AUSTIN, TEXAS (September 19, 2016): TRG-AMR defied the odds this weekend with a top 10 finish at the Lone Star Le Mans weekend, hosted by the legendary Circuit of The Americas. With an all-new driver lineup racing during extremely hot weather in Austin, Texas, the Aston Martin squad executed flawlessly. Australian driver David Calvert-Jones and Porsche specialist Ben Barker teamed together to produce a fantastic result. With only minimal practice time and never having driven the 007, they worked hard, adapted quickly and put in a solid driving performance to finish in 6th.
The No. 007 Godstone Ranch Motorsport/Hands Only CPR/Johnson Controls/Whilo/LaSalle Solutions Aston Martin V12 Vantage is certainly a fan favorite, but the car has not been present at every WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event in the 2016 season. It’s a testament to the TRG-AMR team’s audacity that top-10 results are natural even when racing against teams who have been competitive throughout the year. In Austin, Calvert-Jones and Barker dealt with the Texas summertime heat while familiarizing themselves with the car during practice and qualifying sessions. With the drivers’ feedback, the skilled TRG-AMR crew was able to execute the ideal race setup to deliver maximum results for a 6th place finish.
TRG-AMR drivers Ben Barker and David Calvert-Jones.
Overall, the weekend was positive for all drivers, crew, and guests. In addition to racing, this event was key for both business and charity. Godstone Ranch MotorSports, founded by Texan driver John McCutchen, was an important part of TRG-AMR’s race. The charity uses motorsports to help draw attention and donations to the American Heart Association’s “Hands Only CPR” program, spearheaded by McCutchen and his group of volunteers. Ally Babineaux, a young survivor of two heart transplants, was at McCutchen’s side to evangelize the charity and embodied the direct impact made the support of donors. Wearing a custom Godstone Ranch fire suit, she joined the TRG-AMR team during pit stops by holding a fire bottle at the ready.
RingCentral, a cloud enterprise communications and collaboration application provider, joined TRG-AMR with a large group of guests in Austin. They were welcomed in the team’s paddock area, plus additional hospitality and race viewing locations around the beautiful Circuit of the Americas racetrack. This spectacular venue, along with three private evening events and a private Adobe Road wine dinner, provided an exciting, unique experience for both RingCentral and a private wealth management firm’s guests.
Technology partner LaSalle Solutions has found the motorsports partnership and platform extremely effective and has increased their efforts in supporting the team through the balance of the season.
“Testing was tricky, and we qualified in the back,” said Ben Barker after the race. “CJ’s been improving all weekend so he’s done a great job. He got quicker and gave the car to me in a competitive position. I just got my head down and managed to have a bit of pace. There was a long train of cars that I was battling for a long time. At the end, we had too much of a gap in front to close down. Overall, the car was definitely more pleasurable to drive. The TRG car was really good and competitive, we were just losing straightline speed. Overall, it was a fantastic job by the team and CJ, and hopefully we’ll be back. I’d like to thank TRG, and CJ for calling me in the first place, and Kevin for letting me drive. I’d also like to thank my personal sponsors Montaplast, Sacred Cafe, and Cars Europe Transportation.”
“It was a great race for us,” said Calvert-Jones. “As we had just a few sessions of practice and I had never driven this car before, I think we came a long way. The team did an amazing job, Kevin and all of TRG-AMR group are just a real solid team and can’t thank them enough for what they put together this weekend. The car was quite slow earlier on in the week. As we dialed in, it got quicker and quicker. The straightline speed was way down from everyone else, so we just had to wheel it hard in the infield and Ben Barker just did an amazing job to get it up to 6th place from last, so I’m pretty happy! Consider this: if we had known this morning that we could have placed 6th, I would have taken it! I’d like to thank TRG and the gifting app, Whilo, for their support this weekend.”
“We did everything strategy-wise that we could possibly do,” said McCutchen. “To get out of here at the end of the season and be absolutely competitive is an unbelieveable testament to TRG-AMR. The whole Godstone Ranch team was incredibly enthused to be out here with the team. When the car was leading the race for those laps, I don’t even know how many people texted me from all over the world – they were so psyched to see this car in the lead!”
“We had so many obstacles coming here in the beginning, but that’s just another cool part of TRG story,” said Kevin Buckler, CEO. “We were up against experienced and storied teams, we are only running a partial season, we had a crazy schedule with split races in two states and had brand new drivers in the car – and the team executed just flawlessly! It’s great that the RingCentral guys and all of the other groups of guests were able to be with us this weekend. It’s just such an amazing environment for building relationships and networking, and I saw how people who had just met each other while standing in our garage or having lunch together would chat and then start discussing opportunities for their companies. We had some great events: the Late European Aston Martin dealership, plus dinner here at the track with our guests and the big Adobe Road wine dinner downtown at the Capital Grill. Really looking forward to seeing these guys with us again and continuing to build or relationships and helping each others companies grow. I also want to personally thank Steven Robb and all our friends at LaSalle Solutions for being fantastic partners. We are helping each other to achieve our goals and I just love it when a plan works!”