A dream in itself for all of the B-K Motorsports crew to compete in the American Le Mans Series, consistent race laps, flawless pit stops and a reliable chassis and engine package brought immediate success to the series newcomers. Taking the podium with 2 nd place in their first outing was truly a dream come true.
“What an incredible way to debut the Sportsbook.com / B-K Motorsports ALMS program, and what an incredible car to drive” commented Cosmo. “Everyone from B-K Motorsports, Sportsbook.com, Courage Competition, Mazda, SpeedSource and Goodyear put in such exhausting effort to put this program into place in such an extremely short period of time. A 2 nd place finish today is a deserving reward for such a special group of people. I am honored and very happy to be part of this team, and we all have Sportsbook.com to thank for their partnership with us.”
Only three weeks after announcing their plans at this years ALMS season opener, B-K Motorsports arrived at Road Atlanta for the Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta beating all odds, having upgraded their existing Star Mazda racing team to a fully assembled LM P2 racing program from top to bottom, a huge accomplishment in itself. What was even more impressive was the racing machine that rolled out of their trailer; a fully completed and track-ready Mazda Rotary Powered Courage C65 LM P2 racecar, completed from start to finish in only three weeks by Courage Competition and the staff of B-K Motorsports.
After a successful shake-down of the racecar at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit just one week earlier, B-K Motorsports took delivery of their challenger from Courage Competition and headed directly to the race shop of Dennis Spencer. Spencer, a historic name in Mazda rotary-powered endurance racing, volunteered full access to his race shop for the B-K crew to make final preparations to their new Courage before its first full test on Wednesday at Road Atlanta. Sleep deprived but awake with anticipation, the B-K crew were rewarded with a full day of flawless running, and the sound of a Mazda three-rotor screamed through the air once again.
The three-rotor RENESIS-based rotary engine was jointly developed by MAZDASPEED and SpeedSource, Inc. Sylvain Tremblay and David Haskell from SpeedSource were on hand to ensure successful running of the R20B engine, with Robert Davis and Steve Sanders from Mazda on hand to witness the return of the Mazda Rotary to top-level professional sportscar racing.
“Another great weekend in the books,” said Steve Sanders, manager, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development and the man responsible for Mazda's North American motorsport operations. “There really is nothing in the world of motorsports quite like the sound of that Mazda rotary engine at 9,000 rpm, and it's a real thrill to know we'll hear that sound at every American Le Mans race this year.”
The next outing for B-K Motorsports and their Sportsbook.com Mazda Rotary-Powered Courage is round three of the American Le Mans Series, for the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio, May 20-22 nd, 2005 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Visit www.b-kmotorsports.com and www.americanlemans.com for more details.