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JaguarRSR HEADS TO CALIFORNIA AFTER ITS BEST QUALIFYING OF THE SEASON WITH ENDURANCE ON ITS MIND

  EAST LANSING, Michigan (September 13, 2011) - From one side of the country to the next, JaguarRSR prepares for a six-hour endurance event at the picturesque Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Round Eight of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr?n.
 
Two weeks ago, the sophomore team was on the East Coast racing on the streets of Baltimore where it achieved its best qualifying efforts of the season.  The Jaguar XKR's qualified in the 7th and 9th positions of the most competitive global sports car series in the world. This weekend, they head to California to return to road course racing. The Monterey Peninsula has played host to world-class sports car racing for more than 50 years. The downhill Corkscrew Turn provides one of the most challenging single corners of the season.
 
"The corners at Laguna Seca are exact opposite of the corners in Baltimore," said John Gentilozzi, JaguarRSR Technical Director. "Whereas Baltimore was a lot of stop, 90-degree turn and go again, a lot of Laguna's corners are flowing, high-speed turns. We will place emphasis on downforce and platform stability to try and maintain that downforce as the JaguarRSR XKR GT moves under acceleration, braking, and cornering. Strategically in a six-hour race at a track that is difficult to make passes on, we have to be smart about our pit strategy and conserving our drivers' energy."
 
The team will field two XKRs in the 39-car ALMS field, the Series' largest at the track since the first event in 1999. This will be the third start for the XKR at this venue, making its first appearance back in 2009.
 
Behind the wheel of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT will see the continued partnership of Americans Rocky Moran, Jr. and PJ Jones. Moran considers Laguna Seca his home track, as he was born in Pasadena and currently resides with his family in Ladera Ranch, California. He essentially began his racing career on the famed 2.238-mile course. From competition in the Jim Russell Mazda series to Barber Dodge and then Atlantics, he recorded multiple fast laps, podiums and front row starts, including a victory in Atlantics. Jones' is also no stranger to this venue, having won the pole and race while competing in the IMSA GTP Championship and multiple starts in the Champ Car World Series.
 
Bruno Junqueira and Ken Wilden join forces again in the cockpit of the #99 cat. The Brazilian, Junqueira, has made four starts there in Champ Car, earning consecutive second-place finishes during his last two visits. The JaguarRSR lineup is complete with Canadian Wilden, who has made seven starts at Laguna. He has a vast experience of machines on the challenging course ranging from open-wheel (Atlantics), Trans-Am, Grand-Am (Prototype and GS class). He has been on the pole twice and won as many times.
 
Qualifying for the ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey presented by Tequila Patrón will be aired live on ESPN3.com on Friday, September 16 at 3:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. ET). The green flag is set for 1:30 pm PT (4:30 pm ET) on Saturday, September 17 with live race coverage available on ESPN3.com. ESPN2 will televise the race from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 18.
 
International viewers can see the event live on MotorsTV, Rogers Sports Net, Fox Sports Middle East and Fox Latin America Networks.  Live radio broadcasts are available at www.americanlemans.com.
 
WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY
PJ Jones, co-driver of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT
"My most favorite race track in the country is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. I have a lot of great memories there from my GTP days; we set the all-time track record, won pole and the race. With the track being in central California, my home state, it is picturesque, has a lot of elevation changes, and truly is just one of the best race tracks. To have a place where my dad (Parnelli Jones) has raced a lot - there is just so much history for me and my family which adds to why this is such a special place to me. I am looking forward to going there behind the wheel of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT. Being a six hour race, I think, helps us because our reliability has been getting progressively better and better. The longer the race the better chances we have to earn a solid finish. It will be interesting to see how our cars are going to be there, I have a strong feeling that we should be pretty competitive because of the layout and how it should suit the strengths in the Jaguar. I have confidence in the team that we will finish the race with a good result."
 
Bruno Junqueira, co-driver of the #99 JaguarRSR XKR GT
"I like the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca race track a lot. It is a beautiful area, has a lot of great race fans and is a challenging track. I have had great success in the past during my open-wheel era. This year I started a new chapter of my racing career in sports car racing and I am looking forward to returning to this track behind the wheel of the Jaguar GT car - it will be a whole new experience. I also look forward to it being an endurance event; six hours will make for a long race and a good fight. I hope our XKR will run strong and we can have a good finish to keep with my good results at Laguna Seca."
 
Rocky Moran, Jr., co-driver of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT
"I absolutely love Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, it is where I learned to race cars originally and I consider it my home track. I love the elevation the track has to offer and I love turn 4, turn 6, turn 9, and turn 10, which are all very full wood corners. Turn 6 is one of the best corners in motorsports when you hit it right. The JaguarRSR team has gained some valuable knowledge from the last two events and I expect this to translate into the best result of the year at Laguna Seca. It is a very long race; both PJ and I have extensive experience at this track, so we will be standing on the gas the entire time. Right now our car seems to be best in medium and slower corners, so we will work on developing the balance platform for the high-speed corners we will be navigating through at Laguna."
 
Ken Wilden, co-driver of the #99 JaguarRSR XKR GT
"I enjoy competing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. I'm looking forward to the elevation changes on the track, the JaguarRSR XKR GT did very well at Mosport under the same conditions. I think the AJ133 power will pull us well up the hill to the corkscrew. My hope is that we finish this race and continue to develop and learn. The team is persistent - doing a great job on development and working super hard. To have a good finish would be a good boost for them and great for Jaguar."

Here is an update of the RSR ALMS team which I will be driving for strating at Mosport

TRIVIA TIME: NAME THE WINNINGEST DRIVER ENTERED AT MOSPORT

The answer: JaguarRSR's Kenny Wilden with 11 victories!

2011-07-19

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JaguarRSR HAS CONFIDENCE AND EXPERIENCE FOR GT BATTLE NORTH OF THE BORDER

  EAST LANSING, Michigan (July 19, 2011) - JaguarRSR is right back into the GT fight as the team heads north of the border for Round Four of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr?n this weekend at Mosport International Raceway.

The multi-track facility located in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, less than an hour east of Toronto, is recognized as Canada's Home of Motorsports. It is more of a challenge compared to most other road courses; a track that is a dream and a nightmare to many drivers. The 2.459-mile track has a number of high-speed blind corners that go both up and down hill so the JaguarRSR XKR GT has to be ready to push the limits over hills and in banked corners. The team is confident heading into this weekend's event knowing last year they had a suitable car for this track and have taken lessons from Lime Rock to come back strong for a double top-ten GT finish.

"Mosport is a track where you have to have a lot of trust in the car," said John Gentilozzi, JaguarRSR Technical Director. "We need to spend a little bit of time with the drivers learning the layout of the circuit and the way you handle each corner behind the wheel of the JaguarRSR XKR GT. From the technical standpoint, Mosport puts focus on stability in high-speed corners as well as good braking at the end of the straightaway, which is fairly long relative to other some of the places we go. We know the Dunlop tires offer us an advantage and we want to maximize that over our stints."

Mosport veteran Ken Wilden will pair up with Bruno Junqueira behind the wheel of the #99 JaguarRSR XKR GT. The Oakville, Ontario native has been recognized as one of Canada's most accomplished road racers. The last time Wilden took to Mosport's historic track was in the SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series in 2010, where he set the track qualifying and race fast lap records on his way to a dominating victory. Mosport is Wilden's hometrack, where he devotes time as an instructor and coach for client track days. He has raced prototypes, showroom stock, endurance and Trans-Am cars there and been victorious. The team is honored to have him on board and he will be a huge asset because of his vast knowledge.

Returning behind the wheel of the #98 cat is the American duo of PJ Jones and Rocky Moran, Jr. Moran comments that "Lime Rock was a bittersweet weekend for the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT, although we had issues in qualifying and did not finish the race, PJ was able to drive up to 7th place and I am confident that we would have had at least a 5th or 6th place finish had we been able to keep going. I feel that the #98 Jaguar has improved dramatically and it will be enjoyable to continue developing the car with the team. Everyone member of the team is working hard so I am looking forward to giving them a great result."

The race weekend action will kick off on Friday, July 22 with practice. GT qualifying will take place at 3:50 pm ET on Saturday. The Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24 with ESPN2 airing the race starting at 10 pm ET. Live video coverage will be available at 2:50 pm ET on ESPN3.com in the US, and americanlemans.com for international users. Worldwide radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio at americanlemans.com. For more information on the broadcasts, go to americanlemans.com/tv.

WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY

PJ Jones, co-driver of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT

"I always enjoy going to Canada to race and have had some good success driving north of the border. The Canadians are true race fans, so it is always a great racing atmosphere. I like fast race tracks, and I know that is a specialty of Mosport, which will go good with our Jaguar XKR. I am hoping that we can have a good weekend. We saw a lot of encouraging signs at Lime Rock that show we are moving in the right direction and hopefully we can move up the grid this weekend and have a good, solid race."

Bruno Junqueira, co-driver of the #99 JaguarRSR XKR GT

"I look forward to racing at Mosport because everybody tells me that it is a really, really fast track. I love fast corners, so I think it will fit my driving style. I enjoy racing in Canada. The fans are always wonderful so I can't wait to get back there to put on a good show for them and for Jaguar in the #99 JaguarRSR XKR GT."

Rocky Moran, Jr., co-driver of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT

"I love driving at high speed, permanent road courses and Mosport stands out as a circuit that has really fast, flowing corners, elevation change and beautiful scenery. These are the types of tracks I live for, so I cannot wait to hit the track in the Jaguar."  

Ken Wilden, co-driver of the #99 JaguarRSR XKR GT

"I'm really looking forward to running at my home track with Jaguar. Mosport is a very demanding track and it we should have a good advantage there especially in terms of understanding how the track changes as the race goes on. I'm happy to have the opportunity to run again with RSR and Jaguar and look forward to a great weekend."

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For more information, please go to:www.RSRJaguar.com; www.americanlemans.com

For images of the JaguarRSR XKR GT, please click here
For any interview requests, high resolutions photos, etc. please contact Heather Haupt

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JaguarRSR RETURNS TO COMPETITION TO TAKE ON THE HEAT OF THE 2011 ALMS SEASON

EAST LANSING, Michigan (July 5, 2011) - Despite the near three month gap in the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr?n, JaguarRSR has been working diligently to enhance the performance of the boisterous JaguarRSR XKR GT and is looking to turn even more heads this weekend in Round Three at Lime Rock Park - the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, July 9.

Coming off the team's best finish of sixth at Long Beach in the ultra competitive GT field, the sophomore ALMS squad was elated for the opportunity to take advantage of some "down time". In mid-May, the team journeyed to the heart of NASCAR country in North Carolina to undertake a series of off-track tests designed to generate a wide range of performance enhancements. The first stop was Morse Measurements where the team fitted a XKR onto their Kinematics and Compliance Rig (K & C Rig). Next up was a 20-hour shift at the AeroDyn family of wind tunnels. The last stop was to the American home of damper partner Ohlins to utilize the seven-post shaker test facility.

Since the conclusion of those tests, JaguarRSR had been pouring over the huge mountain of data to reveal further performance secrets. After updates were made the team hit the track taking advantage of an opportunity to do some testing at Road Atlanta.

"It is hard to have such a big break in a season schedule, but we took every advantage of the down time to really focus on getting two cars ready for the heat of the season," said Paul Gentilozzi, JaguarRSR Principal Partner. "We have renovated our car systems and focused on weight reduction and distribution using our experience from Sebring and Long Beach. We saw great gains while testing these new developments at Road Atlanta and look forward to Lime Rock, a track that will give us a true test of what direction we have taken and where we are in the GT pack."

Lime Rock Park is 1.50-miles of natural-terrain road course with the breathtaking elevation changes in the village of Lakeville, Connecticut, in the state's northwest corner. It is a track that looks deceivingly simple, but is immensely challenging. Its uniqueness is that it is short, but actually quite fast. This race weekend is a short one with a limited amount of track time, so the team needs to be very efficient in finding the perfect race setup.

"The challenge for us is to make the XKR last the entire race in very warm weather and be very gentle on the Dunlop tires so that we can extract maximum performance out of them for a full stint," said John Gentilozzi, JaguarRSR Technical Director. "In the short practice time that we have, we will focus on making a good drivable car; obviously we are always looking for speed but we want to focus on making a consistent, fast race car."

Experience behind the wheel at such a venue also plays a vital role. PJ Jones returns to Lime Rock co-driving the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT. The American is a legend of his own at Lime Rock, as he holds the ultimate track record for fastest lap (43.112 seconds / 128.595 mph - set in a Toyota GTP car, which earned him a pole position). California native, Rocky Moran, Jr. makes his ALMS return after debuting with the team in Sebring and also has several years under his belt at this track while competing in the Barber Dodge Series. In his most recent visit he won the pole and lead the entire race before a rear tire went flat and failed with four corners to go.

Teaming up in the #99 car are veteran open-wheel drivers Cristiano da Matta and Bruno Junqueira. The Brazilian duo will be venturing out for their first run at Lime Rock, but with their vast knowledge of road and street course racing and familiarity from their teammates, they should get acclimated very quickly.

The team will have two practice sessions on Friday ahead of GT qualifying that afternoon at 3:45 pm ET. Following a 20-minute morning Warm Up session, the two hour and 45 minute race is scheduled to take the green flag at 2:05 pm local time on Saturday, July 9. Live video coverage will be available on ESPN3.com in the US and americanlemans.com for international users. Worldwide radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio at americanlemans.com. ESPN2 will air the race starting at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10. Live international coverage can be seen on Saturday via MotorsTV, Fox Sports Middle East and Fox Latin American Networks. Visit www.americanlemans.com for more information.

BimmerWorld Making Great Strides With GRAND-AM BMW M3 V8s
5/17/11

Progress and pace of BimmerWorld's new BMW M3 V8s at last weekend's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Virginia International Raceway gives the team great optimism

BimmerWorld's M3 V8s vie for the lead in the GS division, with contact forcing one car out while the other earns a top 10 finish.



Street Tuner entries from BimmerWorld look to resume the fight at Lime Rock.

Dublin, VA

BimmerWorld Racing entered the Bosch Engineering 200 with strong expectations for a successful weekend, and managed to come away with a top 10 finish with one of its BMW M3 V8s, but it was the potential shown by the big BMWs that has the team riding a high.

Strong qualifying performances by both M3s at Virginia International Raceway--the team's home track--was the first indicator that the BMW experts have made big strides with the Bavarian machines.

"We've used VIR as a test track to gauge our progress for quite some time," said BimmerWorld owner/driver James Clay. "It demands everything possible from a racecar, and it also exposes any weaknesses that need to be addressed. We still have more speed to find with our BimmerWorld M3 V8s, but after an intense beginning to the year where we started from scratch with brand-new cars, we're happy to see how competitive our GS cars have become."

Bob Michaelian and Ken Wilden brought the No. 78 Bizrate.com BimmerWorld BMW M3 V8 home in 10th at VIR, while the No. 79 Johnstone Supply M3 V8, driven by Clay and Seth Thomas, qualified a season-best third but only made it to Lap 26 of the 56-lap race.

"We were hit by a competitor after vying for the lead for the first half of the race," said Clay. "You never walk away happy when success is within reach, but we can take a lot of positives away from VIR. Our team has been working non-stop to get our new M3 V8s to the front of the field, and last weekend, I think we showed that we've gotten ahead of the development curve. We've had many years to develop our BMW 328i racecars to the point where they win races and pole positions, so the fact that we're moving at such a fast rate with the M3 V8s gives us a lot of hope that success is right around the corner."

BimmerWorld's pair of 328i racecars were set for a solid finish at VIR, but with a majority of the last half of the race run under the caution flag, the team's plan to gain an advantage with fuel strategy was minimized by the slow pace of the event.

The No. 80 CRC Industries BimmerWorld BMW 328i of Bill Heumann and David White finished 14th in class, while the No. 81 BimmerWorld BMW 328i of Gregory Liefooghe and John Capestro-DuBets placed 17th.

The team has a relatively short turnaround between races, with the Memorial Day Classic, held at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, scheduled for May 27-28.

The broadcast for the Bosch Engineering 200 from VIR airs May 22nd at 1 p.m. ET on SPEED. Follow the BimmerWorld team as they prepare for Lime Rock by visiting www.BimmerworldRacing.com.

MORAN JR, SERVIA AND WILDEN COMPLETE JaguarRSR LINEUP FOR SEBRING  
EAST LANSING, Michigan (March 11, 2011) - JaguarRSR finalizes its driver lineup for the first endurance event of the year, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida, which kicks off the team's two-car assault in the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr?n. Completing the world renowned driver line up for JaguarRSR is Rocky Moran Jr., Kenny Wilden, and Oriol Servia.

Joining P.J. Jones behind the wheel of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT will be Moran Jr. and Wilden. This trio has similar career backgrounds and has had the opportunity to compete against each other in the past. Moran Jr. has won at every level of competition from national karting championships to the Barber Dodge Pro Series and Toyota Atlantics. The Californian has tested and/or raced Champ Car, IRL, Daytona Prototypes, NASCAR Busch, Winston West, Late Models, Indy Lights, Sports racer, F3 Martini, Palmer Audi, Infiniti Pro Series, Formula Fords, Pro Mazda, FF2000, and all karting classes.
 
Wilden has established himself as one of the best drivers and coaches in North America. The Canadian has earned four national championships with wins in many types of cars from showroom stock to endurance to open wheel, oval and prototype. His resume includes claiming the Players GM series crown in 1992, Michelin Enduro Series champion in 1994 and back-to-back runner-up positions in 1995-1996, multiple wins and podiums in the Atlantic Series and second overall in the championship in 1999, success in Trans-Am and Grand-Am series. His most recent accomplishment was winning the 2009 Grand-Am Koni Challenge GS.
 
Servia joins fellow open-wheel competitors and friends, Cristiano Da Matta and Bruno Junqueira, co-piloting the #99 car. Teaming up with Da Matta is nothing new for Servia, as they were teammates back in 2000 driving in Champ Car, and has had many years competing against each other and Junqueira. The Catalonian's racing resume highlights include finishing second in the Formula Renault championship in 1993, Indy Light champion in 1999, and finishing second in the Champ Car World Series championship in 2005.
 
All drivers were able to get acclimated with the XKR racer during a recent two-day test at Sebring International Raceway late-February. All were able to post lap times very close to one another and in the competitive range of times established at the Series Winter Test.
 
"It was an excellent opportunity to run as a two car team recently and give these candidates an opportunity behind the wheel," said Paul Gentilozzi, JaguarRSR Principal Partner. "We had the chance to evaluate their abilities, let them experience the car and get valuable feedback. I am confident in our driver lineup; I know each one of these guys has the talent and desire to put our JaguarRSR XKR GTs in the fight for results in the very competitive GT category."

The 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida takes the green flag at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 19. The race will be shown live and in its entirety on ESPN3.com and americanlemans.com starting at 10:15 a.m. ET. ABC will provide coverage from 12:30 to 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 20. Visit the American Le Mans Series' schedule page for more information.   

WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY
Rocky Moran Jr., co-driver of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT
"I'm elated to have the opportunity to drive for the RSR Jaguar ALMS GT team and Paul Gentilozzi. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I am ready to make the most of it. It was so good to be back in a car for the first test we did at Sebring last week. I was instantly impressed with the team that Paul has put together from the moment that I arrived at the race track. Everyone was awesome to work with and I am very grateful to Paul for thinking of me and giving me this shot to re-emerge onto the sports car racing scene in such a competitive series. It is also really cool to drive alongside P.J. Jones as we have been friends since the mid 90's. P.J. has a lot of history with my dad, Rocky Moran Sr., having almost won the 12 hours of Sebring in the IMSA GTP era with Toyota's All American Racers. They went on to win the 24 hours of Daytona together. I hope to have the same success with P.J. in the ALMS series this year and am honored to pilot a Jaguar. I am looking forward to the race and sincerely feel that P.J., Kenny and I will make for a great combination for this first event of the year."
 
Oriol Servia, co-driver of the #99 JaguarRSR XKR GT
"I am truly excited to race the 12h of Sebring with the JaguarRSR team. To be part of the Jaguar family is an honor. I know that the team has been working hard all winter preparing the cars for this season and Sebring will be the perfect place to show the progress made. Teaming up with Da Matta and Junqueira only makes it better, not only are we great friends, but we have all raced for the same teams in the past and we have the utmost respect for each others abilities. It sounds to me like Mr. Gentilozzi is putting together a recipe for success and I cannot wait to get the first taste of it."
 
 
 
 
 Kenny Wilden, co-driver of the #98 JaguarRSR XKR GT
"I am thrilled to be racing for Paul Gentilozzi and the JaguarRSR team. Paul and I raced together in Trans-Am; we had a lot of good battles on track and I look forward to working with him and I know he has a good team that can get the job done. It was a great opportunity to test the JaguarRSR XKR GT recently; we learned a ton during the two-day test. I look forward to getting back out there taking that information and continue to move forward with the car. The main thing for a race like Sebring will be focusing on longevity, keeping a good pace since it is a long event. I think pairing up with Rocky (Moran Jr.) and P.J. (Jones) is a good fit. We all have raced against each other at once point in our careers so I know they are competitive and good guys on and off track. We seem to have the same kind of liking in a car (setup), so that will be vital during testing and practice sessions to ensure we create a good, comfortable car for the race for all of us."
 
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 BimmerWorld Completes GRAND-AM GS Lineup with Wilden, Michaelian
1/5/2011

2009 GS champion Ken Wilden and Continental Series race winner Bob Michaelian join BimmerWorld to form strong 4-car ST and GS assault 

Ken Wilden, 2009 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport champion.
2010 GS race winner Bob Michaelian.


Expanding a racing team from two cars to four requires immense planning and labor, but to make all of that extra effort worthwhile, the best drivers are required. With today's announcement of Ken Wilden, 2009 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport champion, and 2010 GS race winner Bob Michaelian as the drivers of the No. 78 BimmerWorld Racing BMW M3 V8 GS entry, the team has everything it needs to succeed.Wilden, who draws from a massive amount of racing experience in open-wheel and touring cars, and Michaelian, who has worked his way up the tin-top ladder with impressive performances at every level, arrive at BimmerWorld after driving together for six races during the 2010 GRAND-AM GS season.Wilden and Michaelian compliment BimmerWorld's new-for-2011 GS program that will see team owner/driver James Clay and Seth Thomas partner in the No. 79 BMW M3. BimmerWorld's two-car GS effort, coupled with their two-car Street Tuner program, gives the Dublin, VA-based outfit the strongest possible program to earn a championship.Having two proven stars in the No. 78 BimmerWorld entry is a major boost to the team, according to Clay."As we were working on our driver lineup for 2011, I had a very short list of GS drivers I wanted as we expanded our program. Having Seth with me in a car was important and filling the other car with a driver pairing equally capable of winning the championship was critical to our program goal. Bob and Kenny are battle-proven and complete our lineup of four championship contenders perfectly."For Michaelian, getting a taste of success in GS last year spurred him and Wilden to find the most competitive team to pursue a title."I have followed the success of the BimmerWorld team over the last few years and have been super impressed by the competitiveness and professionalism of their operation. Kenny and I both are excited about the opportunity to partner with BimmerWorld. Given the competitiveness of the team as well as the strength of the BMW M3 platform, we are looking forward to putting together a strong effort for the championship in 2011."

As Wilden shares, the decision to move to BimmerWorld and the renowned M3 V8 package was done only after careful consideration."It was a long vetting process for sure, and I feel it was very thorough. We looked at multiple teams and manufacturers. The history and past performance of each team and car was reviewed, and we had multiple conversations over the last few months before coming to a conclusion. Bob and I really felt that BimmerWorld ranked higher in our assessment."With so much promise shown in 2010, Wilden believes he and Michaelian have the right tools and team beneath them to succeed."We are going into this year with the expectation of being able to compete for wins with the BimmerWorld package, and to have a very high average overall finishing record. We expect the reliability of the BimmerWorld BMW will get us to the finish of every race consistently, which is crucial in this series. That might seem like high expectations, but that is what you need to win a championship. That's the formula that helped me to win the 2009 GS championship, and that's the same focus we'll have in 2011."Commercial support is a vital element of fielding a competitive effort, and as Michaelian explains, his sponsorship roster is the driving force behind his championship aspirations."Bizrate.com is coming on board to support our 2011 GS efforts. I have had the great fortune of working at Shopzilla, Inc. for almost 11 years. Shopzilla, Inc. owns and operates multiple web properties including Bizrate.com, Shopzilla.com, Beso.com, and TaDa.com. The company is a special group of people and I feel privileged to showcase our product on the BWR car in 2011. I have helped run both the Shopzilla and Bizrate websites for the last 5 years and am excited about the opportunity to showcase the Bizrate brand in the GRAND-AM series. The GRAND-AM brand is synonymous with putting out a quality product so we feel like it's a great place to highlight the quality service that Bizrate provides its consumers."Follow BimmerWorld's progress at www.BimmerWorldRacing.com as they prepare for the 2011 GS season opener during this weekend's test at Daytona International Speedway.Bizrate is the trusted shopping resource, linking shoppers with over a million products, brands, and stores with one click. Bizrate enables shoppers to search for virtually every product, store, brand, and deal on the web. Shop the biggest names you know to the small but trustworthy stores just waiting to be found. Compare across products, prices, and store information. Quickly access all the ratings and reviews you need to make a confident buying decision. With Bizrate, shoppers can find the right product, at the right price, every time.

Fail rates vary for driver test centres

Toronto Star Tuesday Nov 22010

About half of the drivers who take their road tests in busy Brampton fail. In sleepy Kenora, the failure rate is lower than 20 per cent.

As Ontario’s driving instructors have long known, some examination centres fail a far higher percentage of test-takers than others. Now the company that runs driver testing for the province has instituted pass-fail “norms” for each DriveTest centre based on their widely varying past results.

At the Brampton centre, for example, examiners who conduct the road test required to obtain a G2 license have been given a failure-rate norm of 53 per cent, the highest in Ontario. Conversely, examiners in Oshawa, have been given a norm of 36 per cent. Kenora received the lowest norm, 7 per cent.

The norms, obtained via freedom of information request, vary even within the GTA. The failure-rate norm is 52 per cent in Downsview, 43 per cent in Oakville, 40 per cent in Aurora, and 36 per cent in Burlington. Norms are lower for locations within easy driving distance, such as Orillia’s 26 per cent.

Examiners whose pass-fail rates deviate more than 15 percentage points from a norm in any month are monitored to ensure they are following standard procedures. But the norms, approved by the provincial government, are not quotas. If the examiners are found to be following protocol, and their pass-fail rates are abnormally high or low because of a random streak of good or bad drivers, they are not disciplined.

“Employees were not told to adjust their work to accommodate the norms. . . variances may be perfectly legitimate,” said Paul Dalglish, managing director of Serco DES, which operates Ontario’s 55 examination centres.

“Deviation from the norm,” he said, “is only an indication of the need for further investigation.”

More than 50 examiners have faced “some level of remedial action” since the norms were introduced in January, Dalglish said. Remedial action includes both non-disciplinary measures, such as “clarification of expectations” and retraining, and disciplinary measures such as warnings and suspensions. “The vast majority of the follow-up with employees is non-disciplinary because that almost always has the desired effect,” Dalglish said.

Ontario does not require drivers to take their road tests near where they live, so many drivers strategically schedule the tests at far-flung locations where they think they will get an easier ride. Some Toronto driving schools charge $200 to drive students hours away to small towns like Bancroft.

Driving instructors say pass-fail rates may differ by location for a number of reasons, such as difference in traffic levels or the difficulty of test routes. Urban centres like Brampton may also attract relatively high proportions of immigrants unfamiliar with Ontario’s driving rules.

Ontario Safety League president Brian Patterson said the norms would help Serco monitor examiner performance. But he argued the government should force drivers to take exams at nearby locations so they are tested under conditions they will normally encounter. If the government does not, he said it should make tests more challenging in low-traffic areas.

Serco must maintain a monthly province-wide pass-fail rate within four percentage points of rates from the three years before the company took over from the government in 2003. The norms, therefore, were determined in part based on province-wide rates from that period. But most of the norms are nonetheless similar to location-by-location rates for the period between 2006 and early 2008.

Wilden exudes a belief in himself and his talent that makes any

one who has watched him on the track wish for his success.

And he has had success at the top levels of racing throughout North America.

Wilden’s resume consists of a championship in the seminal Player’s GM series, a Motorola Cup championship and a Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS class championship.

Wilden has also won in the Atlantic series and the Trans-Am series.

So why isn’t the 39-year-old native of Oakville on the same career path of his contemporaries like Scarborough’s Paul Tracy or Mississauga’s Ron Fellows?

“Right place, wrong time,” Wilden said Friday as he prepared to qualify Saturday for the Trans-Am Championship Series in the No. 99 Derhaag Motorsports Corvette.

He was among that core group of young Canadian talent that developed in the mid-1980s like Tracy, Fellows, Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier.

At one point it looked like all of them would make it to the top of their racing series.

“After I won the Player’s championship in 1992 I did a test for Chevrolet that I hoped would lead to a ride with their factory Trans-Am team,” Wilden said. “Everyone at that test told me that I had blown away the competition. I felt sure I had the job.”

But it went to another, lesser driver whose dad owned a string of Ford dealerships.

All Wilden did to atone for that slight was go out the next season and win the Motorola Cup — emblematic of top tier sports car racing in the U.S.

The next season he switched to the Atlantic series — just one step down the IndyCar ladder from Tracy, Villeneuve and Carpentier. But just as he mastered that series, the uncivil war between IndyCars and the CART series was beginning. It shrank the fields and divided the sponsorships leaving Wilden out in the cold again.

“I never, ever lost confidence in myself,” he said. “I knew then, like I know now, that I can beat anyone out there given the right equipment.”

Proof of that came last season when he went out and captured the ultra-competitive Grand-Am sports car crown in, ironically, a Ford Mustang.

Sometimes fate comes full circle.

That victory also whetted the appetite for team owners to start calling Wilden to drive their cars.

His arrival at Mosport Friday was a prime example.

“I got a call like just two days ago from (team owner) Jim Derhaag asking if I was doing anything,” Wilden said. “I knew whenever a team owner phones and asks that question, something good is going to happen.”

The something good was that Derhaag was bringing an extra Corvette race car to the Victoria Day Speedfest at Mosport and wanted Wilden to team up with him.

“I hadn’t been in a Trans-Am car since 2002,” Wilden said. “But it only took a couple of shakedown laps around Mosport’s 3.95 kilometre road course to get comfortable, however.”

Saturday he will attempt to qualify the No. 99 Corvette and maybe even win on Sunday.

In any event, Wilden believes there is still more to come for him. One series where he would like to have his name among the winners is NASCAR.

He said he is actively seeking sponsorship to run in the NASCAR Nationwide series at either Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve or at Watkins Glen.

GRAND-AM CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE OPENS 2010 SEASON FRIDAY AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY &nbs p;

Championship Line-Up as Caddell and Wilden team at Daytona