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In one of the most thrilling finishes in recent memory, Rum Bum Racing secured a class victory at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, cementing the team’s status as one of the premier Porsche programs in North America.

24 Hours of Perfection

The race was a masterclass in endurance racing strategy. Through multiple weather changes, safety car periods, and intense competition, the Rum Bum Racing crew executed flawlessly.

Driver Lineup Excellence

The driver lineup performed brilliantly, each taking their stints and delivering consistent, error-free laps when it mattered most. The final hour saw intense pressure from competitors, but the team held firm.

In a season defined by consistency and strategic brilliance, Rum Bum Racing clinched both the driver and team championships at Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans weekend.

A Season to Remember

The 2016 campaign represented the pinnacle of Rum Bum Racing’s development. Every aspect of the operation—from engineering to pit strategy to driver preparation—came together in perfect harmony.

The Numbers

• 8 podium finishes in 11 races
• 4 victories
• Led championship from round 3 onward

Celebration

“This is the result of years of building, learning, and improving,” the team principal reflected. “Everyone in this organization contributed to this championship. From the mechanics to the engineers to the drivers—this is a team achievement.”

Long-loyal squad hits ‘pause’ in IMSA

Orlando, Fla. (25 April 2016) –  Enough is enough, for now. After a record-setting run that saw the squad go from mere concept to winningest team in series history, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing will suspend its 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge campaign.

The team made a winning first impression in 2010, taking a victory at Daytona International Speedway in its first-ever race with drivers Matt Plumb and Gian Bacardi.

From that speedy debut, the team has accumulated in its 66 starts, 21 wins, 6 poles, and 32 podiums. It has completed 91% of total race laps, and has led 17% of those laps. The organization won the GRAND-AM Championship in 2012 and scored another spot in the record books with an encore GRAND-AM Championship again in 2013.

The team not only scored back-to-back titles for the team and drivers in 2012 and 2013, Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing also played critical points-generating roles in the Manufacturers Championship, pushing BMW to the title in 2010 and 2011, and then doing the same for Porsche again in 2012 and 2013.

Rum Bum Racing wasn’t afraid of the big stage, either. The team came just a coffee mug of fuel short of scoring a podium in their Rolex 24 At Daytona debut in 2013 with an Audi R8, and again made a big impression with an exploratory run in IMSA’s GTD Class at Sebring in 2014.

Lead driver and General Manager Matt Plumb raced into the record books, not only becoming the winningest driver in the history of the championship, but also doing so in record time. Team Manager Joe Varde also added to his Championship record of 9 as driver and crew chief.

Aligned with Bacardi’s emerging Rum Bum brand, the team has been a successful group off the track as well. With a full merchandise line of apparel for its fans to support the team’s IMSA efforts, a remarkable social media following with over 53,000 fans on Facebook, and a concerted effort to give fans the behind the scenes look at the team via a significant video effort (www.rumbumracing.com/videos), the team has been as active getting the word out as it has to get the wins.

Originally formed ahead of the 2010 GRAND-AM season, Rum Bum Racing has remained loyal to GRAND-AM, and then IMSA. The 2015 season saw the signature preparation and pit execution from the Joe Varde-led team, however the team came up short in pace for the Championship over the powerful Stevenson Camaro. The 2016 season saw the team fighting once again to hold a lead on a number of occasions due to once again perfect strategy and execution in the pits only to suffer a devastating mechanical failure at Daytona and a third place finish at Sebring.

The team will continue to evaluate competition possibilities in the future as well as investigate partnership opportunities.

Rum Bum Racing Information:
2010: 3 Wins (Daytona, Trois-Rivieres, Miller Motorsports Park)
BMW Manufacturer Championship
2011: 3 Wins (Daytona, Lime Rock Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course)
BMW Manufacturer Championship
2012: 5 Wins (Barber Motorsports Park, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Road America, Watkins Glen, Lime Rock Park)
IMSA Team Champions, Porsche wins Manufacturer Championship
2013: 3 Wins (Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road America)
IMSA Team and Driver Champions, Porsche wins Manufacturer Championship
2014: 1 Win (Kansas Speedway)
2015: 3 Wins (Daytona, Road America, Virginia International Raceway)

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Long-loyal squad hits ‘pause’ in IMSA

Orlando, Fla. (25 April 2016) –  Enough is enough, for now. After a record-setting run that saw the squad go from mere concept to winningest team in series history, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing will suspend its 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge campaign.

The team made a winning first impression in 2010, taking a victory at Daytona International Speedway in its first-ever race with drivers Matt Plumb and Gian Bacardi.

Sebring, Fla. (18 March 2015) – Continuing to set new marks in IMSA competition, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing once again returned to the podium at Sebring International Raceway with a third place finish in what was a thrilling IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge show around the 3.74-mile central Florida road course. Brothers Hugh and Matt Plumb drove to the team’s 32nd podium and second consecutive Sebring podium result after finishing third in last year’s event.

Hugh Plumb opened the 2.5-hour race from the front row after qualifying second on the grid during Thursday’s qualifying session. At the drop of the green flag, he slotted into second behind the pole-sitting Mustang and delivered quick and consistent laps to remain among the top-three for the opening 50 minutes.

He had moved up to lead the race when Crew Chief Joe Varde called Hugh to pit lane for the team’s first pit stop some 53 minutes into the event. An expert full service stop of fuel, tires, and a driver change saw Matt Plumb emerge with the race lead ahead of the pole-sitting No. 15 Mustang of Billy Johnson.

The one and only caution flag flew at the 1 hour and 10 minute mark with the Rum Bum team opting to pit under the yellow for fuel and tires. When the race went back to green with just over an hour to go, Matt restarted fifth.

A late-race quick pit stop under green flag conditions for fuel and left side tires with 38 minutes to go, saw Plumb return to the track once again with the race lead. He gave it all he had to hang on to that lead in the final stages, but despite excellent teamwork and pit stop execution from the Rum Bum team, the strong race pace of the Cayman and Mustang was too much for the Rum Bum Porsche and Matt hung on for third at the checkered flag.

“My hat’s off to Matt (Plumb) – he had his hands absolutely full there at the end surrounded by horsepower and performance that we didn’t quite have today,” said Hugh Plumb, of his brother’s final stint. “We’re super happy with third, points wise it’s a huge day. We just have to keep plugging along and focus forward on the next one at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.”

The No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche was credited with 11 laps led, as the 2012 & 2013 IMSA Championship-winning team continues its pursuit toward the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship.

“That was about the best we could have done today with what we had,” offered Team Manager and driver Matt Plumb. “I think maybe even a couple of positions better. We do what we can and try to set a pace that we think will win a race. We did everything we could and we’re third. Congrats to Billy (Johnson, No. 15 Mustang), he drove a great race. The Fords looked strong, the Caymans looked strong. Thanks to Luis Bacardi for assembling such a great group – our Rum Bum crew and their pit stops is what kept us in it.”

Rum Bum Racing will next be in race action at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on April 29-30.

FOX Sports 1 will televise the Sebring International Raceway event on Sunday, March 27 at 12:30 PM ET.

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Sebring, Fla. (18 March 2015) – Continuing to set new marks in IMSA competition, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing once again returned to the podium at Sebring International Raceway with a third place finish in what was a thrilling IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge show around the 3.74-mile central Florida road course. Brothers Hugh and Matt Plumb drove to the team’s 32nd podium and second consecutive Sebring podium result after finishing third in last year’s event.

EVENT INFO: Round 2 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship at Sebring International Raceway, LIVE on IMSA.com – Green flag on Friday, March 17 at 12:20 PM ET

Televised on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, March 27 at 12:30 PM ET

CAR INFO: No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 997

ANOTHER HOME RUN FOR RUM BUM RACING: The Sebring event is the second closest stop on the IMSA circuit for Rum Bum Racing, whose race shop is located about 90 miles north of the track in Orlando. The season-opening round of Daytona is also not far from the team’s shop with both events drawing big crowds of Rum Bum supporters.

SEBRING TESTING: IMSA held a two-day test for the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge last month in preparation for this weekend’s event. The test saw sporadic rain on the first day, with the second day a wash for the team as strong storms moved into the area. Despite the unfavorable weather conditions, Rum Bum Racing worked to get the most out of the limited track time and set the quickest lap time of the test among the GS class field.

A LOOK IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR: Rum Bum Racing appeared to be well on its way to a return trip to the Daytona International Speedway podium after leading 22 laps. Hugh Plumb snagged the pole position in Daytona qualifying and the race opened with a frantic pace. After leading early, a fuel delivery issue slowed the pace of the Porsche with the Plumb brothers fighting to hang on to a fifth place finish at the checkered flag.

RUM BUM’S SEBRING HISTORY: Rum Bum has twice visited the historic 3.74-mile road course of Sebring International Raceway. In the team’s 2014 debut at the track, Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi took home a 10th place result.. The team returned last year with Matt Plumb joined by his brother Hugh where they stood on the podium in third. It took a mix of strategy, teamwork, and hard driving to deliver the podium performance and there was a big crowd of supporters on hand as Jennifer Bacardi and her family celebrated with the team following the race.

SEBRING 2014: Started – 13th Finished – 10th (Matt Plumb, Nick Longhi)
SEBRING 2015: Started – 5th Finished – 3rd (Matt Plumb, Hugh Plumb)

MATT PLUMB TALKS SEBRING: “We learned a lot when we raced here last year, but Sebring is always a different animal when you come back,” said driver and Team Manager Matt Plumb. “It’s a rough track, without a lot of mechanical grip. In the limited time we had at the test, we learned enough to make us feel good for when we come back for the race. The Rum Bum guys are always working in the right direction – they’re never complacent with what we have.”

EVENT SCHEDULE: 

Tuesday
Promoter Test Day

Wednesday
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM Practice 1
2:50 PM – 3:35 PM Practice 2

Thursday
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM Qualifying

Friday
12:20 PM – 2:50 PM Race

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EVENT INFO: Round 2 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship at Sebring International Raceway, LIVE on IMSA.com – Green flag on Friday, March 17 at 12:20 PM ET

Televised on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, March 27 at 12:30 PM ET

CAR INFO: No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 997

ANOTHER HOME RUN FOR RUM BUM RACING: The Sebring event is the second closest stop on the IMSA circuit for Rum Bum Racing, whose race shop is located about 90 miles north of the track in Orlando. The season-opening round of Daytona is also not far from the team’s shop with both events drawing big crowds of Rum Bum supporters.

Don’t forget to catch Round 1 of the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship tomorrow! The 2.5-hour race in which Hugh Plumb started from the pole, will be aired on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 AM ET.

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Don’t forget to catch Round 1 of the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship tomorrow! The 2.5-hour race in which Hugh Plumb started from the pole, will be aired on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 AM ET.

Daytona Beach, Fla. (29 January 2016) – Rum Bum Racing returned to its home track of Daytona International Speedway firmly focused on a another big result at the “World Center of Racing.” The three-time Daytona winners wanted to open the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship with a big result once again on Friday.

With a strong record of success at the track, the team was well-prepared to take on the 3.56-mile road course and Hugh Plumb started from the pole position after posting the fastest time during a soggy qualifying session on Thursday.

Daytona Beach, Fla. (29 January 2016) – Rum Bum Racing returned to its home track of Daytona International Speedway firmly focused on a another big result at the “World Center of Racing.” The three-time Daytona winners wanted to open the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship with a big result once again on Friday.

With a strong record of success at the track, the team was well-prepared to take on the 3.56-mile road course and Hugh Plumb started from the pole position after posting the fastest time during a soggy qualifying session on Thursday.

The Orlando-based Rum Bum Racing squad appeared to be well on its way to a return trip to the podium after leading 22 laps of a race that opened with a frantic pace, but to the disappointment of the Rum Bum Racing fans on site and following at home,  a fuel delivery issue slowed the pace of the Porsche with the Plumb brothers fighting to hang on to a fifth place finish at the checkered flag.

“The start of the race went pretty well and I had a lot of pressure from the Mustang in the first 15 laps,” said HughPlumb, who battled for the lead with some breathtaking side battling against the eventual race winner.  “A little later on I got some pressure from the No. 33 Cayman. The crew just did an amazing job for us, great pit stops as usual. It was pretty hectic and there was a lot of pressure but the guys did a great job.”

The usual perfect pit stops by the Rum Bum Racing crew were on full display with the first stop coming with 1 hour and 25 minutes remaining in the race. Hugh Plumb pitted from second in the order to hand the car over to Matt Plumb who anchored the car to the finish.

When Matt Plumb took to the track he was in a continuous fight for the lead with the Mustang of Billy Johnson all the way up to the final pit stop of the race. Plumb took the car to pit lane for tires and fuel with just under 50 minutes to go and a brilliant stop by the Rum Bum crew saw the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche return six seconds ahead of the Mustang with the lead.

Unfortunately what was sure to be another intense battle all the way down to the checkered flag was never to be had as the fuel delivery issue hindered the Porsche’s pace, leaving Plumb to fight to hang on for fifth position through the final laps of the race.

“It’s a shame that we didn’t get that podium we were looking for today – Luis Bacardi assembles such a great group here in Rum Bum Racing and with the Bacardis and a whole crowd of Rum Bum supporters on hand here with us, we really wanted to give them a good result today,” said Matt Plumb. “As soon as I got in the car for my stint, I started to feel something a little off. It was a particular problem that we’ve never seen before. Billy (Johnson) and I had a great race. I could see he was faster, but I sure wasn’t not going to make it a bit of a show. Billy runs very hard and we’ve raced enough together to realize that when one car is a little better, we’re not going to take each other out. Congrats to him and his team, they deserved the win today.”

Rum Bum Racing next travels to Sebring International Raceway for Round 2 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge March 17-18.

FOX Sports 1 will broadcast the Daytona event on Saturday, February 13 at 8:30 AM ET.

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Defending race winners singing in the rain but ready for a dry race on Friday

Daytona Beach, Fla. (28 January 2016) – Shaking off the challenging weather conditions, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing was right back up to its usual speed at its home track of Daytona International Speedway on Friday when Hugh Plumb put the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 997 at the top of the time charts during a very rainy, wet IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge qualifying session on Thursday.

Defending race winners singing in the rain but ready for a dry race on Friday

Daytona Beach, Fla. (28 January 2016) – Shaking off the challenging weather conditions, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing was right back up to its usual speed at its home track of Daytona International Speedway on Friday when Hugh Plumb put the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 997 at the top of the time charts during a very rainy, wet IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge qualifying session on Thursday.

As the rain picked up and worsened through the 15-minutes of qualifying, Plumb improved his time with each lap around the 3.56-mile lap at the “World Center of Racing.”

His quickest time of 2:12.492-seconds was half of a second faster than the rest of the field. It marks Hugh’s second consecutive front row start at Daytona after he qualified second for Rum Bum Racing in last year’s race.

The run to the pole was all the more impressive for Hugh Plumb, who had never driven in the rain at the Daytona circuit prior to this year’s event.

“The conditions have been constantly changing through each practice because it’s been drying, then raining, then drying,” said Hugh Plumb after accepting the Total Pole Award. “In qualifying, it was pretty much a downpour so each corner was just adapting and reacting to what was potentially coming at you. You would just keep trying to go faster, step over the boundary and learn how far you could push it. Then, you’d get to the next corner and it’d be even wetter!”

Rum Bum Racing also scored the pole at Daytona in 2011 and went on to lead 28 laps en route to victory. 

“The Porsche is good here,” said Hugh Plumb. “We’ve had a set up we’ve used for the last few of our races here at Daytona and that’s always seemed to work well for us. Everybody at Rum Bum just does an incredible job and exactly what they have to do.”

The Daytona weekend featured an abundance of rain with the 3.56-mile Florida road course providing for some slick driving conditions through two practice sessions on Wednesday and a third practice on Thursday. With the Continental Tire rains adding strength to the Porsche machine, Hugh and co-driver Matt Plumb posted quick times throughout each session.

The brothers drove to the second quickest time in each of the three practice sessions.

“We’ve had a lot of time to prepare for these conditions and the car showed that it’s where it needed to be,” said Matt Plumb, who also serves as the Rum Bum Racing Team Manager. “Hugh did an amazing job. Each lap was faster than the next and he was consistently setting the bar higher and higher to the point where he did his fastest lap when the rain was coming down the hardest. He did a great job all last year and once again he’s showing he’s the man for the job.”

With the rain forecasted to move out and sunny skies predicted for Friday’s race, the event could well see very different racing conditions.

“The good and the bad for tomorrow is that we’ve been here before and we have a setup that works,” added Matt Plumb. “The bad is that we’re not quite sure where everybody else is pace wise (because of the rain), but that’s something we can’t control and we can’t worry about. We’ve just got to run our race and I’m very confident that everyone at Rum Bum Racing will do the great work that they always do.”

Since debuting in 2010, Rum Bum Racing has taken home three victories, four podiums, and five top-five results at Daytona. On a track that often features late-race lead changes, Rum Bum Racing  has shown strength from start to finish, having led laps in every race it has ever run at Daytona, for a total of 116 laps led and 31% of the time the car’s been competing on the Daytona circuit.

The 2.5-hour BMW Performance 200 goes green at 1:45 PM ET on Friday. Watch the race LIVE on IMSA.com.

FOX Sports 1 will televise the Daytona event on Saturday, February 13 at 8:30 AM ET.

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Orlando, Fla. (25 January 2016) – There is no place like home, and for Rum Bum Racing, Daytona International Speedway is as close to home as you can get on the IMSA schedule.
For fans of Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing, it’ll be a familiar sight at Daytona International Speedway this weekend as the team looks to add to an already-incredible run of success at the World Center of Racing.

The opening round of the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship takes place at the Orlando-based team’s home track and the organization returns to race with the well-developed championship-winning No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche that the squad has utilized since it made its race-winning debut in 2012.

Also returning for 2016 are Rum Bum Racing drivers Matt and Hugh Plumb, as the fraternally-linked duo look to build on their run to second place in last year’s IMSA championship standings.

Not only is Daytona International Speedway Rum Bum Racing’s home track, the team has set a high bar for success at the 3.56-mile road course. Since debuting in 2010, Rum Bum Racing has taken home three victories, four podiums, and five top-five results at Daytona. On a track that often features late-race lead changes, Rum Bum Racing  has shown strength from start to finish, having led laps in every race it has ever run at Daytona, for a total of 116 laps led and 31% of the time the car’s been competing on the Daytona circuit.

“We are very excited to be back on the banks of Daytona, it is always a fan favorite and one we love to perform at,” said driver and Team Manager Matt Plumb. “We are also glad to be back with IMSA and to be working together with the organization to build this into the best championship season yet. IMSA has been there to host our finest moments and that has not been forgotten.”

Despite its relative age to the field, the No. 13 Porsche 997 looks to capitalize on the car’s “wisdom” to beat the competition.

“We are up against some very strong competition from the new Mustangs as well as the all-new Porsche GT4,” added Matt Plumb. “However, over the last four years we have consistently improved the handling and reliability to match some of the newer cars’ pace. Ultimately it comes down to team work. Rum Bum Racing has some of the best pit work and strategy which we will have to nail race after race and then it is up to Hugh (Plumb) and I to make it happen.”

Rum Bum Racing tested the No. 13 Porsche at the annual ‘Roar Before the 24’ test days at Daytona earlier this month to prepare for Friday’s endurance challenge.

The 2.5-hour race, which is held as part of the big 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona event, will take the green on Friday, January 29 at 1:45 PM ET. The event will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on February 13 at 8:30 AM ET.

You can watch the race LIVE on IMSA.com.

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Orlando, Fla. (25 January 2016) – There is no place like home, and for Rum Bum Racing, Daytona International Speedway is as close to home as you can get on the IMSA schedule. For fans of Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing, it’ll be a familiar sight at Daytona International Speedway this weekend as the team looks to add to an already-incredible run of success at the World Center of Racing.

Rum Bum Racing has taken delivery of the new Porsche 911 GT3 R, marking another chapter in the team’s long-standing partnership with the Stuttgart manufacturer.

Technical Evolution

The new GT3 R represents a significant step forward in terms of aerodynamics, engine performance, and driver comfort. Key improvements include:

• Revised aerodynamic package
• Enhanced cooling systems
• Improved cockpit ergonomics
• Updated electronics suite

Testing Program

The team has already completed initial shakedown testing and will embark on an extensive winter test program to ensure the car is fully prepared for the season opener.

Orlando, Fla. (6 January 2016) – The annual Roar Before the 24 test days at Daytona International Speedway kicks off the 2016 IMSA championship this weekend with three days of Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge testing. Rum Bum Racing driver and Team Manager Matt Plumb will be on hand to drive the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche at the ‘Roar’ in preparation for the 2016 season.

Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing returns to the World Center of Racing as the team prepares to defend its record of success at its home track. The Orlando-based squad has won the 2010, 2011, and 2015 editions of the Daytona event and has placed among the top-five in five of six races at the 3.56-mile circuit that utilizes the NASCAR oval as well as the infield road course.

Orlando, Fla. (6 January 2016) – The annual Roar Before the 24 test days at Daytona International Speedway kicks off the 2016 IMSA championship this weekend with three days of Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge testing. Rum Bum Racing driver and Team Manager Matt Plumb will be on hand to drive the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche at the ‘Roar’ in preparation for the 2016 season.

Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing returns to the World Center of Racing as the team prepares to defend its record of success at its home track. The Orlando-based squad has won the 2010, 2011, and 2015 editions of the Daytona event and has placed among the top-five in five of six races at the 3.56-mile circuit that utilizes the NASCAR oval as well as the infield road course.

“We’ll be out at Daytona this week kicking off the cob-webs so to speak after a few months off after last season,” said Plumb. “We had another great year last year and were in the championship hunt all year long. We love racing at Daytona and it will be exciting to be the first race held after the big Daytona Rising project when we come back here at the end of the month.”

The ‘Roar Before the 24’ features six practice sessions for the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge beginning on Friday.

The 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season opens at Daytona International Speedway on January 29, 2016.

Follow @RumBumRacing on Twitter for updates!

Roar Before the 24 Test Schedule:

Friday, January 8
7:15 AM Drivers Meeting
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Session 1
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM Session 2

Saturday, January 9
11:05 AM – 12:05 PM Session 3
2:55 PM – 3:55 PM Session 4

Sunday, January 10
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Session 5
1:35 PM – 2:20 PM Session 6

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Rum Bum Racing is looking forward to returning to IMSA competition in 2016. The team is now unveiling several exciting options to determine what the program will look like when the green flag flies at Daytona International Speedway next January, looking at both the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series.

With a committed team owner, a hall of fame crew chief, and a driver roster that is the envy of the paddock, Rum Bum Racing has been delivering results since day one. The two-time champions were once again in the thick of the championship battle all the way through the final moments of the 2015 Continental Tire Challenge season.

Rum Bum Racing is looking forward to returning to IMSA competition in 2016. The team is now unveiling several exciting options to determine what the program will look like when the green flag flies at Daytona International Speedway next January, looking at both the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series.

With a committed team owner, a hall of fame crew chief, and a driver roster that is the envy of the paddock, Rum Bum Racing has been delivering results since day one. The two-time champions were once again in the thick of the championship battle all the way through the final moments of the 2015 Continental Tire Challenge season.

With 20 overall victories to its credit, the organization is now looking forward to the next chapter in its competition history, but the question has not yet been answered as to what book that chapter will be in.

With a range of new technical specifications, as well as some compelling new competition options, Rum Bum Racing has a lot of options to consider ahead of 2016.

“I am not sure we’ve had an off-season like this before,” said Matt Plumb, the winningest racer in the Continental Tire Challenge. “There are a lot of different things for us to sort out and we are getting close to where we need to be committed to what we are doing for 2016. We’ve got a great team, and are fortunate to have the facilities in place, so we just have to plug everything in and get going.”

After establishing a championship-winning legacy with BMW, the team made a shock switch to Porsche in 2012.

Having won the first time out in its first race with Porsche equipment and going on to power the iconic brand to two consecutive manufacturer titles, Rum Bum Racing’s success has quickly become synonymous with Porsche. That legacy is deepened by the history of Porsche success that stretches back decades for Joe Varde. Rum Bum Racing’s Florida-based crew chief has not only been crew chief for countless victories with Porsche, he’s also wheeled himself to victory lane all the way back to IMSA Firehawk competition in the Eighties.

The 2016 Continental Tire SportsCar Championship is expected to see the debut of the hugely anticipated Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The street GT4 refreshed the enthusiasm of the Porsche faithful with its light weight, added power, and exclusive availability in stick shift form, and was an instant sales success.

With the track-oriented offering boasting a global development cycle and support from Porsche Motorsport North America, the interest is clear for several including Rum Bum Racing management in this new offering.

But it isn’t just Porsche that might make sense for Rum Bum Racing, which has a 100-percent victory rate when joining up with a new manufacturer. The team was critical in helping BMW win the 2010 and 2011 IMSA Manufacturer Championships. In 2012, when the team moved to Porsche, once again Rum Bum helped that brand win the 2012 and 2013 Manufacturer titles.

Also to be thought through is the opportunity that the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship provides with the exciting all-new specifications for the GT Daytona (GTD) class, which will now run to a nearly full-specification global GT3 spec. The team is exploring options both for full season or Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup races.

The new regulations will see all-new designs from Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW, Audi, and others take their bragging rights to the track. Rum Bum Racing has previous experience in GTD competition at IMSA’s top level, having worked with both Audi Sport customer racing with the R8 in GRAND-AM, as well as with the Porsche 911 GT America package that the team debuted with a typically wild Rum Bum Racing livery at Sebring in 2014.

“GTD is going to be very compelling in 2016,” said Plumb. “Obviously there are a lot of great new entries, but the way IMSA is teaming with manufacturers to build the sport and grow the interest is something that hopefully bears fruit. We have experience at that level and it wouldn’t be that much of an adjustment for us, going to a Patrón (North American) Endurance Cup campaign or even a full season program if everything matched up well. There are a lot of options, but no matter what we do it will have the same level of professionalism and preparation that Mr. Bacardi has always insisted on, so we are eager to sort it out and get going.”

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Braselton, Ga. (2 October 2015) – The 2015 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship staged its final race of the season at Road Atlanta on Friday and Rum Bum Racing and the team’s drivers Matt and Hugh Plumb secured second in both the team and drivers championships.

It capped off what has been an incredible season for the Florida-based Rum Bum Racing organization which won three races this year and claimed five podium results in 10 races. Hugh Plumb delivered several strong qualifying performances, earning a front row start five times.

Further solidifying how well the Rum Bum Racing team prepared for each race weekend, the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche completed 95.4% of race laps this year which added to its remarkable accomplishment of 91.4% laps completed since the team’s debut in 2010.

“This season we were one of the challengers, but at the same time, we were the underdog,”said Matt Plumb, who serves as Team Manager in addition to his driving duties. “I think there was a lot of pressure for the Stevenson guys to win this year and they did a good job winning it. It was our job to keep them honest and I think we did a good job of that. This is our car’s fourth year so for us to have ended its career and its life finishing just behind a factory team like Stevenson, it’s pretty monumental. It’s really a testament to this team and certainly the little engine that could.”

The season-finale Road Atlanta event brought heavy rain to the area, but with the weather radar showing that the rain would clear out during the race, Rum Bum Racing opted to start on slick Continental Tires. Unfortunately, the predicted weather did not come to fruition, and rain fell steadily as the race opened.

Qualifying had been rained out and the grid was set by championship point order which saw Hugh Plumb open from outside of the front row on the slick Continental Tires. But as the GS class field frontrunners all ran on rain tires in the opening laps on what had become a very slick track, Hugh Plumb slipped to sixth as he struggled to find grip as the leaders were able to lap the track several seconds faster than he was.

Following several long green flag runs accompanied by two caution periods, Matt Plumb took control of the No. 13 Porsche with just under an hour remaining.

Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions created a debilitating fogging situation on the windshield of the Porsche which left Plumb constantly using a squeegee on the inside of the windshield in addition to driving the car just to be able to see the track ahead.

The Rum Bum squad took advantage of a late-race caution with 30 minutes to go to bring the No. 13 Porsche to pit lane to clean the windshield and take on fresh Continental Tires. Plumb lined up 12th in the order on the final restart and despite the poor visibility, powered through to bring home ninth at the finish.

“For all the perfect days we’ve had as a team, sometimes days like this just happen in racing,” said Hugh Plumb. “The conditions were very bad out there. We had gone out in the rain earlier in the week and our car was great. The water was just not going away today, there were puddles everywhere and not only could we not see, our car just didn’t like it. The car was a little nervous. At the end of the day we got second in the championship and that’s something to be proud of. A huge thank you to everyone on this team that Luis Bacardi assembled to run this program on a job well done this year.”

Rum Bum Racing celebrated its season at the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Championship Banquet at Chateau Élan Winery & Resort Friday evening.

The post Rum Bum Racing Secures Second in Championship at Road Atlanta appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Braselton, Ga. (2 October 2015) – The 2015 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship staged its final race of the season at Road Atlanta on Friday and Rum Bum Racing and the team’s drivers Matt and Hugh Plumb secured second in both the team and drivers championships.

It capped off what has been an incredible season for the Florida-based Rum Bum Racing organization which won three races this year and claimed five podium results in 10 races. Hugh Plumb delivered several strong qualifying performances, earning a front row start five times.