After a disappointing start to the 2008 season at the 56th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, B-K Motorsports and the No. 8 BP Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R LMP2 are ready to take on the streets of St. Pete in the second annual American Le Mans Series Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, April 4-5. Having rebuilt the Lola from the ground up, the team feels well prepared to face the challenges of the demanding temporary street circuit.
“There is much we didn’t get to do at Sebring,” said 2008 Rookie of the Year contender, Gerarod Bonilla. “I think everyone on the team is super hungry. This Mazda team and all of our partners at BP, Castrol, and Yokohama deserve a solid performance. We have lots of unfinished business, and we’re excited to get on with it.”
“I’m very excited,” said Bonilla of his first trip to the event along the Tampa Bay water front. “Even just to stand on the grid during pre-race ceremonies will be very special.”
With Sebring’s bad luck behind them, everyone on the team is focused on the task of chasing victories.
“These B-K guys never stop moving forward,” said Mazdas Motorsport’s Team Development Manager, John Doonan. “To see them keep their attention on the bigger picture and not getting down is testament to the quality of the people on this team and their commitment to excellence.”
This will be the second appearance of the American Le Mans Series on the streets of St. Petersburg and the first of three races on temporary street circuits.
Coverage of the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg will be live April 5th at 1:30PM EDT on ABC.
About Mazda:
On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle. At the track, you’ll see MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models competing, because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car. In fact, the largest road-racing class in the U.S. is the SCCA’s Spec Miata class, with over 1,500 first- and second-generation Miatas tearing up America’s racetracks, making it the most-raced production car in the world. Mazda’s involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one of the world’s premier road-racing circuits, and the Skip Barber Schools for driving and racing.
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Mazda North American Operations oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario, Canada, and in Mexico by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information go to
MazdaUSA - Wireless Home
About BP:
BP markets more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline every year to U.S. consumers through 13,000 BP and ARCO branded retail outlets and supplies more than four billion gallons of fuel annually to fleets, industrial users, auto and truck manufacturers, railroads and utilities.
BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corporation, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol. BP is a global producer, manufacturer and marketer of oil, gas, chemicals and renewable energy sources. For more information go to
BP Global | BP
About Yokohama Tire Corporation:
Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global producer and distributor of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation offers a complete line of tires, including high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, as well as off-the-road mining and construction applications. For details on Yokohama’s environmental efforts, go to
Yokohama | Eco Treadsetters.
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series is the premium brand of motorsport in North America, featuring high-tech sports cars from the most prestigious automobile manufacturers in the world. Its unique four classes of competition showcase exotic, open-top prototypes and sophisticated production-based GT cars, all competing on the track at the same time. The American Le Mans Series competes at the premier road racing tracks across North America and at selected temporary street circuits in major urban markets. With a 2007 television package that includes five network broadcasts on CBS and NBC and seven telecasts on SPEED, plus live broadcasts across Europe, the Series delivers a global marketing platform that is unmatched in motorsports. The Series, founded in 1999 by Georgia entrepreneur Don Panoz, represents a mirror image to the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most famous and authentic automobile race. The American Le Mans Series features elite marques such as Audi, Porsche, Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Panoz, and premium brands such as Michelin, Yokohama, Kumho, Lowe’s, Shell and many others. To follow the series, go to
americanlemas.com.
B-K Motorsports No. 8 BP Lola Mazda MZR Ready For The Streets of St. Pete 
