Brimtek Motorsports Revisits the Podium at Miller Motorsports Park

The No. 33 Brimtek/Germanautoparts.com GTI stands proudly on the World Challenge podium again at Miller Motorsports Park. The road to Utah was a ruthless one for the Brimtek team…the rig was almost sabotaged by a quarter mile stretch of black ice in Wyoming, the fuel line broke and the cherry on top was a flat tire. Regardless of all of the obstacles faced during the journey to Utah, the competition that showed up at Round 4 of World Challenge was the main adversary.

“I knew that Utah was going to be an arduous race for us. Compared to most of my competitors who have had plenty of seat time on the Miller course, I was coming in with none. We had to make this race count and prove to the racing community that our win at St. Petersburg was not just a lucky break for a rookie,” remarked driver, Tristan Herbert.

The mayhem that ensued from the crash after the standing start of the race was not an ideal setting for any racer, but the No. 33 Brimtek/Germanautoparts.com GTI was able to make it through the flying car debris and dust clouds, unscathed. Herbert ended up in fifth place after Eric Meyer in the No. 32 XOWii Racing/Samaritan’s Feet/Delvira Mazda RX-8 had an incredible start along with Robb Holland in the No. 66 K-Pax Racing Volvo C30. Within a couple of laps, Herbert was able to overtake both drivers and settle into third place. After giving chase for the majority of the race and briefly advancing into second place over driver, Ron Zitza, the No. 60 Gila Monster/Zotz Racing Volkswagen, Herbert cinched back into third to finish out the race.

“I watched Ron Zitza and Aaron Povoledo battle for the lead almost every lap. I was closing in on them but just ran out of time and tires. I decided to settle into third place and did not want to risk burning the car down or making a bad move that would jeopardize a podium finish,” said Herbert.

The Brimtek team was unable to make the Long Beach race which put a dent in their points lead in the series but are now back in the top 5, behind Devin Cates in the No. 23 Cutaway Creations / Cates Engineering VW.

The No. 33 Brimtek/Germanautoparts.com GTI will spend the next few weeks at RennGruppe Motorsports, located in Lexington, North Carolina. Team principal, Dave Tilton commented, “We are motivated to capture this championship. Although we are aware that we have a lot of work cut out for us the remainder of the season, we are committed to win.” Many additional preparations will need to be made as the team prepares for Round 5&6 of World Challenge at Mosport.

Virginia-native Tristan Herbert is a natural competitor in everything that he does, ranging from professional snowboarding (member of the Budweiser Aerial Assault Team from 1998 to 2000) to racing cars. He began his track career in 1999 racing motorcycles, moving to cars in 2008. In the past three years of SCCA club racing Tristan has amassed 22 wins, 2 track records and the ITB championship in the Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series.

Sponsors: BRIMTEK, Germanautoparts.com, RennGruppe Motorsports.