PETALUMA, CA — May 2, 2016: TRG’s history of success at Laguna Seca Raceway continued this past weekend when the team finished on the winner’s podium in two races: first, on Sunday morning with the brand new Lamborghini Super Trofeo team, and then that afternoon in the highly competitive IMSA WeatherTech GTD class. TRG’s Derek DeBoer was paired with James Davison to race the No. 66 Lamborghini Huracán. Davison also co-drove with Brandon Davis in the No.007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage.
The veteran racing team’s success over the weekend was due to a combination of smart strategy, skillful car setup, a strong working team, reliable driving, and more than one incredible race maneuver. On Saturday, the TRG Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo team debuted the throwback liveried No. 66 LaSalle Solutions Huracán, representing Lamborghini Los Gatos and San Francisco Lamborghini. Davison and DeBoer’s Pro-Am drive earned the team fourth place in class and sixth place overall in a field of twenty – a proud moment for TRG’s first-ever race with the Italian marque. Sunday’s Race #2 brought an even better result, with the Davison/DeBoer duo landing in third place on the podium. All of TRG’s guests were invited on the stage with the drivers to share the excitement of that morning’s success.
Later that afternoon, the No. 007 Aston Martin Vantage raced to a solid podium finish in the Monterey Grand Prix’s GTD class. Brandon Davis took the wheel for the first half, where his precise drive maintained a third-place position for the team. During the mid-race driver change, TRG lost one position. In the ensuing hour, it seemed that James Davison might never recover it. On the final lap, Davison was in fourth place and closing the gap between himself and the No. 96 BMW M6. During the last seconds of the two-hour race, Davison dove through the corkscrew, down into Turn Nine, overtook the BMW and secured TRG’s second podium of the day. Minutes later, TRG guests once again shared champagne and high-fives on the winner’s podium of the famous Laguna Seca Raceway.
Off the track, the team was pleased to welcome over 100 guests, which included new sponsors Crowdstrike and Ring Central, current sponsors, Silicon Valley tech executives, team drivers, along with families and friends of the team to their uniquely entertaining race paddock. Under one roof were the Aston Martin and Lamborghini race cars alongside a Sonoma-inspired dining and hospitality area. Buckler’s Adobe Road Winery was transported into the paddock, with the tasting room’s 12-foot long redwood wine bars surrounded by wine barrels and all the trimmings. The entire staff from both TRG and Adobe Road were on hand to greet dinner guests on Saturday night and pour the top offerings from Adobe Road Winery for attendees from IMSA, LaSalle Solutions, Los Gatos Luxury Cars, Pirata Della Strada, and private wealth management patrons. The winery received valuable airtime during the the WeatherTech race, when video from the dinner party was broadcast as commentators revealed that the winery will be opening a new location in Petaluma, California. Los Gatos Luxury Cars’ beautiful Aston Martin Vanquish and a guest’s Lamborghini Huracán Spyder 610-4 were staged in front of the racing versions of these cars throughout the dinner as well.
The same Vanquish greeted an intimate group of guests at a private Adobe Road Winery wine blending event at Restaurant 1833 in nearby Monterey. Here, Adobe Road winemaker Garrett Martin demonstrated how to combine the vintner’s selections to create a custom wine blend, which guests then bottled, corked, and took home for their personal collection. Overall, the combination of wine, Aston Martin, and Lamborghini plus stellar driving from DeBoer, Davis, and Davison equated to a fabulous and memorable weekend.
Derek DeBoer, Lamborghini Huracán: “While we always want a little bit more, it was satisfying to put our TRG Lamborghini on the podium on our first race weekend ever. James was awesome to co-drive with, and we had so much sponsor and family support at this event. It was an absolute treat to get to be involved with driving the No. 66 car.”
James Davison, Lamborghini Huracán: “Today was a fantastic debut result for the team in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series. We learned an enormous amount over the weekend, Derek and I. It was great to finish on the podium in third. Obviously we want to win, and it’s just going to take a little bit of time to further optimize the setup on the Huracán chassis. We’re confident we’ll be at the front as we progress through the season.”
James Davison, Aston Martin Vantage: “It was a fantastic team effort. The car that the team gave Brandon and I was the best that I’ve ever had racing for this team. Brandon did a fantastic job in his stint – he’s really come of age and is faster than ever and gained me a car in P3.
“The BMW jumped by us. To be fair, they were a faster car. But as the race closed into the last two to three laps, they hit a serious glitch with their tire degradation. We were able to get right on their bumper exiting the corkscrew on the final lap, and he opened the door at T9 and I simply filled the gap. We made contact when he saw that I went for it, we were wheel to wheel, he went wide, and then I had the Audi all over me going into the last corner. He got me loose and got a run on us but we finished just ahead of them at the line. That was the maximum result today. Just on BOP we didn’t have anything on the Ferrari or Porsche today. Just a fantastic race and I’m pleased for everyone involved.”
Brandon Davis, Aston Martin Vantage: “The car was really good: you get to a point where it’s a little frustrating where the car is so good and I don’t know how we could make it any faster aside from getting the BOP adjusted. So, that’s a little frustrating as far as keeping up with the Ferrari and Porsche. The car was really stable but I did have to look after the tires. I think we had speed throughout the stint and we were the most consistent. We filled the gap where we were behind the Porsche and Ferrari but ahead of everyone else. I turned it over to James and he did a great job. We knew going into the race we didn’t have the pace to win the race, but both of us did a great job managing the car, not making mistakes and getting the most out of it that we could. James did a great job closing it out, as we know he’s one of the top sportscar drivers in the world. It feels good to finish in 3rd.”
Kevin Buckler, CEO of TRG and Adobe Road Winery: “What an absolutely fantastic weekend on all fronts. We’ve been planning this event out for months — it’s almost like running Daytona and everybody executed flawlessly. Our big Partnership Summit up in Silicon Valley started the week on a bang and then we rolled into the race weekend. Our brand-new Lamborghini performed flawlessly. It was really nice to see how professional everybody from Lamborghini Squadra Corsa was, as well as their first-class hospitality setup. We will definitely be looking at growing this program.
“Going into the highly competitive GTD class, we knew it was going to be tough as many manufacturers are now backing these programs. Our strategy in all areas was perfect and we got the most we could with the finish — total hats off to all of our drivers this weekend. Our friends from LaSalle Solutions and all of our other partners and guests had a terrific time this weekend and we are glad we could deliver a fantastic experience for everybody. Big kudos to my team! The cars were prepared flawlessly and everybody on the business development, marketing and hospitality side really nailed it this weekend. It was a huge effort and it showed — big time.”
Watch the 2016 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Race Broadcast (PC/GTD) in its entirety on the “IMSA Official” YouTube channel.