BimmerWorld Racing sponsor news 2009-02-04

BimmerWorld and GearWrench Partner Again in 2009; Leading BMW SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car team and leading hand tools manufacturer build upon 2008 partnership for expanded assault in 2009.

The 2008 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car season found leading BMW entrant BimmerWorld Racing and GearWrench teamed up to showcase their abilities under the most trying conditions.

After a win by team owner/driver James Clay at Road America and numerous top-5 finishes within the three car team, the only thing left for BimmerWorld and GearWrench to do was to return for 2009 with an expanded partnership to vie for the SPEED TC championship.

For Clay, the growth of BimmerWorld's alliance with GearWrench in such trying economic times is a sign of a strong relationship. "From my perspective as a business owner, smart companies are not just doing broad stroke cutbacks; they are evaluating the effectiveness of all their operations, including marketing and sponsorship. The relationship with GearWrench and BimmerWorld is an excellent match and the SPEED World Challenge series provides an excellent package for a sponsor at this level to get a great return on their investment."

GearWrench brand manager Marc Magnus finds the fit of the two companies to be just what GearWrench needs to demonstrate their products and test their tools under fire. "The SPEED World Challenge is the perfect race series to promote our products. The fans are true car enthusiasts, many of whom are professional auto mechanics and serious 'DIY'ers.' These fans appreciate the race proven performance of a top contending team like BimmerWorld."

"They know that if BimmerWorld can trust GearWrench to keep 3 cars running is top condition at all times, it must be a quality product that will help them get the job done. The BimmerWorld team has also been one of GearWrench's biggest advocates and promoters. These guys are top notch partners, and GearWrench is proud to be a big part of the team in 2009."

While many teams have sponsors that have no direct affiliation to the automotive industry or auto racing, Clay recognizes the marriage of BimmerWorld and GearWrench serves to form a practical and beneficial high-speed partnership. "This is a classic example of two high-profile companies coming together with the result greater than the individual parts. BimmerWorld is in a national leader in BMW tuning with heavy involvement in construction, design, and testing programs with our race team.

"GearWrench manufactures top quality and extremely innovative tools--which allows us to get our various hands-on jobs done faster and more effectively, and our customers, dealers, and associates use them in the same manner we do."

Fans will notice the distinct GearWrench branding on the team's three blue BMW E90s and in how the team will be referred to in the media. "In 2009, our hoods will proudly wear the GearWrench logo, as well as some other promotional efforts through both of our businesses," said Clay. "Additionally we will be the BimmerWorld / GearWrench team and, of course, we will be fully stocked with the latest GearWrench tools for the team at the racetrack and at the shop."

The final aspect of the BimmerWorld / GearWrench partnership is the joined effort to develop and improve GearWrench's line of products. Magnus was quick to praise BimmerWorld crew chief Jason Marks for his commitment to providing sharp feedback and suggestions for Magnus to implement. "Jason Marks has been awesome! He is constantly providing us with feedback on our existing tools and giving us new tool ideas. This year, you'll see GearWrench continue to launch innovative products that will help the end user get the job done faster. Increased user productivity through innovation is what we are best known for.

"The feedback and ideas the team has given us will only help fuel our new product pipeline! As we learned in 2008 with BimmerWorld, if our tools can hold up over a 10-race World Challenge season while maintaining 3 high performance BMW race cars, we're confident they will hold up in any environment."

-credit: BimmerworldRacing.com