[image above] BMW M8 GTE on its way back to the track after being introduced at a press event at the Hilton Daytona Beach. Credit: ACerS

Last week’s ICACC was in Daytona Beach, which is famous for its auto racing. As the conference neared its close, the city and our hotel were gearing up for the Rolex 24 at Daytona—a 24-hour sports car race held at the Daytona International Speedway. The race itself has an interesting history, and is as much about the cars as the drivers.

It’s also the first auto race of the year, and BMW took the opportunity to announce its new M8 GTE will compete this year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. They held an invitation-only event on the patio of the Hilton Daytona Beach last Wednesday to unveil the new race cars. ACerS marketing manager, Andrea Ross, got a snapshot of the spiffy new cars, and I got a close-up look at one later in the evening as they were rolling them out (above) and taking them back to the track.

Yeah, they’re totally cool.

We unveiled a new product of our own on the same day—the Bulletin Archive Online! The entire Bulletin archive from 1922 through December 2017 is available in a fully searchable format. And, it’s FREE to members with your ceramics.org login credentials.

And, yeah, it’s totally cool.

The most recent addition to the archive is perhaps the most apropos to the occasion. Use the archive to read our article about cars in the December 2017 Bulletin, “What’s in and on that car? The role of ceramics and glass in the $4 trillion auto industry.”

Go ahead and kick the tires of the archive. Let us know what you think!

Author

Eileen De Guire