Rum Bum Racing Sets Speed Record at Kennedy Space Center

http://www.grand-am.com/news/index.cfm?series=k&cid=46032

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From a dramatic debut victory at Daytona International Speedway to the team’s iconic livery for the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing BMW to an incredible run of results for the second-year team, Rum Bum Racing has separated itself from the pack at every turn.

And so it came as little surprise to fans of the team that the squad took advantage of the multi-week break between GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge races not by slowing down, but rather by going flat out. What originally started as a way to test the aerodynamics on the No. 13 BMW M3 quickly became a record setting run.

When Rum Bum Racing team owner Luis Bacardi decided to take the No. 13 Rum Bum BMW to a completely new venue with a record-setting high-speed run on the wide open spaces of Kennedy Space Center’s huge runways, it was a break from everything the team had ever done before.

But with the crew led by canny veteran Joe Varde and the car pushed all the way past the top of the speedometer by Matt Plumb, Rum Bum Racing showed once again that the team is capable of success, no matter what the challenge.

Running as a guest of Performance Power Racing, with the International Mile Racing Association (IMRA) monitoring the test activites, Rum Bum Racing visited the hallowed but huge grounds where so many NASA Space Shuttles called home between visits to the skies. Performance Power Racing has a deep reserve of experience with this kind of top-speed tour, and was tapped to generate and capture the aerodynamic data that the runs were producing.

Rum Bum Racing found positive aerodynamic changes to be made, gathering new data that would not have been discovered or corrected without the straight line testing that was possible on the shuttle landing facilities.

The setting was ideal, as the wide open spaces and warm temperatures gave the team the room it needed for the BMW to stretch its legs and go for a new record.

There were two tests to be had as the No. 13 M3 first ran the “Standing Mile,” which saw the clock start to click with the BMW sitting at a stand still before taking off at full speed. Just one mile later, the V8 had powered Plumb forward to 173.711 mph-setting a new mark for the BMW M3.

The second category saw Plumb get a 300 foot head start to the proceedings as he crossed the timing line with some momentum already building. That brought an even more impressive result as his clocked another new M3 record with a mark of 185.804 miles per hour through the “Flying Mile” markers.

“That was a lot of fun! It is pretty remarkable that we just unloaded from a race with the same Continental Tires and same BMW M3 that we normally use to race in GRAND-AM, and just hit the runway and set some records this week,” said Plumb. “I want to thank Mr. Bacardi for making this possible. This was a really cool experience. It’s way different from anything we’ve done before and we learned a lot. And now we have a car that has not only won races in GRAND-AM, it has gone off and set new records at Kennedy as well. Hopefully we can add one more win this year at Mid-Ohio.”

Rum Bum Racing will target yet more trophies as the 2011 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season finale closes out the season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sept. 16-17.