Next Level European Team Drivers Endure Heat and Caution-Free Race at Lime Rock Park

The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at Lime Rock Park surprised everyone by having a full field of 35 cars with no caution periods for the entire two-and-a-half-hour race. The short but fast 1.53-mile, seven-turn road course in the metropolitan New York City area was expected to exhibit plenty of off-course excursions during the 150-lap race.

Yet, despite the short course with plenty of wheel-to-wheel action, the exciting race went on without much incident aside from a couple of localized yellow flags. Through the relatively incident-free turn of events for the sixth of 10 Continental Tire Challenge rounds, both Next Level European (NLE) Porsches managed to finish the race unscathed.

The No. 38 Next Level European (NLE) Porsche Cayman of qualifying driver Dan Rogers started from 18th on the grid for the Street Tuner (ST) class. After practice session times in the top six, the changing track conditions and unexpected heat proved challenging for the team's race-day setup, and they were never able to advance on the field as they had hoped. Co-driver Seth Thomas also gave it his best effort in the second half of the race, but as the cockpit temperatures rose and tire grip changed, he settled for crossing the finish line in 19th position.

Ari Balogh was starting and qualifying driver in the Red Line Oil-sponsored No. 83 Next Level European Porsche Cayman. He began the race from the 22nd position in the mid-engine Porsche and made advances on the field before turning the wheel over to teammate Greg Liefooghe at the midway point.

After suffering ABS issues at the last race in Canada, Greg and Ari had hoped brake issues were behind them; however, as the race went on and with no cautions to cool down the cars or brakes, they once again struggled with brake problems during the chase to the checkered flag. In the end, they persevered and brought the car home in one piece in 24th position in the ST class.

Dan Rogers, driver, No. 38 Next Level European Porsche Cayman:
"This was a tough race and part of a tough season. Seth and I make our share of mistakes (more me than Seth), but we work hard to correct them and learn from them. Most of this year, however, we are struggling with the car - making it go fast consistently throughout a two-and-a-half-hour race. 'We' in this case is the team: Dave, our engineer; Rich, our car chief; the over-the-wall guys; James Clay, doing car development; and really the whole Bimmerworld/Next Level crew. Racing is a team sport, so the hardest thing about this stretch is watching the guys work hard and not get the results they deserve.

"On a positive note, though, after a couple of years of struggle, the Bimmerworld F30s are hitting their stride. James and Tyler are getting results, and Jerry and Kyle are racing well, and their results will come."

Seth Thomas, driver, No. 38 Next Level European Porsche Cayman:
"It was hot in the race car. We missed the setup, and missing the setup, along with the heat, made for just a not-so-spectacular weekend. It started off great. We were P2 and P6 in the practice sessions, but then we didn't get any faster after that."

Greg Liefooghe, driver, No. 83 Red Line Oil Porsche Cayman:
"Well, we had brake problems again. The brake pedal went to the floor a couple times during the race. We didn't have the pace, and I feel like our car fell off a lot more than the others, so we just need more work. The heat was okay. We train all the time for that, so it wasn't too bad."

The television broadcast of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race will be on FOX Sports 1 on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, July 31 at 12 PM EDT.

The next race, Round 7 for the Continental Tire Challenge, will be held at Road America as part of the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase on Saturday, August 6.