The Team

As a second-year graduate student at Virginia Tech, James Clay was desperately trying to figure out how to both pay for school and live out his racing aspirations. You would think that in the course of earning his MBA he would have been scared off by the financial “uncertainty” associated with anything remotely related to motorsports. But instead of targeting a stuffy day job siting in a leather chair behind a really expensive desk, he began to sell BMW performance parts from his single-bedroom apartment.

Now, back in 1997 when this all began, “performance parts” were defined as…well…stickers. But great things always seem to grow out of humble beginnings, and now, more than 25 years later, BimmerWorld reigns as the largest independently-owned BMW parts specialist in North America. Their catalog includes OEM replacement parts, high-performance accessories, and specialized racing components not suitable for use on public roadways (the lawyers always make them add the last little bit there).

After finally selling enough stickers (they actually call them “performance decals” now), BimmerWorld Racing joined the professional racing ranks in 2003. Realizing his dream, James (Clay, not Walker…this is surely going to cause confusion moving forward) competed in the World Challenge Touring Car class with enough success to keep coming back for more. In the 17 years that followed, BimmerWorld Racing has brought home more than their fair share of road racing trophies in the SPEED Touring Car, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, World Challenge GT4 America, and World Challenge TC America categories.

Others took notice, and to this day BimmerWorld Racing continues to build cars and support racers in a wide variety of BMW CCA, AER, NASA, and SCCA classes. Whether it’s preparing an IMSA GS M4 for Daytona, an M240i Racing for SRO America, or a V8-powered E36 M3 motoring its way up Pike’s Peak, BimmerWorld Racing has proven itself as one of the most successful BMW racing teams on a global scale.

Most recently, BimmerWorld Racing has been focusing their efforts the BMW M4 GT4, going door-to-door with traditional GT cars such as the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Porsche Cayman as well as more purpose-built sports cars such as the McLaren 570S, Audi R8, and AMG Mercedes GT. In both 2018 and 2019, BimmerWorld Racing secured a third-place finish in the IMSA GT4 Michelin Pilot Challenge (remarkably without using a single square inch of Hello Kitty duct tape), and in both 2022 and 2023 secured SRO’s GT4 America Am/Am Championship. They return in 2024 once again fielding pair of second-generation BMW M4 GT4 racecars on the SRO GT4 America grid.

Vehicle Year: 2023
Vehicle Make: BMW
Vehicle Model: M4 GT4
Sanctioning Body: SRO
Estimated Horsepower: 431 HP
Competition Class: GT4 America
Weight (With Driver): 3,265 lb
Forward Gears: Seven
Driven Axle: Rear
Transmission: Automatic
Number of Cylinders: Six
Engine Displacement: 3.0 Liters
Power-to-Weight Ratio: 7.6 lb/HP
Owner: BimmerWorld
TOP SPEED
174 MPH
POWER PEE
431 HP

POWER
431 HP
TOP SPEED
174 MPH

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