Orlando, Fla. (19 August 2014) – Following two frustrating race outings in which the team showed strong pace only to be caught out by bad racing luck, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing and drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi are ready to rebound this weekend as the 2012 & 2013 defending IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge champions travel to VIRginia International Raceway for Round 10 of the 2014 Championship.
It’s been three years since IMSA last visited the popular and classic 3.27-mile Virginia road course that features 17 turns. Rum Bum debuted at the track in 2010 with the squad’s No. 13 BMW M3 and scored the team’s second podium of the season in just its first year of competition as Plumb’s then co-driver Gian Bacardi sprayed the podium champagne with a third place finish.
This year, Rum Bum Racing brings its No. 13 Porsche machine to VIR and Plumb is joined by veteran sportscar racer Longhi. The duo has combined for 14 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge victories and would like nothing more than to add to that tally this weekend at VIR as the championship hunt continues with just three races remaining on the 2014 schedule.
Entering the weekend with 198 points in the championship following two challenging race weekends, Rum Bum Racing will look to erase the memories of a motor issue in Indianapolis and a mechanical issue at Road America that took the team from the lead with just minutes left to go in the race.
“We knew coming into this championship this year that the competition would be fierce,” said Team Manager and driver Plumb, who won at the track in 2008. “It’s been even more of an uphill battle with the car having to carry the IMSA weight, but we’ve been able to pull some rabbits out of our hats with strategy calls and just hitting our marks as a team. So we’ve stayed in the hunt all year long and we’re still fighting. We took two tough hits at Indy and Road America but this team doesn’t get down. We immediately went back to work and began focusing on VIR. We know what we have to do from here on out and we’ll do our absolute best to get the best results possible in these final three races.”
Since IMSA’s last visit to VIR, the track has been resurfaced as well as widened in several areas. The updates are expected to provide even better and more exciting racing as the field of 20 GS and 24 ST class machines take to the track for the Oak Tree Grand Prix.
Rum Bum Racing will have a promoter test day on Thursday as well as two practice sessions on Friday to dial in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche on the renovated circuit. A 15-minute qualifying session will take place Friday evening at 5:10 PM ET. The 2.5-hour race is set to go green on Saturday at 2:05 PM ET.
The race will be carried LIVE on IMSA.com and will re-air on FOX Sports 1 Sunday, August 31 at 10:00 AM ET.
Follow @RumBumRacing on Twitter for updates! As always, live timing and scoring is available throughout the weekend at www.imsa.com.
