BGR/Piper Race Cars Captures Florida Win And Podiums

Details: Category: Road Racing

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Ben Hurst took his first win at Homestead, while team mate Roman DeAngelis captrued a pair of 2nds at Sebring.

By: Brian Graham Racing
January 25 2017

While the base for BGR was covered in snow, the team headed south to compete in the 2017 SCCA Majors events at both Homestead Speedway and the historic Sebring International Raceway. The trip got off to a great start with returning driver Ben Hurst capturing his first win at Homestead. Ben backed that result up with a hard fought 4th place the next day to cap off a super opening weekend for the BGR/Piper Race Cars Team.

One week later, the team headed to Sebring to contest the next Majors event and this time Ben's teammate Roman DeAngelis took to the track in his first race of the year. Showing that his stellar rookie season was no fluke, Roman had two great races. Leading multiple laps in both races, Roman snagged two 2nd place finishes. Race 2 was particularly impressive as a pace lap spin saw Roman take the green flag form the 20th starting spot instead of his front row qualifying spot. That did not deter the young racer as he made quick work of the traffic and passed the Saturday winner to lead the race. From there he was in a fierce battle right to the checkered flag and only narrowly missed the win. The official results however would include a penalty of 2 finishing positions, as the officials determined that he was required to go to the back of the entire field after his spin, not just behind the last car in his class.

"A terrific start to our season from both our young drivers. Congrats to Ben on his first win, he joins a list of BGR winners that is likely the most impressive from any F1600 team in North America. I am sure Ben is on his way to a great season with a big boost in his confidence. Roman had two stunning drives and was in with a shot for the win both days. His race craft was fantastic to come back from a mistake on the pace lap and he definitely put in the drive of the day,” comments team Principal Brian Graham.

Brian Graham indicated that both drivers plan on earning an invitation to the SCCA Run Offs to be held at the one and only Indianapolis motor Speedway this fall and the team is off to a great start. The development of the Piper DL7/Hondas continues and showed very well in a mix of all the different chassis competing. “We are as usual very happy to be back racing and excited about the 2017 season."

Next up for the Ontario based team is more testing and the next two Southeast SCCA Majors events at Road Atlanta and Virginia International Raceway. Upon completion, the team will return home and begin the campaign for both the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship as well as the Quebec based Formula Tour 1600 Series. Seats are still available for some events and interested parties can contact the team for more info.

BGR is the Canadian distributor for Piper Racecars and is a factory supported team of the popular chassis which is built in California, USA. The all new Piper DL7 debuted in 2014 and grabbed its first win at CTMP winning the Al Craighead CanAm Cup. BGR has put more drivers in the winner’s circle than any other team in OFFC history and has an incredible run winning the Rookie of the Year 10 of the last 11 years. With an alumni list that boasts drivers who have gone on to Championships all over North America to several starters in the Indy 500, BGR is well known as the place to begin a career in open wheel racing.

To learn more about the team visit www.briangrahamracing.com