Long Beach, Calif. - As they head to Southern California ready for the Tequila Patrón American LeMans Series at Long Beach, April 18-19, the B-K Motorsports crew with the No. 8 BP Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R LMP2 have never felt more prepared. As the series returns for the second straight year at the historic street circuit for one of the most anticipated races of the season, B-K drivers, Ben Devlin and Gerardo Bonilla come poised and ready.
Displaying a carefully measured sense of confidence, Devlin made his case for the team’s readiness.
“First off,” Ben noted, “we like Long Beach. We had one of our best runs there in 2007 and we feel it’s a bit like home knowing we’re running in front of many members of the Mazda and Yokohama corporate families. We want to do well for them. Second, We had an excellent run in St. Pete. We approached the weekend cautiously, putting the car through its paces and bringing it home in one piece. We have since tested in Utah and the car was great. We were able get in plenty of seat time and, we were able to spend time on setups and tires. The results were very encouraging. I think Gerardo [Bonilla] and I will have a great opportunity to show what the No. 8 BP Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R can do.”
John Doonan, Manager, Motorsports Team Development for Mazda, shared Devlin’s optimism.
“We are very much looking forward to getting back to Long Beach,” Doonan said . “We had a promising run going here last year and we look to carry some momentum from St. Pete into the race this weekend. This race ends up being a “home track” for so many of us from Mazda and Yokohama…and we will have many guests from our partners at BP. We will certainly give it our best to give the home town crowd something to cheer about.”
Last week, Devlin hit the streets of Long Beach in the stunning Mazda Furai concept car as part of Media Day for Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach.
Furai takes Mazda’s unique Nagare (Japanese for “flow”) design language a step further as it is translated into a concept car based on an American Le Mans Series racing car. The car utilizes the Courage C65 chassis the company campaigned in the Series in 2005 and 2006, and the 450-hp three-rotor rotary engine that distinguishes it from anything else on the track.
“It’s a fantastic thing to drive,” Devlin said. “For the way that Mazda has looked to bridge the gap between race cars and road cars, it’s a really special thing. It’s based on the race car so it’s not much slower than what we’re driving on the track. It’s the future and what has given us the drive to go forward.”
The Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, Round 3 of the 2008 season, is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 19 from the famed Long Beach street circuit. ABC will broadcast the race from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 20. XM Satellite Radio will provide coverage on Channel 144 from 7 to 9 p.m. ET Saturday, April 19. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage of the race at americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring.
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
American Le Mans Series :: World Class.
B-K Motorsports Poised and Confident as the Team Returns to Long Beach 
