BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (May 23, 2017) – After setting the pole position for Sunday’s fourth round of Pirelli World Challenge SprintX competition, Black Swan Racing’s attempts to earn their second victory of 2017 would be thwarted by heavy rain. With series officials electing to cancel the race due to safety concerns, the racing action at the famed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park would end in favor of moving the race to a to-be-determined venue on the upcoming calendar.
 
“We were really hoping to get out on track after the disappointment of Saturday,” stated Black Swan Racing team owner and co-driver Tim Pappas. “Jeroen put in a fantastic lap to earn us pole position, and we were very confident that we’d have a good shot at everything on Sunday. It was the right decision as the weather was really poor, we’ll just have to hope that the venue they move this to suits us well. We would have liked to have rebounded, as Saturday was a frustrating exercise, and one I hope the series learns from and we can move on. On a positive note, the team debuted a new limited edition Jeroen Bleekemolen baseball cap and sold out the initial production run of 12, which suggests the future for BSR merchandise is as bright as the chrome on the #54 Mercedes AMG GT3.”

As part of a double-header weekend of racing, the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 arrived at the circuit on the momentum of winning the most recent round in Virginia.
 
Qualifying eighth in class for Saturday’s first race, Tim would take on opening duties, doing a solid job to begin the event by setting lap-times on par with the class leaders. Not putting a foot wrong during his stint, an inopportune yellow flag would arrive at an awkward moment for the team. Due to a series of misunderstandings on yellow flag procedure, by time the team would re-line up with the field once stops had cycled through, the team found themselves nearly a lap down over confusion with the placement of the pace car. To compound that, the team was handed a pit lane penalty for a timing error, forcing the team even further down the order.
 
By that point, Bleekemolen had no opportunity to gain ground, opting instead to set the fastest lap time possible, which he would accomplish. This would set the stage for a first-place start on Sunday’s race, which was of course rained out.

While the make-up race is still to be determined, the next round of Pirelli World Challenge SprintX competition will actually begin in just a few days’ time, heading to the treacherous Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut. At just 1.5-miles long, the circuit is notorious for close racing and the potential for incidents. The first race will take place this coming Friday, May 26, with the next race on Saturday, May 27. Further details will be announced shortly.