Trans Am returns to Road Atlanta for double-header weekend

BRASELTON, GA (16 November 2020) – The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli gets back to action with the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association Atlanta SpeedTour November 19-22 after the originally slated event in March was postponed at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (Live Stream Starts Saturday, November 21).

The new date will now hold a pair of races offering up a unique opportunity for Ohio-based driver Amy Ruman, who has found a second home at the challenging 2.54-mile circuit in her family-owned No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette.

Following in the footsteps of trailblazing Trans Am drivers like Deborah Gregg and Lyn St. James, Ruman became the first female driver to win in the Trans Am Series at Road Atlanta in 2011.

The Road Atlanta victory in the 2011 season finale helped her place third in the final standings. That began a run that saw her finish in the top-three in six of the next seven seasons. Ruman has gone on to win 16 races in her 14-year Trans Am career, including eight in 2015 – her first of two consecutive championships.

“Road Atlanta is a very special place for us, because it’s the place where I won my first Trans Am race,” said the 46-year-old driver. “I was breaking barriers because I was a woman in the Trans Am Series, so there have been a lot of firsts.”

Finishing near the front has been a habit for Ruman at Road Atlanta. She won at the Georgia circuit in 2015, her fourth consecutive victory in a streak that began at the 2014 season finale at Daytona. She won there from the pole in 2016, beginning a two-race winning streak. She’s also finished second; third on three occasions; and fourth twice. Her lone finish out of the top five at Road Atlanta was ninth in 2018.

“Road Atlanta is a tough track,” she said. “You have to be consistent there, for sure. There are a lot of challenges there, especially with the downhill Esses and the downhill coming down to the front straight. Overall, I think if you setup is good and the weather is good, you can do really well there.”

Trans Am racing is a family affair. Amy’s dad, Bob, joined the series at St. Petersburg in 1996, driving an ex-Paul Gentilozzi Chevrolet Camaro to a 10th-place finish – an impressive debut for a privateer. Bob competed in 95 career races, posting 30 top-10 finishes. He switched to a Corvette for Sebring in 2000, and ran that marque for the remainder of his career.

Ruman made her series debut with a seventh-place finish at Cleveland in 2005. She was at the wheel of a Corvette – the only car she’s raced throughout her 14-year career. Ruman became the first woman to capture a pole position in only her third start – at Topeka, Kansas, during the abbreviated 2006 season – her first of five career poles.

“I’ve found a home in Trans Am,” she said. “We love it. We’re part of the Trans Am family, and I’m proud to be part of the Trans Am legacy. A lot of people jump around, but our team’s got so much invested in it. We know the cars – and these are cars that we like to run. There’s so much horsepower. They’re fast and fun to drive, and we love the format. We run 100-mile races, and we don’t need to have pit stops, fueling and a lot of crew members.”

Still going strong, Ruman began the 2020 campaign with a third-place finish at Sebring International Raceway, her 44th career podium finish. Since then, she’s finished second at Brainerd and third in the combined race at VIR. In her 118-race career, she has 77 top-five finishes, 77 top-10s and five poles in 118 starts.

“Our competition is getting pretty deep,” she said. “Trans Am is where it’s at, and a lot of people are coming to our series, and we’re faced up against a lot of top drivers, a lot of top teams. It’s very competitive, but that’s what makes it fun.

“For us, ‘bad’ is to take home a third or a fifth,” Ruman added. “Some people would love to get that. But once you start hitting the top three, you want to stay there. We’re up against a lot of good teams, but we want to stay relevant and put on a good show for the fans. We want to stay on the top. I love to race – that’s what I’m here to do.”

The four-day event starts on Thursday, November 19 with testing. The official weekend commences on Friday, November 20 with practice in the morning followed by qualifying in the afternoon starting with the Trans Am class at 4:50 p.m. Eastern. Saturday begins with the TA/XGT/SGT/GT race at 11:10 a.m. Eastern followed by the TA2® powered by AEM feature at 4:55 p.m. Eastern. The combined class finale will take the green on Sunday at noon Eastern.
The Atlanta SpeedTour is open to fans. Tickets available at: SpeedTour.net.

All three races will be live streamed (starting Saturday) on the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App. Download here: https://nagrasports.app.link/lIQjdAuxq7

SEBRING, Fla., (November 15, 2020) – The 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ended in dramatic fashion Saturday evening at Sebring International Raceway. After securing a handful of podiums leading up to the finale event, Wright Motorsports put in an incredible performance over the course of the Twelve Hours of Sebring to clinch their first win of the 2020 season with Ryan Hardwick, Patrick Long, and Jan Heylen in the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R. While the team lost the bid for the GTD class championship by a mere two points, the capture of the team’s first endurance win at one of the most challenging races on the calendar produced a celebration worthy of any title.

“I can’t emphasize how proud I am of everyone on this team,” said Team Owner John Wright. “All season long, everyone executed perfectly. We gave it everything we had and finished with a very well deserved win. While we didn’t get the championship title, we’re thrilled to celebrate victory at a race as tough as the Twelve Hours of Sebring. It was action-packed from start to finish, and to come out on top as the winners feels great. The team really earned this one.”

Heading into the final race of the 2020 season, Wright Motorsports needed to finish a minimum of four places ahead of the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura in order to clinch the GTD class title. The No. 14 Lexus of AIM Vasser Sullivan also still had its nose in the fight, needing to finish well ahead of both the No. 16 Porsche and No. 86 Acura.

After clinching his first career IMSA pole position on Friday morning, Jan Heylen led the GTD class to green on Saturday morning, beginning what would be a strong opening stint for the No. 16 Porsche. The weather conditions and the car’s handling lined up perfectly, allowing Heylen to skillfully keep the lead position and extend a 20-second lap over the rest of the field before completing his first turn behind the wheel.

Wright Motorsports completed their first driver change just before the one hour mark, giving the No. 16 Porsche a fresh set of Michelin Tires, a full tank of fuel, and a new driver, with Ryan Hardwick taking over for the second stint. A full-course caution was declared for debris on the track, eliminating the lead the Porsche had over the field. Cars and tires cooled back down during the caution as the field gathered back together to prepare for the restart. After a brief period, the race went back to green, and the balance and the grip gradually changed during the second stint. The Porsche became looser as the GTD battle intensified, and the No. 16 Porsche shuffled back to 11th. With suggestions from the pit box, Hardwick made some quick changes to the car, which successfully helped dial back in the balance, but it was clear a performance issue with the car remained. Despite the unknown factor, Hardwick stayed close to the No. 57 Acura of Joey Hand for the remainder of his stint before pitting for tires and fuel.

He rejoined with no pressure behind, he consistently set a quick pace, settling into 11th before another debris caution came out. Hardwick pitted under caution for a splash of fuel, overtaking two cars in pit lane who had to make longer stops for fuel. Drama came in high fashion shortly after when the No. 4 Corvette experienced engine troubles, dropping fluid all over the back straight of the road course. Both Lexus machines spun off course, making heavy impact with the wall, effectively eliminating the championship hopes of the No. 12. The No. 16 Porsche was one of the four cars that spun, but Hardwick did a masterful save to quickly continue.

The race went back to green after a lengthy caution, and Hardwick came in for fuel and tires, moving the Porsche to the rear of the field. He rejoined to match the pace of the class leaders, taking back ninth place and chasing down the No. 30 Audi that raced 43 seconds ahead. He climbed back up to sixth position, and pitted under caution for the team to do a standard brake change to the front set. Completed in less than two minutes, the Porsche rejoined in 10th, and the field went back to green.

After racing for roughly three and a half straight hours, Ryan Hardwick concluded his successful run and handed the No. 16 Porsche over to Patrick Long to turn his first laps of the race. He joined the field in tenth, 27 seconds behind the No. 30 Audi, and immediately reported to the team there was a potential problem with the left rear shock. As the team worked to determine the next steps and consider the race strategy, Long methodically moved up the charts, getting in a tight battle with the No. 30 before a full course caution paused the race activity. After inspection of the car during a stop, it was determined the car was safe to continue and stay in the fight. The team pitted the car under caution for a full-service stop. Continuing the trend of the season, the expedient work by the crew in pit lane brought the Porsche out in second, impressively gaining four spots during the stop.

As soon as the tires achieved their ideal temperatures, Heylen charged towards Corey Lewis in the race leading No. 48 Lamborghini. After a 12-minute battle, the Porsche took back the class lead and immediately pulled away from the competition. As the sun started to dip, Patrick Long took back over, racing hard during the golden hour from the first position. He enjoyed a relatively quiet sunset stint in the lead, keep the position to the next driver stop, where Heylen resumed his duties. After the pit sequence cycled through, the No. 16 Porsche settled into second position behind the No 74 Mercedes of Lawson Aschenbach. A four-second gap separated the two as they raced into the early evening hours, with Heylen also maintaining a 23-second gap over the No. 30 Audi. Most importantly, the only remaining competitor in the championship fight, the No. 86 Acura, loomed in fourth position, still close enough to secure the title.

In the final three hours, Long and Heylen revolved through the Porsche with each stint, keeping the car in the top four through a series of cautions periods and intense green-flag racing. With performance issues still prevalent in the left rear shock, the drivers managed the difficulty of drivability to still get the necessary pace out of the car to be in a three-way battle for the lead with two and a half hours remaining. The No. 86 of Matt McMurry raced tight with the No. 63 Ferrari of Alessandro Balzan. Balzan took the lead, allowing Long to directly battle with the No. 86, and take the position and quickly create a five-second gap over the Acura.

Heylen jumped in for his final stint of the race, maintaining second place before giving the car back to Long for the last hour. Long rejoined in third, behind the leading No. 63 Ferrari and No. 74 Mercedes of Aschenbach. A full course caution again paused the racing with 25 minutes remaining on the clock, dramatically increasing the tension all throughout pit lane. The field went back to green for a 23-minute dash to the checker that saw a dramatic shake-up to the GTD podium. Contact between GTLM and GTD cars resulted in the class leader spinning, and the No. 74 receiving a drive-through penalty, catapulting the No. 16 to the lead position with ten minutes to go. Everyone in pit lane held their breath as the time remaining on the race clock counted down. After an intense twelve hours, Patrick Long brought the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R to the finish line, celebrating the first endurance win for Wright Motorsports. The win was also monumental for Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen, marking their first professional wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

While the Ohio-based team has yet to formally announce its 2021 plans, they will no doubt carry this momentum into the upcoming season, which begins January 30th with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. To subscribe to future news and updates, visit wrightmotorsports.com.

Driver Quotes

Ryan Hardwick
We came into this race with one goal. We knew we had to win. It was the only shot we had. It didn’t look like it was going to happen there for a while. We were dealing with a left-rear shock that wasn’t working properly for most of the race and it was really, really tough to drive for all of us. Jan and Pat did amazing! They are the ones that brought it home. Our team was unbelievable. We never made a mistake in the pits, we did our job, we accomplished our goal and what we came here for. We fell just a little bit short in the end on the championship but we are really proud of this win. This is a big step for our program, 1st Phorm and Wright Motorsports. This was a really big historic day for us.

Patrick Long
In the last few hours I saw a few scenarios with the championship implications and that the race might be up for grabs. It was difficult to battle with our issue [broken left-rear shock absorber] because the car would start bouncing pretty hard. But we bided our time, put ourselves in a position to capitalize and we executed. I am so proud of what this small organization has been able to achieve this year. ‘Thank you’ to Andy Frisella and 1st Phorm and to the whole Mountain Motorsports team for putting us on the grid and giving us a chance to fight these big organizations. This is a big momentum booster as we move into our sophomore year together next season.

Jan Heylen
This is just unbelievable. To be here with this team and Patrick and Ryan is just unbelievable. I don’t’ think anyone knew this whole race we were driving around with a broken damper. I have no words. I couldn’t be happier. This is one of the big ones. Pat did an amazing job. That last stint was unbelievable. Super happy!

1st Phorm
1st Phorm is a sports nutrition company based in St. Louis, MO. In 2009, CEO Andy Frisella and his business partner Chris Klein started the brand, and since then, it has become the fastest growing supplement company in the world. 1st Phorm has set the standards in the industry for quality and helping people reach their goals. This new racing partnership is not their first time in the exotic car scene either. 1st Phorm has been the title sponsor for the Gold Rush Rally for six years running. With over a million followers across social media, 1st Phorm has amassed a huge cult-like following known as, “The Legion of Boom.” They stand for a movement in the fitness world. To turn it back to what it was meant to be. Helping others improve their lives, to be a good human… and to drop the excuses and do the work. 1st Phorm is a winning brand and they don’t expect anything less when it comes to their race team. For additional info: www.1stphorm.com

Mountain Motorsports
Mountain Motorsports is a group of motorcycle and powersports dealerships with multiple locations in the southeastern United States. The company was founded by lifelong friends Ryan Hardwick and Justin Price when they opened their first location as a single-line Honda dealership in Sevierville, Tennessee in 1999. The company has since grown into one of the largest retailers of motorcycle and powersports vehicles in the nation, spanning nine dealership locations representing eleven of the industry’s most well-known brands. For additional info: www.mountainmotorsports.com

Una Vida Tequila
Una Vida translates to One Life. That is how this brand started. By people who want to live their “One Life” to the absolute fullest and to their highest potential. A group of guys from the Midwest who love great quality tequila, and want their One Life to have meaning and impact others.

One Life, One Tequila is our CORE BELIEF. We’re building the only tequila brand you will ever need to drink. Una Vida is bigger than just tequila we’re also building a culture of people who want to live their life to their utmost potential.

Our story begins and continues to grow bottle by bottle. It’s a life mission for us to create a community of people who all raise a glass knowing they’re living their ONE LIFE! For more information, visit unavidatequila.com

Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series, international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013 and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. The 2020 season will see the team return to IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship. For more information, visit wrightmotorsports.com

GTLM championship program closes out first year with mid-engine Corvette C8.R

SEBRING, Fla. (Nov. 14, 2020) – Corvette Racing endured a tough close to its championship-winning season at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, but it ended 2020 with a tremendous level of success in the first year of the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

A pair of suspension issues relegated the two Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.Rs to fifth- and sixth-place finishes in the final race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. It didn’t take anything away from the program’s achievement of sweeping the full-season GT Le Mans (GTLM) class championships: Manufacturers title for Chevrolet, Drivers Championship for Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor, and Team title for the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

Corvette Racing ended the season with six wins, seven pole positions and six fastest GTLM race laps, including Nicky Catsburg on Saturday in the No. 3 Corvette.

In addition, the No. 4 Corvette C8.R pairing of Oliver Gavin – who made his final start as a full-season Corvette Racing competitor – and Tommy Milner finished third in the final GTLM Drivers points standings.

Both Corvettes showed good pace early in the 12 Hours before misfortune struck the No. 4 C8.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler. A water leak in the third hour set back Gavin – making his final full-season start with the team – by six laps. Things didn’t improve with a suspension issue just past the halfway mark that sent the No. 4 Corvette back to the garage with damage. But instead of giving up, the No. 4 team worked quickly to replace the damaged components and had the car back on-track with 3:30 to go.

For most of the day, it looked like the No. 3 Corvette of Garcia, Taylor and Catsburg was the car to beat in class. Garcia began from pole position, and the C8.R led seven times. The No. 3 team came back from fifth near the four-hour mark and to the lead within the next hour thanks to some solid laps, a great pitstop and some luck with a full-course yellow with about three hours to go.

Garcia was running second when he experienced a problem at the left-rear of the Corvette in a similar spot as the No. 4 C8.R’s issues. The Corvette Racing crew did its homework, however, and had Garcia back in the race after just 15 minutes following repairs in its garage.

Corvette Racing will open its 2021 season with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “It’s a shame we couldn’t finish the year on a high, especially at such a big event like Sebring. We were fighting hard until we had our suspension issue. Definitely we were hunting for the win. It happens. It’s a shame both our cars had similar issues. Still, it’s the first year for the C8.R and there is still a learning curve. We will learn from all the races we’ve done – the races we’ve won and for sure the ones where we had some issues. It’s never easy to have a perfect race every weekend, so every event is a chance to learn. We were fighting for the win, which was the main thing. It was a hard race for everyone, but that is Sebring. This makes me want to get back to Daytona even stronger than how we ended.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “If you look at the event itself, it obviously was a disappointment. But for Antonio and me, coming in crowned champions beforehand, this gave us some freedom to push the car to its limits. We made it through the Rolex 24 with no issues, but Sebring is a different animal. You’re always going to get tested here. It was the first time at the 12 Hours with this C8.R. Obviously, we would have liked to have a little bit more success but we proved the car was competitive. We had the fastest lap of the race and were strong in both day and night. We have a good understanding of where the car is competitive, but these things happen with new cars. To win the championship, win six times and get seven pole positions as a team with a brand new racecar says so much about Corvette Racing and the preparation and development of this C8.R. I’m honored to be a part of it and definitely it’s one of the greatest years I’ll ever have in my career. We made a lot of great memories, and I’m happy to share them all with my teammates.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “This was a very tough race, as Sebring always is. We definitely had a shot at the win today before our suspension problem. Before that, the C8.R was so fast and it looked like things would go our way. As we saw with a lot of cars today, that doesn’t always happen at this track. But we can take a lot from this weekend and put it toward next season and the second year with the Corvette. I had a lot of fun driving this car and with this team for the first time. I’m excited to see what the future holds for Corvette Racing.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “The weekend has been emotional, and it was always going to be. That’s one of the reasons I wanted my wife Helen here. I knew I was going to struggle somewhat with it without her being here to support. Yesterday was very nice… Jim Campbell, Gary Pratt, Doug Fehan and Ben Johnson said some very nice words with all the team – j st to spend a moment with them and thank them for what’s been an amazing 19 years was special. There has been so much success, so much positivity, great feelings and friendships. I felt very honored that I could share that moment with them. I tried to say some words, and I was quite emotional and only got some of them out! But I think I got the message across – that I’m deeply appreciative of everything that everyone has done at Corvette Racing and Team Chevy collectively. It has been an unbelievable 19 years. I was very grateful to be able to thank the people that have done the most for me over these 19 years. It was really fantastic.”

ON THE RACE: “The race today showed a lot of promise. Almost right from the start, we weren’t quite there with the car. The guys worked to figure some stuff out, and we got better. It looked like we were in the hunt and had pace. When we lost all the water out of the radiator, it was a pretty big setback. We did what we could to get some laps back and then had the left-rear suspension problem. It was one of the moments that you don’t expect but you realize it’s going to happen at some point as a racing driver. But once again, Corvette Racing did a great job to get the car back together, everything going and us back out on the track as fast as they possibly could. It’s a testament to how they’re trained and how they work. It’s great to see. It gives me an immense amount of pride to watch them operate. Both crews had their moments of adversity, but not once did anyone complain or kick back; they all just dove straight in to get the cars back out. That’s what Corvette Racing is about. It’s what has won us a lot of races and championships, and I’m proud to have been a part of it.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “It’s not the race result we wanted to end the season, for sure, but I’m happy Olly and I got third in the championship. We hoped to be able to challenge for the win. If things had progressed like we expected, we would have been able to. But that’s what happens at Sebring and why it’s so tough. It was great to let Olly have some fun in his last two stints. I’m proud of what we have accomplished as teammates, and I’ve been lucky to drive with him for such a long time. He’s been a big part of my career and we’ll miss having him around. Like anything with a new car, we have learned a lot as time has gone on. I’m proud of what Corvette Racing has been able to achieve this year. We’ve been really fast with this new C8.R, and I’m excited for the future with this Corvette.”

MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “That was a tough one to swallow. We had issues quite early with the water leak that put us five laps down. It was difficult to get those laps back. We tried a lot, and the team was never giving up. The suspension problem really put us out of the game. It was hard for me to do this race with Corvette. It was a great opportunity to drive here with Corvette Racing. It’s like a family to me, and I really enjoyed being with the team.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.