Orlando, Fla. (24 June 2014) – Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing has made four trips to upstate New York’s Watkins Glen International since the team’s IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge debut in 2010, and in recent years has become quite familiar with the podium located in the Glen’s famous Gatorade Victory Lane. The 2012 & 2013 GS Champions won at the Glen in 2012 with drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi and the driving duo followed that up with a runner-up finish last year. And now on a hot streak after a frustrating start to the 2014 season, the team sits third in the championship and Longhi and Plumb have their eyes on that top step of the podium once again.

The checkered flag for the Continental Tire 150 at the Glen on Saturday marks the halfway point for the  IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season as several teams vie to stop Rum Bum from securing a third consecutive IMSA championship in the highly competitive category.

It hasn’t been an easy start to the year for the defending champs, but the determined group has rallied for four top-10 results in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche and has remained at the top end of the championship standings. A breakthrough victory two races ago gave the team a boost in momentum and the group finished fourth in the previous IMSA event at Kansas where just one lap of fuel was all that separated the team from a second consecutive win.
The championship-winning squad returns to the 3.4-mile Watkins Glen road course this weekend and is eager to make it three podiums in a row for the Florida-based team.

Last year, a challenging start to the race saw Rum Bum fight back to the Watkins Glen podium – once again putting the team’s dedication and perseverance on full display. After starting eighth, the No. 13 Porsche made contact early in the race which loosened the car’s hood and flipped it up onto the windshield. Fortunately, an unsighted Longhi was able to carefully make his way back to pit lane, but the No. 13 Porsche fell way down the order.

As rain fell later in the race, Plumb used it to his advantage and took over the race lead with a brilliant charge to the front. A late race caution provided a one-lap dash to the finish where Plumb battled a wet track while running on slick tires. Plumb ceded the lead on that final green flag lap and took second at the checkered flag.

In the team’s four and a half year history, Rum Bum Racing has emerged with positive results even when things don’t go exactly to plan. The team looks to capitalize on this experience and knowledge of the Watkins Glen circuit to return to the podium for the third consecutive year.

“This team gets it right most every single time,” said Plumb who nearly won the previous Kansas event before making a splash for fuel on the final lap. “In this series, things are bound to go a little off plan but this team makes the best of it no matter what. The team constantly works to make this car better and (crew chief) Joe Varde always seems to have a new strategy up his sleeve. So we’re optimistic about the Glen. For whatever reason, Watkins Glen has been good to us so we’ll just go back and do what we always do and hopefully come out of it with another big result.”

Rum Bum Racing will first take to the track on Thursday afternoon for practice. Friday will see another practice session and then a 15-minute qualifying run ahead of Saturday’s 2.5-hour Continental Tire 150 at the Glen event at 11:35 AM ET. Live video as well as timing and scoring is available at scoring.imsa.com/sportscar-challenge/.

FOX Sports 1 will televise the race on Sunday, July 6 at 10:00 AM ET.

The post Rum Bum Racing Eyes Watkins Glen Podium appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Kansas City, Kan. (7 June 2014) – In a race that provided for a rollercoaster of highs and lows for the team at Kansas Speedway Saturday night, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing fought to a fourth place finish in the 2.5-hour Grand Prix of Kansas after leading 37 laps in the fifth round of 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge competition. It was a difficult day for the Florida-based team, but despite having no radio communications through most of the race and needing to make a late-race splash for fuel in the waning laps, Rum Bum Racing powered to a fourth place finish at the checkered flag.

The result sees Rum Bum Racing maintain its position of third in the provisional championship standings as the team chases an unprecedented third consecutive IMSA championship.

Nick Longhi opened the 2.5-hour race from the front row after posting the second quickest time in Friday night’s qualifying session. As the field of GS cars all looked to move forward early on, some early maneuvers behind the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche saw a car from further back in the field jump the start as Longhi settled into third.

“We were careful on the start,” said Longhi. “Kris (Wilson, polesitter) braked very early, but one car came from way, way back and came between us. I figured that was optimistic on their part. And sure enough he got a jump start penalty. So then, knowing that he was going to have a penalty, I just cruised around behind him not to risk anything. From there it was just standard operating procedure. The car was good and I could creep up a little on the leader.”

The first of two cautions was displayed just 10 laps into the race and Joe Varde called the No. 13 Porsche to pit lane for fuel, tires and a driver change. Longhi handed the car over to co-driver Matt Plumb who returned to the track 16th in line.

When the field went back to green with two hours remaining in the race, Plumb began a charge through the field as the team determined that the in-car radio was not working. Plumb worked his way into the top-10 within three laps and up into the top-five with an hour and 30 minutes to go as he ran fourth. He passed several cars that still had yet to make a first pit stop and when all cars had made their first stops, Plumb took over the race lead.

Plumb developed a significant advantage over the entire field, and utilzing communication from the team via pit lane signs, he pitted under green flag conditions for fuel and tires. Quick work by the Rum Bum crew combined with the healthy gap Plumb had created saw the No. 13 Porsche emerge from pit lane still holding on to the lead with a 1.191-second margin over the second place car of James Davison.

A second full course caution period was displayed shortly thereafter and when the race went back to green flag running with 48 minutes remaining, a thrilling battle ensued between Plumb and Davison. The two swapped positions each lap as the two encountered the slower ST traffic through the tight confines of the infield road course section and the banked oval portion of the circuit.

As the race reached its closing stages, Rum Bum Racing looked poised for its second consecutive Kansas podium. But it was not meant to be, as Plumb was forced to bring the No. 13 machine to pit lane with just two laps to go for a splash of fuel. Fortunately, Plumb had enough of a gap that he was still able to salvage fourth at the checkered flag which completed a tough but good championship points day for the team.

“As soon as I pitted, about five minutes into the stint, the radio went out,” said Plumb. “I could see that I was in the lead but I wasn’t sure what the pace car was doing. Then the team showed me the sign to “save” so I was just doing as much as I could to save fuel. At one point I realized that if I didn’t save more by drafting the leader or getting behind a lapped car, I was never going to make it. So I did that, we did that for a couple of laps. And then the next sign was ,”Go!” so I did my best to make up some ground. Had we had one more lap under yellow, we’d have been fine. These guys get it right so many times, but you are going to have one not go exactly your way. We want to win every race, but this was good for the championship points.  I saw what had happened to the 46 car (championship leader, out of the race early) and I knew we just needed to finish.”

The Rum Bum Racing squad will target a third consecutive podium result in the next round of IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge action at Watkins Glen International on June 28.

The post Rum Bum Racing Fights for Fourth at Kansas Speedway appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Kansas City, Kan. (6 June 2014) – The Rum Bum Racing No. 13 Porsche will start the Grand Prix of Kansas from the front row of the grid following Friday night’s 15-minute qualifying session which saw Nick Longhi turn a fast lap of 1:22.124-seconds and claim the second starting position. Longhi will open the 2.5-hour IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race on the Kansas Speedway ‘roval’ before handing the controls over to co-driver Matt Plumb as the duo targets a run to Kansas victory lane.

Having finished runner-up in the inaugural Kansas event last year, Rum Bum Racing looks to go one better in tomorrow night’s race.

The No. 13 Porsche rolled off of the trailer and was immediately quick as the team posted the third quickest time during the first practice held under warm and sunny track conditions. The Rum Bum squad worked to perfect the car through two one-hour practices ahead of qualifying.

Cooler track conditions welcomed the night time qualifying run as the session was held under the Kansas Speedway lights. Longhi completed just three laps during the session and set the provisional pole time on his very first hot lap.. He appeared well on his way to bettering that quick lap time until the No. 13 Porsche got loose and brushed the wall. The veteran sportscar racer’s experience at the wheel was on full display when Longhi managed to keep the car from spinning and returned it to pit road. The car remained stationary on pit lane for the remainder of the session but Longhi’s first flying fast lap was enough to secure second on the 52-car combined class grid.

“The conditions were going faster and when you’re going faster, you’re on the edge,” said Longhi of the run. “It was a good lap most of the way. I’m pretty sure we would of had the pole from what our timing looked like, but ¾ of the way through the oval, the car moved up a little bit. For the car to be fast on an oval in qualifying it has to be a little loose – the set up was right for the conditions. It just got super greasy right when I came off the corner and the wall just kind of knocked it straight and was enough for me to have to get out of the throttle. But we’re fine, we’re good for the race. It was just one of those things where it was a P1 but we’ll settle for a P2.”

Currently third in the team championship standings after their win in the previous event at Lime Rock Park, Rum Bum Racing’s championship-winning goal remains the same and the team aims to gain even more ground this weekend with another positive performance in Kansas.

Without another practice scheduled for the weekend, Rum Bum Racing will go straight into race action Saturday night at 6:15 PM CT.

The post Front Row Start For Rum Bum Racing at Kansas Speedway appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Orlando, Fla. (4 June 2014) – Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing travels to Kansas Speedway this weekend fresh off of a breakthrough first IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge victory of the season just two weeks ago at drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi’s home track, Lime Rock Park. It was a much welcomed result for the 2012 & 2013 championship winning team who had seen a run of bad racing luck through the opening three races of the IMSA season.

The team now hopes this will be the uptick in momentum needed as the 2014 championship races on with the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche in pursuit of a third consecutive championship title.

The fifth round of IMSA competition sees Rum Bum Racing return to Kansas Speedway which utilizes a good portion of the oval as well as the tight infield road course section. The six turn, 2.37-mile ‘roval’ circuit is a challenging one that Rum Bum Racing is well-prepared to take on having shown strong pace there in 2013.

After running toward the front through most of last year’s Kansas race, a late-race caution led to a nail-biting three-lap shootout with Plumb running second and challenging fellow American driver John Edwards for the win. But despite a valiant effort to deliver Rum Bum Racing’s 15th race win, Plumb settled for the second step of the podium – finishing just .425-seconds behind the leader. And with most teams building off of the data gathered last year, the race is certain to be another highly competitive one.

“Kansas made for some great racing last year so we’re excited to get back to it – especially coming off of such a big win for the team at Lime Rock,” said Team Manager and Driver Matt Plumb. “The race track is a bit of a difficult one with the high speed oval portions and the really tight and technical infield section. Last year everyone went into it perhaps a little bit blind, but now everybody has something to work off of this year. The 2014 championship is very tough – it seems everybody has upped their game and the competition is fierce. But we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We have the best team out there and with Joe Varde calling the strategy for us, we’re hoping to just keep delivering strong performances and leapfrog back up to the top of the championship standings.”

Rum Bum Racing, who has won 15 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge races, will look to add to that number this weekend with Longhi and Plumb returning to the podium – this time on the top step.

The Kansas Speedway schedule sees Rum Bum Racing take part in two hour-long practice sessions on Friday ahead of a 15-minute qualifying session Friday evening which takes place at 10:40 PM ET. The 2.5-hour Grand Prix of Kansas is set to go green on Saturday at 7:15 PM ET and can be followed with live timing and scoring on www.imsa.com.

Follow @RumBumRacing on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.

The post Rum Bum Racing Rides Wave of Momentum into Kansas appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Plumb and Longhi combine for fourth consecutive podium and third win at Lime Rock Park

Lakeville, Conn. (24 May 2014) – Rum Bum Racing delivered in a big way at Lime Rock Park on Saturday as the defending IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge GS Champions took victory in the Northeast Grand Prix which marked Round 4 of the 2014 championship. It was a familiar sight as drivers Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb combined for their fourth consecutive Lime Rock Park podium and their third Lime Rock win in four years.

The result saw Rum Bum Racing take its 15th overall win since the team’s first victory in its IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge debut in 2010.

The starting grid for Saturday’s 2.5-hour race was set by championship points after qualifying was rained out on Friday which saw Longhi open the event from sixth. He immediately went to work in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche as he moved up into the fourth position and ran among the top-five throughout his stint. He had moved up to second in the order when Crew Chief Joe Varde called him to pit lane for a routine pit stop and driver change.

Plumb took over driving duties with less than an hour and a half remaining in the race and returned to the track fifth in line. He took over the fourth position just prior to the one and only caution period which was displayed with just over an hour to go. Plumb brought the No. 13 Porsche to pit lane for the team’s final pit stop.The key moment of the race came during the pit stop as Varde called for only left side tires and fuel. That call saw the No. 13 Porsche exit pit road 15-seconds ahead of the closest competitor and Plumb return to the track with the race lead.

“I really focused on my stint from the beginning just trying to lay down laps that didn’t hurt the tires,” said Plumb of the final stint. “I’m always thinking that I’m not going to get a new set of tires – I’m always thinking ‘what is the team going to do that’s going to leapfrog me up in track position?’ and I knew that was going to be critical. I just tried to save the tires while trying to keep the pace. The pit stop was insane. It was faster than everybody else. After that, it was just about maintaining the tires and judging the gap and judging the traffic.”

The No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche led the most laps of the race and made the most of the clean air up front to set the fastest race lap on the way to taking the team’s first victory of the year.

“This is the perfect example of how our crew, Joe Varde, Bob, Ed, John and Terry, this is how they perform,” added Plumb who also serves as Rum Bum Racing’s Team Manager. “The car was great. It was decent in practice and then qualifying got rained out so we never got to see what we could really do. But the team made a ton of changes overnight and the car was brilliant. Again, I say it every time, but it is almost just up to me not to screw it up in the end because the team is the genius here and it feels really good to win.”

The win is even more special for Longhi and Plumb who each call Lime Rock Park their home track.

“We have such a strong team and we are so happy to be here, we have a lot of friends here,” enthused Longhi. “This is a fantastic place and track and it has been so good to us and we have good karma here. So thanks to all of the fans! As for the team, I just don’t know what to say. Joe Varde and the whole crew worked so hard today. I got a little optimistic on the start, then with some hard work from the team and I got out of the car and Matt took it to the win, so that is fantastic.”

Rum Bum Racing next travels to Kansas Speedway, where the team finished second last year, for Round 5 of the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship.

The post Rum Bum Racing Returns to Victory at Lime Rock Park appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Lakeville, CT (23 May 2014) – Rum Bum Racing will start the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park from sixth on the GS-class grid on Saturday after rain washed out qualifying on Friday with the starting grid set by championship point order. The event marks Round 4 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship and as the defending IMSA champions return to a track where the team has seen much success, the group has high hopes of a positive result Saturday afternoon.

Friday’s practice saw a mix of cool and wet track conditions along with dry and sunny conditions. But when it came time to qualify, the skies opened up and the rain began to fall. With the track wet enough for Continental Tire rain tires, IMSA canceled the qualifying session and turned it into an optional practice.

Both Longhi and Plumb took a turn behind the wheel in the opening practice as rain began to fall late session. While many other teams opted to switch over to rain tires, Longhi remained on slicks and posted the fourth quickest lap time. He and Plumb followed that up with the eighth quickest lap in Practice 2.

Similar track conditions are predicted for race day so Longhi, who hopes for the great-equalizer of rain on Saturday, opted to take to the track during the 15-minute qualifying-turned-practice session for some wet weather running.

“I’m not really sure what to expect for tomorrow, as far as whether it will be wet or dry,” said Team Manager and driver Plumb. “The car is definitely good in the wet, we had a little bit of mixed conditions in practice this morning and the car has really good grip exiting the corners in the wet. Obviously the engine hanging off the rear helps a lot as well. In the dry I think we are struggling a little bit. The car isn’t quite as fast as we had hoped it would be in the field, but we are hoping that in long runs we will be able to stick with it and just hope for the best.”

The Northeast Grand Prix goes green at 2:15 PM tomorrow afternoon. Follow @RumBumRacing on twitter for race updates. Live timing and scoring is available at www.imsa.com.

The post Rain Washes Out Qualifying at Lime Rock Park for Rum Bum Racing appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Orlando, Fla. (19 May 2014) – Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing is geared up for Round 4 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and is eager to return to a track that holds fond memories for the team and drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi. Rum Bum Racing won outright at Lime Rock in 2011 & 2012 and finished third last year when the organization clinched both the 2013 Team and Driver IMSA championships.

Lime Rock Park is considered both Longhi and Plumb’s home track. Longhi resides in Nyack, New York which is 80 miles south of the circuit while Plumb lives just a three-hour drive away in Newport, Rhode Island. Having worked the furiously fast road racing bullring as instructors, and with countless laps around the 1.53-mile Connecticut road course to their credit, the duo can claim the home ground on the seven-turn track.

The track length plays a big role in strategy at Lime Rock as decisions are made quickly with each lap lasting just under a minute. Rum Bum Racing relies extensively on the canny strategy of crew chief Joe Varde which has seen the team pull off multiple victories through the years. It will be no different this year as Rum Bum looks to pick up its first win of the season in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche.

“We’ve been on the right path with our results, but we definitely are not where we want to be just yet,” said Plumb. “This is a place that has been pretty good to us through the years and it’d be awesome to kind of turn the corner for the rest of the season at Lime Rock. I know this whole team is eager to do that!”

Rum Bum Racing, who has 14 wins in just four years of IMSA competition, has not had the start to the 2014 season the team had hoped for, but as the organization returns to a track where they’ve seen so much success, Rum Bum aims to turn the page forward with a fourth consecutive trip to the podium on Saturday.

“It won’t be easy, as we’ve seen how strong the competition is this year,” said Plumb. “But like we showed at Laguna, if you don’t have the fastest car, that doesn’t mean that you can’t run up front. This place is big for strategy and maybe that’s what makes the difference on Saturday.”

The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge usually features a 60+ car combined-class grid but as the series takes to Lime Rock Park, the GS and ST classes will be separated with the ST class running in the morning and Rum Bum Racing’s GS category taking the green flag for the 2.5-hour Northeast Grand Prix at 2:15 PM Saturday afternoon.

“It’s Lime Rock, so that means we not only know the track, but we also know the people that work here, the best back roads to get here quickly, and it’s so familiar to you that it’s really comfortable to come race here,” said Longhi. “The other great thing is that this is a traditional weekend, and Matt and I both are lucky to have a lot of family here for the race and that always adds something to the weekend. Hopefully it brings us a little bit of good luck!”

The two classes will run separately all weekend through two practice sessions and qualifying on Friday and both races will take place on Saturday.

Live timing and scoring is available at www.imsa.com. Follow @RumBumRacing on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.

The post Rum Bum Racing Ready for Round 4 at Lime Rock Park appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Monterey, Calif. (3 May 2014) – As Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing entered the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix event at Mazda Raceway’s Laguna Seca which features the famous 10-story climb to the Corkscrew corner, the team faced an uphill battle with the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche.

Heading into the weekend, Rum Bum Racing anticipated that the competitive fortunes would not be in their favor as the nimble but modestly-motored Porsche went to do battle against a fleet of big-displacement V8 machines.

But despite carrying more series-mandated weight than it has all year, some canny strategy from Crew Chief Joe Varde and perseverance from the entire Rum Bum Racing team saw the group rally to an eighth place finish after starting deep in the GS field.

Nick Longhi opened the 2.5-hour race from 13th on the grid and worked to keep the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche out of trouble as the 60-car combined class field took to the twists and turns of the challenging circuit. Varde opted for an alternate strategy early on in the race which saw Longhi hand the car over to Plumb during the second full course caution period just 16 minutes into the race.

Plumb returned to the field 21st in the order but ran clean and consistent laps to move his way into the top-10. He took over the race lead just prior to the half-way point in the race with the FOX Sports broadcast team remarking on how “Joe Varde just does everything right” in reference to the alternate strategy that saw the No. 13 take the race lead after starting the segment from 21st position. Relishing the clear air on offer while running up front, Plumb grew his lead to a 2.5-second advantage as the pack of cars behind battled for position.

Unfortunately, the alternate strategy did not come to fruition when Plumb felt something amiss in the car. With about one hour remaining, Plumb pitted under a full course caution and a problem on the right rear of the car was discovered.

“I don’t know what God we made angry, but when they’re angry, they’re angry,” said Plumb of the misfortune. “We had a good car and everything was going fairly well. We knew we didn’t have the pace some of the leaders had, but we knew we had a good consistent pace over long runs and about ¾ through my stint I started feeling something strange with the car. We started picking up a bit of understeer and in a straight line the car started darting around quite a bit. We knew we had a bit of a problem, so I came in for tires, and there was some sort of problem with the right rear. It was a great job by the team to figure it out quickly and keep us on the lead lap. ”

The Rum Bum Racing crew maintained its poise and quickly analyzed the problem, sent the No. 13 back out under yellow in order to remain on the lead lap and were able to make the quick fix during a second stop under the caution.

The race went back to green with 50 minutes remaining and Plumb started among the ST cars and picked off each one as he worked his way back up to the rear of the GS field. A lucky full course caution was displayed with just over a half an hour to go which bunched the field and Plumb restarted 19th in line. The team made the call to have Plumb return to pit lane with 20 minutes remaining and gave the No. 13 fresh rubber and Plumb made up six positions on a longer green flag run.

A final full course yellow brought a final dash to the checkered flag with just six minutes to go and Plumb made up even more time and improved four more positions to take eighth at the finish.

“I went out and just made up some time,” added Plumb. “The car was great. It’s handling better than it’s ever handled. We got lucky on some restarts and some yellows to bunch back up. It’s just a shame that this kind of stuff keeps happening. It’s just bad luck. The yellows saved us with our issue. Every time we went green, I’d make up some spots and then we’d bunch back up (with another yellow) and then I’d make up some spots when we went green. Without the yellows I would have been dead in the water.”

The preparation of the team kept the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche on the lead lap which then allowed Plumb to deliver the top-10 result for the team.

“Any time we have an issue, there is no panic and it just comes from the team having perspective on all of this,” offered Longhi. “They know bad luck is going to happen. There are too many moving parts in these cars and too many variables involved. Things are going to happen. They are prepared for anything and everything and they just go about fixing the problem and try to seal the sinking ship as much as possible.”

Rum Bum Racing will return to race action May 23-24 at Lime Rock Park where the team clinched both the 2012 & 2013 team championship titles.

The post Suffering Setback After Leading the Race, Rum Bum Racing Fights Back to Eighth in Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Monterey, Calif. (2 May 2014) – Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing will take the green flag for Saturday’s Continental Tire Grand Prix of Monterey from 13th on the grid after Nick Longhi set a fast lap time of 1:37.029-seconds in the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche on Friday.

The two hour, thirty minute race marks round three of the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Championship as the two-time defending champion team looks to build momentum in their title defense.  

The 15-minute session saw Longhi able to set the time early, and come within tenths of  an identical lap time, lap after lap. 

“That car can do that lap time for an hour, no problem,” said Longhi. “While it is great that the car is that consistent, it’s just frustrating that the speed just isn’t enough.”

The field has seen a range of new high-horsepower machines join the championship, and the new entries have stolen the march early in the year with two races in the books. 

“The car really is as good as we’ve ever had it here. It’s balanced under braking and we are getting a great launch out of the slow-speed corners,” continued Longhi. “But we are carrying the BOP (IMSA’s “Balance of Performance”) weight and that really has a much bigger affect on us with one of the smallest motors in the field.”

Longhi and Plumb, who scored a podium finish at the track in 2011, have a deep reservoir of experience, and with Joe Varde calling the shots from the pit box, could still be a factor in the race on Saturday.

“It’s the team that has won the races and championships,  not the car,” said Longhi. “So, it’s frustrating that the rules right now have our car with all this weight. That’s really frustrating for me as a driver. But on the other hand, this is a team sport and this is simply an incredible team so we just have to focus on doing our jobs as well as we can tomorrow and seeing where that puts us.” 

Saturday’s two-hour, 30-minute race begins at 3:45 p.m. ET (12:45 p.m. PT), and will be streamed live on IMSA.com.

The post Rum Bum Racing Looking to Move up in Monterey appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Daytona Beach, Fla. (29 April 2014) – Luis Bacardi’s No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche will return to competition this weekend as the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Series travels over 2,000 miles from the team’s Florida-based shop to Monterey, California for the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda which marks Round 3 of the 2014 Championship.

Veteran Rum Bum Racing pilots Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi, who have won 13 IMSA races together, join forces in the No. 13 Porsche machine as Rum Bum Racing pursues its third consecutive IMSA championship title.

The team has shown strength at the 2.238-mile circuit which showcases 17 turns and extreme elevation changes through the natural northern California terrain including the famous ‘Corkscrew’ corner.

When the team debuted at the track in 2011, Plumb and Longhi finished on the podium with a run to third place. In 2012, the team nearly won the race, running second as the field headed to a final green flag. But a tough call from the officials on the final restart instead saw the team dispatched to pit lane before taking the checkered flag deep in the pack. Fortunately, the call wasn’t enough to derail the team on the way to the 2012 Championship.

Last year, the No. 13 car experienced a rare mechanical setback after a rock kicked up into the motor, tearing up the serpentine belt and slowing the effort. But some smart driving by Longhi (to recognize the issue and then coast the car back to the pits from the top of the corkscrew) and some outstanding effort from the Rum Bum Racing crew saw the team make repairs and return to the track.

While the setback meant a disappointing 16th place finish, the huge effort still brought precious points to the team on the way to an encore IMSA Championship.

“We’ve had some good days and some not so good days at Laguna,” reflected Plumb. “We don’t have all  the muscle that some of the guys have for that long run up the hill to the Corkscrew. But, hopefully we can make that back a little bit on the back side of the track with some good handling. We’ve not yet got into a real rhythm with this championship and we just need to lock in a few solid finishes and build from there. The competition is incredible, but we are just focused on the fundamentals and fighting to get what we can out of each of these next few rounds.”

Rum Bum Racing hopes to achieve a second Laguna Seca podium result on Saturday in the 2.5-hour Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda which begins at 12:45 PM (PST) on Saturday. Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.scoring.imsa.com.

FOX Sports 1 will televise the race on Sunday, May 11 at 10:00 AM ET

The post Rum Bum Racing Ready for Redemption at Monterey appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Sebring, Fla. (17 March 2014) –Racing in front of a record crowd on one of the toughest tracks in the country, Luis Bacardi’s Rum Bum Racing impressed in its first ever outing in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on Saturday.

The Florida-based team l`ed the race early, but saw the team’s chances at a podium thwarted first after an issue with the fuel pump set the team back in the pack, and then subsequently when IMSA penalized the team, costing the effort two laps.

The championship squad, which was once again steered by Joe Varde with technical support from the accomplished Wright Racing organization, fought to earn the laps back and finish the race in ninth place with drivers Madison Snow, Hugh Plumb, Jan Heylen, and Matt Plumb combining to score a top-10 finish for Rum Bum Racing in its first-ever IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race.

“I think it just came down to a mechanical issue that we just didn’t have a whole lot of control over,” said Matt Plumb, who also took a top-10 finish in Friday’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge event. “The guys just kept fighting to get everything back. We were close; the whole first half of the day seemed to be going our way. All it takes is something little (to go wrong). It always amazes me that more stuff doesn’t go wrong with all of these moving pieces. Big thanks to Luis and Jennifer Bacardi for being here to witness the whole thing. I hope we can do it again some time.”

Sebring has long been known for beating up drivers and cars alike in its 61 previous runnings, but the 2014 edition proved to be unusually tough with a record number of cautions. The team’s efforts were also further thwarted by a procedural penalty that saw the No. 13 lose two laps while held on pit lane.  While race officials then apparently subsequently rescinded the penalty, but the time, and nearly seven miles to the leader, was already lost. Using speed and strategy, the team worked hard to make up the lost ground, but ran out of time to move further up the field as the group once again impressed in tough circumstances, operating smoothly at the highest level.

“It was a harder race than Daytona,” said Snow, who with Heylen had opened the season with a run to third in the Rolex opener. “We had a couple more issues here but we kind of knew that going in. It’s a bumpy track and it takes its toll on cars and drivers. We know we have the speed, and we’ve proved that. But we still pulled off a pretty good position, which is a pretty good place to be after 12 hours.”

A last-minute decision by IMSA officials about the continually evolving driver rankings saw Hugh Plumb drafted into the effort on short notice. But the experienced GT pilot slotted in seamlessly as he picked up on where he left off after first joining the team in Daytona.

“It was amazing,” said Hugh Plumb. “My hat goes off to the Rum Bum guys, who did a great job. We came into the pits in the lead twice in my two stints. Had it not been for this fuel pump issue, we would have been right there for the podium. It’s unfortunate, but it’s good. This was a brutal race and to come in and finish after that setback and compete in this GTD class with the speed that this team showed just underscored how strong Rum Bum Racing is. A huge thanks to Luis Bacardi for inviting me to be a part of it this weekend.”

“We came into the weekend a little bit behind from the test, but this team did an amazing job and it was great to work with everyone,” said Heylen. “We really had a perfect race as far as the job the drivers did and the effort from the team. We just had that one problem, and that was it. So it cost us a better finish but that is racing. Our car was very strong at the end and the performance was there, so I was really pleased. Now on to the next one!”

Rum Bum Racing will be back in IMSA action at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on May 3-4.

The post Rum Bum Racing Fights to Ninth at Sebring in IMSA TUDOR Debut appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Sebring, Fla. (14 March 2014) – Rum Bum Racing will make its debut in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida Saturday at Sebring International Raceway with the No. 13 Porsche GT America and will start from the inside of the fourth row after Jan Heylen posted a fast lap of 2:04.561-seconds during Friday’s 15-minute qualifying session.

In what has proven to be a stout GTD field in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Heylen’s qualifying time was just three tenths off of the pole position time. He will share the No. 13 Porsche machine with co-drivers Madison Snow, Hugh Plumb, and Matt Plumb as the group looks for a strong finish at the 3.74-mile road course.

“I’m a little bit frustrated with myself because we were so close to the pole and I know the car had it in it,” said Heylen. “I know the qualifying doesn’t mean much for the race but, hey, that’s what we’re here for right?! We’ve had very little track time compared to the other teams so we’re just playing catch up. But man the Rum Bum guys have just done an amazing job in qualifying compared to where we were yesterday and this morning. Today the car was so much better and I feel good about the race tomorrow. It’s too bad we just missed the pole but we’ll do better tomorrow.”

The qualifying effort marked the end of a busy day for Rum Bum Racing as the team also competed in Round 2 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. The team looked poised for another podium finish after another great strategy call from Joe Varde, but a trivial officiating call from IMSA saw the team fall a lap down before fighting back to take a disappointing 10^th place result at the finish.

“As far as the Continental race, as a team we functioned as well as we could possibly function,” said Team Manager and driver Matt Plumb. “We suffered the effects of a strange pit lane call by IMSA. But the good news is that our crew is up to form for the race tomorrow and the car is good, it is where we need it to be and we’re ready to go.”

The Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring will go green tomorrow at 10:15 AM ET. The first three hours of the race will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 with the entire race streamed live at www.imsa.com.

The Continental Tire race will air on FOX Sports 1 on Wednesday March 19th at 1:00 PM (ET) and again on FOX Sports 2 on Sunday March 23rd at 7:30 PM (ET).

The post Rum Bum Racing Set to Start Seventh in 12 Hours of Sebring appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

Sebring,  Fla. (13 March 2014) –  Nick Longhi will start Friday’s Sebring 200 from the seventh row after posting a fast lap time of 2:17.212-seconds at Sebring International Raceway in Thursday’s qualifying session. The race, which marks the second round of the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar (CTSC) Championship, will be aired live at www.imsa.com starting at 1:00 PM ET live on Friday.

Longhi will open the 2.5-hour race from behind the wheel before turning the controls on the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche over to Matt Plumb to take to the finish.

The qualifying result was far from satisfying for the team, but the focus is on the race finish as the group looks to bounce back after a disappointing day at Daytona to start the season. Rum Bum Racing won the 2012 and 2013 IMSA Championships and is targeting a return to the top of the charts as the season prepares to pick up momentum.

“We fought through a few issues this week, and are just not where we need to be yet,” said Longhi. “It is a bit frustrating not to have the speed that this team is capable of. But we’ve used strategy to win races before and hopefully we can do that again. Tomorrow’s race will surely be a bit chaotic, as Sebring is a very tough track and no one knows what to expect. But what I expect, what what we’ve seen before, is that this team will just keep focused and work our way forward tomorrow.”

Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.scoring.imsa.com.

Rum Bum Racing Information:
2010: 3 Wins (Daytona, Trois Riviers, 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

The post Seventh Row Start at Sebring for Rum Bum Racing appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.

The post First Look: Rum Bum Racing Porsche GT America appeared first on Rum Bum Racing.