The Racers Group Announces The 2020 Pirelli GT4 America 3 Car Campaign

The Racers Group Announces The 2020 Pirelli GT4 America 3 Car Campaign

PETALUMA, CA: TRG is set to launch the 2020 SRO GT4 America season with a strong lineup of dedicated TRG drivers and a fantastic returning sponsor. The three 2019 Porsche GT4 Clubsport MRs will compete in two classes: Sprint and SprintX. TRG welcomes the return of drivers Spencer Pumpelly, Dr. Jim Rappaport, Derek DeBoer, Jason Alexandridis, and Craig Lyons who joins the lineup for the first time since 2017. LaSalle Solutions will be back on board as the team primary sponsor/partner for the 6th year

A full season in Pirelli GT4 America means that guests and team supporters can expect an exciting calendar of race-weekend entertainment provided by the TRG business and hospitality crew. From private race seating and cocktails at The Dalí Museum during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to Adobe Road Wine dinners at beautiful Elkhart Lake or the California Wine Country, this experienced team truly knows how to throw a party! After the incredible sponsor and guest turnout during the National launch of our new wine brand, The Racing Series, it is clear the group’s track record for blending racing and entertainment in new and exciting ways is continuing to draw potential partner/sponsors from all over. 

Spencer Pumpelly - "The upcoming Pirelli season should be a fun challenge in the brand-new, Porsche Cayman GT4. The field will be strong and the short races make for an intense on track battle every time we take the green. The schedule takes us to some exciting venues and, with the Support of LaSalle Solutions, Adobe Road Winery, and The Racers Group, we are positioned for a great 2020.” In Sprint class, Spencer Pumpelly will be racing #66 TRG / Lasalle Solutions Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, and in SprintX, Pumpelly will drive #23 TRG / Stor-it / Mobettah Classic Cars Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport with co-driver Craig Lyons.

Spencer Pumpelly was introduced to racing at a young age while watching his father contest the IMSA GTP Championship in a Ford Prototype during the late 1980s. In 1995 he enrolled in the Skip Barber Racing School and has since raced in many classes of cars successfully. He is a twenty-six year veteran of professional sports car racing and a two- time class winner in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 2016 Continental Sportscar Challenge ST champion. He holds multiple victories in IMSA and SRO competition including class victories in six major IMSA endurance races and has appeared in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times.

Craig Lyons - "I’m very excited about resuming my racing with TRG and honored to be racing with a very talented driver like Spencer Pumpelly. Returning to TRG is like old home week—there are many great people that I have missed.” Craig Lyons will be driving #23 TRG / Stor-it / Mobettah Classic Cars Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport with co-driver Spencer Pumpelly.

Craig Lyons started racing out of a love for cars and because he missed competing in sports. He started off by racing vintage cars, which he continues to do today. He’s found success with his 1968 Porsche 911S in the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA). An avid “car-guy” and collector, Lyons has competed at a high level in the Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA in both the Porsche GT4 and the Aston Martin Martin GT4. He will be making his exciting return with TRG and Spencer Pumpelly this season.

Derek DeBoer - "It's that time of year where I start to feel like a kid the night before Christmas! Starting my 7th season with TRG and returning to the awesome Porsche Cayman GT4 platform — both put a giant smile on my face. This team is like family—getting to work in parallel with Spencer again for the second season—and I couldn't ask for more.

It’s also exciting welcoming Craig Lyons back to our paddock. I can’t say thank you enough to my co-driver, Dr. Jim Rappaport, for standing side by side with me while we both are living our dreams. I’m equally excited in welcoming back my 2016 TRG Teammate, Jason Alexandridis. It’s going to be an epic year...and, of course, stay with me for the ride and follow along with some exciting new format and content from FASTLIFE.TV. Subscribe at www.youtube.com/fastlifetv so you won’t miss a beat.” Derek DeBoer will be driving #17 TRG / FASTLIFE.TV / Silver State Consulting / Sierra Pacific Spine Institute / Rebounderz / BRM Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport with co-drivers Dr. Jim Rappaport and Jason Alexandridis. 

Derek DeBoer's racing career began 18 years ago at Laguna Seca with Skip Barber in a Formula Dodge. Derek has raced in the competitive Formula Renault open-wheel series and spent several years in the ST class of Grand Am. No stranger to the world of endurance racing, Derek won at the 2015 LeMans Aston Martin Festival race, and his first shot at the Rolex 24 at Daytona the same year.

Dr. Jim Rappaport - "I truly have been living the dream. Last year’s first place at the end of the season in the Pirelli SRO GT4 America SprintX series made that dream a reality. 

I am excited to be once again sharing the car with such an incredible co-driver like Derek DeBoer this season and to be backed by a team with the incomparable winning heritage of The Racers Group. I’m looking forward to embracing another season of the constant challenge and incredible fun of seeking endless perfection to win on the track. Racing and my career as a spinal surgeon have many similarities, particularly the challenge perfecting a skill set both mental and physical that’s critical for success both in the Operating Room and the racetrack. The bonus is the fantastic and diverse group of people that one gets to meet through racing. I am truly living the dream—this is going to be another OMG fantastic season."
Dr. Rappaport will be driving #17 TRG / FASTLIFE.TV / Silver State Consulting / Sierra Pacific Spine Institute / Rebounderz / BRM Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport with co-driver Derek DeBoer.

Dr. Rappaport’s passion for motorsports racing comes from his appreciation of the beauty of the cars, fascination with the technology and the challenge of perfecting every detail to win. He began racing four short years ago with the Sports Car Club of America, where he met his now coach and mentor, Robert Orcutt, and was fortunate to win his first race in GT2 in a Porsche Cayman.

Professional driver coach, Robert Orcutt, will once again be joining the TRG squad for the 2020 season. Robert will be working with his longtime friend and client Dr. Jim Rappaport as well as returning TRG driver, Craig Lyons. Robert has a long and illustrious partnership with TRG having driven professionally alongside Kevin and the team back in IMSA GT in the early 2000’s. Robert is one of the most dedicated and hard-working professional driver coaches on the circuit and is a welcome return and partner with TRG.

Jason Alexandridis - "I really like to drive race cars fast; it’s fun to hang out with Derek, maybe we’ll win :-)" Jason Alexandridis will be driving #17 TRG / FASTLIFE.TV / Silver State Consulting / Sierra Pacific Spine Institute / Rebounderz / BRM Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport with co-driver Derek Deboer.

Jason began his professional racing career when he first tested the V8 Vantage GT4 with TRG-AMR at Sonoma Raceway in 2015. He then raced the entire 2016 Season in the #09 Aston Martin Vantage with TRG Aston Martin Racing.

The Racers Group Founder and CEO, Kevin Buckler, had this to say for the 2020 full season entry:

It is fantastic to have a powerful three-car team heading into our first big event at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin and to be running with 5 such incredibly passionate and talented drivers, for the full season! We are gunning for 3 championships... Sprint Pro, SprintX Pro-Am & SprintX Am.

Derek and Jim are going to make a solid duo in their second season racing together in the Pirelli GT4 America SprintX races and will be sharing the #17 car throughout the season with Jason Alexandridis, whom we are excited to partner with Derek again this year for a handful of Pirelli GT4 America SprintX races. They are all terrific drivers, and we are all friends, which makes it even more awesome!

The return of Spencer Pumpelly to the TRG team for this year's championship run will be exciting. Spencer raced with TRG for many years, starting in 2006, and having him back behind the wheel of our TRG/LaSalle Porsche is going to be fantastic. We have such a strong history of several big wins together, including Daytona, so we know this is going to be an exciting year on the track. We are definitely running for a championship and hope to make Porsche proud.

I often get asked what I love most about racing and why I keep doing this. I tell people that the most important thing to me is that all of the people who are with us throughout the year are our friends and our “racing family,” from our drivers, sponsors, and guests to our team members who keep things running behind the scenes. We have close relationships with all of the drivers, partners, sponsors and their families — moms, dads, spouses, and kids — and this makes the weekends just that much more special to look forward to.  TRG is Racing, Winning and Family!

We are also thrilled to have Steven Robb and LaSalle Solutions back as a partner again this year. The company is a leading provider of IT life-cycle asset and maintenance contract management services, one of the largest Cisco resellers. LaSalle's partnership with TRG focuses on strong business-to-business, co-branding and high-end corporate hospitality events. Steve totally gets it and is a “model” for other businesses that are looking to extend an advertising budget and are considering motorsports. Many of the companies we have worked with say that this provided them with the strongest ROI of any of their marketing budget investments. I always say that the paddock is the most “fertile fishing ground” that you can find and Steve and I always find ways to partner with other companies to help them understand the wonderful benefits of the motorsports sponsorship and make sure they receive a solid ROI. He is amazing. 

"Over a half a decade ago LaSalle Solutions and TRG formed a marketing partnership leveraging the racing program and Winery. As with everything we do our expectations were high, but I would not have imagined how successful the program has worked out for us. LaSalle has not only stood on the podium, competed for championships and brought a unique experience to our customers, prospects and partners, but we have also been featured in the NY Times and numerous forms of media. The icing on the cake was to be associated with an Amazon Prime show FastLife.TV and have customers and partners comment after binge watching the racing reality TV show.”
— Steven Robb, President Solutions Group at LaSalle Solutions

We are all very excited to be racing the entire season with Pirelli GT4 America. The Series has put together an awesome schedule that makes it easy for us to compete and to put together the budget. I have a strong personal relationship with most of the staff and they make you feel like “family”. The series has really grown through the acquisition and vision of Stéphane Ratel and SRO, and with Greg Gill’s leadership and tenacity, these guys are here to stay and are only going up! I really respect what the Series is doing and will make my home there this year.

TRG could not do any of this without the fantastic support of Porsche and Porsche Motorsports.  A big shout out to Daniel Armbruster and his team at PMNA for another awesome Porsche racecar and the ever present professional support that we receive. This is our 27th year in motorsports — most of it with Porsche. I have seen all sides of how the different manufacturers provide support and work with their teams, but there’s just nothing like the family that Porsche has created and the results that we have seen together. Sometimes I look back and almost shake my head at some of the things that we have accomplished together but it is all part of the 4 letter word I love to use….TEAM. We are all part of this winning team and we could not do it without our friends and family at Porsche and Porsche Motorsports.

After the season opener in Austin, TRG will head to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for a weekend of action-packed racing and opulent hospitality including fabulous dinners featuring Adobe Road Winery and The Racing Series, intimate access to The Dalí Museum, and up-close access to the race team.