Round Two of 2011 Cayman Interseries This Weekend At Road Atlanta

BRASELTON, April 27, 2011: A strong lineup of former series race winners and some promising newcomers highlight the Cayman Interseries entry list for this weekend’s 35th Annual Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty race at Road Atlanta, April 28 – May 1, one of North America’s premier historic and vintage racing events.

Round 2 of the 2011 Cayman Interseries, the full weekend schedule includes optional testing on Thursday, Friday practice, Saturday morning qualifying and three different races. Sprints will be held Saturday and Sunday while the featured one-hour enduro is scheduled to go green Sunday at 12:45 p.m.

The Cayman Interseries is a modern-day showcase of Porsche competition excellence as well as a rolling tribute to the heritage and history of some of the most famous Porsche racing cars of all time. Conceived and owned by Napleton Porsche of Westmont in Illinois, the Cayman Interseries is open only to 2009 through 2011 Porsche Cayman S models that are raced in near-stock configuration by a competitive group of emerging and sportsman drivers. The heritage connection comes in the form of each Cayman’s livery that has a direct and visible link to a legendary or unique Porsche race car from the past.

Lee Davis made his Cayman Interseries debut with coach and co-driver Ryan Eversley at last year’s Mitty and went on to capture the 2010 endurance class championship in his No. 33 Cayman S that carries the black and red colors of the Advan Porsche 956s and 962s and Luna C Clothing. The duo moved their title defense off to a fast start with a sweep of all three weekend races in last month’s season-opening event at Sebring International Raceway, but Davis knows the perfect beginning doesn’t guarantee an easy run to a repeat title.

“It was a battle last year and I expect nothing less this season,” Davis said. “Remember, I missed Sebring last year and ended up winning, so it’s way too early to make predictions. We had a great start to the season this year though, and we intend to race as hard as we can to defend the title. We have some great drivers in the series and I’m looking forward to more folks joining in.”

Among the new entries at Road Atlanta expected to jump right into the championship picture is the white No. 49 Cayman S of Mark Sandridge and championship-winning driver and team manager Joe Varde. Sandridge tried out the Cayman Interseries last fall at Sebring and is returning with a brand new Cayman S that carries the livery of his own Sandridge Salads Porsche 944s that both he and Varde raced with championship-winning success back in the 1990s.

Another debuting driver expected to factor into the competitive mix right away is Jim Thomason who has purchased the multi-race-winning No. 44 Cayman S that Jim McCormick used to campaign in the famous white and red-and-blue striped Martini Porsche 935 livery. Thomason’s Cayman will be prepared and co-driven by experienced historic and endurance racing driver Ron Zitza, who is also a regular in this season’s SCCA World Challenge Championships.

Returning Cayman Interseries competitors expected to challenge again this weekend include Bill Riddell who drives his green-and-white-striped No. 80 Cayman S modeled after a David Piper Racing Porsche 917K. Riddell was the only driver to join Davis in victory lane in each of the weekend’s three races at the Sebring opener, finishing second in Saturday’s sprint and taking third-place showings in the Sunday finale and the enduro. Riddell will race alongside regular teammate Bill Dennis who drives the popular bright red No. 5 Akin/Coca-Cola Porsche-themed Cayman S. Dennis was a first-time visitor to victory lane at Sebring where he was joined by Jack Baldwin for a second-place finish in the Sunday enduro.

Ron Rashinski also earned his first trip to the victory lane podium at Sebring when he wheeled his blue and yellow No. 6 Cayman S, which pays tribute to the mighty Sunoco/Penske Racing Porsche 917-30, to a third-place finish in the Saturday sprint. Another victory-lane performance by Rashinski is a strong possibility this weekend.

Keith Carroll drove his yellow No. 55 Cayman S, themed after a David Piper Racing Sandeman Porsche 917K, to a sprint race victory in 2010’s season-ending race in Savannah. After missing the Sebring opener due to another racing commitment, Carroll will still be shooting for a second Cayman Interseries event win in a row in his 2011 Cayman Interseries debut this weekend.

Randy Cassling was in position for a top-three finish in the Sebring enduro only to be sidelined with a minor transmission fluid leak. He is headed to Road Atlanta ready for another strong performance in his red, yellow and black No. 18 Cayman S that carries the colors of the factory Shell Porsche 962s.

Follow the Cayman Interseries action from the Mitty all weekend long at www.CaymanInterseries.org.

Noteworthy

- Friday’s off-track schedule features the second “Know What the Pros Know” seminar, a free and informative program being presented at all Cayman Interseries races this season. “Know What the Pros Know” is hosted by E. Paul Dickinson, Cayman Interseries Managing Director, and features discussion on car set-up, track information, driving tips and review of a detailed circuit map. The seminar will be held during the Friday lunch break in the meeting room at the base of the Road Atlanta tower immediately following the drivers meeting. Open to all registered HSR competitors, the program also features championship-winning driver and motorsports safety pioneer Jim Downing as the guest speaker. Downing is also racing in and serving as the Grand Marshal of 35th Annual Mitty this weekend.

- David Heinemeier Hansson won several Cayman Interseries races last season, including the Mitty enduro. He will miss the chance to defend his Road Atlanta victory, however, as Hansson has joined Porsche Napleton Racing (PNR) in stepping up to a full-season campaign in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama this year in the No. 37 PNR/37signals Porsche GT3. Round Two of the GT3 Cup season is also this weekend with a pair of 45-minute sprint races at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah.

- One of the most popular events on the schedule, the Mitty marks the only Georgia appearance for the Cayman Interseries this season after making four visits to the Peach State last year. The series returned to Road Atlanta in September in addition to running a pair of events in Savannah in 2010. Davis picked up victories at both Savannah races and the fall Road Atlanta event and will be shooting for his fourth consecutive Cayman Interseries win in Georgia this weekend.

- Davis, Eversley and Carroll also drove the championship-winning No. 33 Cayman S to a class victory at Road Atlanta last December in the NASA Santa’s Toy Run 8 Hour endurance race.

About The Cayman Interseries

Established in 2009 by Napleton Porsche of Westmont, Illinois, the Cayman Interseries is North America’s only auto racing championship featuring the exclusive use of the 320-horsepower Porsche Cayman S. Sanctioned by Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), the Cayman Interseries conducted its first official season in 2010 and crowned a pair of champion drivers in both the sprint and endurance racing formats. Races are run on legendary circuits such as Daytona, Sebring, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta and other premier venues, primarily on HSR and SVRA event weekends. Every competing Porsche Cayman S is exclusively supplied and prepared by Napleton Porsche and each car competes with an assigned and specific heritage livery themed after a famous Porsche race car from the past. Learn more about the Cayman Interseries at www.CaymanInterseries.org. Phone calls direct to Napleton Porsche may be made at (630) 725-0911 and email inquiries can be sent to racing@napletonmotorsports.com.