Racecar sponsored Team Modena-SGLC BMW scored a debut podium at the weekend! In the hands of Korean race-ace Gene Lee a Team Modena prepared BMW 320i took third overall in the second round of the opening meeting of the 2007 CJ Super Race Championship at the Yongin Everland Speedway circuit in South Korea. Headed only by two GT1-spec cars at the end of the 30-lap race, Gene was delighted with the performance of the Team Modena-SGLC BMW.For 2007 the championship has moved to WTCC regulations, though the existing GT1 cars are allowed to compete with a 80kg weight penalty. Team Modena prepared the ex-Schnitzer BMW to full WTCC specification at their High Wycombe HQ, and liveried it in the distinctive Team Modena colour scheme before shipping the car to Korea.
In the days leading up to the opening race, Team Principal Graham Schultz and chief mechanic Hans Muelbauer flew to Korea to assist with the final preparations. Gene - President of SGLC International and an experienced single-seater and sportscar racer – had the car was immediately on the pace and delivered a strong race performance.
In Saturday’s qualifying Gene was third overall, and less than a second behind the quickest GT1 Lexus. In the opening 20-lap race a first corner tangle saw Gene forced to pit to replace a damaged wheel, re-joining at the back of the 20-car field. In an inspired drive Gene climbed back through the order to take fifth by the end of the race.
In race two Gene pitted early to change tyres, and despite the new set again losing grip as the race progressed, finished third behind two of the GT1 Lexus.
"I am very proud of Team Modena-SGLC for the outstanding preparation of the car before it's debut,” said Gene after the second race. “The first shakedown went very well and the car has a good baseline set-up. We only needed to make some small changes in order to suit the car for the short and twisty 2km Everland Speedway.
“Despite making very few set-up changes, we were able to qualify third and finish the second heat on the podium in third place. We expect to be challenging for the championship from race three when we should have most of the upgrades in place. We expect to have a very exciting season."
Hopefully some development to tailor the rubber to the E46 racecar will deal with current tyre longevity issues and the Team can prove the true competitiveness of the package.
Team Modena compete in the Le Mans Series with their GT1 Aston Martin DBR9 and are due to make their British GT Championship debut this month with a GT3 Lamborghini Gallardo.
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