TAVARES, Fla. (May 27, 2014) – WeatherTech Racing is heading to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Detroit Grand Prix to run on the Belle Isle street circuit May 30-June 1.
Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Leh Keen (Charleston, SC) are third in the GTD driver standings. The series is getting ready to take their traditional Le Mans break in the schedule to allow teams to go over to France and run the 24 hour race. MacNeil and Keen would like to go into the break with a win at the circuit located in the middle of the Detroit River on Belle Isle. The park setting features a 2.3-mile, 13-turn circuit that is lined with concrete barriers and 15-feet high fencing and is very challenging.
“This will be my first time at the Belle Isle circuit, but I am really looking forward to running our WeatherTech Porsche on the island track,” MacNeil said. “I have been reviewing video and driving the track on a simulator to prepare for the race. Our car is always set-up well at whatever track we go to and I have no doubt our engineering staff will give Lehman and I a fast racecar. I like street courses because they require precision driving and a lot of courage.”
“I did the first event with the Rolex series at Detroit,” Keen said. “It’s a very fun and exciting event. It’s on a little island in between the USA and Canada. It’s actually very similar to Montreal in a lot of ways. It’s a fun little track laid out on the tip of the island. Detroit is a true street course and that means there is no grass or gravel traps for run off, just walls to hit. With concrete barriers and fences lining the entire track. On the other side there is sometimes just a river!”
“I’m excited to get back to Detroit where so much of American car history has happened and get on the streets with our WeatherTech Porsche. Porsches are historically good at street courses because they squirt off the tight corners so well. It’s key to have a good comfortable car to drive that you really trust because there is no margin for error. Being such a short race it will be super important to qualify well. We have started on the front row the last two races. So we have shown the most consistency in qualifying and have been the fastest Porsche each time. All of the drivers will be enjoying themselves out there and hopefully Cooper and I will be in the top position at end to take the win!”
Alex Job, team owner, is ready for a tight weekend.
“When we run with IndyCar it is always an abbreviated weekend,” Job said. “We don’t get as much track time, it is a two-day schedule with just a 100-minute race. Our team has a lot of experience and that is where we may have a slight advantage. Leh has raced this circuit before and he will be helping Cooper get up to speed. We would like to post a strong finish heading into the Le Mans break.”
The TUDOR Championship Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle Park will run May 30-31. The race will be televised May 31 on Fox Sports 1 starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GTD (GT Daytona) Class is made up of some the world’s most sophisticated cars, including the Porsche 911 GT America, Ferrari 458, Aston Martin, BMW Z4, Viper SRT and Audi R8. All GTD Class cars run on the spec Continental tire.
Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in sports car racing with 70 wins (since 1995); including two Rolex 24 GT Class wins in 1999 and 2013. This record is supported by 48 pole positions and 106 podium finishes. The team has won five championships (GTC 2013, 2012, GT in 2004, 2003 and 2002) complimented by their two GT class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts nine Sebring 12-hour wins.
WeatherTech®: WeatherTech, headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, has long been recognized by the discerning automotive enthusiast as a supplier of accessories of unparalleled quality. In addition to the WeatherTech brand, the company supplies products to many automobile manufacturers (OEM) as an original equipment supplier. More information can be viewed at www.weathertech.com.
For more information about AJR, visit www.alexjobracing.com, or visit our fan page on Facebook by searching WeatherTech Racing.
Further inquiries, please contact Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468.
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