The Racers’ Group will be back to defend its GT win in the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona in a big way: the California-based team is bringing five Porsche GT3 Cup cars to Grand Am’s twice-around-the-clock event on Jan. 28–26, 2012.
A company press release explains that team owner Kevin Buckler will bring five cars—just as he did in 2011—in an attempt to score the team’s fifth win in the 50th Anniversary running of the race.
“We’ve all worked tirelessly to make this incredible feat happen and it started 2 months ago,” Buckler said. “The Rolex 24 has been our signature event for the last decade, and we’ve been successful because of our team’s dedication. We are glued together by one thing: we like to win—especially here—and we deliver.”
The all-star driver line-up includes Porsche factory pilots Patrick Pilet and Wolf Henzler, Viper Cup champion Ben Keating, and defending champs Spencer Pumpelly and Steven Bertheau. Endurance aces Marc Goosens and Dominik Farnbacher, ex-F1 driver Eliseo Salazar, AND Venezuelan touring car champion Emilio Di Guida and his Venezuelan co-driver Gaetano Ardagna are among the other drivers.
“This year is sure to be a great addition to the TRG history books,” stated Buckler. “We are so proud to be the home for so many fantastic drivers—the TRG talent pool runs deep!! Not to mention our Porsche factory guys. To have our manufacturer support us in such a way is absolutely invaluable.
“The team is working harder than ever to get these guys the top notch TRG equipment they need to get to the podium—we can’t wait to get back on track. This year is going to be really special for us in so many ways. Defending champs, lots of returning drivers, a superb team of mechanics and team members and this is the 50th anniversary.”
Established in 1993, TRG is a full-spectrum racing operation, having entered cars in the American Le Mans Series, Grand Am Rolex Sports car Series, and ANSCAR’s Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Truck Series, plus running ARCA stock cars.
Besides winning its class at the Rolex 24 four times, TRG won its class at Le Mans in 2002 and has a pair of Rolex GT class championships (2006, 2006.)
TRG’s full driver lineup:
Car 64: Gaetano Ardagna, Eduardo Costabal, Emilio Di Guida, Eliseo Salazar
Car 65: Bob Doyle, Mike Hedlund, Jack McCarthy, Jim Michaelian
Car 66: Dominik Farnbacher, Ben Keating, Patrick Pilet, Allan Simonson
Car 67: Steven Bertheau, Marc Goosens, Wolf Henzler, Spencer Pumpelly
Car 68: Chris Cumming, Kevin Estre, Damien Faulkner, Carlos Gomez, Ben Keating
