Sunday, April 26, 2015

Two Dominant Wins at Barber for TRG-Aston Martin Racing

TRG-Aston Martin Racing and Team Driver Kris Wilson secured their second win of the weekend with another dominant victory in the second GTS race of the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. This is the third win of the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season for the TRG-AMR No. 07 Royal Purple/ORION/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 and Team Driver Kris Wilson.

TRG-AMR Team Driver Christina Nielsen drove her Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 over the weekend. Christina Nielsen raced her No. 7 Royal Purple/ORION/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 on Saturday and Sunday in both GTA races, her first time driving here at Barber. In the first GT race, starting from mid-pack and after getting hit from behind during the start, Nielsen was able to move up to P4 before getting caught up in some contact during a passing maneuver and forced into the pits.

The second GT race was full of great racing, with Christina ultimately ending up in P7 after a last-minute restart following a lengthy safety car period while crews cleaned up the still-burning Cadillac. While no podiums were earned this weekend, a great deal of experience was gained, with Christina moving on to her third straight weekend of racing at Laguna Seca this coming weekend for IMSA GTD competition. Christina and the team will next see Pirelli World Challenge competition at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park the weekend of May 15 - 17.

Nielsen said, “The field is so incredibly competitive right now, it was great to run up near the front of the pack. I’m very thankful for the team, while I was running the races this weekend they were busy preparing the other car for my race next weekend at Laguna Seca. I’ve never seen a group of people work so hard. I am learning more every time I get in the car. The engineers, data, and video are very helpful and I think my constantly improving lap times have shown that. I am looking forward to running with World Challenge again when we head to Canada in a couple weeks time.”

Wilson had a good go of things this weekend, earning back-to-back race victories in the GTS class. After qualifying P4 for GTS race number 1, Wilson started quickly and moved up a spot to P3 before settling into his race pace.

The top four positions all fought a great battle early on, running nose to tail and changing positions several times before Wilson was able to make his move. He eventually slipped into P2 past longtime series competitor Jack Baldwin and his typically dominant Cayman. It was only a matter of time before Wilson would overtake Ben Clucas for P1, as the gap was sliced down considerably every lap. After moving into P1 Wilson showed his typical clean, quick driving style by bringing the gap to over 15 seconds between himself and P2 while the cars behind him were battling it out. After that it was smooth sailing with Wilson taking the victory on the trot.

Starting the second GTS race from P2, Wilson fell in line behind the surprisingly quick Cayman of Jack Baldwin. Baldwin’s lead held for only a lap or two, as smoke began billowing from the back of the Porsche and the World Challenge veteran was forced to pull to the side of the 16-turn road course. While some great racing was happening throughout the pack, including some strong performances by the two other Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4s in the field, the pace up front was smooth and relaxed.  A late race charge through the field by Spencer Pumpelly kept Wilson on the throttle but he eventually prevailed with his second victory of the weekend.

Wilson now leads the GTS Drivers’ Championship, with 517 points, ahead of Martin with 459. Wilson took the checkered flags in place of longtime teammate and co-driver Max Riddle, who was out of the driver’s seat this weekend while recovering from illness. Riddle is scheduled to be back at the next event in Canada.

Christina Nielsen raced her No. 7 Royal Purple/ORION/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 on Saturday and Sunday in both GTA races, her first time driving here at Barber. In the first GT race, starting from mid-pack and after getting hit from behind during the start, Nielsen was able to move up to P4 before getting caught up in some contact during a passing maneuver and forced into the pits.
 

The second GT race was full of great racing, with Christina ultimately ending up in P7 after a last-minute restart following a lengthy safety car period while crews cleaned up the still-burning Cadillac. While no podiums were earned over the weekend, a great deal of experience was gained, with Christina moving on to her third straight weekend of racing at Laguna Seca this coming weekend for IMSA GTD competition.  

Christina and the team will next see Pirelli World Challenge competition at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park the weekend of May 15th - 17th.

“Another great weekend of Pirelli World Challenge racing,” said Kevin Buckler, TRG-AMR CEO.” Christina did a great job in this competitive GT3 field. Saturday she was fast and destined for a podium or better, but contact in the last corner took her out. Sunday’s race was terrific with hard racing up to the checkered flag. She’s been improving dramatically every race weekend, I really am impressed with the learning curve she’s been able to achieve - especially at these brand new tracks. We are now headed to Laguna Seca for IMSA and the guys have been working around the clock to get the car ready.”

Saturday, April 18, 2015

TRG-AMR HEADS TO LONG BEACH FOR ROUND THREE OF PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE

As the temperature rises, so does the competition in Pirelli World Challenge. TRG-AMR is taking to the unforgiving streets of Long Beach with sights set on nothing but podium performances.
 
The historic 1.9 mile street circuit has been an iconic event since 1975, becoming a modern-day staple on the IRL, IMSA, and Pirelli World Challenge calendar. The 11 turn street course poses an exciting challenge to the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 and driver Christina Nielsen this coming weekend, with little room for error.
 

Fresh off a strong second-place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, Nielsen and the team stand ready to lead the field, having been busy meticulously preparing for this race since leaving St. Petersburg less than two weeks ago. Nielsen, the Danish-driving sensation has been working with all facets of the race team to help ensure optimal performance across the board, also attending the Summit earlier this week.
 
“I am going into this weekend with good spirits and realistic expectations,” noted Nielsen. “A number of the cars in the field are much more powerful than us and do better in the street courses because of their power - we saw this in St. Pete. The V12 Vantage GT3 is an incredibly capable car, sometimes I feel as though the power has been dialed back a little too much. No worries, we are heading into this weekend looking to win and to learn more about the car. I’ve never driven here at Long Beach before, so the team has had me reviewing data and videos nonstop. I am looking forward to running this historic street circuit.”
 
The TRG-Aston Martin Racing team, led by Kevin Buckler, has enjoyed two decades of dominating performances including victories at Le Mans and the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
 
“It’s been a busy week for us,” said Buckler. “We just wrapped up our second partnership summit in Silicon Valley, which was a massive success. We had over 50 executives and business types from all corners of tech, motorsport, and other industries. It was great. We headed straight down here to Long Beach for this awesome race. Long Beach always holds a place in my heart - this is where I would come as a kid and stick my head through the fence and have the open-wheel cars screaming by. It set the hook! We’re looking forward to this weekend and hoping for a strong finish. Christina has been great - studying data and video, speaking at the Summit, and helping work on marketing and sponsorship deals. She’s the real deal and I would like to see her in racing and a part of the team for years to come.”
 
Make sure to check in the with team over the weekend at www.TRG-AstonMartinRacing.com and on social media @TheRacersGroup with hashtag #TRGAMR.

Monday, April 13, 2015

ASTON MARTIN TAKES CLASS VICTORY AT SILVERSTONE





Aston Martin Racing won the GTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship Six Hours of Silverstone on April 12, narrowly missing out on a podium position in GTE Pro.
“Congratulations to the #98 team, it’s the perfect start to their Championship campaign,” said AMR Team Principal John Gaw. “We have some work to do to achieve our objectives in the Pro class - our focus will remain undiminished and we’ll be ready for Spa in three weeks’ time.”
The #98 Vantage GTE of Pedro Lamy, Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda stormed to class victory after qualifying on pole for the Championship’s season-opener.
"Paul did a great job in qualifying - he was the best bronze, and this gave us a great start,” said Lamy. “It was a tough race but we all pushed hard and I’m very happy to take the win.”
The #95 finished in fourth, the #97 in fifth and the #99 in sixth in GTE Pro.  The WEC Six Hours of Spa takes place on May 2nd at the world-famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. 
The cars fielded by the team are based on those on the Late European sales floor.  Contact Late European today at 512.335.1007 or sales@lateeuro.com.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Aston Martin’s sights set on Silverstone success






Aston Martin Racing is looking to take maximum points at the opening round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Silverstone, this weekend (12 April) with its fleet of five Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTEs.
 
The team, which is based in Banbury near Silverstone, has its sights set on the 2015 WEC manufacturer’s title and Team Principal John Gaw knows that it’s important to ‘hit the ground running’ in such a competitive championship.
“We’re in a strong position going into Silverstone,” he commented. “Since the start of the WEC, we’ve had seven podiums here, including three wins. Our car is proven to be incredibly quick and reliable and our driver line up is very strong, so we are going into the Six Hours of Silverstone looking for maximum points.”
The Six Hours of Silverstone starts at midday on Sunday 12 April 2015. Fans in the UK can watch the race live on Motors TV and can join the team on social media using the hashtag #teamAMR.
Aston Martin of Austin
Austin, TX 78750
512-401-4604