2005.02.04
Daytona, Florida
The first race of the season, and our first time running
two cars. Two cars that are, in fact, brand new to us.
Taken as a test, the results are fantastic. We proved
that with good drivers our BMW Z3 Coupes are very fast
and reliable. Our #36 managed a 12th place finish in
a field of 30 cars, ably driven by Harold Linville and
Tim Hauraney. The #06 was doing especially well when
Karl Thomson handed over to co-driver David Rosenblum,
having brought the car up to 6th place from the back
of the pack. Unfortunately, during the race Roseblum
blew his second clutch of the weekend, resulting in
a disappointing 20th place. Read
the full race report by clicking here.
2004.12.28
Toronto, Ontario
We're really excited to announce that Compass360/Racing
will be fielding TWO BMW Z3 Coupes
in Grand Am Cup's ST class for 2005. We've purchased
the #06 car that finished 8th in class (with a bunch
of top fives) on the year, which joins our new #36 car,
which won at Tremblant in 2003. Both cars feature full
Motec engine management and the legendary suspension
set-up that helped us finish so well in 2004.
We are now accepting proposals from funded or sponsored
drivers with the skill to win. Our Z3s are the most
reliable cars in the series, and are also amongst those
with the most wins and podiums. Year-long seats are
available starting with the season-opener at Daytona
in February, as well as the option of signing for specific
races only.
Contact our Lead Driver, Karl Thomson, at racing@compass360.com
or by phone at (416) 993-3951.
2004.12.24
Toronto, Ontario
Here's a nice Christmas present: Compass360/Racing is
proud to add A1Fotos.com to our sponsors for the 2005
season. A1Fotos is one of North America's finest motorsports-specific
photography firms, and are led by the talented Jim Weslager.
A1Fotos features races sanctioned by the Grand American,
SCCA, NASA, AHRMA, AMA and many other racing organizations.
Visit their site by
clicking here.
A1Fotos joins Compass360 Design + Advertising, Hockley
Autosport, mmwave Technologies and W3Connex as our sponsors
this season. If you are interested in how you and your
brand can get involved in the fastest-growing racing
series in North America, ask Team Manager Karl Thomson
for a copy of our comprehensive sponsorship brochure.
You can email him at racing@compass360.com.
2004.12.08
Toronto, Ontario
Compass360/Racing's Lead Driver Karl Thomson –
along with Canadian co-drivers Jody Trudeau and Shaun
de Jager – were the recipients of an award at
the BARC awards this evening. The
British Automobile Racing Club is the oldest car club
in Canada, and it's annual banquet highlights top achievements
of Canadian racers. Thomson, Trudeau and de Jager received
the Kendall Award, which is given each year to the Most
Outstanding Driver racing outside of Ontario. Past winners
have included Scott Goodyear, David Tennyson, Greg Wilkens,
and David Empringham, amongst others. It's a great honour
and we hope to live up to it in 2005!
2004.10.31
California Speedway, Fontana,
California
What a great season! We accomplished what we set out
to do at the beginning of the year in Daytona (back
in February!)... we finished every race this year. Not
only that, we drove every lap of every race, scoring
four top-10s in the process. A really solid first year
in Grand Am Cup for the Compass360/Racing team. Read
the California race report here.
2004.10.22
Seattle, Washington
We're pleased to announce that Kevin York of YORK Motorsports
will be Karl Thomson's co-driver for the season finale
at Fontana in a week's time. Kevin brings a wealth of
experience as an instructor in the BMW Club, as well
as his previous Grand American competition. For
a full press release, click here.
2004.10.09
Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham,
Alabama
The problems of the Virigina race were solved in the
week we had between races. Jody Trudeau was back for
the third time this year, and we drove hard to finish
yet again, taking the checkered flag, continuing our
remarkable success: we're nine for nine. You can read
the whole story by clicking here.
2004.10.02
Virginia International Raceway,
Virginia
We had high hopes for the Virginia race. But a top-five
was not to be! Mechanical woes conspired to keep us
well-down the roster. However, we did finish the race,
giving us a solid eight-for-eight record in the series.
Read the report by clicking
here.
2004.09.18
Homestead (Miami), FL
This was our second trip to Homestead this season, and
the result was a solid seventh place (our third top-ten
of the year). This puts Karl Thomson tenth in the Driver's
Championship, and the Compass360/Racing team 9th. Now
the pressure is on for the last three races of the year!
You can read the race
report by clicking here.
2004.08.08
Mid-Ohio, Ohio
Our best finish of the season so far! Jody Trudeau and
Karl Thomson put in consistent laps to move up from
our qualifying position of 12th to finish 6th out of
27 cars in ST-class, and 23rd overall out of 64. Crew
Chief Ian McQuillan's long hours in the shop since Watkins
Glen have resulted in a car that can stick with the
leaders. Click here to read
the Mid-Ohio race report.
2004.08.03
Toronto, Ontario
Compass360/Racing welcomes two new sponsors for the
remainder of the 2004 season. mmwave Technologies, and
partner firm W3Connex are now along for the ride, and
will take advantage of the promotional opportunities
only available through Pro Racing in the Grand Am Cup.
mmwave is one of Canada's fastest growing wireless companies,
providing a full range of solutions to the Canadian
communication market including components, test
equipment, integrated testing and service in applications
from RF, Microwave, and In-building, to W-LAN,
digital and fibre optics. Visit
the mmwave site by clicking here. W3 Connex provides
high-speed fiber/wireless network solutions to communities
in Canada. Learn
more about W3 by clicking here.
These two firms join our season-long sponsors, including
Compass360
Design + Advertising, Boxer Autosport, Bluejay
Networks and Nautical White Yachtwear.
2004.07.26
Mosport, Ontario
While Crew Chief Ian has been busy getting our BMW Z3
ready for Mid-Ohio on
August 6-8 (including installation of a new fuel cell,
clutch, transmission and a fresh engine), our lead driver
Karl Thomson has been helping our friend Michael Vong
get his GT3 Supercup ready for the Porsche Club Race
at Mosport on August 1st. "We made a lot of adjustments
to get the car working on the Pirellis," said Karl.
"The set-up is actually quite different depending
upon the tires, and the car was originally running on
Dunlops. Michael's now set to run competitively against
our American friends." Best of luck, Michael, from
the Compass360 team!
2004.06.19
Watkins Glen, New York
We're now five for five! The Compass360/Racing team
took the checkered flag for the fifth race in a row
in Grand Am Cup competition. The competition was fierce,
featuring the largest field we've seen all year (63
cars entered, 27 in ST class). Jody Trudeau and Karl
Thomson put in good, solid drives after Ian and Paul
pulled yet another all-nighter to get the car perfect.
Click here to read the whole
story.
2004.05.22
Tremblant, Quebec
Despite a mechanical mishap made worse by driver error,
we started the race. From the back of the pack we made
up places to finish 14th in class and 30th overall out
of 53 cars. A remarkbale finish after a Herculean effort
by the team, which you
can read about by clikcing here. Be sure to watch
the Tremblant race on SPEED Channel May 30th, 2004 at
12PM.
2004.05.15
Mosport, Ontario
We just finished our second test day at Mosport, and
the changes that Crew Chief Ian has made transformed
the car. We've knocked more than three seconds off the
times we had when we first got our Z3 three weeks ago,
and are now competitive with the times turned in the
last GAC race. This is a big deal and we're looking
forward to Tremblant next week (May 21st and 22nd).
Co-driver Shaun de Jager's comments? "Friday was
indeed a great day. The Coupe is amazing! Don't change
a thing. The balance, handling ... brakes (hehe) are
all great."
2004.05.01
Toronto, Ontario
Our driver line-up for the next three races have been
finalized. Karl Thomson will be joined by Shaun de Jager
at Tremblant, and Jody Trudeau at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio.
De Jager and Trudeau are accomplished regional racers
who have campaigned a variety of cars over their careers.
Shaun competed in the 2003 Ontario Sprints and also
in the new Touring GT series with his turbocharged Talon,
while Trudeau currently sits first in class for the
2004 season in his Camaro. These guys are fine drivers
and we welcome them to the Compass360/Racing team.
2004.04.19
Toronto, Ontario
While not a Grand Am event, we're proud to note
that lead driver Karl Thomson has won the championship
in the PCA Go Kart series for 2004. It was a hard-fought
battle against 47 of the region's best karters over
the past seven months. The win is especially sweet as
Crew Chief Ian McQuillan took second place overall,
putting the Compass360/Racing team in the top two spots.
2004.04.10
Phoenix, Arizona
Against
a very strong field, Karl and co-driver Ray Bailey took
the Compass360/Racing BMW Z3 to a 13th-place finish.
This result puts Karl in a three-way tie for 22nd place
in the current driver standings (out of 75 drivers).
Click here for the full
race report. The race will be televised on SPEED
Channel on Sunday April 18th, 2004. Our group, Sport
Touring (ST) is on at 1:00pm; the faster Grand Sports
are an hour earlier at noon.
2004.03.27
Homestead, Florida
Our first top-ten finish, in just our second Grand Am
Cup race. Steven Ablondi co-drove an exceptional first
stint, allowing us to get into the money. Read
the Homestead race report here.
2004.01.31
Daytona, Florida
Not the best way to start off the season, but Karl finally
took the checkered flag at Daytona in our first outing
with the BMW Z3. We finished 21st out of 32 entries
thanks to a botched pit stop. Read
the Daytona race report here.
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