Petaluma, CA – March 15, 2017 – : Last weekend, the TRG 007 LaSalle Solutions Aston Martin V12 Vantage race car fought through a fierce field of competitors in multiple races at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. TRG’s driver — James Davison — handled the oceanside street course with skill and determination for a huge crowd of team partners and guests that were there in support of TRG’s efforts to reach the podium. A non-stop weekend full of racing, entertainment, building relationships, wine receptions, sunshine and nightlife capped the first weekend of the Pirelli World Challenge race season.
The Racers Group and Adobe Road Wines kicked off their weekend on Thursday with 100+ guests at the Aston Martin Dimmitt Dealership for a night of wine tasting around luxury cars and the fabulous 2017 Aston Martin DB11 and the team’s Aston Martin GT4 Racecar. The next day, GT driver James Davison qualified for Race 1 in 6th position in the LaSalle Solutions 007 V12 Vantage GT3.
That evening, race team guests were treated to a private gathering at the amazing downtown penthouse of Carlos and Beverly Yepes, two passionate supporters of the team and the race. All of the team’s VIP guests and friends attended in what was just a fantastic evening of excellent food, great wine and even better conversation and camaraderie.
Saturday kicked off with the opening of the team’s private seating and hospitality in splendid style at The Dalí Museum alongside the track. In this space, TRG guests were treated to an upscale buffet, private screening room, and best of all, a shaded trackside grandstand with views of the yacht harbor and all within the private confines of the trackside Dali Museum. From either inside the museum or on pit wall alongside the TRG crew, invitees cheered James Davison in GT Race #1. His driving was fast and clean, maneuvering between a considerable range of GT cars and drivers, which resulted in a podium celebration of a remarkable 2nd place finish in this world class driving field.
Watch some incredible in-car footage from the streets of St. Petersburg
GT Race #2 took place on the final day of the Grand Prix of St. Pete, the field of cars was more aggressive than ever, and Davison was it from behind at the start but came back strong. He drove fast and smart and gained 7 positions, taking him to the 7th place. Unfortunately, the team was not able to finish the race due to technical difficulties with 7 minutes remaining, but once again, TRG was able to demonstrate their incomparable competitive skills.
The team and guests rooted for their driver to the end and are looking forward to the next PWC race at Long Beach.
Amazing upcoming TRG events are in the works that include a private track day at Laguna Seca Raceway in beautiful Monterey, California (March 21st & 22nd). Select guests are given the chance to drive their exotics at speed with a professional instructor, sit in the passenger seat in the race cars with a professional driver, or even drive the incredible Aston Martin Vantage cars at speed. These events offer, automotive enthusiasts, first-timers, aspiring racers and even corporations/corporate clients a chance to experience the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of actually driving their exotics or the actual racecars in a beautiful and professional setting. Event details and booking info can be found at theracersgroup.com/events.
“What an absolutely spectacular weekend on all fronts,” stated TRG team owner Kevin Buckler. “This is our fourth year competing at St. Petersburg. We always love street courses and the excitement that surrounds it, but the town of St. Petersburg and all of our friends and partners in the area help to create what is truly one of the most epic events that we do on the motorsports calendar. The competition at this race are the ‘best of the best’ and my hat is off to our event driver, who had personal bests throughout the weekend.
Every night something spectacular was happening with fantastic networking and opportunity for our partners, friends and their guests. It always makes me so happy to see everybody truly enjoying themselves and activating around the motorsports platform, creating both personal and business relationships. Big thanks to our friends at LaSalle Solutions who are on the cutting edge of the B2B opportunities in our sport, the Pirelli World Challenge Series that continues to evolve into one of the top motorsports series in the world, and of course, none of this could happen without our dear friends Beverly and Carlos Yepes who worked tirelessly to put on not only an amazing week’s worth of activities but to bring such positive spirit and promotion around the event itself and the city of St. Petersburg. We successfully brought everyone together and that is what it’s all about.”