SPEEDWAY, Ind. (July 27, 2014) – TRG-AMR North America had its racing plate full at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, entering a car in both the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge events Friday on the famed track’s road course.
Two races on one day is arduous for any team and the efforts showcased the grit of TRG-AMR. Al Carter and James Davison drove the No. 007 B+ Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 to a hard fought seventh-place finish in the GTD class of the TUDOR series race after Max Riddle and Kris Wilson, in the No. 07 Haltermann Solutions Aston Martin GT4, recovered from an early incident and soldiered to 20th place in the CTSC GS class race.
The races capped a full week in Indianapolis for TRG-AMR, which rolled out the red carpet for valued team partners with exclusive off-track activities and the chance for guests to watch the races from the pits.
“Everyone on the team executed well,” said TRG-AMR owner and CEO Kevin Buckler. “It was one of the best weekends we’ve had as far as teamwork. Having the whole gang here from Calumet Specialty, Royal Purple, Monument Chemical and Haltermann Solutions was awesome. We did two fantastic food and wine events and one really nice day at their corporate headquarters as well as entertaining a great group of guests throughout the week. This was a very good event for us in terms of activation with our partners and everyone was pleased.”
CARTER, DAVISON DRIVE TO SEVENTH PLACE IN TUDOR RACE
A lengthy full-course caution proved the downfall for TRG-AMR’s drive toward a podium finish in the TUDOR series race, the Brickyard Grand Prix. Starting sixth, Carter made a splash-and-go stop for fuel early into the caution period, when the team thought the yellow time would be minimal. Shortly after the stop, series officials announced the caution would be extended to make a track repair.
Carter kept the car solidly up front and on the lead lap but the car was now further back in line and the field was stretched out as he handed the car over to Davison on the next stop. While Davison advanced five positions up through this world class field, the thought of “what might have been” permeated the TRG-AMR camp.
“My stint was actually really good,” Carter said. “We held our position, we were running consistent laps and staying in the pack. The car was good. We did the driver change when it was required, but the race went green the same lap and that left us back about 30 seconds. James drove his tail off but we were never able to get that time back. We want to give this Aston Martin a finish that it deserves because seventh is a nice, solid finish, but the car is better than that, the team is better than that.”
Davison suffered radio problems much of the race, unable to hear calls from the pits and staying on track until his fuel warning light alerted him it was time to stop for fuel and tires. Davison led six laps before pitting on lap 76 and clocked the second-fastest GTD race lap before the finish.
“We did the best job we could today, we just didn’t quite catch a break with the way our race panned out with our strategy,” Davison said. “We suffered from track position. I was pleased with the way the car behaved, the way I drove and the team did a great job in the pits. It’s probably fair to say that we didn’t quite get the result that our performance deserved, but we’ve got four races to go this year and it’s only a matter of time before we get a win.”
Buckler concurred with his drivers’ assessment. “We did everything right, we stayed on the lead lap, Al did a fantastic job in the opening stint,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment. After most of us, but not all of the teams did their pit stops, IMSA decided to fix the track and it allowed a couple guys to sneak to the front of the queue. So when we restarted, we were pretty much 20 seconds off the leader and we pretty much just stayed there. I think we had a car that could’ve run up front today… Our Aston Martin Vantage GT3 was fantastic today– the car was really flawless and able to run at the front. The tower needs to get it right on these starts and re-starts though…having the field this strung out is inexcusable especially on the start. It adversely affects the race and the field. This is PROFESSIONAL sports car racing.”
EARLY INCIDENT PUTS RIDDLE, WILSON IN HOLE IN CTSC RACE
Unfortunately for the TRG-AMR entry in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race, the day nearly ended before it began. Thanks to stellar work from the crew to repair a damaged No. 07 Haltermann Solutions Aston Martin GT4, the team salvaged a 20th-place finish and kept its championship hopes alive.
Starting 10th in the Brickyard SportsCar Challenge, TRG-AMR driver Max Riddle was punted from behind by another car heading into turn one on the second lap of the two-hour, 30-minute event. Riddle was stranded in a safe location off the track as racing continued for more than 20 minutes until a full-course caution allowed the No. 07 to be towed to the paddock.
“It’s really unfortunate because the guys here at TRG-Aston Martin Racing put together a really good race car,” Riddle said. “I truly believe if that wouldn’t have happened, we would have been in podium contention for sure, and possibly even had a winning car. For me, sitting out there doing nothing until the car could be towed in, I was kind of pulling my hair out. I wanted to get the car back to the guys because I knew they could get it back on the track.”
The TRG-AMR crew worked feverishly to repair the right-side damage and had the No. 07 back on track in about 30 minutes. Co-driver Kris Wilson took the wheel and had the Aston Martin turning laps competitive with the leaders, despite the damage. Riddle returned to the cockpit to finish the race, with the No. 07 completing 50 laps in the 23-car GS class.
“We have the best group of guys and when we fire on all cylinders, we’re really hard to beat,” said Buckler. “The car was good, the guys drove really well all weekend, and we were at the top of the time charts in one of the practice sessions. All of us were really excited to be here and to be starting this race today. To be taken out in turn one on the second lap by someone who just missed their brake markers is incredibly hard to accept for everything that we had going on this weekend. It was difficult for the team but the guys rallied, got the car back on the track and were looking for points for a championship hunt. I can’t be more proud. It was really a shame, but accidents happen. Let’s move on, positive attitude for the next race.”
The finish delivered small blow to the championship aspirations of the No. 07 car in the team standings and Wilson in the driver chase. Unofficially, the No. 07 slipped one spot to fourth and Wilson fell three places to sixth with four races remaining.
“The car, considering it was crashed, still did some decent lap times,” Wilson said. “We picked up a couple positions so it was worth going back out. Every point counts in the long run. We still have races to go. The TRG guys rocked. These are really the best guys in the paddock.”