Nielsen Brings Home Strong Top-Five
Starting Position for Tomorrow’s Race
Bowmanville, Ontario (May 15th, 2015) … TRG-AMR team driver Max Riddle has qualified his No. 07 Royal Purple/ORION/LaSalle/PassTime USA Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 on the pole for the first GTS race of the Pirelli World Challenge weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Teammate and GTA competitor Christina Nielsen brought her No. 7 Royal Purple/ORION/LaSalle/PassTime USA Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 home in the top-five, starting the first GT race of the weekend from the fifth position on the grid.
Canadian rally star and sportscar standout Max Riddle is back in the car for the first time this season, his second season of competition with TRG-AMR. His return to the cockpit couldn’t be more prophetic, dominating the qualifying session at this infamously fast, challenging, and sometimes scary racetrack. Riddle has shown his capabilities before, running the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and capturing multiple wins in other series with the team.
Nielsen also showed her more-than-capable talents, placing the car in a P5 starting position on a grid filled with incredibly talented drivers from around the world and at this very fast and challenging racing circuit. This marks the sixth round for Nielsen in GTA competition, with her best result of the season a strong P3 finish at the Circuit of the Americas in March, and she is only looking to improve upon that here in Canada.
This continues TRG’s dominant history here, with the team’s impressive history at track with multiple wins and podiums throughout the years including a 1-2 finish in 2011, another win in 2012, and a podium in 2013 ALMS competition. Team owner Kevin Buckler won here as an independent against the factory teams back in 2002, as well.
When May is in the rearview mirror, the team is embarking on one the most complex endeavors to date: moving eight cars, a transporter, and over 30 personnel to Le Mans, France for the Le Mans Festival Race with Aston Martin as the featured marque. There are opportunities to drive the Aston Martin racecars, as well as VIP Hospitality options and other bucket-list activities at this hugely famous race – More information on that can be found here.
TRG-AMR Team Driver Max Riddle:
“What an incredible day! The V8 Vantage GT4 that TRG prepared for me is just incredible. They gave me the car I needed to really hang it all out there. This track demands that extra bit of confidence in the car – that extra bit of trust to take the car those few extra miles per hour, the few extra meters before braking – the boys gave me that today. My hat goes off to Andrew and Josh for putting this car together for me – I couldn’t have done it without them. Looking forward to the races!”
TRG-AMR CEO Kevin Buckler:
“Great job to Max and Christina. I’ve always loved Mosport and we have always run well here. It’s also nice to visit our Canadian brothers who share such an incredible racing passion. It’s one of those tracks where if you can find the high speed rhythm and learn to trust the car you can really hang it out there. That’s what Max and Christina both did today. Both those classes are filled with professional drivers from around the world and for our two drivers to be up at the front is brilliant. I’m really proud of the entire team and everyone that helps continue to make TRG a success. Looking forward to the races this weekend!”