Brian Morgan, Author at BimmerLife

Racing Lines | Roebling Road BMW CCA Club Racing Finale Saw Broken Track Records, Close Racing

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 14:00:57 +0000

Thirty-five competitors converged on Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah in December for the Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series’ annual finale, hosted by the Tarheel Chapter. Racers ran three sprints and an enduro over the course of three days—a weekend of close racing, with the C-Modified track record broken twice.

Jason Phillips and Liam Harrow run nose-to-tail [David Williams photo]

In the first sprint on Friday, Jason Phillips took the overall win in an EXB-class Porsche Cayman—a rare overall win for a non-BMW in BMW CCA Club Racing competition. Early in the race, Phillips battled with Frank McCleneghen, who left his M2 CSR in the paddock in favor of his Z4 GTR, a car he has used in track events for years; at Roebling Road, he ran it in C-Mod, setting a track record for the class in qualifying (1:11.078). However, McCleneghen dropped out of the race after losing a wheel, leaving the C-Modified win to Liam Harrow, who finished second overall in an E36 328i. C-Mod runner-up Scott Glenney (E46 M3) was third.

Michael Kerner (315) and Kirk Olsen (221) were both class winners [David Williams photos]

Mike Akard took a solo win with his PWR4 F82 M4 GT4, finishing sixth overall, and Kirk Olsen, also a solo class winner, finished seventh in Charles Harding’s B-Modified E92 M3 GTR. Next across the line was M2 Spec winner Krista Williams (F87 M2 CSR), who finished just ahead of class competitor Michael Kerner in another M2 CSR.

Cristopher Lindner won I-Prepared in an E36 M3. Keith Primozic (E36 M3) won PWR3, finishing just ahead of class competitor Cameron Nipper, who drove an F22 M235i-R. Primozic said later that he’d battled with Nipper throughout the event.

John Park (81) and Turner Hilliard (126) battled in all three sprints [David Williams photo]

Turner Hilliard took the first of what would be three wins in the weekend’s sprint races in his Spec E46 330Ci, each time battling with pole-sitter John Park in another 330Ci. Park said later, “Turner Hilliard and I had some great battles throughout the weekend, trading positions for the lead. However, he kept finding ways to get around me and finish in front!” Park went on to win the class in the enduro. Bert Howerton won the seven-car Spec E36 class in his E36 325is.

Todd Brown, who did not race on Friday, drove his C-Mod E46 M3 (shown in the lead photo) for the Saturday and Sunday sprints. He was on a mission: “Before Roebling,” he said, “I thought I had no chance to win the C-Mod National Championship, since Robert Chang was fourteen points ahead of me. I would need at least five other C-Mods to compete against me, win both 150 percent point races, and have the other C-Modified cars complete over 50 percent of those races.” Chang did not run at Roebling, but there were enough C-Mod cars in the pack for Brown to take the title if he won the races. He gave notice in qualifying by breaking the C-Mod track record that McCleneghen had set on Friday, running a blistering 1:10.374.

Blistering was an apt term for tires as well; Roebling Road is known as a tire-eater, and it retained its reputation in December. Racer Charles Harding said, “I don’t really know what the heck is going on with that track surface. When I won there after the repave, I thought that my 1:12.2 time would stand for a good while, with track curing in, degradation, etc. In fact, one year after the repave, all the times across the board went down by a second! But for Todd and Frank to throw down a 1:10 and a 1:11 was really strong—seems the track has picked up grip, as if the asphalt aggregate has become rougher, at least for a couple of heat cycles on stickers. Then they drop off super quick, and front-left-tire cording was the flavor of the day.”

Frank McCleneghen won M2 Spec in two sprints [David Williams photo]

Nevertheless, Brown dominated the Saturday-morning sprint, finishing over six seconds ahead of C-Mod runner-up Sri Haputantri (E30 M3). Harrow, Friday’s C-Mod winner, rounded out the podium. Phillips was next to cross the line, scoring another solo EXB win in his Cayman. Akard took another solo win in PWR4, finishing ahead of McCleneghen, who was back in his M2 Spec M2 CSR to take a class win ahead of Kerner and Williams. Jeff Bennett won I-Prepared his E36 M3, Primozic scored a repeat win in PWR3, Olsen took another solo win in B-Mod, and Hilliard won Spec E46 ahead of Park. Jack Wilkins won Spec E36 in his 325i, and Jeff Traenker, who had not run on Friday, took a solo win in I-Sport, driving an E36 M3.

Sri Haputantri took the overall win in the enduro [David Williams photo]

The enduro was run on Saturday afternoon, with several racers electing not to compete. The win went to Sri Haputantri in his C-Mod E30 M3. McCleneghen finished second overall and first in M2 Spec, while Harding and Olsen finished third overall for a solo B-Mod class win in Harding’s E92 M3 GTR. Phillips finished fourth, taking another solo win in EXB. Lindner took the I-Prepared victory ahead of Bennett, while Park had his turn at the front of the Spec E46 pack and Wilkins repeated in Spec E36.

The Sunday sprint was the feature race, and five cars remained in C-Mod; Brown had to win ahead of all of them to take the title—and he did just that, winning overall and leading a five-car C-Mod train ahead of Harding (E46 M3), Haputantri, Glenney, and Harrow. His points put him exactly half a point over Chang for the season championship. (Note that championship standings are subject to review, and were not yet official at deadline time.)

Bert Howerton won Spec E36 in two sprints [David Williams photo]

Akard, who said that tire degradation had slowed him on Sunday, took another solo win in PWR4, finishing just behind the pack of C-Mod cars. Planning to retire his M4 GT4 next season, Akard plans to return to D-Modified competition in the venerable E30 that has taken him to wins in a number of classes over the years. Kerner won M2 Spec, Lindner took his third victory of the weekend in I-Prepared, Hilliard won Spec E46, Primozic won PWR3, Howerton won Spec E36, and Traenker scored his second I-Sport solo win.

Mike Hinkley, the long-time Tarheel Chapter race chair, is stepping down from his role. He was given the Spirit of Club Racing award for his many years of service to the chapter and the BMW CCA Club Racing program, Ross Karlin served as competition steward, Mark Connoly and Steve Whitcomb served as tech stewards, and Larry Fletcher served as the timing-and-scoring steward.—Brian Morgan. Roundel motorsports editor

Lead photo by David Williams

The post Racing Lines | Roebling Road BMW CCA Club Racing Finale Saw Broken Track Records, Close Racing appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines | An Exciting Weekend at Road Atlanta

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 14:00:46 +0000

The November Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing weekend at Road Atlanta featured close racing at the front of the pack in every class. Forty-five racers contested the event that featured an enduro on Friday, two sprints on Saturday, and a final sprint on Sunday.

Todd Brown and Robert Chang, the two contenders for the C-Modified national championship, battled in the first three races, with Brown coning out on top and going on to win the final sprint on Sunday. Brown brought two cars to Road Atlanta: He ran the enduro in the E46 B46 (a Strom Motorsports-built E46 3 Series powered by a B48D four-cylinder turbocharged engine), sporting a new turbo setup that gave him extra speed, and he ran the three sprint races in his E46 M3, which had a new engine—and set a new C-Mod track record of 1:28.2.

Todd Brown and Robert Chang battle in the Friday enduro [David Wiilliams photo]

Chang was racing an E46 M3. “Robert Chang had passed me about ten minutes into the enduro,” said Brown, “but I was counting on him making a slow entry into the pits before the 35-mph cones, because it was his first time on this track. He pitted several laps before me, and as I suspected, he did not charge down the hill toward the pit exit. I came out five seconds ahead of him after my pit stop and didn’t look back.”

Chang, noting the pace of Brown’s car, said, “On Saturday, my competitor in class decided to switch to a much faster car, so I knew that I would have to up my game. The first sprint race allowed me to size things up and see where I could improve, where I could lay on the throttle longer and brake later. All I could do for the second sprint race was change to new front brake pads and put on the best tires that I had with me. But the biggest change was mentally: I had to think faster and know how to be faster, thus reacting faster so my car would follow.” Unfortunately, a contact incident took Chang out of the feature sprint.

Brown acknowledged Chang’s pace. “In the feature,” he said, “Chang had certainly found his mojo. We swapped the lead several times before I was able to out-brake him at the end of the back straight. I was fortunate to put some traffic between us before he, unfortunately, had an incident with a couple of out-of-class cars that had him exit the race.”

Krista Williams won M2 Spec in the Friday enduro [David Williams photo]

The racers in the M2 Spec Class ran at the front of the pack for the entire event, finishing just behind the battling C-Mod contenders. In the enduro, Krista Williams (F87 M2 CSR) finished third overall and first in class on her first outing with the car, ahead of Frank McCleneghen in another M2 CSR. Third-in-class finisher Michael Kerner was sixth overall, separated from Williams and McCleneghen by the PWR3-winning E46 M3 of Sean Dwyer, who finished fifth overall and began what would be a class sweep for the weekend. Club-racing veteran Ron Checca, who traveled from the Northeast for the event, was fourth in M2 Spec in another M2 CSR.

Simon Foweather and Josh Rich were winners in Spec E46 [David Williams photo]

Chris Joos, who spent the weekend battling with class competitor Chris Lindner, finished seventh overall and first in I-Prepared in an E36 M3. The top three cars in Spec E46 rounded out the top ten: Rob Eskew (330i), runner-up Sergio Ramirez (330i), and third-in-class finisher Josh Rich (330Ci). Several racers commented on the intense competition in Spec E46, a class that drew 22 cars—almost half the pack—for the weekend.

Michael Saul won I-Sport in two races [David Williams photo]

Other class winners in the enduro were Michael Saul in I-Sport, beginning an event-long battle with class competitor Bill Bass, who finished just behind him; both were in E36 M3s. The win in the highly competitive Spec E36 class went to John Wilkins (325i); K-Prepared went to George Denliker in an E30 325iS, and a solo win went to Steven Grayson in a PWR2 E36 328is. It was the first trip to Road Atlanta for Grayson. “This was my first visit to Road Atlanta,” he said afterward, “and it lived up to its hype. It’s now my favorite track—fast, dangerous, and technical.”

Steven Grayson ran solo in PWR2 on his first visit to Road Atlanta [David Williams photo]

Robert Chang, another first-timer, noted, “Another first for me—and wish I had raced this track years ago. It is the most intimidating race course I’ve experienced, and it separates the men from the boys!”

Brown and Chang finished first and second overall on Saturday morning, with M2 Spec winner McCleneghen third. M2 Spec runner-up Kerner was fourth overall, with Dwyer scoring his second PWR3 win in fifth. Williams rounded out the top three in M2 Spec with a sixth-place finish.

Cheis Lindner won I-Prepared in three races, battling with Chris Joos {David Williams photo]

Battling I-Prepared racers Lindner and Joos were seventh and eighth, with just 0.117 seconds between them; Lindner took the lead on the final lap after Joos bobbled momentarily. He recovered, but could not get past Lindner. PWR3 runner-up Keith Primozic was ninth, and Eric Corwin, third in I-Prepared, was tenth, ahead of Spec E46 winner Josh Rich, who was followed across the line by class competitors Eskew and Omer Khera (330Ci). Bass won I-Sport and Wilkins repeated in Spec E36, while Grayson and Denliker scored solo class wins.

Following his battle with Chang at the front of the pack, Brown cruised to a win with a minute-and-a-half lead over M2 Spec winner (and second-overall finisher) McCleneghen. Kerner was third overall and second in M2 Spec; Dwyer was next across the line with his third PWR3 win, and I-Prepared winner Lindner was fifth, with Williams—third in M2 Spec—separating him from I-P runner-up Joos. The top three Spec E46 finishers—Rich, Eskew, and Ramirez—followed Williams. Wilkins once again won Spec E36 after Tom Tice (328i), who led early, fell back with overheating problems. Saul won I-Sport after Bass was hit and sent off-course; he recovered to finish second in class. Grayson and Denliker again took solo wins in their respective classes.

Spec E36 racers Bert Howerton and John Wilkins run sid-by-side [David Williams photo]

Brown completed his sweep on Sunday, finishing ahead of M2 Spec runners McCleneghen, Williams, and Kerner. Dwyer completed his sweep of PWR3, Wilkins completed his sweep of Spec E36, Lindner won I-Prepared, and Simon Foweather (330Ci) became the third Spec E46 winner of the event. Grayson (PWR2) and Denliker (K-Prepared) completed their class sweeps.

Sean Dwyer swept PWR3 [David Willims photo]

Racers were treated to a Friday-evening event hosted by Steel Hands brewery, followed by a Saturday-evening event hosted by Rooster Hall Racing. Rooster Hall’s Todd Brown noted. “The air on both nights was filled with tire smoke from the drifting show across the street at Lanier Speedway—a true car-lover’s weekend!”

The Peachtree Chapter, with special recognition given to Matt Joos, Chris Joos, and David Harrison, was given the Spirit of Club Racing award for the chapter’s efforts in hosting club races; they ran three in 2025. BMW CCA president Jeff Caldwell served as competition steward; Mirril McMullen, April Massagee, Hunter Dyer, and Warren Brown served as tech stewards; and Larry Fletcher served as the timing-and-scoring steward. Barrie McMullen served in multiple roles.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor

Top Photo: David Williams

The post Racing Lines | An Exciting Weekend at Road Atlanta appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines | The 2026 BMW CCA Club Racing Schedule Is Here

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:08:25 +0000

While 2025 isn’t quite over, we’re already getting excited for 2026. The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series schedule is out. There are 15 events in 2026, including a race at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and a return to Mid-Ohio, two tracks missing from the 2025 schedule. In fact, the only 2025 venue that does not appear on the 2026 schedule is Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 2026 calendar, which is still subject to change, includes the following events. Premier events, in which there are four points-paying races, are noted.

March 13–15: National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park, Heart of Dixie Chapter. This is a new date at a venue where the Heart of Dixie and the Bluegrass Bimmers Chapters have run several driving events in the past. BMW CCA Club Racing ran there a number of years ago.

March 27–29: Virginia International Raceway
- Tarheel Chapter with VDCA. Premier event
May 1–3: Summit Point Raceway
- National Capital Chapter. Premier event
May 15–17: Watkins Glen International
- Premier event
June 1–2: New Jersey Motorsports Park, Thunderbolt Circuit
- New Jersey Chapter
June 20–21: Roebling Road Raceway
- Peachtree Chapter
June 27–28: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
- Trillium Chapter
July 11–12: Summit Point Raceway
- New Jersey Chapter
August 1–2: New Jersey Motorsports Park, Lightning Circuit
- Delaware Valley Chapter
August 14–16: Mid-Ohio
- Buckeye Chapter, Premier event
September 25–27: Watkins Glen International
- National Club Racing with VRG. Premier event.
October 8–10: Road America
- Badger Bimmers Chapter. Premier event
October 23–25: Carolina Motorsports Park
- Sandlapper Chapter. Premier event
November 13–15: Road Atlanta
- Peachtree Chapter. Premier event.
December 12–13: Roebling Road Raceway
- Tarheel Chapter with VDCA.

Commenting on the schedule, BMW CCA Club Racing chairman Mirril McMullen said, “The schedule team, working with our chapters and the race tracks, has tried to spread the races out with more consistent breaks between race weekends. We have three weekends planned for great tracks in the Midwest; Mid-Ohio, the National Corvette Museum circuit, and Road America will ideally attract more racers from our Midwest BMW racing organizations.”—Brian Morgan. Roundel motorsports editor

Lead photo by Brian Morgan

The post Racing Lines | The 2026 BMW CCA Club Racing Schedule Is Here appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines | Spec Class Racers Swarm at Carolina Motorsports Park

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 17:00:42 +0000

The annual late-October Sandlapper Chapter event at Carolina Motorsports Park brought out 38 racers, with 18 running in Spec E46 and another 12 in Spec E36. The entire pack ran an enduro and two sprints. Spec E46 ran one sprint race on its own, and Spec E36 teamed with all but the Spec E46 racers to run one additional sprint.

Two-time race winner Sri Haputantri lifts two wheels [Ed Vega photo]

Sri Haputantri (PWR4 E36 M3) was the overall winner in the Friday enduro, followed across the line by Dave Garraux, running solo in PWR3 in an E36 M3, and Spec E46 winner Ryan Kerfien in a 330i.

Spec E36 enduro winner Harry Meyer dices with Tom tice [Ed Vega photo]

A mid-race full-course yellow impacted pit strategy. Spec E36 winner Harry Meyer (328is) saw a racer go off course and into a tire barrier. “Knowing the car wasn’t getting out on its own,” he said, “I dived for Pit Road for the Golden Pit Stop. I made it before the full-course yellow came out. I sat on Pit Road for my five-minute stop while the safety car collected the field and reentered the track at the back of the field, knowing that all of the others would have to pit after we went back to racing.”

C-Mod racer Robert Chang was one of those who had to dive into the pits after the track went back to green. He said, “I managed to squeeze into a space just enough, but unfortunately my right rear tire was not fully within the lane marker.” He went on to win his class despite a penalty, finishing tenth overall.

There were two additional solo class winners in the enduro: Steven Grayson won PWR2 in an E36 328is, and George Denliker won K-Prepared in an E30 325iS. Both racers, along with PWR3 winner Garraux, would go on to score solo victories in the remaining three races.

Robert Chang scored two overall and three C-Mod wins [Ed Vega photo]

Chang won the first sprint for all of the non-Spec E46 classes, with B-Modified racer Ali Salih, who did not finish the enduro, finishing second overall and winning his class in an E92 M3. Garraux finished third, Bert Howerton (325is) won Spec E36, and Dave Ellman won PWR4 in an E46 M3.

Evan Levine (330i) won the all-Spec E46 sprint ahead of Turner Hilliard and Tyler James, both in 330Cis.

All classes ran the feature sprint, where Chang took the overall and C-Mod wins ahead of Garraux and Spec E46 winner Hilliard. Howerton won again in Spec E36, Ellman repeated in PWR4, and solo class wins again went to Garraux, Grayson, Denliker, and Salih. Chang said afterward, “During the feature race, things got really busy; I can relate how it feels to be the hornet in a hive of bees. There is no time to blink as packs of other class cars are everywhere at every segment of the track, every lap. Each approach had to be pre-calculated carefully, as a pass involved two, three, four, or five cars at the same time for 40 minutes. I have to commend the other racers for showing exceptional awareness, whether it be a point-by or maintaining their line and speed. It was just good, fast, predictable racing from everyone.”

Carolina Cup winner Evan Levine leads a close Spec E46 battle [Ed Vega phptp]

Haputantri took the overall and PWR4 wins in the final sprint on Sunday, finishing ahead of B-Mod winner Salih and C-Mod winner Olivier Raoust Jr, running solo in class because Chang did not compete on Sunday. Garraux finished his PWR3 solo sweep in fourth, while Levine took his second Spec E46 win in fifth. His two wins and a second-place finish in the second sprint netted him the Morehead Speed Works Carolina Cup, coveted by Spec E46 racers.

John Allemani (325is) edged out Bert Howerton in Spec E36. Club Racing chairman Mirril McMullen, who watched the race, said afterward, “Bert started last on the grid and then threaded his way up to second. On the last lap, in Turn Fourteen, Bert and Dave slid around the corner and drag-raced to the checker. Inches separated their bumpers!” Denliker, Grayson, and Salih again scored solo wins. Denliker won the Spirit of Club Racing award for continuing to race all weekend despite multiple challenges.

As always, the CMP event included a huge celebration off the race track. Race chairman Jack Sugameli notes, “Saturday-night activities included a full buffet dinner for everyone—a barbecue, an awards ceremony, night drifting under the lights, and a band. We served a little over 200 people dinner, and people stayed late; a bunch of people decorated their paddock spaces for Halloween, and there were kids in costume trick-or-treating.”

The drifting event, run on the CMP go-kart track, was a successful first for BMW CCA, drawing about a dozen participants. JP Mikula’s report on the event will appear in Roundel.

Martin Bullen served as competition steward; Mirril McMullen, Ann Massagee, Steve Whitcomb, and Hunter Dyer served as tech stewards; and Larry Fletcher ran timing and scoring.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor.

Lead photo by Ed Vega

The post Racing Lines | Spec Class Racers Swarm at Carolina Motorsports Park appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines | Returning to Road Atlanta, a BMW CCA Club Racing Fixture

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:00:32 +0000

As club racers return to Road Atlanta in November for the penultimate event of the 2025 season, it is important to note that the Peachtree Chapter event has been a mainstay of the Club Racing series since its earliest days. The first race there in 1995 happened before Racing Lines became a fixture in Roundel. In 1996, the November race at Road Atlanta was covered in person, and a report appeared in the magazine.

A look back at that event sheds light on the series’ early days, and provides 2025 racers with a context for the traditions that they will no doubt uphold with style. The 1996 race drew 32 participants who ran a twenty-lap sprint race. Alfred DuPont of Delaware took the overall win in an A-Modified supercharged E36 M3 (shown in the lead photo) after a race-long battle with New Jersey’s Gary Bossert in a D-Modified E30 M3. Both racers were coming off wins in October; Bossert had won at New Hampshire International Speedway and DuPont had scored his first win at Mid-Ohio. (As a side note, do not attempt to compare 1996 classes to those run in the Tire Rack Series in 2025; many of the labels may be the same, but the technical specs have changed dramatically.)

Gary Bossert finished second overall and first in class [Brian Morgan photo]

The 1996 podium at Road Atlanta was rounded out by I-Prepared winner Don Salama in an E30 M3. Salama, of course, has gone on to prominence in professional racing as the chief strategist for Turner Motorsport. Turner himself was in the pack at Road Atlanta in ’96, finishing sixth overall and first in L-Prepared in a 325iS.

Stan Parker, a fixture in club racing for many years as a competition steward, finished fourth at Road Atlanta in an H-Prepared-winning E30 M3, and Manny Kruger, who would go on to be a perennial front runner in BMW CCA Club Racing, finished just behind Parker, finishing second in I-Prepared in an E36 M3. Rounding out the top ten after Turner were Dave Chenoweth, third in I-Prepared in an E30 M3; Peter Klein, first in I-Stock in an E30 M3; Holland Hale, second in I-Stock in an E30 M3; and Billy Revis, third in I-Stock in yet another E30 M3—one of the seven finishing in the top ten.

Gary Bossert, Alfred DuPont, and Don Salama (left to right) shared the podium [Brian Morgan photo]

Top-ten runners Gary Bossert, Stan Parker, and Peter Klein have all passed away in the years since that race.

Two racers who competed at Road Atlanta in 1996 are still active in the series in 2025: Ross Karlin, currently our chief competition steward, is still racing the same E21 320i that he piloted to an E-Modified win in ’96, and Fred Landwehr, who finished sixth in I-Sport in an E36 M3, now competes in an M235iR running in the M40i-R Spec class.

BMW CCA Club Racing founder Scott Hughes served as competition steward for the 1996 race, while timing-and-scoring duties were handled by Nanci Maloney and Steve Maguire.

Back to the present: At deadline time, 44 racers were registered for the November 2025 race. They will no doubt put on a great show while upholding a long-standing tradition in BMW CCA Club Racing. Meanwhile, if anyone has the results from Road Atlanta 1995, please send them to briansmorgan@comcast.net, and I will include them in the 2025 Road Atlanta race report.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor

Lead photo by Brian Morgan

The post Racing Lines | Returning to Road Atlanta, a BMW CCA Club Racing Fixture appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines | U.S. Racers Once Again Capture Can-Am Challenge Trophy

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 13:00:45 +0000

The fifth edition of the Tire Rack series’ Can-Am Challenge once again went to American club racers. The 2025 results were announced by club racing chairman Mirril McMullen at the Road America O’Fast race.

Racers competing for the championship could score points during five 2025 race weekends, including Watkin Glen International in May, New Jersey’s Thunderbolt in June, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in June, New Jersey’s Lightning in August, and Watkins Glen again in September. Since no Canadian racers ran at either Thunderbolt or Lightning—both countries must be represented in order for the race venue to be included in the challenge—the championship was decided by results in the CTMP event and the two Watkins Glen events. Racers who register first from each country are paired by class, with the Canadians selected first and the Americans paired with them. The standard BMW Club Racing points system is used to calculate the points from each weekend.

Steve Barnett ran his B-Modified F82 M4 in this year’s Can-Am Challenge [etech photo]

This year the competitors ran in the B-Modified, PWR3, PWR4, and I-Sport classes.

Warren Wulff ran for the American team in this year’s Can-Am Challenge in his B-Modified E92 M3 [Susan Dobson photo]

Twelve racers scored points in this year’s challenge: U.S. racers Warren Wulff (B-Modified E92 M3), Ryan White (PWR4 E46 M3), Charles Benoit (I-Sport E36 M3), Ron Hougham (PWR3 E46 M3), Mirril McMullen (PWR2 E36 323is, Brooks Friedeman (B-Modified F82 M4 GT4), and Keith Primozic (PWR3 E36 M3); and Canadian racers Sarah Lewis (PWR3 E92 3351), Alan Lewis (PWR4 E46 M3), Serguei Izvoztchikov (B-Modified E4 M3), Francois Metivier (I-Sport E36 M3), and Steve Barnett (B-Modified F82 M4).—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor.

Lead photo courtesy of BMW CCA Club Racing

The post Racing Lines | U.S. Racers Once Again Capture Can-Am Challenge Trophy appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines | O’Fast Indeed: Quick Classes Dominate at Road America

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:30:11 +0000

Running at—or even near—the front of the pack in the October O’Fast races at Wisconsin’s famed Road America circuit required a high-horsepower race car running in one of the Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series’ quickest classes. Overall winners Robert Chang (E46 M3) and Todd Brown (E46 B46) ran in C-Modified, and two-time overall winner Cory Deeds drove an F82 M4 GT4 in PWR5, the fastest of the series’ PWR classes.

Four races were run on the 4.048-mile track, including: a Thursday-afternoon sprint race, a more lightly subscribed Thursday-afternoon one-hour enduro run on the heels of the sprint, the feature sprint race on Friday afternoon, and a final sprint late on Saturday morning. The Badger Bimmers Chapter hosted the races along with a BMW CCA driving school event.

National C-Mod points leaders Robert Chang and Todd Brown battle at Road America [Susan Dobson photo]

The Thursday sprint was a battle between Chang and Brown, front-runners for the 2025 national championship in the Tire Rack series. Chang, who would win by a scant 0.082 seconds, had driven the same car at the 2010 O’Fest races at Road America; it appears in the image of the pack run here a few weeks ago, where Chang’s car is just behind Steve Bassen’s E30 M3 in the second row. In Wisconsin, Chang said after the race, “[That] was my first time at the track, and my first year racing. Fifteen years later I’m back with the same car and chassis, but everything in it has been upgraded—still a C-M car. but a lot faster, and the driver wiser!”

Early in the race, Chang took the lead from Brown, who drove a Strom Motorsports-built E46 3 Series powered by a B48D four-cylinder turbocharged engine. Chang held on for the win despite last-lap drama. “At the very last turn, I had a huge throttle lag—and that’s where Todd Brown took the opportunity to pass on the inside,” Chang says. “As he was initiating his pass, I immediately dropped into second to find some throttle, fuel, and torque so that I could carry momentum close to his rear. There wasn’t any further lag after this, and I just kept the pedal floored with precise shifting. I saw what was barely enough space between Todd’s car on my right and another on my left, plus another car just ahead immediately in my path; it was just enough [room] to make it happen, and I squeezed in to take the win at a difference of 0.082 seconds. That was as close as I’ve been to the checker with another racer—and going down the back straight, Todd and I gave each other the thumbs-up. We both acknowledged the competitiveness we carry.”

Brown agreed, noting, “[Chang] had more ponies than I did, and edged me by a quarter car-length. It was truly one of the best races of my career from a strategy perspective.”

Cory Deeds took two overall wins and two additional class wins [Jon van Woerden photo]

B-Mod winner Brooks Friedeman (F82 M4 GT4) rounded out the podium, and Cory Deeds, winning PWR5 in another F82 M4 GT4, finished fourth overall. PWR4 winner Ryan Osiecki finished seventh overall in an E92 M3. I-Prepared winner Matt Noonan (E36 M3) finished eleventh; he had traveled to the race with his brother-in-law, fellow I-Prepared competitor Greg Teese, who was plagued with car trouble at Road America. Noonan would go on to win I-Prepared in all three sprints, battling with Chad Waddell in another E36 M3. He said afterward, “This weekend I managed to stay consistent while Chad was right on my heels. My best lap was a 2:28.836, and his was 2:29.115. We were both pushing hard. Having Scott from Rooster Hall Racing on the radio helped me stay focused. When Chad started laying down those 2:29s, I knew I had to dig deep—but keep my rhythm. I could almost hear my late daughter Nicole in my head: ‘Be smooth, Dad—smooth is fast.’ That’s all I heard for the last four laps.”

Matt Noonan and Chad Waddell dice at Road America [Jon van Woerden photo]

Noonan’s report on his trip to Road America and his 2025 season is posted on the BMW CCA Club Racing Facebook site.

Additional class winners in the first sprint were Jesse Clark, beginning his sweep of the sixteen-car strong Spec E46 class in his 330Ci; BMW CCA Club Racing chairman Mirril McMullen, winning PWR2 in his E36 323is; and Keith Primozic, running solo in PWR3 in his E36 M3. Thirty-nine competitors contested the race.

Jesse Clark swept Spec E46 [Jon van Woerden photo]

Since the enduro began not long after the Thursday sprint race had finished, a number of racers elected to skip it, and several others went out for a few laps but did not run for the entire hour; Chang was one of those who did not run. Brown took the overall and C-Mod wins ahead of PWR5 repeat winner Deeds and Pacific Region racer Vic Pizzino, who won PWR4 in an E46 325i. PWR4 runner-up Erik Pylypchuk followed Pizzino across the line, just ahead of Osiecki and co-driver Randy Mueller, who had won two O’Fest races at Road America in 2010. Clark teamed with James Clay to win Spec E46, and McMullen won PWR2. There were no other class winners; fourteen racers were listed as completing the sprint.

Ryan Osiecki won PWR4 in two sprints and Randy Mueller won the class in one sprint in Osiecki’s car #608 [Jon van Woerden photo]

The feature sprint, run on Friday afternoon, went to Deeds, with B-Mod winner Friedeman second and PWR5 runner-up Roy Lipner (F82 M4 GT4) third. Osiecki won PWR4 with a fifth-place overall finish, and I-Prepared winner Matt Noonan broke into the top ten, finishing ninth overall. Adrian Popescu scored a C-Mid win in his E30 M3 as Brown exited at the end of the warm-up lap with turbo failure; and Chang, who had led before a single-car incident brought out a late-race black flag, dropped out near the end with a clutch problem. Yakov Bielak (E46 330i) won PWR2, and Clark repeated in Spec E46. The feature sprint class winners are shown in the top photo of this story.

Deeds won again in the final sprint race on Saturday, with B-Modified winner Steve Barnett (F82 M4) finishing second overall and B-Mod runner-up Faisal Khan (F80 M3) taking third. Mueller piloted Osiecki’s car to fourth overall and the PWR4 win, while Noonan scored his third I-Prepared victory with a strong seventh-overall finish. Popescu won again in C-Mod, Clark completed his sweep of Spec E46, and McMullen won again in PWR2. Keith Primozic (PWR3 E36 M3) scored his second class win of the weekend.

Keith Primozic, who ran solo in PWR3, was one of many racers who made a long tow to Road America [Jon van Woerden photo]

Most racers traveled long distances to get to Road America. All who weighed in after the event had high praise for the circuit, the facilities, and the job that BMW CCA Club Racing management and the Badger Bimmers Chapter did in running the event. Cory Deeds’ comments typify racers’ sentiments: “It truly was a great event at one of America’s most iconic race tracks. What an amazing time of year to visit Elkhart Lake. with its fall colors nearing the peak of its glory—crisp, sunny mornings bleeding into perfect racing conditions! The event was well organized and running swiftly on schedule. If I could race only one event a year, this would be it! I hope that it can be on the schedule every year.”

PWR3 racer Keith Primozic, among the many who towed a long distance to get to the circuit, added, “I would come back every year if we could. Even given the thirteen-hour tow. It is that good!”

Bruce Heersink, Phil Abrami, and Wayne Dobson served as competition stewards; Bruce Smith, April Massagee, and Hunter Dyer were the tech stewards; and Roland Nieves ran timing-and-scoring.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor

Lead photo by Jon van Woerden

The post Racing Lines | O’Fast Indeed: Quick Classes Dominate at Road America appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines: AutoSport Fabrication Supports 13 Cars at Watkins Glen

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 17:55:53 +0000

Peter Agapoglou’s Plainville, Connecticut, shop, AutoSport Fabrication, supported 13 racers—over 20 percent of the field—during the recent Watkins Glen Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing weekend. Roundel asked Agapoglou to describe what went into supporting that many cars at the event.

Roundel: Tell me a little about your shop, and how you became involved with BMW CCA Club Racing.

Agapoglou: AutoSport Fabrication is the Northeast’s one-stop road-racing shop. We design, construct, and maintain only race cars. We focus on BMW, but can build anything. Shaun McKenzie invited me to join about six years ago to get a feel for the club.

Roundel: What was involved in supporting thirteen race cars at the Glen? Was there prep in advance of the race at your shop—for some racers, or for all of them? If so, what did it involve?

Agapoglou: Ten of the cars were prepped recently by ASF prior to the event; the other three maintain their own cars. We perform a detailed and thorough inspection and handle any items. All cars get aligned to WGI specs, and 50 percent usually get dynoed before every race.

Roundel: What does active support at the track involve?

Agapoglou: We collect data from the drivers and their tires after every session, managing tire pressures and static setup. We address any handling issues and maintain the cars over the weekend.

Roundel: How many people do you bring?

Agapoglou: Three clients requested support—including myself. Depending on the event, it can range from one to twelve people. The rest take care of their own cars and escalate any technical questions to me directly.

Greg Miceli scored four PWR3 podium finishes at the Glen as the AutoSport Fabrication team addressed his car’s ABS issue [Susan Dobson photo]

Roundel: Were there any cars that required special attention because of something that happened at the track?

Agapoglou: We have maintained Greg Miceli’s #828 PWR3 E36 M3 for over ten years now. The master cylinder failed during a brake bleed Friday night; we replaced it, only to have a soft pedal after bleeding. On Saturday morning we bled the brakes again, and the right front stopped bleeding—no fluid, no air, nothing! We quickly traced the problem to the ABS system. After 40 minutes of struggling, partially out of desperation, I grabbed the anvils out of two jack stands and used them to hammer on the ABS body while we bled the brakes. The right front freed up, and he was able to reach the podium twice that day!

Roundel: Which cars did you support at Watkins Glen?

Agapoglou: There was my car [a C-Modified E36 M3], that finished first in C-Mod in Race One, second in C-Mod in Race Two, and third in class in the feature race.

Greg Miceli (PWR3 E36 M3) had four podium finishes.

Oner Khera (Spec E46 330Ci) led half of the feature race, only to catch a lapper into Turn Eleven and get caught letting P2 and P3 by, leaving him in P3 for the feature. He also put down one of the fastest Spec E46 laps at the Glen in history!

We also supported Scott Glenney, who did a personal best of 2:00.6 in a lightly modified E46 M3 in C-Modified, running in a class of 370–430-horsepower monsters.

Rob McInerney (Spec E46 330i) had two podium finishes.

Greg Martin (I-Sport E36 M3) finished on the podium in the feature race.

Other AutoSport clients at Watkins Glen included James Bee (PWR3 E36 M3), Rich Brainerd (Spec E46 330Ci), Joe Fuchs (Spec E46 330i), Flann Lippincott (Spec E46 330Ci), Shaun McKenzie (C-Modified E36 M3), and Mike Wittman (Spec E46 330Ci).

Peter Agapoglou, flanked by Wayne Dobson (left) and Ross Karlin (right) received the Bud Merrill Spirit of Club Racing award for his efforts in supporting racers and assisting Club Racing leaders in addressing a scheduling issue [Susan Dobson photo]

Roundel: What else should readers know about your work preparing for and supporting club racers at the Glen?

Agapoglou: The Glen has become an annual end-of-season gathering for ASF clients. Last year sixteen clients joined us! We prepare for it all year with testing and honing in-car setups. We also usually have two driver coaches helping clients extract as much as possible out of their weekend. While we continue racing down south through December, WGI is an end-of-season race for many clients.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor.

Top Photo: Susan Dobson

The post Racing Lines: AutoSport Fabrication Supports 13 Cars at Watkins Glen appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines: BMW CCA Club Racing Returns to Watkins Glen

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 17:03:30 +0000

The autumn Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing events at Watkins Glen always draw some of the largest fields in the series, and the races always deliver intense competition. The 2025 event, run in mid-September and hosted by BMW CCA Club Racing, remained true to form, drawing more than 60 racers; they were divided into two run groups and produced five different overall winners in six races.

Emrich Stellar won the first two Group A sprints at Watkins Glen [Susan Dobson photo]

Group A was contested by 30 racers, among them seventeen in Spec E46, the largest class on hand, and nine in PWR3, the quickest class in each race. Emrich Stellar won the Friday sprint in his E36 M3, finishing ahead of PWR3 racers Greg Miceli (E36 M3) and Andrew Palumbo (E46 M3). Jesse Clark crossed the line in the Spec E46-winning 330Ci in fourth, ahead of class competitor Ben Hostetler, while Club Racing chairman Mirril McMullen won PWR2 in his E36 323i—beginning a four-race sweep of the class—and Bob Martin won K-Prepared at the wheel of his E30 325i, running solo in the class.

Stellar again took the overall and PWR3 wins in the Saturday-morning Group A sprint race, followed by PWR3 competitors Sean Dwyer (E46 M3) and Miceli. Seven PWR3 racers led the pack to the checkered flag, with PWR2 winner McMullen eighth—the first non-PWR3 racer to cross the finish line. Clark repeated his win in Spec E46, with Hostetler again close behind; in fact, he set a new Spec E46 lap record with a 2:08.835. Martin scored another solo win in K-Prepared.

Spec E46 front runners Ben Hostetler, Oner Khera, and Jesse Clark dice at the Glen [Susan Dobson photo]

The Saturday-afternoon feature race was a slightly different affair. With Stellar exiting early, Dwyer took command, winning overall (and in PWR3) ahead of Miceli and Mike Dellutri (E36 M3). It was Clark versus Hostetler again in Spec E46, with Clark holding on for his third class win. PWR2 repeat winner McMullen finished sixth overall, and Martin took his third solo win in K-Prepared.

In the Sunday-morning Group A finale, Dwyer was again the overall and PWR3 winner, with Dellutri and Miceli rounding out the podium. In the lead about halfway through the race, Clark had to pull into the pits, leaving Hostetler to win Spec E46 ahead of Robert McInerny (330i) and Turner Hilliard (330Ci). McMullen closed out his sweep of PWR2, and Martin finished his solo sweep of K-Prepared.

Group B leaders Vanjonack, Friedeman, and Brown run nose to tail [Susan Dobson photo]

In Friday’s Group B sprint race, Brooks Friedeman (B-Mod F82 M4 GT4) started from the pole and led the 34-car pack from the start, ahead of Peter Agapoglou (C-Mod E36 M3), Todd Brown (C-Modified E46 M3) and a long-absent Will Vanjonack, who had returned to club racing with a C-Mod E36 M3. Several single-car incidents brought out a full-course yellow flag on the second lap; the long caution period allowed necessary track repairs. As a result, the track went green with less than five minutes remaining. Agapoglou, Brown, Vanjonack, and Friedeman were running at the front of the pack at that point, but Friedeman regained the lead, taking the overall and B-Mod wins ahead of C-Mod winner Agapoglou, Brown, and Vanjonack. Other class winners included David DeJesus (E46 M3) in PWR4, Michael Wetzel (F87 M2 CSR) running solo in M2 Spec, Matt Noonan (E36 M3) in I-Prepared , Michael Saul (E36 M3) in I-Sport, and Jason Alexander commanding a Cayman GT4 in the all-Porsche EXB class. (Alexander was one of twelve graduates of the BimmerWorld BMW CCA Club Racing school run at the Glen during the race weekend.)

Will Vanjonack scored two C-Mod wins on his return to Club Racing [Susan Dobson photo]

In the second Group A sprint on Saturday morning, Vanjonack took the overall and C-Mod wins, demonstrating that he belonged among the fastest C-Mod racers, even though he had not run in the series in more than half a decade. “I have been away from BMW CCA Club Racing for the better part of nine years—my last race with BMW was in 2019,” Vanjonack said afterward. My race car then embarked on a multi-year upgrade program, and although it’s been finished for the last couple of years, we had not run it. This was its maiden voyage since 2019, and given the breadth of changes, I am very happy with the way it turned out. I’d say we are about 85 percent of the way to getting it completely dialed in.”

Vanjonack turned a 1:57.121 on his way to winning the Saturday-morning sprint, over two seconds faster than current C-Mod points leader Robert Chang, who ran a 1:59.729. Friedeman finished second to Vanjonack, winning B-Mod. C-Mod runner-up Peter Agapoglou (E36 M3) finished third, Brandt Stover (C-Mod E46 M3) finished fourth, and Chang finished fifth. In all other classes, the Friday winners won again: Noonan in I-Prepared, DeJesus in PWR4, Saul in I-Sport, Wetzel in M2 Spec, and Alexander in EXB.

David DeJesus took three PWR4 wins [Susan Dobson photo]

Vanjonack took his second overall win of the weekend in the Saturday-afternoon feature, with Chang finishing second, just 0.23 seconds off Vanjonack’s pace, and Agapoglou rounding out the podium. Agapoglou’s AutoSport Fabrication shop supported thirteen racers at the Glen; he would go on to win the Spirit of Club Racing award for his efforts over the course of the event.

Matt Noonan swept I-Prepared at Watkins Glen [Susan Dobson photo]

Repeated class wins in the feature sprint went to Noonan in I-Prepared, DeJesus in PWR4, Wetzel in M2 Spec, and Alexander in EXB. First-time winners for the weekend were Warren Wulff (E92 M3) in B-Modified and Gordy Wagner (E36 M3) in I-Sport.

I-Sport winners Michael Saul (595) and Gordy Wagner (36) run together [Susan Dobson photo]

Chang won on Sunday ahead of C-Mod runner-up Todd Brown; the two are front-runners for the C-Mod national title this year. Friedeman finished third overall, scoring his third B-Mod win of the weekend, and Alexander, in fourth, completed his sweep of EXB. Noonan won I-Prepared, sweeping the class for the weekend after spending the last race battling with I-Prepared competitor Job Nieman; Wagner won again in I-Sport, and Erik Pylypchuk took a solo win in PWR4 with his E92 335i.

Ross Karlin and Asher Hyman served as competition stewards, technical-stewarding chores for the large field were handled by Bruce Smith, Dick Cadieux, Tim Bradford, and Ben Greisler; and timing-and-scoring chores were adroitly handled by Roland Nieves and Larry Fletcher.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor

Top Photo: Susan Dobson

The post Racing Lines: BMW CCA Club Racing Returns to Watkins Glen appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>

Racing Lines: From O’Fest 2010 to O’Fast 2025: BMW CCA Club Racing prepares for a weekend at Road America

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 15:41:45 +0000

The October 2025 O’Fast event at Road America is promising to be exciting and competitive, with multiple sprint races and an enduro scheduled—with the expected participation of many national title contenders in multiple classes. At deadline time, 39 racers are enrolled. The list is likely to grow as the event date approaches.

In 2010, when BMW CCA Club Racing ran its O’Fest races at Road America, the pack was about the same size, with 40 racers on hand for two sprints and an enduro, spread across three days. Canada’s Peter Carroll, the two-time defending C-Modified national champion at the time, won the Friday sprint in his E36 M3; he was followed across the line by Florida’s Randy Mueller in his C-Mod E46 M3.

Peter Carroll won the first race at O’Fest 2010 [Brian Morgan photo]

Mueller had missed qualifying for the Friday race because of an out-of-town meeting. He started from the back of the pack, moved up to second overall after six laps, and set the fastest lap time—but he could not catch Carroll. Rounding out the podium behind Carroll and Mueller was Steve Bassen in his C-Mod E30 M3, the same car that Sri Haputantri runs in the Tire Rack series today.

Steve Bassen and James Clay ran Bassen’s E30 M3 at Road America. Sri Haputantri races it in 2025 [Brian Morgan photo]

Mueller would go on to win both the Saturday enduro and the Sunday sprint. On Saturday, Carroll and Robert Chang (another C-Mod E46 M3) finished behind him. On Sunday, Mueller won the final sprint, this time with James Clay finishing second in Bassen’s car and Carroll finishing third.

Mueller would go on to win the C-Mod national title in 2010; Carroll would regain it in 2011, and Mueller would win it again in 2012. The late Bud Merrill, who would later be memorialized with the series’ Bud Merrill Spirit of Club Racing award, shared competition stewarding chores with the late Dean Croucher and Clement Schmitt; Bruce Smith, Dick Cadieux, and Patrick Spikes served as tech stewards; and Larry Fletcher and Roland Nieves served as timing-and-scoring stewards.

No doubt the coming October races will have a major impact on multiple national champion chases in 2025.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor.

Lead photo of Randy Mueller leading the pack at Road America in 2010 by Brian Morgan.

The post Racing Lines: From O’Fest 2010 to O’Fast 2025: BMW CCA Club Racing prepares for a weekend at Road America appeared first on BimmerLife.

]]>