Rated M
15-10-2008, 10:50 PM
This fellow has a bit of history with BMW.
Boris Said (USA)
Born 18 September 1962 in New York, N.Y. (USA). Motocross from 1974. 1989 car racing debut, victories in national GT Championships. 1992 winner IMSA Endurance Challenge sports-class championship. 1993 German ADAC GT Cup. 1994 races in the BPR Series. 1994/1995 Le Mans 24 Hours. 1994 to 1996 Trans-Am Series, one win. 1996 winner GT1 class Daytona 24 Hours. Since 1996 various GT events in the USA, incl. ALMS, 12 wins. 1999 to 2002 seven races NASCAR Winston Cup.
Did anyone notice his involvement at Bathurst?
http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/october_08/borid_begs_for_bathurst_respect/
copy article:
Boris is ready to climb his Everest
By Nick Walshaw
October 09, 2008 YOU may not know the man, but you know his mantra. And that's enough for Boris Said.
Because American NASCAR driver Said does more than just race cars and wear suits emblazoned with the No Fear Racing Team. He believes it. Breathes it.
It's what brings this Californian to Bathurst. What has him travelling some 16,273km to be part of an assorted and somewhat understated mob of asphalt gunslingers known in the V8 Supercar world as part-timers.
Yep, an eclectic mix of go-karters, jet-boaters, truck racers, greenhorns, wily veterans, international raiders, even TV weather personalities.
Legend Glenn Seaton, for example, is back at Bathurst this year with the Toll Holden Racing Team. Rookie Jack Perkins having a crack too.
And then there's all the other crazy unknowns who'd ride an electric chair if only someone added a stick.
Said, for example, has been dubbed the "Borat of NASCAR".
A backhanded tribute to this champion road racer with the towering frame, comic personality, wild hair and wilder cult following.
On his unofficial fan website, petrol heads can purchase three different afro wigs and no fewer than 13 T-shirts with various Boris Said slogans. Stuff like "Sell More Cases ... Run More Races".
Yet this American superstar, racing alongside Englishman Matt Neal in the Supercheap Auto team, also boasts an impressive CV that includes success in the Nurburgring 24-Hour, Sebring 12-Hour and consecutive triumphs in the Daytona 24-Hour endurance classic.
So why Bathurst?
"It's on my bucket list," Said tells The Daily Telegraph with a laugh.
"I've raced a lot of cars all over the world but Bathurst ... you could say it's motor racing's Mt Everest."
Probably claimed as many souls, too. Because Mt Panorama is more dangerous than your ex-missus with a chainsaw. All blind corners and elevation changes, even Dick Johnson finished his maiden run down Conrod straight convinced he would never get his clenched fingers from the steering wheel.
That's why the 2008 list of part-timers includes old-timers such as Seaton and Paul Radisich who, until returning at Phillip Island in September, hadn't been behind the wheel of a V8 in 12 months.
Because to truly understand Bathurst is to know every twist, turn and 200km/h corner. That puts this mountain track, insists Said, alongside Germany's Nurburgring as the toughest on the planet.
Of course, the Yanks will say that. Because these poor blokes have had about as much success at Bathurst as they have in, say, the AFL.
Some say it's because few US tracks match Mt Panorama's combination of swoops and speed. Others reckon it has more to do with Seppos looking to change gears Down Under and finding only door handles.
Said, for example, had never driven, let alone raced, a right-hand-drive car until Phillip Island. Bathurst is his second attempt.
"But ever since (team owner) Paul Morris asked me to come over, I've been like a kid at Christmas," Said says with a smile. "I'm excited, anxious, but he certainly didn't need to ask me twice."
more good reading here
http://www.usautoparts.net/bmw/racing/nurburgring.htm
and finally a quote about the Mountain......
Boris Said, #67 Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE:
"Holy Cow, Bathurst's a lot more of a challenge than I thought. It's incredible and just too hard to describe. I always thought I was a pretty good driver, but the mountain just humbled me today ... and these locals are just great race car drivers to go the speed they do. The Supercheap Auto Commodore's in one piece and that makes for not a bad first day, but I'd like to go faster. It's like climbing Mt Everest and I'm slipping a little at the moment, although I can't wait for tomorrow. If I could race here every week that'd be just fine with me."
Boris Said (USA)
Born 18 September 1962 in New York, N.Y. (USA). Motocross from 1974. 1989 car racing debut, victories in national GT Championships. 1992 winner IMSA Endurance Challenge sports-class championship. 1993 German ADAC GT Cup. 1994 races in the BPR Series. 1994/1995 Le Mans 24 Hours. 1994 to 1996 Trans-Am Series, one win. 1996 winner GT1 class Daytona 24 Hours. Since 1996 various GT events in the USA, incl. ALMS, 12 wins. 1999 to 2002 seven races NASCAR Winston Cup.
Did anyone notice his involvement at Bathurst?
http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/october_08/borid_begs_for_bathurst_respect/
copy article:
Boris is ready to climb his Everest
By Nick Walshaw
October 09, 2008 YOU may not know the man, but you know his mantra. And that's enough for Boris Said.
Because American NASCAR driver Said does more than just race cars and wear suits emblazoned with the No Fear Racing Team. He believes it. Breathes it.
It's what brings this Californian to Bathurst. What has him travelling some 16,273km to be part of an assorted and somewhat understated mob of asphalt gunslingers known in the V8 Supercar world as part-timers.
Yep, an eclectic mix of go-karters, jet-boaters, truck racers, greenhorns, wily veterans, international raiders, even TV weather personalities.
Legend Glenn Seaton, for example, is back at Bathurst this year with the Toll Holden Racing Team. Rookie Jack Perkins having a crack too.
And then there's all the other crazy unknowns who'd ride an electric chair if only someone added a stick.
Said, for example, has been dubbed the "Borat of NASCAR".
A backhanded tribute to this champion road racer with the towering frame, comic personality, wild hair and wilder cult following.
On his unofficial fan website, petrol heads can purchase three different afro wigs and no fewer than 13 T-shirts with various Boris Said slogans. Stuff like "Sell More Cases ... Run More Races".
Yet this American superstar, racing alongside Englishman Matt Neal in the Supercheap Auto team, also boasts an impressive CV that includes success in the Nurburgring 24-Hour, Sebring 12-Hour and consecutive triumphs in the Daytona 24-Hour endurance classic.
So why Bathurst?
"It's on my bucket list," Said tells The Daily Telegraph with a laugh.
"I've raced a lot of cars all over the world but Bathurst ... you could say it's motor racing's Mt Everest."
Probably claimed as many souls, too. Because Mt Panorama is more dangerous than your ex-missus with a chainsaw. All blind corners and elevation changes, even Dick Johnson finished his maiden run down Conrod straight convinced he would never get his clenched fingers from the steering wheel.
That's why the 2008 list of part-timers includes old-timers such as Seaton and Paul Radisich who, until returning at Phillip Island in September, hadn't been behind the wheel of a V8 in 12 months.
Because to truly understand Bathurst is to know every twist, turn and 200km/h corner. That puts this mountain track, insists Said, alongside Germany's Nurburgring as the toughest on the planet.
Of course, the Yanks will say that. Because these poor blokes have had about as much success at Bathurst as they have in, say, the AFL.
Some say it's because few US tracks match Mt Panorama's combination of swoops and speed. Others reckon it has more to do with Seppos looking to change gears Down Under and finding only door handles.
Said, for example, had never driven, let alone raced, a right-hand-drive car until Phillip Island. Bathurst is his second attempt.
"But ever since (team owner) Paul Morris asked me to come over, I've been like a kid at Christmas," Said says with a smile. "I'm excited, anxious, but he certainly didn't need to ask me twice."
more good reading here
http://www.usautoparts.net/bmw/racing/nurburgring.htm
and finally a quote about the Mountain......
Boris Said, #67 Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE:
"Holy Cow, Bathurst's a lot more of a challenge than I thought. It's incredible and just too hard to describe. I always thought I was a pretty good driver, but the mountain just humbled me today ... and these locals are just great race car drivers to go the speed they do. The Supercheap Auto Commodore's in one piece and that makes for not a bad first day, but I'd like to go faster. It's like climbing Mt Everest and I'm slipping a little at the moment, although I can't wait for tomorrow. If I could race here every week that'd be just fine with me."