StopTech-equipped Turner Motorsport BMW M3s on the way to victory lane at Mid-Ohio

For: Immediate Release     Date: August 2, 2006    Contact: Dan Barnes

August 2, 2006—Torrance, California USA – StopTech-equipped teams are points leaders in both Grand-Am Cup GS class and SPEED World Challenge GT class, the premier production-based professional road racing series in the U.S.

Grand-Am Cup

In Grand-Am Cup GS class, Turner Motorsport BMW M3 drivers Bill Auberlen and Chris Gleason lead the championship (with 168 points) by one point over teammate Anders Hainer, with three races left in the season. Hainer’s usual co-driver, Boris Said, had to miss one race due to his Nextel Cup commitments, and stands fifth in the points.

Last Saturday’s Grand-Am Cup race at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama, was cut short by 30 minutes due to thunderstorms and torrential rains, interrupting Turner Motorsport’s strategy to lead the race at the finish. Auberlen, in the No. 96 H&R Springs/StopTech Brakes/Gleason Financial BMW M3, was steadily picking off positions and running fourth overall with the cars ahead due to pit when the race was ended early. Said, in the No. 97 H&R Springs/Under Armour BMW M3, was on track in a strong fifth place.

Bill Auberlen, #96 H&R Springs/StopTech Brakes/Gleason Financial BMW M3:
"Our cars were very well balanced around this track and we had a great opportunity to score points. Our StopTech brakes were especially effective making our way through traffic here. About the only thing we couldn't plan for was the weather and that's what literally ended our race. We were in a near-perfect position to charge to the front thanks to the strategy that Turner Motorsport worked out."

In the previous Grand-Am Cup race, at Mid-Ohio on June 25, Chris Gleason qualified and started from tenth on the grid in the No. 96 H&R Springs/StopTech Brakes/Gleason Financial BMW M3, then handed the car over to Auberlen under caution. In a race led by eight different drivers, Auberlen worked his way through the field and passed Craig Stanton, in the No. 38 Red Capital Group/BGB Motorsports Porsche Carrera, for the lead just 15 laps from the end of the 77-lap race. He then held the position until contact between two ST-class cars entering the front straight triggered a full-course caution lasting the final three laps.

Craig Stanton echoed Auberlen’s praise for the No. 96 car’s StopTech brakes, saying of his Porsche, “The guys gave me a great car today, we just didn’t have much for the BMW. Those guys were prepared with a lot of brake.”

The Mid-Ohio victory came just a few weeks after a dominant one-two Turner Motorsport performance at Lime Rock. The Turner Motorsport team is clearly on a roll.

Saturday’s Barber Motorsport Park race will be aired on the SPEED network, August 5 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

The next race will be the Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The ST race will be Saturday, August 5 and the GS race will be Sunday, August 6. Up-to-the minute information can be found at the series’ website, www.grandamerican.com.

SPEED World Challenge Grand Touring

In SPEED World Challenge GT, Lou Gigliotti leads the championship by 12 points (155 vs. 143 for second-place Andy Pilgrim) after decimating the field at the series’ first visit to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Gigliotti qualified on the pole, led every lap, set the fastest race lap and crossed the finish line first in his No. 28 LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette.

Racing hard for nearly 43 minutes with no pause in the 100-plus degree ambient temperatures took its toll on the big Corvette, but the StopTech brakes took this punishment in stride. “The only cars that could brake with me into Turn One were my own teammates,” Lou said. “We’re really pleased with how the StopTech brakes worked for us and helped keep us in the lead!”

Gigliotti is the only driver to win twice in World Challenge GT so far this year. His previous victory was a similar flag-to-flag rout of the GT-class competition at Mid-Ohio. The No. 28 LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette, equipped with StopTech ST-60 six-piston front brakes and ST-40 rears, is the only Corvette to win a race in World Challenge in 2005 or 2006.

SPEED World Challenge Touring Car

After five of ten events, Randy Pobst in the No. 73 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsports Mazda 6 and Jeff Altenburg in the No. 72 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsports Mazda 6 now sit second and fifth, respectively, in the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car driver’s championship. StopTech-equipped racers have earned two poles, two wins, six podiums and a dozen top ten finishes so far in the series this season.

The next SPEED World Challenge race will be a Touring Car-only event on the streets of Denver, Colorado, August 11-13. Both classes will do battle at Road America the following weekend.

Television scheduling is not yet available for these events, but the latest information can be found on the series’ web site, www.world-challenge.com.

StopTech Brakes for Your Car

Unlike many racing components, the exact same two-piece AeroRotor® discs and six-, four- and two-piston calipers used by these successful racers are included in the Balanced Brake Upgrades StopTech engineers for street and track day cars. Located in Torrance, California, Stoptech is the performance engineering and manufacturing division of Centric Parts. StopTech is the leader in Balanced Brake Upgrades for production cars and production-based racecars. It has three patents in basic brake technology and one other pending. With a worldwide network of resellers, StopTech’s product line includes Balanced Brake Upgrades for approximately 450 applications, two-piece Direct Replacement Kit Aerorotors, braided stainless-steel brake lines and slotted original-dimension rotors. StopTech stocks a wide range of performance brake pads. The company’s website, www.stoptech.com, is a clearinghouse of performance brake information, as well as providing details on StopTech products.

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For more information contact Dan Barnes at (310) 325-4799 or by email at dbarnes@stoptech.com.