan P1, Fraiser P2, Row P3, McClure P4, and Ferario P5
The Race: The start was clean, but Ferrario issed 2nd gear in a bad way and lost several positions. Shawhan, Fraisier, and McClure pulled away from the pack and had a fast clean race to the finish, but Reiger was making some good lap time and creeping up closer to McClure. The race was cut short do to a Miata incodent. We all hope he's OK.

Results Sunday Race : P1 Shawhan, P2 Fraiser, P3 McClure, P4 Reiger
http://www.mylaps.com/en/classification/2988518?perClass=1

 

Next Race is the USTCC race at Buttonwillow. Stay tuned!

It’s a New Season - 2013 NASA Norcal Spec E30 Racing

Maybe it’s just me, but it always seems the new race season starts way too early. Reading on the SpecE30 forum, everyone is getting new cars, paint jobs, engines, and my #1 car seems like sits in the trailer during the Holidays then January comes around and finally get to think about what we got to do to prepare for the next season. Luckily the #1 BTM motorwerks spec E30 only needed a quater panel and decals to get ready!

Round 1: This year Spec E30 approved a new TOYO RR1, supposedly a faster more stable tire. With e #1 car equiped with the new tires and calibrated alignment, we set a smoking qualifying time of 1:54.9 for a P1 pole position. The next time set .83 sec slower is new comer Jason Godfrey for a p2 position, 3rd place is DeeJay Raily, Bennet McMicking in 3rd, Lauren Trefethan in 4th, and the Iron Man Ferrario in 4th, Gary Reiger in 4th, and Mike Shawhan in 5th. we had 23 drivers in total.
The start of the race, The BTM car #1 gets a good launch, but Godfrey also launches good for a dragrace into turn two. Godfrey with a slight lead exiting T2 gets sidways and bumps me into the dirt allowing McMicking, Ferrario, Reiger, and Larry Frasier to walk on by. The battle of the top 5 lasted till the end of the race, with Ferrrario 1st, Rieger 2nd, and BTM in 3rd. It was a epic race with great battles. BTM Motorwerks with Brad McClure driving sets a new lap record of 1:51.1.
There were a couple typo’s in the video, sorry about that.

Round 2: Qualifying. BTM motorwerks Brad McClure takes P1 again, Ferrario P2, Godfrey P2, and Michael Shawhan BTM Motorwerks new Team Member in P4, Deejay Raily in P5, and Reiger in P6. The start of the race was clean and McClure pulled Ferarrio to T2 and began a good lead. Several alp into the race Ferrario had a grea run exiting T6 and got the inside line on McClure into T7 for the lead. After a few laps McClure got a fast exit of T11 adnd drag raced Ferrario to T12, T1, and made the pass going into T2 and lead the race to the Checker flag. Ferrario in 2nd, Godfrey in 3rd, Reiger4th, and Shawhan in 4th. It was a good clean race that the fans loved to watch.
For the season points, Ferrario leads McClure by 5 points. It’s going to be a exciting season who claems the 2013 Championship. Ferrarion still trying for a Championship, McClure going for a 3rd time Champion. Next race in 5 weeks!

-- Brad
Saturdays Race Click Here!

Team BTM Motorwerks 2012 NASA Norcal BMW Spec e30 Champions!

With two 2nd place finishes this weekend at Sears Point, Brad locks up the 2012 NASA Norcal BMW Spec e30 Championship for Team BTM Motorwerks, successfully defending the team's 2011 title.

And with a 3rd and a 4th place finish this weekend, Andy brings the #19 BTM car home in 3rd overall for the season.

Full story, Video, and more coming soon!

BTM Triple!

The NASA Norcal Spec e30 Championship returned to Sears Point October 27th and 28th for the penultimate weekend of racing in the 2012 season, rounds 15 and 16 of 18.  The fantastic Sonoma weather treated the team to a weekend of balmy 80 degree temperatures after a week of rain, which left a relatively green track.

Fresh from his late season resurgence, Brad McClure led the team off the two cars managing 3rd on the grid and Andy Chittum right behind in 4th after recovering from a broken front sway bar link.  Eric Deck and Matt Row led off the field.

At the start, Andy managed to get around Matt and slot into 2nd, however, an spinning car in turn 2 ahead of Brad meant he had to slow, and another car hit the rear of the series-leading #1 car.  Undaunted, Brad fought back and finished the race in 5th place.

Andy stayed just a few feed off Eric Deck's rear bumper and, though he had more speed, and even overlapped the car down the front straight, he was unable to make a clean pass and finished the race in 2nd, with Eric earning his first win in the series.

Sunday found an all BTM front row, with Brad qualifying on Pole, Andy 2nd, and new BTM employee Mike Shawhan in 3rd.  At the flag, it was Andy that got the hole shot into T2 and a notably incident-free field behind.  Several laps into the race, Andy overshot T7 slightly, and Brad took advantage getting into the lead.  After many more laps of battling, the trio crossed the line Brad 1st, Andy 2nd, and Mike 3rd, with BTM Motorwerks taking its first podium sweep.

The NASA Norcal Spec e30 series will return November 10th and 11th for the final weekend of racing for the 2012 season.  Brad looks poised to take Team BTM Motorwerks to their second consecutive championship, and Andy has a chance of a top-three finish in the series as a solo entrant.  Stay Tuned!

Summer Catchup

Catch the story of Brad pulling out podium finishes at the ultimate Norcal vs. Socal showdown, the first NASA California Cup at Buttonwillow Raceway!

Mayhem Hill, Part 2

NASA Nocal Spec e30 returned to Thunderhill Raceway May 19th and 20th, and the racers found themselves in store for even crazier weekend than the first trip there in April. Qualifying worked out well for Team BTM Motorwerks, with Brad on the front row, though Andy was only able to manage 7th with some slight oversteer issues in the #19 car. So close was the competition that Brad's 2:06.972 was only 49 thousandths off pole position sitter Paul Blickman. Being a second slower would have put a driver in 14th. 

The tight pack charged off at the drop of the green, and Brad McClure got one of his signature starts, blasting to the front of the field and leading for the first few laps. Further back, Andy god a good start and filed in behind Steve Ferrario who had qualified 5th, and pulled alongside the powerful #93 car several times on the first two laps, but was unable to make a pass stick. But the race was cut short as further back in the pack the new #45 car had a low tire – when he pulled off track to let everyone by, the hot car caught fire and the NASA emergency crew had to respond and put out the small ensuing brush fire. While the driver was unhurt, the car was destroyed.

Sunday qualifying was to be based on the Saturday finish to make another 50 minute race for the spec e30 field. Again, the racers took off, Brad from the pole, and Andy from 6th. Start of the start was Bennett McMicking who got ahead of Brad and had a two car lead going into T2. Jimmy B also started well from 3rd, and made some time on Brad, but the BTM Motorwerks driver held 2nd. Steve Ferrario took over 4th, and Chittum and the #9 car took off side by side through T1. Going into T2, however, Chittum in the #19 and the #9 car brushed each other side to side, which resulted in the #9 going into a slow spin that took him off T2 on the inside, and back onto the track again, unfortunately collecting 3 other cars. The race was stopped for several minutes while the NASA emergency crew untangled everyone. Luckily, none of the drivers were hurt.

The race restarted then with other cars filling in and taking off once more. On the start Brad managed to maintain 2nd position, with Bennett leading and Jimmy B right behind. Mike Shawhan in the new blue #2 got an insanely good start launching from several rows back but passing both Chittum and Ferrario on the outside of T2. By the time the train reached T8, a charging McClure tried a pass on Bennett for the lead, but both drivers ended up side by side with compromised momentum. That led to Jimmy B passing the two going into T9, leading to a 3 wide stackup, slowing Shawhan, Ferrario, and Chittum, which let Larry Fraiser move past the group as well.

The train continued on for several laps then, with Jimmy B leading, Bennett in second, and Brad in third. Eventually Ferrario made a move and got by Shawhan, and later Shawhan slide off on the outside of T9 – the mighty neon 93 had been leaking gas, and Shawhan fell victim to the Spy Hunter like move from the crafty veteran.

Larry Fraiser wasn't done either, he got a good run on Brad late in the race coming out of T11, then pitched his car sideways going into T14. Brad went wide avoiding the fishtailing rookie, but Larry hung on and moved into 3rd. Ferrario was then able to take adavantage of Brad's lost momentum and pass for 4th.

And so the race ended, with a surprise win from the NASA Norcal Spec e30 co-coordinator, in the #68 car – another podium for Bennett, and a very nice bit of driving from Larry Fraiser charging up from a 7th grid position to the last step of the podium. Brad and Andy finished 5th and 6th, not exactly the results they were hoping for, but they did maintain 1st and 2nd in the overall points totals for NASA Norcal, and good momentum for the following event - the California Crown, held June 23rd and 24th 2012 – the series first trip to beautiful Buttonwillow Raceway since 2009.

Watch the full race video here: http://vimeo.com/42606031