Burton Racing Road America Post-Race Report

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (8 August 2015) - With a strong two-car entry, an exciting young talent charging to the front in his IMSA debut, and a healthy group of sponsor partners on hand to root on the team, it was a big day of racing for Burton Racing at Road America on Saturday. 

The race marked Round 7 of the 2015 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship as the team looks to make a strong push through the remaining three races on the schedule to the finale at Road Atlanta in October.  With the corporate offices not far down the road, the No. 23 303 Products/STA-BIL/Gold Eagle BMW 128i of full season drivers Terry Borcheller and Mike LaMarra were supported by a great group of Gold Eagle hospitality guests as the race was part of the showcase for 303 Products. The sister Burton Racing entry for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase event was shared by the veteran Anthony Lazzaro and a brand new name on the IMSA scene as Wisconsin native Josh Bilicki took to the track for his very first IMSA race in the No. 21 Trim-Tex Drywall Products BMW 128i. In an impressive IMSA debut, Bilicki led eight laps on the 4-mile circuit that he calls home. Strategy didn't quite play out for the young racer when he pitted from the lead under green flag conditions and fell to the rear of the field, but the promising run still brought excitement for the team as Bilicki led his first-ever IMSA laps in his first-ever IMSA race on his way to a 20th place finish.“Leading was awesome!” said an enthused Bilicki following the race. “I heard I got a lot of TV time. Actually, as I passed the big screens I saw my car a couple of times so I think Joe (Koenig, Trim-Tex CEO) will be happy about that. I can't thank Trim-Tex enough. Without them I would not be here. Burton Racing gave me a great car. And I would like to thank everybody else, my dad, my family. I have a lot of family and friends here this weekend and my dad has a lot of customers here so thank you all!”Borcheller and LaMarra had a trying day in their No. 23 303 Products/STA-BIL/Gold Eagle BMW 128i when an electrical issue arose and worsened through the race. Borcheller and LaMarra struggled to maintain position when the engine would shut off on the car and it would suddenly fall off the pace. It was a hard fought 19th place position for the duo as they battled their car and competitors to take the checkered flag. “The car was really good at first,” said LaMarra, who ran as high as ninth after starting 14th. “We had some fun racing back there. I think I had a pretty good start, made up some positions. We had some challenges with the car. There was something loose I think and periodically the car would just shut off. That made it very challenging to drive. We had some challenges with the ABS but we were able to work through that fortunately. We were just trying to persevere in this race. It's a contrast to last year, but everyone worked hard, the cars looked great and we are just happy to bring it home in one piece.“It was very frustrating because the car was the best it has been from a handling standpoint,” offered Borcheller. “And we've been working really, really hard to get it that way. We’ll just turn the page and now focus on the next one at VIR.” “It was exciting to have so many of our friends and supporters from Trim-Tex and 303 Products here with us and of course to see Josh put the Trim-Tex car up front today,” said team manager Keith Burton. “The strategy didn’t play out for us, but it was a good performance from Josh in his first run in IMSA. The 23 car just had something going on electronically that kept Terry and Mike from making the most of a good handling car. So the results are pretty far from what we were hoping for, but there were a lot of positives to take out of the weekend and we will build on them at VIR.”Burton Racing will be back in action at VIRginia International Raceway on August 20. FOX Sports 1 will televise the Road America event on Monday, August 17 at 8:00 PM ET