TRG to Start on Sixth Row in GT at VIR
Alton, VA —
TRG's Ted Ballou qualified the No. 66 AXA/TRG Porsche in the 11th position for tomorrow's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask no. 16 GT race to be run at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). The team is making a return to Grand-Am competition after a one race hiatus.
TRG 66 GT VIRTed Ballou set a lap time of 1:53.682 that will see him start from the sixth row for tomorrow's two-hour-and-forty-five minute race. The team installed a new 3.8-liter motor, per the rules adjustment, which was supposed to put the Porsche teams in a more favorable competitive position compared to races previous. Teamed with Andy Lally, Ballou is ready for Saturday's race.
"Practice was pretty good," Ballou said. "The car is a little better now that we have some more horsepower in the car. We are faster than last year but still not even close to the front runners. It is very discouraging. We were hoping for faster times and we are seeing that to some degree. I had a little trouble in qualifying flat spotting my tires after a spin. The possibility of rain tomorrow will make the race very interesting."
Lally will make history when he gets behind the wheel of the AXA Porsche tomorrow. The Dacula, Georgia resident will make his 100th start in Grand-Am competition. Lally is somewhat pleased with the changes to the Porsche and is looking forward to having a competitive run.
"To our car the rules adjustments have helped," Lally said. "However it seems adding 75 lbs. to the Mazda makes it go a good two seconds faster. The adjustments definitely helped, but we are still down. I need a couple more liters and a rotary under the hood. We are praying for rain which is sad."
Team owner Kevin Buckler is left in amazement at the delta that still exists in the GT field.
"The series made a great effort to help the Porsche teams with the recent rules adjustment," Buckler said. "I guess the Mazda guys just plugged in the lap top and negated our adjustments. I am not sure how you can add weight to that car and it still goes faster. Rain seems like our only hope tomorrow. This is very discouraging to be racing with no chance to win unless it rains."
The Grand-Am race from VIR will be televised live on the SPEED Channel starting at 2:00 p.m. ET today. The race will also be carried live on MRN radio and then replayed on Sirius NASCAR Radio channel 128 at 7:45 p.m. ET.
TRG was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing ever since. The team has the most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 26, including the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
TRG is a manufacturer and distributor of high-performance racing parts. The group specializes in engine and chassis tuning as well as full service professional race car preparation. The company also provides electrical and mechanical engineering services, driver development and arrive-and-drive opportunities. TRG is based in Petaluma, California, near its home track of Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. The company's NASCARoperation is based in Mooresville, North Carolina and competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series in car No. 71 with Bobby Labonte. TRG is also developing a new state-of-the-art motorsports complex at the New Jersey Motorsports Park that should be finished in early 2011.
For more information please contact Kyle Chura at (248) 821-0468 or
chura@aol.com. Detailed team info can be viewed at
Home orwww.theracersgroup.com.