Autohaus Motorsports Entering Grand-Am GT for 2008
With Aschenbach, Lewis, Stanton and Papis for Rolex 24 Driver Lineup
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. December 17, 2007 -- Autohaus Motorsports
officially announced their intent to compete for the 2008 GT championship
in the Grand Am Rolex Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, with
driver duo Lawson Aschenbach and Tim Lewis, Jr. Completing the driver
lineup for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona will be two veteran drivers,
Craig Stanton and Max Papis. "We are absolutely thrilled to have a
driver lineup with such depth and experience for the 24 hours,"
said Team Owner Bob Kirland. "We are so excited to be making the
change to Grand Am, and I really look forward to what we can accomplish
this year with such a strong team."
The team will be fielding the brand new No. 72 Autohaus Motorsports
Pontiac GXP.R. Autohaus Motorsports is new to Grand Am, but not to GT
racing. In 2006 and 2007 Autohaus Motorsports fielded the No. 5 Viper
driven by Tommy Archer in Speed World Challenge. While it will be
Autohaus' first year competing in the Grand Am Rolex series, some
members of the team have already experienced the thrill of victory in
Grand Am Racing.
Executive Director Nathan McBride is a multiple race winning engineer in
the Grand Am series. Over his 13 years of motorsports involvement he has
become accustomed to winning races and championships. In 2006 McBride
and rookie driver Lawson Aschenbach teamed up to win the GT Championship
with the Jon Groom Porsche in Speed World Challenge. The pair is thrilled
to be reunited this year for the Rolex Grand Am Season.
"Lawson is a dynamic young driver with a bright future. He has all
the qualities I look for in a driver and I'm excited to be working
with him again this year," McBride stated. "The pairing of
Lawson and Tim will be a winning combination for the team. The two have
very similar driving styles as well as experience in Pratt & Miller
General Motors products."
In 2007 defending champion Lawson Aschenbach piloted the No. 1 Cadillac
for the factory team in Speed World Challenge. Aschenbach is looking
forward to racing another Pratt & Miller vehicle. "It's truly
an honor to be racing for Autohaus Motorsports," said Aschenbach.
"I know the Pratt & Miller Pontiac is going to be a blast to
drive. I'm excited to have Tim as my teammate for the season; I
know we'll work well together. I'm really looking forward to
the opportunities this season, and it would be great to help Pontiac win
the manufacturer's title, and bring home the team and
driver's championships for Autohaus Motorsports."
Co-Driver Tim Lewis, Jr. is returning to Grand Am Rolex for his second
season in the Pontiac GXP.R. Lewis competed last season with the Banner
Engineering team. He claimed a victory at Lime Rock in 2007, and is
hopeful to return to the top of the podium in 2008. "I am
extremely excited to join Autohaus Motorsports and be back in a Pontiac
GXP.R for 2008," stated Lewis. "Although Autohaus is new to
the Grand-Am series and the Pontiac GXP.R, our recent 2 day test at
Daytona exceeded all of my expectations. The Autohaus guys worked on the
car as if they've seen it a hundred times and Nathan did an
excellent job improving our chassis with every change. It was also
encouraging to see how well my new teammate performed and that we both
have identical driving styles. I look forward to working with Nathan,
Lawson and the whole Autohaus family in achieving our goal of winning the
2008 Championship."
Autohaus Motorsports ran during the November Test at Daytona with a
borrowed GXP.R. It was a productive two days for the team. "I
really like the way the Pratt & Miller chassis responds to
changes," declared McBride. "The technical support from
Pratt & Miller for their teams is second to none, and our entire team is
eager to work with them this season."
Since the November testing, the team has been working to secure two
additional drivers for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, and recently signed
two veterans, Craig Stanton and Max Papis. "Signing Craig and Max
is a big deal for Autohaus. We are a new team to Grand Am, so having the
ability to attract drivers with their experience was important to
us," declared McBride. "I have worked with Craig in the
past; he is immediately fast and consistent in any car he drives and
conserves equipment. He is an ideal driver for endurance racing. I have
never had the opportunity to work with Max Papis, but his resume speaks
for itself."
Craig Stanton, of Long Beach California has two Grand Am championships
under his belt. In 2004 he won the driver's championship for Grand
Am Cup GS, and followed it up in 2005 with the driver's
championship in the Rolex Grand Am GT class.
Italian race car driver Max Papis has a storied resume ranging from a
year in F1 to race wins in CART and ALMS. Max has competed in the Rolex
24 Hours of Daytona in various racecars for the past 10 years, and his
resume includes a victory in 2002, fulfilling one of his major career
ambitions. He has a recent history in Pratt & Miller vehicles, driving
for both the factory Cadillac team in SCCA and the Corvette team in
ALMS.
Autohaus Motorsports will be testing their new Pontiac GXP.R with their
full driver lineup at the Daytona test days on January 4 -- 6, 2008.
-credit: am
