Photo courtesy of Jimmy Sykes	Photo courtesy of Jimmy Sykes
Richmond and Thomas took ninth and tenth place	Clay finished in fifth place

For: Immediate Release     Date: April 6, 2005    Contact: Robert Lee

April 6, 2005—StopTech-equipped cars filled half of the top ten spots, and took a host of awards, at the season opener of this year's World Challenge Touring Car event at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

Bill Auberlen, in the #1 Turner Motorsports/H&R Springs BMW 325i, finished 2nd, with Jeff Altenburg, in the #72 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsport Mazda 6, close behind in 3rd place. Three Bimmerworld BMW 325i drivers completed the collection of triumphs, with James Clay #36 placing 5th, Matt Richmond #37 placing 9th, and Seth Thomas #38 coming in 10th.

StopTech cars also swept three awards during the event, starting with Jeff Altenburg's claiming the Air Force Reserve Pole Position award with a 2:21.84 lap time in the qualifying session, and breaking the track record with an average lap speed of 93.9 mph. He went on to win the GS610 Deeper, Harder, Longer Braking award by executing a bold pass for 3rd place over Nic Jonsson #27 in lap 18. Hugh Stewart #22 took the Sunoco Hard Charger award, with a dramatic advance of 14 positions.

The qualifying session was canceled due to torrential rain, so the starting lineup was determined by the practice times from the previous session, with StopTech-equipped cars yielding the three fastest times. The 50-minute race started aggressively, but as the cars jockeyed for position on entering the first turn, Pierre Kleinubing's #43 Acura TSX clipped Altenburg's Mazda 6, sending Altenburg spinning into the wall. Altenburg recovered, however, after much of the field had passed, and he spent the remainder of the race skillfully slicing his way through the pack, with much passing under braking, to finish in 3rd place.

"A 3rd-place finish is a great way to start the season" said Altenburg after the race. "I had a great car, as usual, and we dodged a huge bullet when we bounced off that guardrail at the start. The fact that we were able to continue with no problems is testament and tribute to the construction of my Mazda 6. I have to thank StopTech brakes for giving me the confidence to go for that last award-winning pass."

The Bimmerworld trio was led by Clay #36, who quickly left his 12th place starting position behind, moving into 7th place by the end of the first lap, and advancing two more positions to finish in 5th place. Richmond #37 started 13th, and also moved into the top 10 in the first lap, gaining a further position to finish 9th. Thomas #38 advanced five positions during the race to finish in 10th place.

"Having all three BimmerWorld drivers finish in the top ten is a really good way to start out the season" said Thomas. "The crew was excellent, and the cars ran flawlessly. I'm looking forward to some better weather and a fantastic weekend on the streets of St. Pete!"

StopTech LLC, located in Torrance, California, manufactures high performance brake systems and components for production and production-based racecars. StopTech AeroRotors® are manufactured by Pilenga Spa. StopTech is the leader in Balanced Brake Systems™ for production cars, and holds three patents in basic brake technology with one pending. StopTech has a worldwide network of resellers. For more information on Stoptech, visit www.stoptech.com

For more information call Robert Lee at (310) 325-4799 x 106 or email at rlee@stoptech.com.