Dec 16, 2022
Continental Tire the Americas is partnering with Random Vandals Racing, a BMW customer racing team based in Concord, North Carolina, to compete in 10 World Racing League (WRL) events in 2023. The WRL is all about endurance road racing and all competitors use street-legal tires. The season runs from January 20th to December 3rd and there are a total of 13 race weekends scheduled.
Random Vandals will be entering a pair of BMW M4 GT4s into the competition, with one of the cars being primarily sponsored by Continental. This car, which will be driven by Mo Dadkhah, Michael Gilbert, and a third driver to be announced at a later date, will feature Continental's iconic gold and black colors on its livery. The other BMW M4 GT4 will have secondary sponsorship from Continental.
Both cars will be using Continental's latest performance tires - the ExtremeContact Force and the ExtremeContact Sport02. The ExtremeContact Force is a 200 UTQG endurance racing tire that is designed to be quick and long-wearing, and it will be used in dry conditions. The ExtremeContact Sport02 will be used in wet weather conditions.
Paul Sparta, the team principal for Random Vandals, said that the WRL's endurance racing format will be a "great showcase" for these new Continental tires and added that the ExtremeContact Force has already proven to be quick and long-lasting during testing.
The WRL is a professionally run amateur series that promotes and operates endurance races at road courses all over the country. Its goal is to make racing simple, affordable, safe, and fun for everyone. All major road racing sanctions are eligible to participate, including the Sports Car Club of America and the National Auto Sport Association.
Each WRL endurance event weekend includes racing on both Saturday and Sunday, with most races being eight hours long. The Daytona event, which is scheduled for June 9th and 10th, will be a 14-hour race.
"We are excited to partner with Random Vandals on a full-season two-car effort in the World Racing League GTO class," said Travis Roffler, the director of marketing for Continental Tire. "Random Vandals has shown that they are a winning team and this will be a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the superior performance of our ExtremeContact Force and ExtremeContact Sport02 products."
Random Vandals Racing, which also competes professionally in both IMSA and SRO, will start the 2023 World Racing League season with a two-day test at NOLA Motorsports Park ahead of the season opener.
Stay tuned for more updates as the season approaches!