Fast Pace and Hard Work Not Enough For BAR1 Top 1 Oil PC

Matt McMurry in the No. 20 ORECA FLM09 Prototype

Despite running a quick pace and putting in the hard work, BAR1 Motorsports and its drivers Johnny Mowlem and Matt McMurry in the No. 20 ORECA FLM09 Prototype, sponsored by Top 1 Oil and Southwest Funding, took a hard hit finishing 6th at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda (April 29 – May 1) featured a pair of two-hour races on the challenging and scenic 2.238-mile circuit.

Despite some challenges in the practice sessions, both Matt McMurry and teammate Johnny Mowlem were showing good pace through out the weekend. McMurry took the qualifying session. Showing quick times in the early going and running as high as P1, Matt did a great job qualifying the car right in the thick of things, 4th.

"Matt did outstanding in the car this weekend," noted team owner, Brian Alder. "We lost a session due to a clutch problem, and with limited track time before qualifying, Matt did a fantastic job qualifying a very respectable 4th."

Things continued to show movement in the right direction in Sunday’s warmup session, prior to the PC / GTD race.

"Warmup was great," added Alder. "We got the car dialed in and Johnny Mowlem posted the fastest overall lap time for the session. We felt good going into the race. In the race we were in great shape, fighting for the lead with four other PC cars. Then, on lap 11, as the field was lapping slower GTD cars, Matt got hit from behind. The hit was hard enough to brake the exhaust header, leaving us severely down on power for the remainder of the race."

Johnny Mowlen

"It's a real shame," continued Brian. "We had the pace. The yellow flag fell at just the right moment. Johnny was in prime position on the restart ready to make a run for the podium. But the damage from earlier in the race held us back. We had such high hopes going into this weekend, we left feeling as we had been robbed"

The team heads back to Ohio to prepare the car for the upcoming Chevrolet Sports Car Classic presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers with the sports cars of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Detroit’s Belle Isle. Tomy Drissi will be back in the car joining veteran, Johnny Mowlem. The 100 minute race takes place Saturday, June 4th with the green flag set to fly at 12:40PM EST. The race will air live beginning at 12:30PM EST on Fox Sports FS1.

BAR1 Motorsports

BAR1 Motorsports competes in the WeatherTech Championship and Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Series. The team is located in Plain City, Ohio. Team owner, Brian Alder, has been an active and winning crew chief in the American Le Mans Series, now WeatherTech Championship, since its inception. You can find out more about BAR1 at www.bar1motorsports.com, follow the team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bar1Motorsports or Twitter @bar1motorsports.

IMSA

The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech Championship, the road-racing series resulting from the merger of the American Le Mans Series and the GRAND-AM Sports Car Series. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, Ferrari Challenge North America and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected TUDOR United SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.