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DNS at Daytona Results in a False Start to Hartanto’s Pro Career

With high levels of anticipation and equally high levels of expectations placed upon himself, Andrie Hartanto entered the first race of his full-time professional racing career after joining BimmerWorld Racing. In his first testing weekend with a new car, Hartanto and co-driver, Tyler Cooke demonstrated a healthy pace at Daytona International Speedway, proving that they possessed front-running potential amid a fast and talented field of drivers. Hartanto returned to Daytona, eager to kick off the first race of the season as he and Cooke were confidently poised to challenge the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge ST field in their #81 BMW 328i.

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Prior to Qualifying, the CTSCC teams had a series of three practice sessions. Unfortunately for the #81 car, mechanical problems occurred early and persisted throughout testing. In the very few successful laps ran at speed, lap times were competitive, however with too many risks and not enough time to mitigate them, the team was unable to deliver the #81 car to the track for qualifying. Further exacerbating the frustration was seeing the #84 sister BMW qualify just off the pole position.

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The BimmerWorld Racing team worked diligently to prepare the #81 for the race and it appeared that Hartanto and Cooke would be issued the exciting challenge of charging hard through the field from back of the grid. Fate would not allow such an outcome however, as the car once again encountered issues during the fourth and final practice session prior to the race.

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With the stakes too high to discard caution to the wind, the team elected to preserve the car for future races rather than to force the issue.  Hartanto and Cooke observed the race from the sidelines and the pit wall with the rest of the BimmerWorld Racing team, cheering on teammates James Clay and Jason Briedis in the #84 car.

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“Obviously, I’m really disappointed for my team and my sponsors, more so the fact that we came out the first race without any points. It will put significant dent to my aspiration of winning the championship.  In the end, it is racing and stuff happens. We will have an uphill battle from now on and can’t afford any setbacks. My feeling with the team is positive and I’m sure that we can bounce back. Sebring is one of the toughest tracks to learn, however, we have more than a month break, which I will use to train myself thoroughly,” stated Hartanto following the disappointing news that the team would have to withdraw the #81 BMW 328i from the race.

This post was written by Michael Ostby