"It was an amazing year!"
An interview with Terry Borcheller of ACEMCO Racing
By Kate Shaw
Photos © tborcheller.com

TORONTO, Canada (December 20, 2003) -- Terry Borcheller raced in the silver ACEMCO Ferrari 360 Modena with Shane Lewis in the ALMS in 2003 (among other cars in other places), but he’s best known for his feats behind the wheel of the Konrad Saleen – indeed, he has had success in the Saleen in the Speed World Challenge and GARRA GTO as well! In 1998, Borcheller was the SPEED World Challenge T1 and SPORTS CAR SS GS champion, making him only the 20th driver in U.S. racing history to win two titles in the same season. Borcheller won Saleen’s first race in ALMS and followed up with their first GTS championship in 2001, a race I was privileged to attend after an 18 hour drive from Toronto – and he still remembers our long successful run. That’s one of his best features: he remembers fans as people, and never fails to greet the world with a smile and a kind word no matter how hard the road has been. In addition to his work in ALMS in 2003, he drove a DP car in the Grand Am Series and brought the new class of car its first ever win too! And despite his heavy racing schedule, Terry, who is deeply religious, is always available to speak to groups of young people and has been invited to share his testimony and experiences with many such groups wherever the teams go racing. Recently he took time from his busy rounds to give RFM Sports his impressions of his 2003 season and hopes for 2004.

Kate Shaw: You’ve covered a lot of ground since the racing season opened in 2003. What do you consider the highlight of 2003?

Terry Borcheller: Le Mans is always a highlight, but from a racing standpoint, I would have to say it was the first win in the Daytona Prototype. When we started the season, our goal was just to get to the podium. The first win was really incredible and the first step to winning the championship. It was such a momentum for the team.

KS: Were there any lowlights you would care to remember?

TB: When you're doing what you've always dreamed of doing, it's hard to get low as long as you keep your perspective right. The lowest point was running out of gas at Virginia in the BMW because that really killed us for the [Grand-Am Cup] championship. We could have easily won that race and very easily won that championship.

KS: What was the funniest thing that happened to you in 2003? What was the strangest?

TB: One of the strangest things was starting with Giuseppe Risi and then him not running two cars – which he had said from the beginning he may not do. So I did the ACEMCO Ferrari deal as a favor to Giuseppe, then I found out at the end of the year that ACEMCO bought two Saleens! That was a God-thing, I think.

KS: What have you heard regarding the ACEMCO Saleen? Are your plans firmed up yet for 2004? If so, when will you get behind the wheel of the car? Will you be teamed up with Shane Lewis again in 2004?

TB: It's looking pretty good that I'll be with ACEMCO for 2004 [NOTE: Since this interview was done, Terry and co-driver Johnny Mowlem have been confirmed as drivers of the ACEMCO Racing Saleen for the 2004 season.]

KS: You have driven in many different series, in many different cars, during the 2003 season. Which was your favourite drive?

TB: The Daytona Prototype and the BMW were my favourites. I just like the style of the Daytona Prototype – the harder you drive it, the faster it goes. The BMW was a lot of fun because we were under-powered, so we had to be really tidy with the line and everything had to be perfect from a driving standpoint. So that really kept me on my toes.

KS: Which track suited your driving style best and why?

TB: All the ones we won on!

KS: Do you like sprint races or enduro races best?

TB: It's been a long time since I've run sprint races – the last one I did was in World Challenge in 2000. But I like the sprint races. You can be more aggressive, you can take more chances, and you can race harder. And you don't have to stand and watch while somebody else is driving the car. That's painful for me because I have no control over what's going on in any direction.

KS: What is your main goal for 2004, on or off the track?

TB: To win a championship. If I'm involved in three different series again – and there's a good chance I will be – I'll try to win three championships.

KS: What question do you wish the media would ask you but they never do?

TB: I wish they would ask more about my faith because it's such a large part of the driver that I am. Nobody ever explores that. Rarely does the media ask me about the cross on my signatures, rarely does the media give me any questions at all relating to my faith, which I find kind of strange because it's something different from most drivers.

KS: How would you sum up the 2003 season, and what would you like to tell the fans?

TB: It was an amazing year and it's just been great to hear the response from fans. I'm realizing more and more that I have a lot of fans out there. It's really cool to know that they're behind me and that I have that base.

KS: We’ll all be there to cheer you on in 2004 and we’re looking forward to seeing you on the grid in Sebring!