(Petaluma, Calif. – April 28, 2017) The Racers Group (TRG) is delighted to announce that Texan teenage racing phenoms 16-year old Parker Chase and 17-year old Harry Gottsacker will team up to join the team May 4-6 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), co-driving the #991 Porsche GT3 R on the fourth stop on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule. Both drivers are poised to deliver solid results in Austin with TRG and Porsche in front of a worldwide audience.
These two young racers have already achieved marked success in motorsports at the professional level and are more than ready to step up to the elite competitive world of IMSA with top sportscar racing team TRG and one of the most respected badges in all of motorsport, Porsche, right in their backyard at COTA.
For both Chase and Gottsacker, the move to IMSA in the TRG Porsche represents an opportunity of a lifetime as they will learn with Team Principal Kevin Buckler, one of the most successful sportscar drivers and team owners in North American racing history, align with one of the top racing badges in the world in Porsche and gain valuable experience alongside some of the very best racing drivers in the world.
Drivers
Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker bring a unique blend of youthfulness and experience to their new roles with TRG. Both with stellar 2016 seasons in their professional driving rookie year in Pirelli World Challenge. Parker Chase scoring eight podium finishes and earning the Rookie of the Year Championship. Harry Gottsacker scored five top five finishes and his first podium at Utah Motorsports Campus. Chase was granted his Sports Club Car of America Pro License in 2015 — one of the youngest drivers ever to achieve this feat — and has never looked back, consistently challenging in competitive fields. Chase will be the youngest driver to enter IMSA WeatherTech GT competition. Gottsacker, only one year older, combines with Chase to make the duo the youngest driver combo to enter IMSA WeatherTech GTD.
In the 2017 season-opening PWC race in St. Petersburg in April driving for Stuart Robinson’s Performance Motorsports Group (PMG) program where both boys finished in the top five with Parker on the podium and Harry just missing the podium in fourth. Parker and Harry have stepped up again in 2017 and are currently driving in British GT3 and will be racing at Rockingham in England this weekend April 28-30. The boys will be flying across the big pond back to the States for testing Tuesday, May 2 and on track at COTA Thursday, May 4.
“I’m excited to be back racing at COTA again,” Parker Chase says. “My first professional race with Stuart was here and I podiumed. I’m looking for a similar result next week, back in my home state of Texas.”
Harry Gottsacker says, “The travel will be intense after the British GT weekend, but I am so ready for my debut in IMSA. Thank you Kevin Buckler (TRG) and Stuart Robinson (PMG) for such an amazing opportunity.”
TRG CEO Kevin Buckler: “Both Parker and Harry are accomplished with very strong results already, especially given their young age. I have had my eye on them for a while. These two are ready to ascend in the world of motorsports with their exceptional talent and now, Parker and Harry have an amazing opportunity with the best team in TRG and the best marque in Porsche to really maximize the boys’ driver development and evolution. I know that together, the sky’s the limit.”
PMG COO Stuart Robinson: “We’ve made a lot of changes to our program for Parker and Harry this year. This season, we have entered them in British GT3 and now they are getting their debut in IMSA WeatherTech GTD with the most decorated GT team in North America. I could not be happier for both Parker and Harry. This was a last minute deal Kevin and I put together and on Monday morning we inked it. This has been a busy week and the boys are ready and excited maybe a little jet-lagged, but they’re doing everything to be prepared for this coming weekend at COTA. I’m all about results and Kevin’s TRG program has them, that’s for sure. I could not think of a better team for the boys.”
TRG and Porsche: Getting Results
TRG has a proud history with Porsche and is one of the most successful teams in all of GT racing. Buckler himself won the 2002 Porsche World Cup, and he and the team won the GT class of the Daytona 24 with the German marque four times – including once overall in 2003, a historic moment in motorsports that may never again be replicated. The team has achieved 13 Daytona podiums with Porsche, holds the record for the most number of entries in history, and ran an incredible five cars, or more, for eight years in a row. An international highlight of the team’s success with this brand includes a win at the 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans on their first try, in one of the closest GT races in history. Dozens of wins, multiple consecutive podiums and an era of prestige exemplify over two decades of partnership with Porsche. And this year, TRG and Porsche continue this legacy of success, contesting the IMSA GTD season together.
“We’ve got two exceptionally talented drivers in Chase and Gottsacker and winning machinery in Porsche,” Buckler says. “I’m really looking forward to a great weekend in Austin and to continuing our great legacy with Porsche, while writing new stories and opportunities with Parker and Harry.”
Info for Editors:
Schedule of Events, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship
Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2017 – 12:55 PM to 2:35 PM EDT
Qualifying WeatherTech Championship
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2017 – 2:25 PM to 5:15 PM EDT
Advance Auto Parts SportsCar Showdown – WeatherTech Championship
SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017 – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Advance Auto Parts SportsCar Showdown WeatherTech Championship
(race duration: 2 hours. 40 minutes)
(Broadcast: FoxSports 1)