TRG pairs DiGuida and Bleekemolen for full season

Petaluma, CA (March 21, 2012) - Following a successful drive at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, veteran Venezuelan sports car racer Emilio DiGuida has joined forces with TRG for the entire season in the Rolex GRAND-AM Series, teaming with Porsche Supercup sensation, Jeroen Bleekemolen.

#64 TRG PORSCHE GT3

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

With five championship wins in Venezuela, DiGuida has demonstrated his competitiveness at the GT level. Joining TRG in 2011, he saw his first action at Road America with a sixth place finish and again drove for TRG at Laguna Seca. DiGuida shared the all-South American TRG entry at this year's Daytona 24 Hours, a drive that saw the car steadily climb through the GT class.

"Emilio has done an incredible job for us, both last year and this year," said team owner Kevin Buckler. "We were all so proud of him earlier this year in Daytona as he emerged as one of our team leaders with a really solid run and lap times that were incredible. He is totally committed to his driving and he and Jeroen are going to make one hell-of-a-team. Emilio has proven to be an asset to the team in many ways, and we are looking forward to a terrific run at the GT Championship."

"I'm excited to be with TRG, and get to work the entire season with Kevin and all of the TRG team," said DiGuida. "They don't just come to win one race, they come to win the championship. I know that the Avior-Solar Cargo-Venezuela Porsche will be ready to go and give me everything I need to win. I'm also looking forward to working all season with my co-driver, Jeroen Bleekemolen. Working with him and all of the TRG crew should keep us at the front of the grid all season. We ran very well at Daytona, and I expect the same going into the race at Barber Motorsports Park for the Porsche 250."

DiGuida will team with Bleekemolen, the Dutch racing driver, in what looks to be a formidable combination. Bleekemolen has experience in many different disciplines of racing from DTM to Formula 3. As a multi-time winner of the Porsche Supercup Championship and most recently, a two-time series GTC champion in the American Le Mans Series, Bleekemolen is proving to be among the most elite Porsche drivers in the world. He joined TRG for his third Rolex 24 at Daytona in its famed No. 67, teaming with Steve Bertheau, Porsche factory driver Wolf Henzler, sportscar and prototype champion Marc Goossens and TRG team driver and Rolex veteran Spencer Pumpelly, taking the car to within nine seconds of a GT victory.

"We are very excited to add Jeroen to our team for the full season," said Buckler. "He drove so well for us at Daytona, and with the speed he showed at Sebring, the rest of the season will really be something to watch!"

Though they both drove for TRG at this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona, both DiGuida and Bleekemolen drove separate cars. They will team up in the No. 68 Avior-Solar Cargo-Venezuela Porsche 911 at the challenging Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama - a 2.3 mile, 17-turn track known for its constant series of turns combined with sweeping elevation changes. DiGuida added, "I think the two of us will work well together and be very competitive for the series championship."