US TOURING CAR CHALLENGE: 2006 PORTLAND GRAND PRIX

Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon (July 24, 2006) – The American Le Mans weekend at PIR was the scene of MPACT Motorsport’s long awaited debut of their E46-chassis USTCC 328is BMW. The entire team worked tirelessly for weeks leading up to the event getting the car ready. MPACT rolled into the paddock at 7AM the first day of practice still trying to put the finishing touches on the car. Due to a last minute shipping hiccup, the car was not able to complete any laps on Friday and would have to make its debut during Saturday’s qualifying session.

“From the minute we rolled the new car off the trailer it attracted the attention of the thousands of fans who were there to watch the racing at the ALMS event. I was nervous to have to debut the car in front of a such a large crowd, but I knew the guys had done a good job and we had built a good car”, said Crew Chief and Team Manager, Rob Birkhead.

"The qualifying session went well and although we missed a little bit with our initial setup, I am very pleased with a 5th place starting position. Especially since we rolled off the trailer just yesterday with a brand new car”, driver Dale Sievwright said on Saturday evening.

After making a few setup during the Sunday morning warm-up, the car rolled into formation for the standing start of its first race. Launching the BMW hard once again helped Dale quickly advance through the field. Despite some early contact with Pete Bovenberg’s Honda Civic, Dale was able to run down the SRT-4s of Hamilton and Simmons to once again finish in second place.

In his post-race interview Sievwright couldn’t be happier to be on the podium for the second time this season. “First of all I have to thank God. We could not have been here or have done so well without His help. Next I need to thank my team. They are amazing. They built this car in 3 weeks and we didn’t have a single mechanical issue all weekend. Simply awesome work from Dan, Josh, and Rob. The car was very close on setup right off the trailer and I am sure we will see this car on the top step of the podium very soon. I am very excited for the rest of the season.”

The MPACT Motorsports Racing Team is sponsored by TC Design, Moton Suspension, Active Autowerks, Evosport, Rebello Racing, and Turbohoses.com

The next race for the MPACT Racing Team will be at the USTCC race at Inifineon Raceway on September 9-10.

For more information please contact:

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com

For information about The US Touring Car Championship see www.ustcc.com

 

US TOURING CAR CHALLENGE: 2006 MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK NATIONAL

Miller Motorsports Park, Toole, Utah (May 22, 2006) – MPACT Motorsports is happy to announce that their BMW 328is scored a second place finish in inaugural US Touring Car race at the new Miller Motorsports Park. In front of thousands of hometown fans, Dale Sievwright drove to his best finish of the 2006 season.

Dale had this to say about the new track course, “The facilities here at Miller are amazing. It was great to be here at what is a new home track for MPACT. The track is long and because it is so wide it makes for some great racing.”

After starting 5th the rear-drive BMW helped Dale get a great launch and quickly move into second place. From there Sievwright’s speed on the cold Hankook tires allowed him to hold off attacks from Simmons and Grahovec during the 30 minute race.

In an interview after the race Sievwright was excited to be on the podium, “I couldn’t be happier with our result. We had hoped to have our E46 ready for this race but ended up running our car from last year. The race was exciting, I had the Neon putting pressure on me for most of the start. And during the last half of the race my tires started to fall off and it took everything I had to keep Toby behind me. I’d like to thank the MPACT team for giving me another good car in such a short time frame. We moved into second in points after this result and feel we are in a good position for the rest of the season.”

Rounding up the field, MPACT President, Rob Birkhead, finished 9th in the still being developed new BMW E90 325i.

The MPACT Motorsports Racing Team is sponsored by TC Design, Moton Suspension, Active Autowerks, Evosport, Rebello Racing, and Turbohoses.com

The next race for the MPACT Motorsports Team will be at the US Touring Car Race at Portland International Raceway in on June 16-17.

For more information please contact:

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com

For information about The US Touring Car Championship see www.ustcc.com

 

US TOURING CAR CHALLENGE: MAZDA LAGUNA SECA RACEWAY

Salinas, California (Mar 12, 2006) MPACT Motorsports is pleased to announce that it became the first team to run the 2006 BMW E90 325i in a pro series in the US. The team ran their Moton/Ground Control car in the Hankook United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) on March 12, 2006 at the A1 Grand Prix of Nations event at Laguna Seca Raceway. The car finished seventh in its first outing despite MPACT not having done any testing on the car previous to the race.

2005 USTCC Rookie Dale Sievwright was behind the wheel of the car built by MPACT and TC design. In his rookie season with a new team, Dale scored 3 top 5 finishes in 4 races with a best result of 2nd at the Inaugural San Jose Grand Prix street race. Dale will be gunning for the USTCC Driver's Championship in 2006.

Afterwards Sievwright said, "It was really hard to find the balance of the car in a car that had seen so little testing. After getting used to being in the front, it is very frustrating to be in the middle of pack. But the future is bright for the car. With the help of Ground Control and Moton Shocks, we feel that the BMW E90 chassis could be one of the best handling cars in the series."

After some testing/tuning as well as some more finishing touches and weight reduction, our E90 should be a very potent competitor.

For more information please contact:

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com

For information about The US Touring Car Championship see www.ustcc.com

 

2005 25 HOURS OF THUNDERHILL

San Jose, California (Dec 6, 2005) The ART/ESX/C&D/TC Design/JustRacing.com Subaru STi made a bold statement to the motorsports community on Sunday by finishing third in its debut race at the 2005 NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill and earning Subaru its first ever podium in a North American Endurance event. The ART car ran for a flawless 25 hours and completed 659 laps of the grueling 3.1 mile circuit.

“To say that we are pleased with our finish doesn’t quite capture our joy at this result,” Marshall Pruett, ART principle and co-founder, said. “The level of effort put in by our team, our partners, and our sponsors was both unprecedented and the only reason for our incredible success.”

Driving duties during the race were handled by a variety of professional racers and veterans: Csaba Csere (Editor-in-Chief, Car and Driver magazine), Gary Sheehan (Grand Am, USTCC), Dave McEntee (ALMS LMP2, ALMS GT), Dale Sievwright (USTCC), Auston Harris (Formula TR), and Marco Romani (BMW CCA Club Racing). “My many years in professional racing have exposed me to literally thousands of people,” Pruett continued. “Our lineup of drivers and crew was some of the finest I’ve ever been privileged to work with. Their dedication and resolve brought us to the finish line.”

-ART Press Release

Dale put on a great show and had a great race. All of us at MPACT are very proud of what he has accomplished and glad to see he is being recognized for his great racing efforts and and talents. You'll be hearing more about Dale's racing next season

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com

For information about The US Touring Car Championship see www.ustcc.com

 

MPACT MOTORSPORTS OFFICIAL SHOP GRAND OPENING

Murray, Utah (Nov. 19, 2005) MPACT Motorsports is having a grand opening and open house. We would like to welcome fellow enthusiasts to our shop for great time! Food and drinks will be served, friends will be made, and competition will be fierce. We will have Rob's race sim set up in the shop for anyone willing enough to test their skills and walk the walk. The party starts on November 19, 2005 1:00pm - 4:00pm.The grills will be started at 12:15 so food will be ready at 1:00. Hope to see you there!

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com

 

JOSH BENNETT JOINS MPACT MOTORSPORTS

Murray, Utah (Sept. 12, 2005) MPACT Motorsports is happy to announce that Josh Bennett has joined our sales and service team.  Josh, formerly of Eurosport High Performance, brings with him years of BMW experience in service, sales, and product development. This expansion comes as MPACT opens our new retail and race car preparation shop in the Salt Lake Valley. Josh’s addition will help MPACT strengthen its foundation as the West Coast’s premier race and performance car shop. We look forward to having him on our team and I am sure our customers will appreciate the professionalism and experience he will add.

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com

 

US TOURING CAR CHALLENGE: SAN JOSE GRAND PRIX

San Jose, CA (July 31, 2005) – The MPACT Motorsports BMW 328is scored a second place finish at the US Touring Car race at the San Jose Grand Prix. In front of 55,000 fans attending the inaugural CHAMPCAR street race in downtown San Jose, Dale Sievwright drove to his best finish of the season.

After a 3 hour delay on Friday while waiting for the street course to be completed, Dale quickly learned the track, being second fastest in practice and finally putting the BMW on the inside of the second row after qualifying.

Dale had this to say about the new street course, “The course is fun, I actually like it. It is a driver’s track. A wall on both sides left little room for error. It was technical but had a couple of huge braking zones. Instead of driving like a mad man you have to think more.”

At the start of the race the rear-drive BMW had a great launch and Dale was able to hold on to third place down the long front straight. Sievwright’s speed on cold tires and the phenomenal braking performance from the Stoptech brakes allowed him to make a clean pass on Erickson’s GTI for second position. The MPACT 328 then began closing the gap to Dave Brown’s Spoon/Opak JDM RSX but was unable to get close enough to make a pass for the win.

In an interview after the race Sievwright was excited to be on the podium, “ First I would like to say thanks to MPACT Motorsports. Rob and Dan gave me an awesome car to drive. It was an easy race, we just didn’t have the power to run down the RSX. Also thanks to Hankook for giving us great tires that were strong all race. The Stoptech brakes really made the difference all weekend. We didn’t have any fade issues with the Cobalt Friction pads and were able to out-brake any other car out there. That is why some other guys couldn't keep up. Ground Control and Moton Suspension gave us a suspension that soaked up the rough track with ease. The car was perfect, it rotated whenever I wanted.”

The MPACT Motorsports BMW is sponsored by Ground Control, Moton Suspension, Eurosport High Performance, TC Design, SiasTuning, Evosport, Motorsports Dynamics, Rebello Racing, Turbohoses.com, and Edge Motorworks.

The USTCC race at the San Jose GP will be broadcast on The SPEED Channel in September.

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com

 

MPACT MOTORSPORTS TO RACE IN THE US TOURING CAR CHALLENGE

Provo, UT (March 7, 2005) - MPACT Motorsports is pleased to announce that it will be campaigning a BMW M3 in the 2005 US Touring Car Championship (www.ustcc.com). MPACT will be on track for all of the West Coast races and plans to contend for the series championship.

Driving for MPACT Motorsports in 2005 is USTCC newcomer Dale Sievwright. Dale has many years experience racing karts and formula cars throughout Europe and the US and is excited to be racing touring cars at a professional level. Dale will be gunning for the 2005 Rookie of the Year prize.

“We are excited to be running USTCC this year. We have many years experience building BMW racecars and are confident we will have a very competitive package for the M3” says Team Owner and MPACT CEO, Rob Birkhead. “Our goal for 2005 is to hit the ground running from the start of the year and be competitive with the excellent group of teams and drivers currently in the series. We are especially exited to be running with the Champ Car series at the San Jose Grand Prix (http://www.sanjosegrandprix.com) this year.

With our experience building BMWs and the driving talent of USTCC rookie Dale Sievwright, we are ready for the new challenge”.

The MPACT Motorsports BMW is sponsored by Ground Control, Moton Suspension, Eurosport High Performance, Active Autowerke, TC Design, SiasTuning, Edge Motorworks and Motorsports Dynamics

Rob Birkhead
MPACT Motorsports
(801) 270-5820 phone
(801) 270-5819 fax
info@mpactmotorsports.com
www.mpactmotorsports.com