Comments are off

Hartanto Earns Best Quali Position to Date at Watkins Glen, Rain Provides Adversity

Following a stellar sixth place finish at Laguna Seca, the BimmerWorld Racing team was poised to continue its positive trend at Watkins Glen. It was at the historic circuit that driver, Andrie Hartanto put the No. 81 BMW F30 328i in its best qualifying position to date with a lap that was fast enough to put the team in the fifth position on the grid.

While Hartanto’s qualifying performance was a major boost to the duo of Hartanto and Tyler Cooke, the weather on race day presented the team with additional challenges. Before the race start, the rain began to pour.

From the very start of the race, Hartanto’s primary goal was to maintain a cool demeanor in the face of treacherous race conditions. Nothing was more crucial than keeping the car out of trouble and protecting the team’s position in spite of torrential downpours and a wet, chaotic race.

“The rain always brings its challenges,” Hartanto said. “Watkins Glen, in particular, is massively challenging due to the amount of mixed surfaces you drive across. When you incorporate some serious rain into the mix, those grip differences demand that you stay on top of your game.”

“This was the first race where we started near the front, so we had high hopes. I’ve always performed well in the rain, so in spite of how intense the conditions were, I felt my stint went really well. This marks two solid performances in a row for Tyler and me, and I’m hopeful we can continue this into Mosport.”

Visibility challenges meant that once Cooke took over, simply getting the car successfully over the finish line was tantamount. Cooke kept the car out of trouble in spite of the conditions and the No. 81 finished in 14th position. The Bimmerworld Racing team now sets it sights north of the border on the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, affectionately known as Mosport.

Single Blog Title