RML
AD Group News
RML drivers heading for Daytona
Issued January 21st 2008
Le
Mans Winning Line-up Faces Another 24 Hours
Two-times
Le Mans-winners Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos begin their
sixth season together as co-drivers by facing the challenge
of another twenty-four hour marathon - next weekend's Rolex
24 Hours of Daytona. The RML AD Group racing duo will be
sharing the all-new #51 Cheever Racing Coyote-Pontiac with
another Le Mans winner, Briton Tom Kimber-Smith, and two
American drivers; Brent Sherman and Scott Mayer.
Having
won the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2005 and 2006, and with
twelve other 24-hour races shared, Mike and Tommy's is clearly
an enduring partnership. “It may not be unique,”
admits Thomas Erdos, “but to have stayed together
for five consecutive years is something of an achievement.
We get on well, we get results, and as it says in the old
adage; ‘if it works, don't fix it!’.”
This will be their fifth time together at Daytona, and the
third year that they have joined Eddie Cheever's Daytona
Prototype Grand-Am squad.
They
link up with the team at a significant moment, with Eddie
Cheever having just launched a new car in the Coyote –
a name more synonymous in the past with that of the legendary
AJ Foyt. Considered by some to be the greatest American
racing driver of all time, four-time Indy 500 winner Foyt
gave his permission just a month ago for Cheever Racing
to resurrect the Coyote name. “We were looking for
an American brand,” said Eddie Cheever. “I phoned
AJ and asked if I could use his name. I was shocked when
he said yes!”
Earlier
this month, during the official Daytona Test, the Pontiac-powered
Coyote turned wheels for the very first time. “It’s
a great experience and a true honour to be involved in the
development of a brand new car,” said Thomas Erdos,
who was one of the first to drive it. “I like to think
that the feedback Mike and I will be putting in will contribute
towards what I am confident will become a very successful
racecar. It was easy to tell, right from the start, that
the Coyote has tremendous potential,” he added, “As
with any new project, there’s a great deal of work
still to be done before we can expect to see the Coyote
at its best, but I’m really looking forward to getting
to grips with it next week.”
For
AD Group the association with the Daytona 24 Hours began
in 2002, when the CCTV technology specialists supported
a two-car entry, with Erdos driving a Saleen in GT1 and
Newton sharing a Porsche 911 in GT2. “It’s good
to be coming back to Daytona again,” said Adam Wiseberg,
Motorsport Director at AD, “and we are particularly
excited by the potential of the new Coyote. Although the
car’s running during the test was curtailed, we were
able to see that the car has huge promise, and we’re
hoping for great things, not only from the car, but also
the strong driver line-up.”
Aside
from Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos, the squad has additional
depth in Tom Kimber-Smith. The twenty-three year-old already
has a Le Mans victory to his credit, having secured the
GT2 title in 2006 with Team LNT, and also extensive sportscar,
prototype and single-seater experience. Former AWACS crew-member
Brent Sherman has a strong NASCAR pedigree, and is familiar
with Daytona’s banked oval, while Scott Mayer first
raced in Indy Racing League in 2003 and sees the Rolex 24
Hours as his Grand Am debut ahead of a full season with
Cheever Racing in 2008.
Practice
for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona begins on Thursday January
24th, with the race itself starting on Saturday January
26th at 1:30 pm.
A
high resolution image is available here.
Keep
Up to Date at CheeverRacing.com
The
regular staff here at the MG Lola site won't be able to
cover the Daytona 24 Hours in person, but anyone wishing
to follow the Daytona race hour-by-hour will be able to
stay on top of the team¹s progress at
www.cheeverracing.com.
The site will feature driver interviews, daily trackside
reports from Daytona, and regular updates on the Rolex 24
at Daytona.
Later
Note: A brief report from the race is here