Hot Shoe Mikey Taylor to Pilot Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in Pirelli World Challenge Championship This Weekend

TRG-AMR North America has announced that Mikey Taylor will join the lineup of drivers in the GTS class of the Barber Motorsports Park presented by Recaro race this weekend (April 26 and Sunday- April 27). The South African native and 2013 Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge series contender will drive the No. 09 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 race car in rounds four and five of the Pirelli World Challenge at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.

Taylor, who resides in Auburn, Ala., tested extensively with TRG-AMR at Sonoma Raceway in 2013. This weekend's event at Barber Motorsports Park will be his first start with TRG-AMR and racing debut in the PWC.

"I'm looking forward to a successful weekend in the Vantage GT4 and hope to represent TRG-AMR and my sponsors in the best way possible," says Taylor, driver in the No. 09 TRG-AMR State Traditions/National Bank of Commerce Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

Taylor started racing at the age of 6 after both his grandfather and father raced locally in South Africa. He transitioned from go-karting to Formula VW at a young age and moved to the US to compete in 2012. He spent 2013 racing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and now considers Barber Motorsports Park his home racetrack. 

Kevin Buckler, CEO of TRG-AMR, is confident Taylor has what it takes to compete successfully with the team. "All of us at TRG-AMR are excited to announce the addition of young South African professional driver Mikey Taylor to our roster," said Buckler. "Mikey has tested with us many times and we have all been working hard to put a program together and we finally got it done for Barber. He will be a great representative of the program and the brand and is a fantastic driver. We welcome him to our team."

Race Information:
Race One (GT/GT-A/GTS, round four) of the Barber Motorsports Park presented by Recaro is 4:55 p.m. EDT/1:55 p.m. PDT. Race Two(GT/GT-A/GTS, round five) is Sunday at 11:40 a.m. EDT/8:40 am PDT.

Broadcast Information:  On NBC Sports Network, Saturday, May 10 at 4:00pm EST/1:00pm PDT; it will also air on www.world-challengeTV.com after initial broadcast.

Aston Martin Gives Gold Medalist Sir Ben Ainslie A Sample of Motorsports

Four-time Olympic sailing gold medalist, Sir Ben Ainslie, has sampled motorsport for the first time. The British sailor, who is also credited with helping to steer Oracle Team USA to victory in the America's Cup in 2013, drove the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in a Prodrive-prepared Aston Martin Vantage GT4 racing car.

"I have known Ben for some time and while we were racing in Austin, Texas, in the WEC last September, he was leading the dramatic fight back for the Oracle team," said Prodrive chairman, David Richards. "He invited me up to watch, but unfortunately I couldn't go so when he won I invited him to try one of our Aston Martin racing cars."

Before getting to the Silverstone circuit, Ainslie spent nearly two hours in the Base Performance GT simulator with Aston Martin Racing works driver, Darren Turner. Here, as well as learning the fundamentals of car control, Ainslie was able to drive the Silverstone GP circuit, learning the corners and racing lines, as well as comparing his lap trace to the ideal set by Turner.   This valuable session meant that after just a few sighting laps at Silverstone with Turner driving, Ainslie was able to concentrate on getting to grips with the Vantage GT4, rather than learning the track.

"The simulator made huge difference, it would be have been very hard at Silverstone without doing that first," said Ainslie. "I knew exactly where I was going so I could focus on listening to Darren and taking his advice about being sensitive with the brakes, steering and throttle."

Darren Turner has been a works Aston Martin Racing driver for ten years ago and through his own simulator business also tutors amateur and professional racing drivers. He said: "Ben was very focussed and in the simulator he was able to pick up everything I told him really quickly and was soon setting some fast and, more importantly, consistent lap times," said Turner. "When we got to the circuit, there was a fair amount of traffic, which can be very distracting, yet despite this he was still able to follow the right lines and slowly increase his pace. I've no doubt that with his ability to concentrate, take instruction and his undoubted competitive spirit, he could become an accomplished racing driver."

Despite the praise from the two-time Le Mans winner, Ainslie is not planning to swap the water for tarmac. He said: "I am told that the Vantage GT4 is just an entry-level car, but with more than 450 bhp it felt very fast to me. I think I did nearly 20 laps and, even with breaks, the level of concentration required leaves you feeling exhausted. I can't imagine how Darren can race the full works spec Vantage for up to two hours at a time, sometimes in the dark and rain. I think I'll continue to concentrate on sailing."