Andy Lally: “We will roll right off the trailer with a very competitive package”
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Petaluma, Calif.
Jun 20, 2007
TRG Team
Team TRG looks for a repeat of its two recent GT-class wins when the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the June 24th EMCO Gears Classic and Round Nine of the 2007 schedule.
Having claimed a dominant victory at Laguna Seca and a thrilling come-from-behind win at Watkins Glen, TRG fully expects to capitalize on positive mid-season momentum and a history of strong results at Mid-Ohio as they battle for their third GT-class win in four races.
TRG was no stranger to success at Mid-Ohio last year as team cars ran strong, posting second and third place finishes. With another year of experience and successful recent testing, the northern California-based team is well prepared to earn top honors in ’07.
“After our two unbelievable races at Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen, we’re coming into Mid-Ohio feeling really good about the team and our level of performance, ” said TRG team owner Kevin Buckler. “We tested here a month ago and I know the crew and drivers all feel ‘on their game’ for this event. ”
With bragging rights for having the most race wins in Grand-Am history, TRG attacks the demanding 2.258-mile long Lexington, Ohio venue with a great deal of enthusiasm and anticipation.
“Mid-Ohio is tough, tricky and challenging, but a circuit we all enjoy racing at, ” said Buckler. “We’ll be fielding three GT-class and four Koni Challenge cars with strong driver line-ups throughout. We’re definitely going to have our hands full, but we are ready. ”
Leading the charge for TRG will be the No. 65 Maxwell Paper Products Porsche GT3 driven by teammates Ross Smith and Daniel Dileo. This pair delivered an incredible second-place finish at Laguna Seca and the No. 65 has done a great deal of the team’s development work.
Fresh off the recent come-from-behind win at the Six Hour race at Watkins Glen is the No. 66 CRG Porsche driven by veterans Andy Lally and RJ Valentine. Besides the tandem going for a second consecutive win, both drivers will be serving as TRG’s resident ‘ironmen’ this weekend by competing in both the GT-class and Koni Challenge races - with Lally and Valentine looking to add more Mid-Ohio hardware to their trophy cases.
“Mid Ohio is one of my all-time favorite tracks and I’ve been fortunate to win there many times in the past, said Lally. “It’s one of the tracks I look forward to going to every year. Our TRG team had a very successful test here a month ago and I think we will roll right off the trailer with a very competitive package. ”
Rounding out the GT-class stable for TRG will be the No. 67 NETTS/Louis Boston Porsche GT3 entry and driver duo Spencer Pumpelly and Mark Greenberg. Pumpelly comes to Mid-Ohio not only as a veteran driver for TRG, but as a part of the driver trio that claimed victory at Watkins Glen just two weeks ago. Greenberg has shown speed and put in some strong driving this year, as well as being very adept at Mid-Ohio. This will be a very competitive car and driver combo.
TRG will field four cars in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge at Mid-Ohio, expecting as much competition between TRG team cars as from other race teams.
The No. 39 car for TRG is the Carlsen Porsche/Adam’s Polishes/DigiTrust entry of Duncan Ende and Grant Maiman. The pair ran several early season events for TRG with successful outings at Daytona and Homestead-Miami. Most recently, Ende and the same No. 39 car handily led its first race at the recent Lime Rock outing with a brilliant drive.
Driving the No. 40 Carlsen Porsche/CDI/Carrera Design entry for TRG is John Bibbo and Scott Schroeder. This season-long duo has had flashes of speed and brilliance since the beginning, leading the Lime Rock race for quite some time and fighting to a strong 15th-place finish last week at Mosport while battling some mechanical gremlins.
In the third TRG entry, the No. 41 TRG Mitchell Global/Carlsen Porsche 997, will be Andy Lally and teammate Ted Ballou. Ballou and Lally paired up just a week ago to finish sixth at Mosport, with Ballou making a great save when driven off track by a competitor and Lally driving a strong final stint to claim valuable championship points. So far this year, the No. 41 car has seen the podium twice.
The final pairing for TRG will be the No. 42 Carlsen Porsche of RJ Valentine and returning TRG driver and Skip Barber stand-out John Peterson. Valentine will be pulling ‘double-duty’ driving the Koni Challenge car while Peterson returns to TRG for his first GT-class sprint race of 2007 after having driven for TRG in this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.
TRG is a manufacturer and distributor of high-performance auto parts. The group specializes in engine and chassis building as well as full service professional race car preparation. The company also provides electrical and mechanical engineering services, driver development and arrive-and-drive services. TRG is based in Petaluma, Calif., near its home track of Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.
