Orlando, Fla. (20 July 2015) – Rum Bum Racing will kick off the Lime Rock Park festivities early as the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche heads to New York City on Wednesday, July 22. Driver and Team Manager Matt Plumb will be on hand with the car as the squad joins several other IMSA teams for a promotional event in the heart of the city hosted by Esquire Network, Lime Rock Park, Seize sur Vingt, and TUDOR Watches.
Located just 100 miles south of Lime Rock Park – the next stop on the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge calendar – the ‘Racers in SoHo’ event will take place at 78 Greene Street and will promote the Northeast Grand Prix event. A two-hour press luncheon is scheduled from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM with music and cocktails to follow from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
“It is great to have IMSA and Lime Rock Park team up to create this kind of event, and we are lucky to have a team owner in Luis Bacardi who understands how to build our audience and reach new fans,” said Matt Plumb. “It’s amazing that just two hours away from downtown New York City, there is this incredible track out in the countryside and we are happy to help get the word out.”
It’s an exciting kick off to the race weekend as Plumb, who resides in Newport, Rhode Island, returns not only to his home track of Lime Rock Park but also to a place that has seen Rum Bum show incredible strength.
Over the four previous years, Rum Bum Racing has claimed victory at Lime Rock three times (2011, 2012 & 2014) and finished third in 2013 on the way to a second consecutive IMSA team championship. Last year’s win saw the No. 13 Porsche lead 60 laps en route to victory lane.
This year’s race, which marks Round 6 of the championship, will have an added twist as IMSA recently announced that the GS and ST classes will race in a combined event, rather than separately which has been the case in previous years at the quick 1.5-mile bullring road course.
“Lime Rock is always a special place for me, having grown up in New England it is my home track,” said Matt Plumb, who shares the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing with his brother and co-driver Hugh Plumb. “We’ve always had a very good set up there. Joe (Varde, crew chief) with his circle track experience does a very good job of reading that track. We always come off the rig perfect and then are able to fine tune for the conditions. Combine that with our strategy and our quick pit stops on that short track we have a definite advantage.”
The team will look to add to its incredible history at the track, but knows that the competition has been gaining speed with every race.
“The strength of all these new cars has shown over the course of the season,” said Plumb of the factory-backed Mustang and Camaro campaigns. “All the new cars are very strong and the Mustangs have come on incredibly well. So it’s going to be more challenging than in previous years. We’re coming from a different place competition-wise, but we’re going to make the most of it and definitely take advantage of our comfort level at that track.”
Just like the laps on the diminutive 1.5-mile circuit, the Lime Rock Park race weekend is a quick one. A 15-minute GS-only practice will be held Friday morning followed by two combined class practice sessions. Qualifying is set for 4:40 PM ET on Friday.
The Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park goes green at 10:00 AM ET Saturday morning. The event will be streamed LIVE on IMSA.com.
FOX Sports 1 will televise the race on Sunday, August 2 at 12:00 PM ET.
