(PETALUMA, CA – August 25) The entire race weekend for TRG-AMR North America was simply fantastic. The Brandon Davis No. 27 Barracuda Networks / ACS Vantage GT4 took its first North American victory in a hard fought GTS race at Sonoma Raceway in Round 13 of the Pirelli World Challenge championship. The No. 66 Jawbone V12 Vantage GT3 took home a sixth in GT class after team owner and driver Kevin Buckler battled from the back of the entire grid after a pre-race clutch repair. And the No. 62 and No. 63 Vantage GT4s ran up front all day before some late race melee ended with respectable finishes of 10th for the No. 63 Drew Regitz machine and 11th for the No. 62 Mark Klenin car.
Davis started from the second position, and after early race start dramas with other competitors he dropped back into fourth place early. After things settled down, Davis moved quickly back into second. On lap eight, Davis made a pass on the No. 20 machine to move into the early lead. A miscommunication on a caution shortly after resulted in the No. 27 Vantage GT4 moving back to second on lap 13. However, Davis took his time with the Barracuda Networks / ACS Aston Martin and made a bold pass to retake the lead on lap 19. From there, Davis eased to the victory in GTS with the Vantage GT4
Buckler had pre-race dramas that made for a wild time for the TRG-AMR North America team with the brand new mighty V12 Vantage GT3. F1 launch control for the standing starts is mandatory on the GT cars but Buckler’s brand new GT3 has yet to have this option installed and Buckler had not done a standing race start before. The team was granted an opportunity to practice several standing starts, from the paddock/pitlane area in the morning, the old-fashioned way…smoky burnouts and all!! However, the # 66 Aston Martin suffered a clutch failure. Therefore, with only an hour before the race the team made a complete clutch change (their first one on the brand new V12 Vantage GT3!). The time it took to make this change meant that the machine missed the window to start from its seventh starting position. In fact, it meant starting from pit lane behind the ENTIRE field of GT and GTS cars.
Buckler calmly got the No. 66 Jawbone V12 Vantage GT3 into the field. After spending the first eight laps slicing through GTS field, a caution was thrown. At this point Buckler was able to reconnect with his fellow GT competitors. He spent the remainder of the race working into the top 10 before finishing with a solid sixth place in the super competitive GT field. He also posted the second fastest lap time in the race.
The No. 62 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Mark Klenin and No. 63 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Drew Regitz had fantastic runs in the race. Their final results were not representative of the position for both cars in the GTS field. After great starts for both Vantages, the No. 63 was in fifth and the No. 62 was in sixth place at lap eight. On lap 13 the No. 62 of Klenin had an incident with another competitor that pushed him back to 12th in class. Klenin worked hard to move back into the top 10 before a late race spin meant a final 11th place finish. For Regitz he held onto fifth until very late in the race before a small spin meant a final 10th place finish for the No. 63 TRG-AMR Vantage GT4.
Brandon Davis on the victory in the No. 27 TRG-AMR Vantage GT4:
“TRG-AMR had a plan to run three cars in this event. I was actually driver coaching my teammates last week when the group at Barracuda Networks / ACS came on board. Big thanks to the TRG-AMR guys who thrashed to get everything together. The car was great all day. The only big drama was I got information that a caution was thrown but was not. I had
some more speed than the No. 20 car in turn seven and managed to repass him in the esses. Thankfully, Andy Lee raced me clean and I managed to stay ahead for the win. I am proud to be the first driver in the new car in America to win. I also really have to say a big thanks to Barracuda Networks / ACS for coming on board. I hope we can keep racing, this was fun!”
Kevin Buckler on TRG-AMR North America’s No. 66 debut:
” This was a great day for the TRG-Aston Martin Racing program and for our sponsors Jawbone and Barracuda. We prepared for this race and came here with four cars, three in the very competitive GTS class and our brand-new GT3 competing in its first ever race in North America in the GT class. The team and the drivers all did a great job, and when it came time to deliver today, they did. Brandon Davis took the victory in the GTS class, and I was able to put together a strong run in the GT car shaking it down for its first-ever race. Drew and Mark drove some of the best racing I have ever seen and were actually running in the top six for awhile. The Aston Martin racing program for North America is actually based here in Northern California, so it is perfect that we had our debut weekend turn out so well. This is an amazing brand and we are proud to represent them. I could not be prouder of the team as a whole. Everyone did a great job, and we are headed to Laguna Seca in two weeks for our Grand American Rolex series debut.”
Drew Regitz on the race in the No. 63 TRG-AMR Vantage GT4:
“What a race for the team and for me! Big congratulations to Brandon Davis. The great thing about the way this team is set up, Brandon was driver coaching me last Monday. I took on a lot of what he said and applied. The TRG-AMR Vantage GT4 was a great car the entire weekend. I want to thank Kevin Buckler for providing all of the resources he does for this team. I can’t wait for the next race.”
Mark Klenin on the race in the No. 62 TRG-AMR Vantage GT4:
“While my final position wasn’t what I hoped, it was the most fun I have had in a race car. The TRG-AMR crew did a great job giving me a car that was really fast and fun. I look forward to building on this weekend and coming back to the track soon with the Vantage GT4!”
The Pirelli World Challenge GT/GTS race at Sonoma Raceway will be on NBC Sports Sunday, September 8, 2013 at 9:30 AM/12:30 PM PST.
About TRG:
TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach, as well as comprehensive sponsorship and business opportunities. For drivers, this approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports. For sponsors and business partners, this method starts with everything from executive events and traditional sponsorship models, to comprehensive business-to-business opportunities and experiential marketing. The team races in America’s two largest sport car series – the American Le Mans Series and the GRAND-AM Rolex Series and can offer turn-key marketing programs as well as arrive-and-drive support.
The Racer’s Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing. The team boasts Rolex Series GT championships in 2005 and 2006 and holds the record for the most wins in GRAND-AM with 32. The team’s resume is highlighted by four championships, four Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona victories, a 24 Hours of Le Mans win, a victory at Petit Le Mans and the longest standing ALMS podium run with 16 in a row.
About Adobe Road Winery:
Adobe Road features hand-crafted small lot wines produced from some of the finest vineyards in Sonoma and Napa counties. It has developed a reputation as one of Northern California’s hottest boutique wineries, producing many award-winning wines. Most recently, Wine Spectator Insider gave outstanding scores to four of the wineries latest releases: 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard (94 points); 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bavarian Lion Vineyard (93 points); 2009 Syrah, Dry Creek Kemp Vineyard (93 points); and 2009 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley (92 points).
For more information and sponsorship details, please email info@trg-amr.com
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Press release issued by TRG-AMR North America