Hearn Motorsports to Give Another Young Driver a Shot at Laguna

Hearn to Give Another Young Driver a Shot at Laguna 

 

  

 


MONTEREY, Calif., October 10, 2005 - Hearn Motorsports (Las Vegas, Nev.) is
set to close its second season in the Star Mazda Series North American
Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend. The Las Vegas-based
team, owned by IndyCar driver Richie Hearn (Henderson, Nev.), will give the
seat in its premier No. 70 entry to Ryan Spencer-Smith. Spencer-Smith, of
nearby Napa, Calif. is the sixth driver that Hearn has put behind the wheel
of a Hearn Motorsports Star Mazda this season. In that time, the team has
earned three podium finishes including its first career victory at Mosport
International Raceway with Jay Howard (England) in September. 

 

Spencer-Smith has had a breakout year in motorsports this season. The Star
Mazda Series will be his second formula car premiere of 2005 having debuted
in the Champ Car Toyota Atlantic Championship in San Jose earlier this year.
He finished 12th on the street course. The 19 year-old driver has earned
four SCCA National victories, including three at Infineon Raceway driving in
a Formula Mazda and one at Daytona International Speedway in an SCCA
Atlantic's entry, thus far this year. Spencer-Smith is in his fourth year of
motorsports having competed in karts since 2002. He made his auto racing
debut in a Jim Russell Mazda in 2003. The eight-race 2005 season is his
first full year of competing in cars. 

 

Hearn Motorsports, which has shown well at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca, promises to show speed again this weekend in the
season-finale. Hearn, who recently announced a team expansion into both the
Champ Car Atlantic Championship and the Formula BMW USA Series for 2006,
also brings third-year driver Brian Thienes (Huntington Beach, Calif.) in
the No. 77 Thienes Engineering/ Hearn Motorsports Star Mazda to the Monterey
Peninsula this weekend. Demonstrating the team's strength, Thienes, who
joined Hearn Motorsports last year, is currently in the thick of the Expert
Series Championship in third-place, just two points out of second, after
eleven of twelve races. The Expert Series is for Star Mazda drivers ages
30-44 and runs for overall and 'class' points in each Star Mazda race. 

 

The first official practice for the Saturday's 45-minute race will be
Friday, October 14 at 8 AM (PT). A 45-minute qualifying session will take
the green at 8 AM, Saturday. The race will start at 1:10 PM, Saturday. The
SPEED television broadcast can be seen November 19 at 1 PM (ET). The Mosport
victory will be aired on SPEED, October 23rd at 1 PM (ET). 

 

Richie Hearn, owner: "It wasn't my plan to run six young drivers this year
but it has worked out pretty well for us. It has been good for our team to
develop young guys and try and get the most out of them. We have had the
chance to have some really talented guys in the No. 70 and I think Ryan
could be the best of them all. He's young but has been really fast in
everything he has run. We have a lot in the works for next year but right
now I am just looking forward to running Ryan and Brian at Laguna and ending
the year on a high note."

 

For more on Hearn Motorsports and its 2005 Pro Formula Mazda Series' effort
please visit www.RichieHearn.com <http://www.richiehearn.com/> . More on
Brian Thienes can be found at www.ThienesEngineering.com
<http://www.thienesengineering.com/> . 

 

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Digital images and complete bio information available upon request. Editors,
please do not publish any contact information other than web sites.  Thank
you. 

 

Contact: Tom Moore, Hearn Motorsports, Inc.: 

615-778-1614 (office), 615-509-5000 (cell), tom@darkhorsecom.com