Petaluma, CA (December 24, 2014) …The TRG-Aston Martin Racing team has been busy this holiday season, preparing its IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Challenge and Pirelli World Challenge lineup of cars for upcoming testing and development ahead of the exciting 2015 season and Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team will again be fielding the venerable and potent Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 machine in the GT/GTD categories, as well as at the proven V8 Vantage GT4 in GTS and GS class competition. TRG-AMR plans a comprehensive effort and multiple season-long campaigns in World Challenge GT and GTS, IMSA TUDOR/NAEC, and limited campaigns in the Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge.
Piloting the No. 007 V12 Vantage GT3 will be season-long contenders Christina Nielsen and James Davison. Nielsen, having competed with the team at Petit Le Mans last season, is a rising international GT racing driver from Denmark and looking to earn her place in the IMSA record books. Alongside Christina is TRG-AMR driver and Indy 500 competitor James Davison. Davison, hailing from Australia, comes from a long lineage of racers, his grandfather having won the Australian Grand Prix four times. This driver pairing is sure to be one of the most formidable in the GTD paddock, fighting for the championship from the moment the first green flag is waved.
Added to the 007 lineup for the TUDOR 24 Hours at Daytona event is professional GT racer and Aston Martin Racing driver Christoffer Nygaard. Hailing from Denmark, Nygaard has been racing since 2003 when he started karting. Since then, Christoffer has competed in everything from the ADAC Polo Cup to racing in the European GT3 and GT1 Championships with AMR, with numerous poles and wins in the WEC and having also set the fastest GT race lap at Le Mans earlier this year. More announcements on the final addition to the 007 car to come shortly.
Also back in the saddle in their V8 Vantage GT4 is Canadian rally star Max Riddle and sportscar veteran Kris Wilson, who will be partnering for the upcoming Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge race at Daytona on the same weekend as the 24-hour enduro. They will be campaigning a limited Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge season after taking home two wins and multiple fastest race laps in the 2014 CTSC season.
Piloting the team’s lead V12 Vantage GT3 in PWC GT competition is season-long contender Christina Nielsen. Nielsen, having competed with the team at Sonoma last season, is a rising International GT racing driver from Denmark and seeks to make a lasting impression in the World Challenge record books. In her debut with the team and the World Challenge series, she raced to a strong podium finish in the GTA category, as well as finishing 6th overall. A sign of good things to come in a field as diverse and competitive as the ever-expanding World Challenge GT category.
Anchoring the team’s GTS effort in the V8 Vantage GT4 is Canadian rally star Max Riddle alongside sportscar veteran and professional wakeboarder Derek DeBoer. Riddle, a Pirelli World Challenge rookie, is ready for the steep learning curve in the GTS field, while teammate DeBoer raced last August at Sonoma Raceway for his maiden World Challenge outing. Both drivers have a wealth of sportscar and other competitive driving experience, both having raced in other North American sportscar series, formula, and rally cars.
More news surrounding the team’s expanding driver lineup is forthcoming, with the team focused on running as many as five cars across the GT and GTS categories. The 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season will kick off at Circuit of the Americas March 6th – 8th. More information is available at www.World-Challenge.com
The driver lineup for the No. 009 GTD car is still being finalized after the recent driver rating changes. Selections will be determined in the coming weeks. The ROAR testing is open to the public free of admission and includes exciting non-stop testing rain or shine, day or night. More information can be found at www.IMSA.com
Christina Nielsen, Team Driver, TRG-AMR North America: “The ROAR is when the real fun of the season begins. We are heading there with a great car, a great team, and we collectively have one goal in mind – winning the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona! Of course this is only the start of what is to be a full-scale effort to win the IMSA TUDOR GTD Championship and North American Endurance Cup. I am super excited to have James as my season long co-driver and Christoffer for the long races! This is going to be a great year with high expectations and we are ready for the challenge.”
Max Riddle, Team Driver, TRG-AMR North America: “Last year running the GT4 in Conti proved what a great platform the V8 Vantage GT4 really is. Good power, nice grip and handling, and the thing is built like a tank. While I’m probably not going to take it rallying anytime soon, I do plan on running at the front this entire season and shooting for the championship from day one. The team has been hard at work preparing the car and getting everything sorted for the coming season – TRG-AMR has always provided me with a car that I feel confident and safe in. I never worry about pushing it to the limits. I’m looking forward to Daytona and COTA!”
Derek DeBoer, Team Driver, TRG-AMR North America: “I can’t explain how excited I am to be driving for TRG-Aston Martin Racing in the new year. My business partner Shane Sterling (of BlackRider Racing Group) and I have been having such a fun time putting this program together. I am confident that I will have the most well-prepared and capable car on the track. Kevin (Buckler) and the team have been simply amazing – it’s been a long path to get to this point, and the team has supported me the whole way. I’m going to be fighting Max for the championship all season long. We are good friends and our team has terrific chemistry. We will be able to learn from and draw off each other’s learning all season long! I’m also planning a possible drive with the team at the Rolex 24… stay tuned!”
Kevin Buckler, CEO, TRG-AMR North America: “What an incredible year we are now poised to capitalize on. We’re heading into the holidays with our cars, team, and entire organization ready for a fantastic 2015 season and a real run at the championship. The platform that IMSA and World Challenge has laid out for us is just world-class. The schedule, the racetracks, and now more than ever the continued and positive support we get from their entire team – particularly on the business side. It is “our time” in sports car racing and they get that. It’s up to us collectively to capitalize on this magic. In this world-class GTD field we showed how fast and capable our program is with four consecutive poles in a row at the end of last season and I feel like we have now added one of the best and brightest talents in the paddock with Christina. This is truly a lethal combo between her, James and now Christoffer, our awesome team, our combined experience – especially in the big races – and our work ethic, structure, and strategy. Our PWC program is going to be incredibly strong this year. Having Max and Derek over here running for championships in GTS is going to have the team – and the competition – on their toes. Everyone is excited. Also, having Christina in the GT “ring” duking it out with the veterans is going to be really cool. She is going to surprise a lot of the boys… We are headed into our 23rd year in professional motorsports and we plan on making this our best. We’ve got some exciting announcements surrounding our Rolex 24 and NAEC driver lineups, new partnerships across the board, as well as an amazing trip to France this summer for all of our Aston owners and drivers to race in the Le Mans “Classic”… stay tuned!”