The Racer's Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Racer's Group is a professional sports car racing team located in Petaluma, CA. Owned by Kevin Buckler and his wife Debra, The Racer's Group (also known as TRG) has competed professionally in road racing since 1995.
Contents |
[edit] Early History
In 1992, Kevin Buckler started racing in regional Porsche Club races, methodically working his way through the ranks before entering his first professional race at the 1995 IMSA Grand Prix of California. Against long odds, Kevin won that race, and The Racer’s Group professional race team was begun.
From 1995 until 2001, The Racer’s Group gained experience and respect at some of the best tracks in the world. Just before the 2002 season started, The Racer’s Group received great news – the Porsche factory offered to support the team at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona by lending the services of factory drivers Timo Bernhard and Jörg Bergmeister.
[edit] Major Victories
After seven previous attempts at Daytona, The Racer’s Group, with drivers Kevin, Michael Schrom, Timo Bernhard and Jörg Bergmeister, won the GT class at the 2002 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, setting the wheels in motion for an historic season.
With the success of the team at Daytona, the Porsche factory again rewarded TRG with factory support and drivers for the 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans. In one of the closest GT races in history, Kevin, Timo and Lucas Luhr edged the Freisinger Motorsports team by little more than one minute to capture a win at the team’s maiden run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As the American Le Mans Series and Grand American seasons continued, The Racer’s Group strung together a long series of high finishes, including wins at the Grand Prix of Mosport, Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio and Grand-Am 400 at California Speedway. TRG finished on the podium 14 times in 2002, including 8 in a row in the ALMS.
After the season, Kevin and co-driver Michael Schrom were rewarded handsomely with a 1-2 finish in the Porsche World Cup. The award, given annually to the top independent Porsche drivers in the world, was given to Kevin at the Porsche factory in Weissach, Germany in December, 2002. Kevin and Michael were the first and only teammates to finish 1-2 in the Porsche Cup. Their achievement was a testament to the preparation, skill and dedication it takes to win in professional sports car racing.
Looking to the 2003 season, TRG questioned how it could top its accomplishments from the previous year. As the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona neared, many of the Porsche faithful quietly thought that 2003 could be the year for the marque to return to victory circle as overall winners. Porsche Motorsports helped TRG again, committing Timo and Jörg to the team. When Michael Schrom signed-on, the same lineup from TRG’s 2002 win was once again in place.
During the race, the three-car TRG team worked its way methodically through the field, and in the 8th hour, the #66 car took the overall lead. Though the team’s hopes for all three cars to finish on the podium were dashed by two accidents, the #66 car would never give up the lead. At 1:00 p.m. on February 2, 2003, The Racer’s Group became the first GT-class team to win overall at the 24 Hours of Daytona since 1977.
[edit] Pontiac GTO.R GM Factory Team
2003 and the few years beyond saw TRG continue its success in ALMS and Grand American. In 2005, TRG was selected by GM as a factory team. Pontiac Motorsports and TRG teamed up to race the new generation of Pontiac GTO vehicles, specifically twin GTO.R's. GM brought in Paul Edwards and Jan Magnussen to drive the #64, while TRG put Marc Bunting and Andy Lally in the driver's seat of the #65. The GTO.R's debuted at Daytona and saw success throughout the season.
In 2006, Kelly Collins replaced Magnussen, and the GTO's proved to be powerful vehicles in the GT class. On the back of the GTO's, Pontiac brought home the manufacturer's championship, TRG took 1st and 3rd in the team championship, and drivers Bunting and Lally took home the driver's championship.
Summary of TRG 2006 Accomplishments – GT:
- Marc Bunting and Andy Lally won the GT drivers championship
- Bunting won the Bob Akin Sportsman Award
- TRG won the GT team championship, second straight year
- Pontiac and TRG won the GT manufacturers battle
- 23 podiums in a row extending back to mid season last year
- Lally and Bunting logged five wins, Virginia, Lime Rock, Daytona, Barber, and Miller, with 13 total podium finishes on the season, including qualifying race finishes
- Collins and Edwards have won four races, Mexico City, Homestead, Phoenix and have stood on the podium 10 times, including qualifying race finishes
- A TRG GTO.R has been on the podium in all 12 races this past season, four additional podiums including qualifying races
- Lally leads the Grand Am Rolex Series with three Championships, the most by any driver in series history.
- Lally and Bunting broke the record for most podium finishes with 14 of a possible 16 this year. The old record was their own, set in 2004 of 11 podium finishes.
- Lally has 48 Grand Am podium finishes, the most by any driver in series history.
- 60% win record in ’06, 9 wins in 15 races, 9 including one qualifying race win
- 77% podium finishes in ’06, 23 of a possible 30, between 2 cars
- Three races TRG GTO.Rs have finished first and second
- Six of the races TRG GTO.Rs have both been on the podium
- 23 straight podium appearances, a Grand Am record, including DP from ‘05
- Kelly Collins has led 100 laps in the GT series, first amongst competitors and teammate Andy Lally sits second with 81 laps led.
- The TRG GTO.R Daytona 24 Hour effort was the subject of a six part documentary by noted film maker Sean Heckman and is currently playing on INHD.
[edit] 2007
The GTO program has been discontinued by GM as of the 2006 season end, and TRG is planning to run 2007 with its roots, the Porsche vehicles, as well as potentially running in the DP class.
