BSI Overcomes Transporter Fire to Make it to COTA

Photo: Shea Holbrook

BSI Racing arrived on time at Circuit of The Americas despite its transporter having suffered a fire and one of its Toyota GR 86 Cup cars damaged.

The Daytona Beach, Fla.-based team, which fields six cars in the SRO America-run single-make series, faced the significant setback on Monday just ten minutes outside of its workshop on I-95 en route to Austin.

Volusia County firefighters, who were on their way to a training exercise, were able to put the fire out that saved the team from a “much worse outcome” according to team owner Shea Holbrook, who said nobody was injured in the accident.

“To the hundreds of you who reached out, offered trailers, or checked in on us, thank you!” Holbrook wrote in a post on Instagram.

“We were completely overwhelmed by the kindness of the racing community. From competitors stopping roadside to the flood of messages in our inbox, your support is simply incredible.

“What happened next is a testament to the BSI crew.

“On the shoulder of I-95, it was all hands on deck as every piece of equipment and three race cars were unloaded on the highway.

“Cars were brought back, washed, and repaired (the No. 51). We completely emptied a second trailer and reloaded every single item from the GR rig into this one.

“After rotating around the clock for 24 hours straight, we were back on the road.

“We’ve never missed a race, and we weren’t about to start now.

“A massive shoutout to Nick, Matt, Noah, Jack, Mark, Shaw, JJ, Jeff, and Matt. You guys turned a crisis into a ‘pressure bonding’ session, grinding through the day, night, and morning.”

BSI’s replacement transporter with its six GR Cup cars arrived at Circuit of The Americas in time for Thursday’s pair of test sessions.

Holbrook was quick to point out that cause of the fire was not a maintenance or driver error-related issue.

“Thank you to the The Volusia County Professional Firefighters Association (Engine 22, SQ23, and E51) and first responders,” she added. “Their rapid response saved us from a much worse outcome.”

The car with the most damage, the No. 51 entry of Massimo Sunseri, was repaired at the team’s shop and was back in action on Thursday morning.

Photo: The Volusia County Professional Firefighters Association

Source: Sports Car 365