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| GRE Racing Scores a Dominant 1-2 Finish
at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill |
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 Braving torrential rain, darkness and 71 other competitors, the 2-car Porsche team of GRE Racing maintained a fast and consistent pace to claim an impressive 1-2 finish in the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill, the longest sports car race in North America. En route to victory, the #64 and #26 Glenn Yee Motorsports-prepared Porsche GT3 Cup racers completed 622 circuits of Thunderhill’s 14-turn, 3-mile road course with both cars finishing on the same lap.
Starting from pole position (#64) and 5th (#26) on the grid, the Power Porsche-Newport Beach GT3s quickly established themselves at the front of the pack early in the event. From the second hour on, both cars stayed out of trouble and in the top-3 as drivers battled the elements, traffic and ever-changing track conditions to cross the checker just one car length apart – after an amazing 25 hours and 1866 miles of racing.
Said winning owner/driver Geoff Escalette of Newport Beach, CA, “What an incredible experience. It’s still sinking in. We’ve won shorter 3- and 4-hour events, but to come here and take the top two spots in a 25-hour race is unreal. As always, the Glenn Yee Motorsports crew worked their magic on both cars making sure they’d be there at the end. And of course we couldn’t have done it without the help of Yokohama, who provided us with just the right tires, no matter what the conditions.”
En route to their 1-2 finish, neither car encountered any mechanical issues with both Porsches running as strongly at the finish as they did at the start. A minor on-track altercation and a cross-threaded wheel axle cost the #26 a couple laps at the race’s mid-way point, but strong driving and fortunate timing during a subsequent caution period allowed the #26 to make up its lost laps by the end.
The driver lineup in both GRE Racing Porsches included a wealth of endurance racing experience. Geoff Escalette and ALMS veteran Craig Stanton drove stints in both the racing-winning #64 Porsche and its #26 sister car, while the #64 drivers consisted of ALMS regulars Kelly Collins and Hugh Plumb, Glenn Yee Motorsports driver Dave Royce and Road & Track Magazine senior editor, Kim Wolfkill. The #26 GT3 was piloted by ALMS drivers Brian Cunningham and Mike Lewis along with GYM regular John Stott.
This was also the first 25-hour victory for Glenn Yee Motorsports. Said Yee, “We came into this race feeling pretty optimistic, but still not knowing exactly how everything would play out. As it was, all the hard work paid off and the lessons we learned at Thunderhill we can now take to the Rolex 24 at Daytona next month.”
In addition to being the team’s first 25-hour win, it was also the first for Porsche’s venerable GT3 Cup race car. While it has won its class in many endurance events, this victory marks the first time a GT3 Cup has taken overall honors in a race 24 hours or longer.
In 2003, GRE Racing campaigned a Porsche GT3 Cup in NASA and SCCA regional endurance competition and the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Endurance Series. The team won regional championships with NASA and the SCCA as well as recording one podium and three top-10 finishes in four Grand-Am Cup events. For 2004, GRE Racing plans to compete in both the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Grand-Am Cup with a pair of Porsche GT3 Cup cars. GRE Racing’s primary sponsors include Power Porsche-Newport Beach, one of North America’s premier Porsche dealerships, Mechanix Wear, the leader in protective mechanic’s gloves, Yokohama Tires, Eibach Springs, Oakley, Motul lubricants and Stuttgart Performance.
For all editorial inquiries or more information regarding GRE Racing, its future plans and potential sponsorship opportunities, please contact Greg Fuller at Fuller Management, 714-305-6975, hbfuller@hotmail.com.
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