Bieker strengthens championship position with third at Autobahn

July 28, 2009 (Burbank, Calif.) – Sitting third in points in the Patron GT3 Challenge presented by Yokohama, Galen Bieker, teammate Bob Rodriguez, and the Werks II / P7 Racing team traveled to the Harrah’s Grand Prix at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois for rounds five and six of the championship.

Bieker got off to a fast start by qualifying third in class and fourth overall. After a clean start, Bieker spent the first part of the race battling for the third spot before taking the position with a pass into turn three. With the two leaders far up the road by this point, Bieker saved his tires and waited for a chance to catch them with a full course yellow. However, the race would run incident-free to the checkered, and Bieker finished third overall and third in class, strengthening his third place in the championship standings.

With the sixth round starting based on lap times from round five, Bieker would start that race in sixth position. He made up one position quickly at the start and, with the Autobahn course lacking many passing zones, set to applying heavy pressure to the car directly ahead who was being held up by the car in third place.

“I could see that his tires were falling off, and knew that mine were in really good shape,” said Bieker. “Both cars were starting to make mistakes and I was just waiting for the right opportunity to get by.”

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get the opportunity as the caution flew for an incident on track, and as the course workers were unable to clear the track in time, the race would end under yellow with Bieker crossing the line in fifth.

“We got good points by finishing third and fifth, but it was kind of unfortunate because it was obvious we could have gotten to third in the second race,” said Bieker. “We learned more about the Porsche GT3 and it was reflected in the lap times between Saturday and Sunday, and we still left third in points so that is good for Werks II / P7 Racing.”

The next event for the Patron GT3 Challenge presented by Yokohama will be August 13-16 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

About Werks II Motorsports

Based in Burbank, California, Werks II Motorsports has over thirty years experience racing and preparing Porsches for competition, and tuning all makes of German car for the street and the track. Werks II is also a warehouse distributor for the highest quality of motorsports manufacturers, supplying equipment for professional teams, club racers and driving enthusiasts alike. For more information, visit www.werks2.com, or call (818) 845-2530.