Aston Attacks America!

Aston Martin is launching a major push into the North American racing market with a new partnership with Kevin Buckler and TRG Racing.

The aim is to provide customer cars for Grand-Am, ALMS, Pirelli Challenge as well as a for a new single make series.

The Aston Martin Vantage will run in GTE trim for ALMS, GT3 trim in Grand-Am and Pirelli World Challenge with the GT4 version ready for Continental Challenge and a  new single make series launching  in the fall of 2013.

The Aston GT4, as an alternative to Porsche and Ferrari in single make series or even as a track day car, offers some significant advantages.  It is more forgiving to drive,  is less expensive (under $200K) and crucially has wider service intervals.    Like the 458 Challenge but unlike the Porsche GT3 Cup, it has ABS meaning no flat spots.  Like the Ferrari it has an available paddle shifter eliminating the danger of expensive over-revs and even comes with a mind boggling  11 different traction control settings and air-con options.

TRG and Aston are betting "if they build it, they will come" but will they make a dent in Porsche's leadership?  I kind of hope so and I hope it encourages BMW to jump in,  the more competition, the better.

Press release after the jump and after this clip of a Vantage GT4 lapping Laguna Seca along with brochures and more info than you can shake a stick at.
Any further inquiries, email Kevin Buckler President of AMR/TRG.

24 flat out

Finally, finally, here is TRG's film clip about the 50th anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Artfully shot by James Kirkham and YAER productions,  Axis is all over it...
if you watch carefully. I recommend hitting the fullscreen button, lower right.

In case you missed it the first time around, this may be good chance to catch our Daytona wrap with Carlos Gomez (CG),  who drove the TRG #68 with Damien Faulkner, Kevin Estre and Chris Cumming.

86,400 Seconds Later

Some understand how motorsports can be shared in new ways and with a cool eye. James Kirkham is one and I'm not just saying it because he's working at TRG, "our" team.

Check out these pictures of battle scarred 911 GT3s, anything but fresh after 86,400 seconds of racing in the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

James and the team from yaer are working on a proper video clip from the race. Can't wait.





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Rolex 24 at Daytona: Battle Axis 68 makes it to the end!

The TRG / Axis of Oversteer car driven by Chris Cummin, Kevin Estre, Damien Faulkner, Carlos Gomez and Ben Keating crossed the finish line at the 50th edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in twenty fourth position in class.

The team completed 640 laps and after starting on the last row and managing to make its way up to as far as 8th place had second gear fail in the middle of the night. Second gear is crucial at Daytona and from then on the race became an excersize in damage control. Unfortunately Sunday morning the gearbox on the Porsche GT3 let go and had to be swapped for a new one.

The TRG mechanics put in another stellar effort to get the guys back on track and in a position to cross the finish line even after the car was punted by one of the McDreamy/Dempsey Racing Mazdas with about an hour and a half to go.



The GT class was won by Magnus Racing in the 44 Porsche of Andy Lally, Richard Lietz, John Potter and Rene Rast from the TRG / Sargent & Lundy GT3 of Steve Bertheau, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Marc Goosens, Wolf Henzler and Spencer Pumpelly.

Don't miss our giant high resolution photo gallery, after the jump...

Rolex 24 at Daytona: Morning report

The TRG/Axis of Oversteer 68 lost second gear overnight and the guys have had to struggle. Unfortunately, second is key in the 911 at Daytona in turns 1, 3, 5 and 6. Not having it is at least a 2 second per lap penalty.

As of now 68 is in 12th place, one lap down from 11th. Damien Faulkner is in the car.

TRG's number 67 car is currently leading GT with Marc Goosens at the wheel.




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Rolex 24 at Daytona: Middle of the night.

After being up as far as P8 in class, the 68 TRG Axis of Oversteer car was hit with a penalty caused by a glitch in pit lane after a driver change: CG and his crew chief did not understand each other and we forced a DP car to take to the grass.

Currently, Kevin Estre is out and running P13 and 2 laps down but pushing like crazy. He set the team's best time in the race on lap 315.

We'll see what the morning brings.


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Rolex 24 at Daytona: 6 Hour Report

Approaching 6 hours into the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytone and the number 68 Axis of Oversteer/ TRG car is sitting in P13 in class one lap down from the lead.

All drivers so far have double stinted, coming in just for fuel.
Because of the (cough!) slight collision in practice, Team Axis missed qualifying and Damien Faulkner had to start from the very back of the field, second to last.

Damien put in a stellar drive and fought his way up to to 25th from 65th. He handed the car to Carlos "CG" Gomez who got it back on the lead lap thanks to some yellows and now Keving Estre got it all the way back to P12 in class. Next up into the night is Chris Cummings.

Long way to got, key is to be in the zone in the last few hours...



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Daytona Day 1: rough start.

We arrived at the Daytona Speedway after our epic M5 trip just in time to find the Axis GT3 being transported back to the garages...oh oh...not good. An unexpected brake lockup at the "bus stop" sent the car towards the wall.

It was a glancing blow but it did quite a bit of damage. Right side front and back suspensions, bent shocks, subframes, possibly damaged fuel cell... big job. The guys at TRG stripped the car, engine, suspension, all came out. As I write, night practice has started and the car still sits. There is a small chance it will be ready but in any case, it will be good to go for tomorrow's practice sessions.

We missed qualifying but we are in good company, the engine failed on the Chip Ganassi DP of Joey Hand/Scott Pruett and they will be starting from the back as well. 24 Hours is a long time.

2012 Rolex24 at Daytona qualifying results

Live Timing and Scoring



UPDATE: as of 7:30 PM, the engine, transmission and fuel cell are back in the car, Suspension is going in next. TRG Mechanics are doing an awesome job for Axis!
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Daytona 24: TRG is ready!

Remember, Cheer for Number 68!

A look behind the scenes of TRG, one of the most successful teams in American sports car history, as they prepare for the 50th anniversary of the GRAND-AM Rolex 24 at Daytona. They return with 23 drivers in five cars as defending champions to this historic event. TRG has celebrated four Rolex 24 wins, including an overall victory in 2003.

With 45 other GT competitors and a field about as strong as any in the history of the sport, the race is sure to be intense.

Will TRG take home its fifth win at one of the worlds most challenging races?

Stay tuned for a TRG 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona feature video.

Catch the race on SPEED, January 28th at 3:30pm est.

Cars: 2011 & 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

No. 64
Drivers: Gaetano Ardagna, Eduardo Costabal, Emilio Di Guida, Eliseo Salazar.

No. 65
Drivers: Spencer Cox, Mike Hedlund, Jack McCarthy, Jim Michaelian.

No. 66
Drivers: Dominik Farnbacher, Ben Keating, Patrick Pilet, Allan Simonson.

No. 67
Drivers: Steven Bertheau, Marc Goossens, Wolf Henzler, Spencer Pumpelly.

No. 68
Drivers: Chris Cumming, Kevin Estre, Damien Faulkner, Carlos Gomez, Ben Keating.

Interviews:

Kevin Buckler, TRG Founder and CEO
Jens Walther, President Porsche Motorsports North America

Thanks to our friends at Yaer Productions for the great work! YaerProductions.com

Fast Hat

Here is Carlos' new Daytona 24 Hour lid designed by Tyler Cenarrusa of Censport Graphics and photographed by James Kirkham for TRG
(How's that for getting everyone's link in?! :))

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24 Hours of Daytona: Team Axis' Carlos Gomez interviewed.

(photos: James Kirkland/TRG)

How cool: our own CG, aka "the other Colombian" was interviewed by the pre eminent Latin American motorsport journalist Diego Mejia.

You may know Diego's work from Autosport where he covers NASCAR or for his racing coverage on SpeedTV.com (not to mention his recent karting induced visit to the emergency room, but that's another story.)

In any case, very nice interview, among other things Carlos explains how this will an especially interesting edition of the Rolex 24. While there is excitement for the new Daytona Prototypes,  it's just 14 cars. In comparison there are 50 plus GT cars and for the first time in ages, Porsches are not the only "real" cars in the field.

Yes, Camaros and Mazdas are still tube frame Riley silhouettes but along with Porsche there are now factory supported Ferrari, Audi, BMW and even a lone Dodge Viper.

About the recent "Roar before the 24" test session, Carlos described it as a "festival of sandbagging" where teams pretty much all stuck to the 1:50 lap time and gave little away as to their true speed.

As for the number 68 Axis of Oversteer car, Carlos will be sharing duties with Porsche Supercup rookie of the year Kevin Estre, Supercup UK star Damien Faulkner, IMSA GT3 Challenge driver Chris Cummings and Viper Cup champ Ben Keating.

Carlos concludes saying that the key to winning the 24 is not so much about outright speed but the mental game and consistency over the planned double stints of approximately 55 minute stints the car is capable of. TRG has the experience and the strategic knowhow to give Carlos a top tier car with a legitimate chance.

Daytona will be awesome!

I know a fair chunck of our audience is from beyond the English speaking world and we love that so, here is the interview in it original form with thanks to Diego and Germán Mejia.

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Watch a 180 mph blowout on the Daytona banking

CG's TRG teammate Dr. Jim Norman had a butt clenching moment on the Daytona banks when a rear right tire let go at 180 miles per hour.

The resulting 1440 ended as well as one could hope, only a change of underwear was needed presumably. Nice one Dr.Jim!

Dr. Jim ended up in Pit lane facing the right direction...just like CG did at Road America...must be a TRG thing!

(thanks Spencer Pumpelly and CG)

Here is the view from that historic liveried 911 you see Jim passing right before the blowout. Yup, the one with the classic 911 lift off oversteer!

TRG Film Festival

The Racer's Group is not only a top tier racing organization but, of late quite the little film studio! TRG takes care of CG and the Axis GT3 so we're happy to share their best 2011 clips.

Let's start with Spencer Pumpelly, the world's fastest vegan, the Vegan Velociraptor, turning in early with big speed at Laguna Seca. Spencer is charge of TRG historic #66 GTC Porsche GT3.



Next Spencer's co driver Duncan Ende shows how to drive with one eye looking forward and one looking backwards at Road Atlanta



The next two clips are more like little features, the first at Road Atlanta (do some of those shots look familiar from the Porsche GT3 Cup commercial?) and the second is their year end wrap up. Nice work!




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Petit Le Mans Photo Contest.

All right shooters, here is another chance to win some fabulous Axis of Oversteer goodies a special treat from The Racers Group.

Sent in your best shot of the #75 Axis car ripping at Road Atlanta this week end, you could win an Axis T-shirt, stickers and a full set of signed hero cards from all the TRG drivers in both IMSA GT3 challenge and ALMS!

To enter send your best shots to us HERE . Deadline is a week from today, October 4th, Winners will be announced the following Friday.

Happy Hunting!

Porsche GT3 Challenge Round 13, Laguna Seca

What more to say about our CG, he started P16 and ended the race on the podium in third after a grueling 75 minutes.
He saved his tires early, he dodged the spinners, the strays and made the bold moves when he had to. Fantastic job, we will have to call him Jenson Gomez from now on and, as Diego Mejia suggested, change to Axis of Overtaking!

Next and final rounds at Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta Septemner 28th to October 1st. We will be running a Photo Contest for that race as well, so get your cameras ready!

Here is a video of the race, condensed and annotated. It was shot with a GoPro super wide angle camera and looks great in HD. I promise an entertaining 18 minutes or so.
(Photo: TRG)

Note to iPad users, apparently the youTube captions will not work on a mobile device, sorry.


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Turn in early, with big speed... Laguna Seca edition

(photo by Jason Ozaeta)

TRG's Spencer Pumpelly, Duncan Ende and Peter Ludwig, winners in GT-C class at the Mod Space American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patron six hour at Laguna Seca.


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Looks fast standing still...

The Axis GT3 Cup resting at the TRG shop, waiting ominously, lulling its enemies into a false sense of security ahead of the next outing, at Laguna Seca in a couple of weeks. Now that's ridiculously cool, thanks to TRG for the picture.

TRG is of course the Axis team for IMSA GT3 Challenge. They are awesome pros at what they do.



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