The BimmerWorld Racing team from Dublin, Virginia will move up to the big leagues in 2022, contesting the SRO GT World Challenge America championship with a pair of M4 GT3s. It will be the team’s first venture into top-tier GT3 racing after competing with 3 Series- or M3/M4-based models for several years, most recently in the GT4 America championship last year with the M4 GT4. BimmerWorld has not turned their back on the M4 GT4, as they will race that car again this year as well.
BimmerWorld Team Principal and driver James Clay got his first taste of the M4 GT3 in at 24-hour race at Sebring back in November 2021, and he’s excited about spending a whole season with the car. “The M4 GT3 is a very well thought out and designed car,” he says. “It was intuitive to drive and nicely composed. I can’t wait for our team to dig in and really start learning the new machine!” Clay will co-drive with Ari Balogh in the #36 M4 GT3. Balogh has previous experience with BimmerWorld in 2017 and has raced GT4, GT3, LMP3, and LMP2 cars since then.
Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull will return to BimmerWorld this season after competing in the M4 GT4 for the team last year, and will pair up in the #94 M4 GT3. “Bill obviously has a wealth of experience in BMW cars, including several previous GT3 generations, and was at the American rollout of the M4 last year, which will be super helpful as we develop the new car,” explained Clay. “Chandler has also gained tremendous experience already this year in the M4 GT3 in the Creventic Dubai 24H and the Asian LeMans series races, so I think everyone is really well-prepared to make this inaugural season a great one.”
Devin Jones will return to BimmerWorld Racing in 2022 for the first time since suffering injuries in a crash at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in an M4 GT4 in August 2020. Jones will team up with James Walker Jr. in the #82 M4 GT4 in the GT4 America SprintX championship. Walker has previous experience with BimmerWorld as well, as he drove an M4 GT4 with Auberlen in the GT4 America series last year. “I love both of these guys and am excited to have them together in a car for the season,” said Clay. “They have both been successful with BimmerWorld and the M4 GT4, and they are both important to the continuity and culture of our team.”
The SRO GT World Challenge America and GT4 America SprintX seasons open at Sonoma Raceway in California on the weekend of April 15–17. For more information, visit the SRO America website.—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy BimmerWorld Racing.]