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LATEST NEWS:
TeamMBR Qualifies in the Front for the 2010 Rolex
24 at Daytona / Finishes 23rd After Mechanical Issues
Team MBR with Godstone Ranch
Motorsports and Leighton Reese Performance
Group (LRPG), returned to the Rolex 24
Hours at Daytona to kick off the 2010 season. With a strong qualifying effort put up
by Paul Edwards, the team looked poised to finish at the top, but
mid-race technical difficulties caused an early exit, leaving the team in
a disappointing 23rd position.
Edwards had the Corvette qualified on the pole with only a few
minutes of the qualifying session remaining but 3 other teams were able
to dig deep for a few extra 10ths of a second to qualify ahead of the
Corvette. Nevertheless, the car
was the top qualifying American made car in the line up.
The race started with a full
course caution due to rain. The
team had a few minor miscues early in the race which put the car in the
back of the pack, however, after some adjustments, Edwards had the car
moving toward the front of the pack and for multiple laps, was the
fastest car on the track. Edwards
worked the car up from last all the way to 14th before handing the car
off to John McCutchen.
McCutchen’s stint was routine
until a spin during a caution period in the 4th hour caused some major suspension
damage in the rear of the car. The
damage eventually caused severe rear end problems, and the car had to be
brought in for rear end and transmission work. About an hour and a half later, Scott
Russell took over the reins with plans to keep the car out for a long
stint to make up for the lost time.
Scott ran well but with the plans
for a long stint were cut short with a spin and
impact in the 8th hour. After a
short trip to garage for body repairs, Davy took over. Like Scott, a long stint for Davy was
planned and he completed most of it.
Just after midnight, he was bumped from from
behind in the International Horseshoe causing the trailing car to spend,
but Davy kept the Corvette on course.
Davy completed the stint but when he passed the car back to Paul,
the wear and tear due to earlier damage had taken too much of a toll on the car to continue and all
options for repair had been exhausted.
The team finished the event 23rd in
the GT class.
TeamMBR Returns To Daytona With Godstone
Ranch Motorsports, Leighton Reese Performance Group And An All-Star
Driver Lineup For The 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona
Michael Baughman Racing (TeamMBR)
announced today that it will campaign an All-Star team consisting of
TeamMBR, Godstone Ranch
Motorsports and Leighton Reese Performance
Group (LRPG) for the 2010 running of
the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team
will field a new Corvette to be driven by 1990 24 Hours at Daytona winner
Davy Jones, Grand-Am veteran Paul Edwards, MotoGP
star and Hall of Fame racer Scott “Mr. Daytona” Russell and
SCCA champion John McCutchen II. The team will be racing to benefit the Texas
Heart Institute.
“We have been working for
months to put this program together and believe we have a combination
that can contend for a podium in the GT class”, stated TeamMBR
owner Michael Baughman. The team
will be racing a Corvette C6 provided by LRPG and will
complete testing and setup at the Roar Before the 24 on January
8-10. “Our driver line up is
stellar, our combined teams are all-pro, the car is fast and durable and
we have impressive consortium of sponsorship fully behind us. We have done everything we can to put
us in the best possible position to win and maximize positive exposure
for the Texas
Heart Institute”.
This effort will represent TeamMBR’s fifth Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The team will be managed by Michael
Baughman of TeamMBR. Mike has over
30 years of motorsports racing, both as an owner and driver and has
competed in Grand-Am since its inception.
The pit crew will be composed of a best-of-best combination of
TeamMBR, Godstone Ranch
Motorsports and LRPG over-the-wall
pit crew, mechanics and support staff.
Drivers Davy Jones, Paul Edwards, Scott Russell and John McCutchen II will pilot the #07 Victory Red Corvette
through the famous high banks of Daytona on route to what undoubtedly
will be an exciting race.
Davy Jones is one of the most
celebrated drivers in American Sports Car history, he has competed with unprecedented
success in virtually every form of motorsports including Grand Am, Le
Mans Series, IndyCar, Nascar,
IMSA-GTP, IROC and Formula 3. Jones returns to the Rolex 24 on the 20th
anniversary of his victory at the historic event. The Chicago
native is also the last American driver to achieve an overall victory at
the 24 Hours of Le Mans
after his 1996 win, the same year he narrowly missed winning the Indy 500
by the slimmest of margins. A feat bested by only one other driver in
history – motor sports legend, A. J. Foyt,
who won both of those races in the same year.
In 2008 Paul Edwards led Leighton Reese Performance
Group to the Rolex Sports Car Series
GT Drivers’ Championship, GT Team Championship and GT
Manufacturers’ Championship.
In 2009 Edwards had a strong year as well with a runner-up
championship finish and a fourth place at the Rolex 24. The talented American is a constant
visitor to Victory Lane
and will attempt to add his first Rolex 24 win to his record with Godstone Ranch
Motorsports in 2010.
Scott Russell, a.k.a. Mr.
Daytona, is best known as the record five-time Daytona 200 winner. He is
a former World Superbike and AMA Superbike Champion, and is the all-time
leader in 750cc AMA Supersport wins. He was
inducted into AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2005. Russell made his four-wheel debut in
the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona and has since been honing his car racing
skills in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series and the Rolex
Sports Car Series. He will join LRPG teammate
Edwards in 2010 as he competes in his first full four-wheel season.
John McCutchen
II reentered racing in 2008 after he and his wife Karen raised their two
children, capturing 13 podiums out of 15 starts including 12 wins and two
class track records. He is the 2009 SCCA Southwest Division Super Touring
Champion finishing fifth in the national points standings. John also
placed in the Top 5 in the 2009 NASA Pro German Sports Car Touring GTS4
series points. In 2008, he finished fifth in his debut appearance at the
national championship American
Road Race of Champions at Road Atlanta. McCutchen currently campaigns a Rolex Grand-Am
Corvette C5.R in various national race series and is a frequent test
driver and guest instructor at high performance driving events
The mission of Texas
Heart Institute is to reduce the devastating
toll of cardiovascular disease through innovative programs in research,
education and improved patient care.
Texas
Heart Institute is a nonprofit organization
founded by Dr. Denton
A. Cooley in 1962. Its location in Houston’s
Texas Medical
Center and affiliations with St.
Luke's Episcopal Hospital and Texas
Children's Hospital assured that all age groups would be treated and
freed the Institute of the burden of financing a health care
facility. Texas
Heart Institute is a nonprofit organization in
the truest sense. Unlike most institutions that have a source of
operating revenue, Texas
Heart Institute relies solely on government
grants, research contracts and, above all, philanthropy. In fact,
donations from grateful patients, foundations, corporations, physicians,
and the general public account for more than half of the Institute's
annual operating budget. TeamMBR
supports and endorses Texas
Heart Institute and sincerely requests and
encourages our fans to donate to this worthy cause through the donation
link at Godstone Ranch Motorsports.
Download the complete press
release.
TeamMBR Tests New Corvette C6
At New Jersey
Michael Baughman Racing (TeamMBR) is pleased to
announce the addition and availability of the new Corvette C6 GT to our
Grand Am Rolex Series Arrive-And-Drive
racing line up. The car was
recently completed, tested and certified by the team at an all day test
session with the manufacturer at the ninth stop on 2010 Grand Am Rolex
schedule, New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) near
Atlantic City, New Jersey. The
Corvette is a Grand-AM Prep One (1), manufactured by Phoenix Performance near Philadelphia, PA.
 
“The car has excellent
feel, and is very neutral and predictable”, said Mike Baughman,
President of Michael Baughman Racing.
“The handling and the anti-lock brake system is superb
… an excellent addition to our Arrive-And-Drive line
up”. Seats are still
available in the Corvette for Arrive-and-Drive
Program participants for most 2010
races.
Specification Highlights:
 Corvette C6-R
Built by Phoenix Performance
Grand-Am
Corvette Prep I
Chevrolet LS6
Engine
Brembo Brakes
ABS Brake
System
Penske Shocks
4 Wheel
Independent Coil Over Suspension
Rockland Standard Tranzilla Close Ratio 6
Speed Transmission
Data
Acquisition
Program details are available
by contacting TeamMBR at AriveAndDrive@TeamMBR.Com or by
calling Mike Baughman at 301-842-1159.
Download the complete press release.
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