BimmerWorld will return to the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series in 2017 with the two Street Tuner class F30 328s that it ran in 2016. Team owner James Clay and Tyler Cooke will continue to pilot the #84 328i, while Greg Liefooghe and Ari Balogh, who ran a Porsche Cayman for Clay’s Next Level European team last season, will drive car #81.
The lineup does not include long time BimmerWorld racer Seth Thomas. Also missing are Dan Rogers, another BimmerWorld veteran racer, and the duo of Jerry Kaufman and Kyle Tilley, who raced car #81 in 2016.
Clay will not field the Next Level European team in 2017, instead focusing on the two Street Turner BMWs and looking forward to 2018, when the new M4 GT4 will be available.
Clay says, “We are rooted in BMW, love the brand, and I want to focus fully on our core strength. With the Series’ changes pending, including GT4 and TCR adoption, we won’t build a third BMW to join the fight but instead concentrate on running the two F30s we have. Losing Seth and Dan for the 2017 season feels like a loss in the family, but having Ari and Greg in a BMW will be great. Ari is a BMW guy at heart, and Greg joined the team in a BMW in 2011, and both are eager to be back in the Munich car.”
Thinking of a future that includes the drivers who will not be along for the ride in 2017, Clay adds, ‘With BMW's GT4 M4 on the horizon, we are already looking forward to a reunion tour after the 2017 season,"
Testing for the 2017 season begins with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 6-8. The first race of the season is a four-hour enduro at Daytona on January 27.—Brian S. Morgan
