After competing at the Utah Motorsports Campus less than three weeks ago, M1 GT Racing will be back on track this weekend the Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) event at the famed Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Bringing two Audi Sport customer racing machines, five drivers will pilot the sleek R8’s around the twenty turn, 3.427-mile-long natural terrain road course in Austin, Texas in the PWC GTS SprintX division.
Dubbed the Grand Prix of Texas and taking place August 31 to September 3, the PWC program will run a little different than a normal event weekend. Utilizing one of the days as a make up day for a previous event weekend that was cancelled, M1 GT Racing will have different driver combinations in different vehicles as they look to match the allotted run time and hunt for podiums during two grueling events in Texas.
“COTA will be a little different feel for us as we need to bring two cars to the event,” explained M1 GT Racing’s Remi Lanteigne. “Each driver in our cars have raced with us in the past so familiarity will not be an issue. We will be looking to have a smooth, productive and winning event weekend.”
“I am really excited about being back in the car,” added Walt Bowlin. “This is my first race of the season and I am pumped to get on track. The Circuit of the Americas is an awesome track and is a very challenging. It really requires precise detail in your driving. I will be teaming up with Lars Viljoen who is super quick and has driven a GTE Corvette here so he knows his way around this track. I look forward to the comradery with the team and other drivers. It is great to be back.”
Lars Viljoen continued, “I am extremely excited to race with M1 GT Racing and Walt Bowlin again. It is my first SprintX race this year and I love working with all the guys from M1 GT Racing. We will be looking to achieve a good team result within the AM class. COTA is a great facility and tough challenge for every driver. My first race there was in the WEC 6-hour race last year in the GTE-AM in the Corvette C7R where I scored a podium finish on my debut on the world championship. Very good memories from this facility and I will be looking to make more this weekend with M1 GT Racing and Audi.”
“I am pretty excited to be getting back in the car with the M1 GT squad and especially at COTA. It is a renowned track and well known, so I’m anxious to get back out there,” expressed David Ostella. “I was last here in a PC car so curious to see how well the Audi R8 LMS will be around this circuit. The Pirelli World Challenge program could not have picked a better place for the make up race from earlier in the season, so just like in that race, the goal is to perform the best I can and to make sure we can setup a car that will perform in the races all weekend. I am also very happy to be at the track again with James and Jason and able to help them as much as possible.”
“I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel with M1 GT Racing the Audi R8 LMS. This will be the second time in the car for me and at a track that I have tested at recently,” explained Jason Bell. “I’m excited to see how we can perform as a team. We have multiple cars running so we will have plenty of data to pull from and we should have a very successful weekend!”
“First off, I want to say that this weekend I’m racing for all the victims from the aftermath of this devastating hurricane that has ravaged this part of Texas. Hopefully our racing can bring a bit of joy during this difficult time for these citizens,” expressed James Dayson. “I’m pumped to get back at it. It’s great to have the triple header this weekend. I’ll be doing the make up race with David and then back at it with Jason for the latter two. COTA is a phenomenal track with some awesome corners, especially the flat out esses. Austin is an incredible city so the whole event is one that I’m really excited for.”
For more information on M1 GT Racing, please visit them online at www.M1GTRacing.com and be sure to follow M1GTRacing on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/M1GTRacing), Twitter, Instagram and You Tube all at @M1GTRacing. To contact Remi Lanteigne please email to Remi@M1GTRacing.com. For marketing and media inquiries, please contact Media@M1GTRacing.com.
Photos by: Chris Green Photography