The Racer's Group (TRG) at Daytona.2011

TRG on Pole in GT for Rolex 24 At Daytona - Controversy ends TRG one-two

Daytona Beach, FL (January 27, 2011) - TRG Porsche ace Dominik Farnbacher will start the No. 66 TRG/Porsche from the pole in GT for this weekend's Grand-Am Rolex Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16 Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona.

After the GT qualifying session, Andy Lally in the No. 67 TRG/Sargent & Lundy/South Point Hotel & Casino/Porsche had the fastest lap time. However, in post qualifying inspection the blue and black Porsche was found to have the rear spoiler mounted too far to the rear by only one millimeter and the time was disallowed. The infraction ruined what would have been a TRG one-two at the front of the GT field.

Dominik Farnbacher, the 2008 GT class winner at Daytona, inherited the pole in GT. His lap time of 1:48.781 has the 67 car in perfect position for the start of the twice-around-the-clock race. Farnbacher is joined in the 66 by Ben Keating, Tim George Jr., and Lucas Luhr.

"It is too bad for Andy and the team, they deserved the pole," Farnbacher said. "I am happy to start from the pole. We still have it for TRG. Without Kevin I wouldn't be here right now, so it is nice that TRG still has the pole. My lap was really good. The car was phenomenal. It was really good in the Horseshoe and really stable under braking into the Bus Stop. The only issue I had was with the brake bias. I was having some tire lock-up and the brake bias was not really helping. I had to brake a little earlier to stay safe and it worked out to having a pretty good lap."

The 67 team was able to backup their practice speeds as they were the fastest GT car in each of the two free sessions today. Lally, a two Rolex 24 Hour winner, laid down a fast lap of 1:48.487 on his fifth circuit of qualifying to secure, at the time, the pole position. The post qualifying infraction sends Lally to the back of the GT field for the start on Saturday. Lally's teamed in the 67 with Steve Bertheau, Brendan Gaughan, Spencer Pumpelly, and Wolf Henzler.

"This was a really nit-picky call," Lally said. "We went down to tech to measure the wing before qualifying, we knew we were close, but we thought we were within the spec. We have such a good car. We now have to make our way through the 30 car GT field safely. We did this last year. We started from the back in 2010 and by the first pit stop we were third. We will have to do that again. On the positive side the crew has really been hustling to give us a great car. Kevin has been working his tail off to field fast cars as you can see on the timing sheet. My team is made up of veterans and we have been working hard on the set-up of the car since the test back at Homestead. I had a dream lap, I caught a sniff of a draft down the back stretch and that gave us that little extra push for the fast time."

Ryan Eversley put in a lap of 1:49.451 in the No. 4 TRG/Children's Tumor Foundation/Porsche that will have him starting from the seventh position. Eversley ran his fastest lap of the day by more than a second. Eversley is partnered in the No. 4 with Ron Yarab, Daniel Graeff, Richard Zahn, and Kenny Wallace.

"I was easily a second faster in qualifying," Eversley said. "We weren't that happy with the handling of the car in practice. We talked with Kevin and the crew guys and we got the thing dialed in - it's a bullet. It is nice to start in the top 10 for the race. At the start we will be racing with good guys toward the front of the field that don't make dumb rookie mistakes. Being in the top 10 is really important to our effort and everyone at the Children's Tumor Foundation. I was able to get a huge tow from one of the RX-8s and I was just flying into Turn One. It was amazing the draft that I got."

Jeroen Bleekemolen drove the No. 54 TRG/Black Swan/GMG/Porsche to a time of 1:49.554 that will see him come to the green from the sixth row in GT. The 54 guys were third in each practice session, but a mechanical gremlin that couldn't be remedied prior to qualifying held the team back. Bleekemolen shares the car with Tim Pappas James Sofronas, Bret Curtis, and Patrick Pilet.

"In practice we were really going well," Bleekemolen said. "We were still trying to improve and then we had something go wrong with the car which has us about a second off. We will find the problem and fix it for the race. We will be right up there with the fast guys. In qualifying it was the best that we could do. It is disappointing. I compete with these guys all of the time and I am able to run with them. We have a top three car, we just need to find the problem and we will be good for the race."

With only three laps in the car prior to qualifying, Ken Dobson took the No. 53 TRG/Nadeau Motorsports/North American League/Porsche out and posted a time of 1:51.983 which will have him starting from the 12th row in GT. Dobson shares the seat with Coulter Mulligan, Jim Michaelian, Bob Doyle, and Dr. Joe Castellano.

"Qualifying was the longest stint I've had in the car," Dobson said. "I was able to come to terms with the handling. I had a chat with Andy between the last practice and qualifying and I applied the tips he gave me and it worked out pretty well. He pointed out what I was leaving on the table and it helped tremendously. Every lap I was getting faster and there is still more to gain. I only had three laps in the car in practice and with the qualifying laps I now have a total of eight. For the race we have to hold the car in the top 10 and we will see what 24 Hours bring us."

Team owner Kevin Buckler is disappointed with the way qualifying worked out in the tech inspection line, but happy with the hard work and results of the team so far this weekend.

"It is great to have a TRG Porsche on pole to start the Rolex 24 Hour," Buckler said. "It is a once in a lifetime opportunity though to take the entire front row, one-two, for the start of this monster event and I thought we earned it. One millimeter off on the way the rear bumper was mounted and this is what got us? It would have been better to start one-two, but we will have the 67 up there in no time. This will motivate the drivers and the crew to do that little extra to prepare these cars for the race. Andy had a great lap. He is really dialed in around here. The 67 guys had the car at the top of the time sheet all day. Dominik and the 66 team also did a great job. He didn't have a ride here up until after the test and he really proved that he is one of the best Porsche drivers there is today. Ryan did a really good job. He improved on his time by more than a second and was our surprise of the day. Jeroen and the 54 guys had some car trouble or he would have been up there pushing Andy and Dominik for the pole for sure. We will put every effort into finding out what happened with their car. The 53 guys are now on pace and the long night practice will help them to get acclimated to the car as well as some running tomorrow. It is great to start at the front. The key will be to run a clean, fast and very clever race. The biggest chess game in the world is about to begin!"

The Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona will be televised live on the SPEED Channel in two segments. The first segment will air from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 29th, rejoining the action from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, January 30. MRN will broadcast four live segments, including two hours of coverage at the start and finish of the event, for SIRIUS NASCAR Radio Channel 128 plus more than 60 MRN affiliates throughout North America: 3-5 p.m. and 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Jan. 29; 7-7:30 and 2-4 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Jan. 30. Six short updates are scheduled for the affiliates: 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. (ET) on Jan. 29; Midnight, 6 a.m., 10 a.m. and Noon (ET) on Jan. 30.

TRG Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona entries:

No. 4 TRG/Children's Tumor Foundation/Porsche

Ron Yarab, Daniel Graeff, Richard Zahn, Kenny Wallace, Ryan Eversley

No. 54 TRG/Black Swan/GMG/Porsche

Tim Pappas, Jeroen Bleekemolen, James Sofronas, Bret Curtis, Patrick Pilet

No. 67 TRG/Sargent & Lundy/South Point Hotel & Casino/Porsche

Steve Bertheau, Brendan Gaughan, Spencer Pumpelly, Andy Lally, Wolf Henzler

No. 66 TRG/Porsche

Ben Keating, Tim George Jr., Dominik Farnbacher, Lucas Luhr

No. 53 TRG/Nadeau Motorsports/North American League/Porsche

Coulter Mulligan, Jim Michaelian, Bob Doyle, Dr. Joe Castellano, Ken Dobson

TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach. This approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports. With sports car focused facilities in Petaluma, California (Infineon Raceway) and Millville, New Jersey (New Jersey Motorsports Park) the team can offer turn-key support as well as arrive-and-drive programs.

The company's NASCAR operations are headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry and has the capacity to run ARCA, Nationwide and the Camping World Truck Series.

The Racer's Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing. The team boasts Rolex Series GT championships in 2005 and 2006 and holds the record for the most wins in Grand-Am with 31. The team's resume is highlighted by five championships, three Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona victories and a Le Mans 24 Hour win.

TRG Announces Second Entry for 2011 Rolex 24

This will be TRG's record 63rd entry for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Image Credit Grand-Am

TRG Announces Second Entry for 2011 Rolex 24

Three-time Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona winners TRG announced it’s their second entry for the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season opener. The TRG/Black Swan/GMG Porsche 997 will take the green flag on January 29th for the 49th Rolex 24 at Daytona with a strong line-up of American and European drivers.

The brand new 2011 Porsche will be driven by American Le Mans Series GTC class champions Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen. Fellow ALMS GTC competitors James Sofronas and Bret Curtis join the team as well as a yet to be announced Porsche Factory Driver.

Pappas and Bleekemolen combined to win four races in the ALMS GTC class and went on win the 2010 series title in the Black Swan Racing (BSR) Porsche. Sofronas and Curtis competed in the ALMS as well as select SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge races in 2010 with Sofronas' GMG racing team. The foursome, and the addition of a Porsche hot shoe, will be one of the GT teams to be reckoned with come the end of January.

Pappas is making a strategic season decision by combining forces with TRG and GMG for the Rolex 24.

"Black Swan is focused on defending its championship title in the American Le Mans Series and thus a partnership with my friends at GMG and TRG made a lot of sense to me," Pappas said. "We can take a run at the 24 without losing our momentum elsewhere. We have a great driver line-up and my expectations are very high; of course we want to win, but I haven't been a part of Grand-Am in many years so it's difficult to gauge the competition. I have always wanted to compete in this prestigious endurance race, but at the same time I wanted to wait until a winning opportunity came along; this program is the right fit. With the combined experience of TRG, BSR and GMG, I think we can fight for a win. Daytona is a special place; I have been on the podium there in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and I would certainly like to add a Rolex class victory to my resume." "In fact, the first time I ever drove at Daytona, or in any pro-racing environment was in a test with TRG back in 2000 at Daytona," Pappas added. "Paul Newman was there at the same time testing with another team - that's a pretty cool intro to the legendary driver and race track. I want to add my name to the list of GT winners!"

Sofronas is melding his GMG team with TRG and Black Swan Racing for the grueling Daytona 24 Hour.

"My expectations, like most teams running this race, are to win, or at least put us in contention to win," Sofronas said. "We will have a new car with PMNA (Porsche Motorsport North America) right there supporting us and some excellent drivers behind the wheel, not to mention a strong infrastructure with TRG. My goal is to do what I was hired to do - drive the car with the strategy and experience that we will have and be there at the end. I would like to expand my experience in the 24 as I have only done it once before in 2009. That year, despite many setbacks, we never gave up and ended up finishing seventh. I remember my third stint early Sunday morning that started in pitch black darkness around 5:30 a.m. with the sun coming up an hour later and it was so peaceful as the sunshine started to blanket the track. I think I ran five laps with no one around me. I can't wait to do it again! There is a ton of experience between GMG, BSR and TRG, so I thought it would be great to use the talents of all three teams to put forth this effort. GMG will run this race in the future, but we thought it best to go this route as TRG has a lot of experience in this race and BSR also puts together a great team. I have to thank Bret Curtis, a great client of GMG's as well as a great friend, as he is the reason I am driving in this race for 2011."

Curtis has one goal in mind at Daytona, winning.

"Knowing that we are running with a driver line-up that includes a two time Super Cup champion and current ALMS GTC champion in Jeroen Bleekemolen, a World Challenge winning driver in James Sofronas, a Porsche factory driver, as well as the other ALMS GTC champion Tim Pappas makes me feel pretty confident about our chances," Curtis said. "From the stand point of driver capabilities and experience, we have it. This driver line-up, coupled with the very capable and strong team support set up we have, will be very exciting. Running at the Daytona 24 is a lifelong dream of mine. Some of my favorite drivers like Ickx, Gurney, Andretti, Elford, Merzario, etc., have all run the 24 and the history is amazing. Having this chance to run, and with our driver line-up and team is an incredible opportunity for me. I plan to take advantage of it!"

This is the second TRG entry to date for the 2011 Daytona classic, the first being the Racing for Research Porsche with Kenny Wallace, Ron Yarab, Daniel Graeff and Pierre Bourque. This is a record 63rd entry in the Rolex 24 for TRG. The team that has traditionally prepared as many as eight cars for the race has several more announcements pending.

Team owner Kevin Buckler started preparing for the 2011 race as soon as the checkered flag dropped on the 2010 event. As a two time winning driver in 2002 and 2003, winning the race overall in '03, as well as finishing one-two in '09, Buckler knows the secret to success at Daytona is proper preparation in every area.

"We are already well into the preparations for the 2011 Rolex 24," Buckler said. "The line-up of Pappas, Bleekemolen, Sofronas, Curtis and strong fifth is one that can definitely contend for the win. We are honored that these guys decided to combine their efforts with ours for the Rolex 24. Tim, James and Bret could have put their own cars on the track, but decided to bring their driving talent and experience to our team and really make a strong run at winning the GT class. It only makes sense as we are very powerful when properly aligned. We offer a unique approach of being able to offer many benefits of aligning with TRG as well as allowing an existing team to maintain their identity and learn for the future throughout experience at Daytona. I am really looking forward to running this race as these guys are my racing friends and we are all on the same page with a common goal - winning. This is just the first of many cool announcements to come from TRG regarding the Rolex 24."

(Reposted from a Grand Am PR release, PETALUMA, Calif. - by Dicken Wear)