Champion Download: A few minutes with James Clay and Charlie Postins

Champion Download:  A few minutes with James Clay and Charlie Postins

BimmerWorld is no stranger to GT racing. The Virginia-based team is a frequent winner and championship contender.  In addition to racing, BimmerWorld is renowned as a leader in BMW aftermarket performance parts and service. 

This year James Clay and Charlie Postins teamed up to win the 2022 Pirelli GT4 America Am class championship with seven wins. Postins also earned the Rookie-of-the-Year award. 

SRO: What were your expectations entering 2022?

JAMES: Honestly, I expected great things. Charlie and I have more typically been Ring racing partners in the past and I knew a lot of these tracks were new for him.  This was a last-minute deal and a pivot after our 2022 program changed, but I knew we had a foundation in the BimmerWorld team for success.  When Charlie got to Sonoma, which was also a new track for him, for the first race and was immediately up to speed, I knew we were headed for a good year.

CHARLIE: Only two weeks before Sonoma my expectations were that I would be watching all the races on the Live SRO GT World streaming service! So given that our season started so late my only hope and expectation was that we would be competitive.

SRO: What was your favorite on-track moment?

JAMES: Our early season was plagued with a lot of incidents in the field and red flags.  Once things smoothed out, we had some really great racing.  I think my highlight was our Sebring race where Charlie had an amazing qualifying and a fantastic first stint, and we clinched the championship in style with a win, and sixth overall. 

CHARLIE: In some ways my answer goes back to your first question as my favorite on track moment happened in the first qualifying session in Sonoma. Up until that point my expectation was to be “competitive” but I was lucky enough to secure pole position. I guess it was at this point when I realized we could have a really good year.

SRO: Any memorable off-track adventures?

JAMES: The off-track part is always so much fun and we had a great season together with friends. I think, as it should at the end of the year, the awards gala took the cake.  We had a great night celebrating the season and almost managed to get all the trophies home safely!

CHARLIE: Elkhart Lake for sure! No craziness like the Gala in Indy but I was fortunate enough to have my parents over from the UK and my daughter was able to attend. Furthermore we stayed with great family friends who are from the UK but now live in Elkhart. So, in some odd way it was a kind of a homecoming and it felt so great to be on track with so many friends and family around.

SRO: What does this championship mean to you?

JAMES: This championship is special because it had challenges, but we had a group of very good friends all together, racing competitively, and we just had the best time doing it all year.  A championship is a hard thing to capture, but honestly through this season it almost felt easy, which makes this really special. 

CHARLIE: A great deal. Like James, I have been around the racing world for many years now. You learn that championships are hard to come by. So to snag this one with a great friend and his awesome team makes it extremely special.

SRO: Who are the unsung heroes who helped make this happen?

JAMES: I think we work hard to make sure our team of people that put the car on track every weekend and is core to the success of any effort doesn't go unsung, but I'll reiterate that our BimmerWorld team absolutely is responsible for making this happen, probably more so than we are.  They gave us a great car, great equipment, and great support to excel on the track.  And I need to thank OPTIMA Batteries for supporting and being involved in all of our racing efforts for many years, as well as our technical partners at Red Line Oil, PFC Brakes, and Lifeline Fire and Safety Systems.

CHARLIE: James has already mentioned the whole BimmerWorld team and I have to echo that. Furthermore our car team of Tyler Kirkwood and Rich Cosmo were first class all year. I would also like to mention Dave Waganer our race engineer. Not only did he make great radio calls, such as when to pit during the first NOLA race but also constantly improved the car session after session. Without these guys James and I would have been lost! Lastly I have to mention my amazing family. My wife Lucy and daughters Thalia and Asha have been a constant rock and have supported this endeavor from beginning to end. Thank you!

SRO: What are your plans for 2023? 

JAMES: We are still working those out.  We have new BMW M4 GT4 cars on the way and we will be running them in SRO.  I am hoping to repeat with another Championship, but we'll see where the cards fall as to how that happens!  

CHARLIE: Obviously James and BimmerWorld plan to be back with the new GT4 next year. I would love to be part of that effort and we are working on that daily. Fingers crossed that we can make that dream a reality. I guess that means I hope we have that resolved a little sooner than we did lay year! 

SRO:  Thank you.

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