Freiburg For Enduros With Turner BMW
Ashley Freiburg is the last piece in the Turner Motorsport puzzle, the 24 year old multiple race winner in IMSA support series steps up to GTD competition in the Weathertech backed series aboard one of the team’s pair of brand new BMW M6 GT3s in the North American Patrón Endurance Cup races at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta.
Can the first Woman to win a race overall in both the Porsche GT3 Challenge and the Continental Tire Sportscar Championship (plus the first EVER to win a race overall at Daytona), add a further chapter in GTD?
Hunter-Reay Completes #90 DP Line-Up
Ryan Hunter-Reay will join new full season duo Ryan Dalziel and Marc Goossens aboard the Visit Florida Racing team’s #90 Corvette DP for the 2016 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
The 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner will also join the team for the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and will also sub for Dalziel in a one-off ‘Sprint’ race appearance at Long Beach, a track that Hunter-Reay has race winning form in IndyCar from 2010 with the Scot on WEC duty with Tequila Patron ESM on the same weekend.
Though new to the Visit Florida Racing team, the 2012 IndyCar Champion has a vast amount of experience in the sportscar ranks. He’s made 28 IMSA starts with wins at Miller Motorsports Park and Sebring. The 2011 Sebring 12 Hour LMP2 class winner has also stood on the podium in the Rolex 24 At Daytona three times (2010, 2013, & 2014) as well as at Road Atlanta in 2014.
“This is an incredible opportunity to join Visit Florida Racing at the top of their game with such an outstanding driver lineup in Marc (Goossens) and Ryan (Dalziel),” said Hunter-Reay.
“I believe we have a strong shot at winning the big endurance races and I’m also looking forward to the double duty challenge at Long Beach, which is one my favorite race tracks. The atmosphere and approach from within the Visit Florida Racing team seems to be a great fit for me and there are lots of very talented people there who are hungry for more wins. I’ve worked, and shared success, with both Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel in the past so we’re going to be able to shortcut the process and get to work immediately on car setup. I couldn’t have asked for better teammates heading into the 2016 IMSA season.”
“This is also a great opportunity to represent Visit Florida as an ambassador,” added Hunter-Reay. “I’m a proud Floridian having grown up here and now raising a family in Fort Lauderdale, I’m extremely proud of my home state and all it has to offer.”
“Ryan (Hunter-Reay) is a phenomenal talent, and with us wanting to have our long-distance guy also be our Long Beach guy, he was a perfect fit so we’re really happy,” said team owner Troy Flis. “We know he can just get in the car and get on with it, and of course he’s worked with Marc (Goossens) and Ryan (Dalziel) in the past so that will only add to our ability to be strong as a team. It’s even better that he’s from Florida and is a great ambassador for the state.”
Hunter-Reay will also join Dalziel and Goossens in the #90 Visit Florida Racing Corvette DP for the annual Roar Before the 24 test days January 8-10 ahead of the 54th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 30-31.
GTD Lexus Set To Test By February
Paul Gentilozzi’s F Performance team expects to have its new Lexus RC F turning laps by February. The Michigan-based factory team, which will compete in select IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events in 2016, won’t be ready for the season-opening races at Daytona or Sebring, but according to lead driver Scott Pruett, the V8-powered coupe should break cover between those events.
“We’re on schedule, Gentilozzi has the first car, it’s taken all apart, and we’re preparing for the new season,” Pruett told Marshall Pruett. “We’re working very close with Lexus of Japan, working very close with their designers, and on the implementation of new pieces being designed for the car that raced in 2015 in Japan. Japan is also flat-out designing a car for, I believe, 2017, and we’re aiming to be out with our car by the end of February.”
Development efforts in Europe and Japan with the existing 2015 RC F were thoroughly disappointing, and with the factory, along with California-based Toyota Racing Development and F Performance working together, Pruett believes the revised car will make its IMSA debut in style next year.
“Gentilozzi is flat-out working on the current car to make it competitive, which means not dominant, but not embarrassing, and it will go racing,” he said. “Everyone in the United States can’t wait to go racing, to activate the promotions, and to show the commitment to motorsports. The RC F will be racing this year, and when it does, we expect to do well.”
Plenty of interest has been received from driver who would like to join Pruett in a factory GTD program.
“It’s a lot. Right now, I’m directing all those drivers to Gentilozzi, and it’s difficult because we don’t know when it will race, so drivers who want to join now are having to wait,” Pruett said. “He’s spoken to a lot of great drivers and we need to put more pieces in place to know what we can offer. Is it six races or eight races? Until we can say, it’s hard to ask anyone to commit.”
This article first appeared on Racer.com
Brumos Dealerships Sold – Name and Historic Collection Retained
Brumos Automotive, including the renowned Brumos Porsche dealership, has been sold. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company has been purchased by Field Automotive of Florida, which will take possession of the seven Brumos dealerships owned by Dan Davis once the sale is complete early in 2016.
Of interest to racing fans, the sale does not include the extensive inventory of Brumos Racing vintage racecars, or the Brumos name, according to Hurley Haywood.
“Dan was comfortable selling to the Field group because they have similar ethics, and the Field group will go on and not disrupt all of our great management and staff in the dealerships,” the legendary driver and Brumos VP told Marshall Pruett. “And as far as Brumos goes, Dan has retained the rights to Brumos, so he will continue to hold that name. Whether you’ll see us in racing… I doubt it. He’s over that, and I’m too old to continue racing, but we wanted to protect that name so it didn’t show up at some used-car dealership.
“We’ll still have the museum with the cars in it for the next two years, and by that time, we should find a new space for those cars and all the major cars will stay with Dan.”
This article first appeared on Racer.com
