Picturesque Mont-Tremblant Welcomes Race Teams

MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec (September 11, 2002) -- Race teams began to arrive for this weekend's 6 Heures du Circuit Mont-Tremblant today and were greeted with pleasant fall temperatures and colorful mountainsides from the autumn leaves. The majority of the Rolex Sports Car Series and Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series race teams will participate in a promoter's test day on Thursday in preparation for this weekend's inaugural event at the picturesque Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant.

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Championship Lead Up For Grabs

The lead in the Rolex Series SportsRacing Prototype championship will be up for grabs this weekend. Doran Lista Racing has held the lead in the SRP team standings since winning the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. However, four victories by the Dyson Racing Team has moved the team to within two points of the leaders in the latest standings. A win by Dyson's #16 Judd Crawford this weekend would propel the team into first place.

Doran Lista has been plagued with problems in recent races. The team suffered engine problems at both Watkins Glen races and lost its lead at the VIR 500 after an off-track excursion that caused bodywork damage. The team hopes to flee the gremlins that have caused its strong points lead to slip away and return to Victory Lane in Mont-Tremblant.

Didier Theys, who currently leads the SRP driver point standings, will pilot the #27 Judd-powered Dallara with the father-son duo of Fredy Lienhard Sr. and Fredy Lienhard Jr. While both father and son have raced the Dallara this season, this weekend will mark the first time the Lienhard duo has competed in the car together.

Dyson Racing will once again field the #16 Judd-powered Crawford, after capturing the Crawford chassis its first-ever victory at the VIR 500 earlier in the month. Rookie driver Chris Dyson and Englishman Andy Wallace will share duties behind the wheel in the team's quest for its third-straight Rolex Series championship.

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Lewis Trains U.S. Secret Service Agents

Grand-Am Cup driver Shane Lewis has been using his driving skills to help fight the war on terrorism by training agents of the United States Secret Service in high performance driving tactics. Lewis, an instructor for the Justin Bell GT Motorsports Experience Racing School, has been giving the lessons in high performance driving tactics at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"When I was approached about working on this program I immediately realized the impact of what I would be teaching," said Lewis. "To be this close to the anniversary of September 11th really helps remind you just how important this is. Knowing that what I am training may very well help protect the President is almost impossible to comprehend. I just hope these agents never have to use the skills we've covered. It is one of the great privileges in my life to be able to work with these fine agents."

The driving technique Lewis taught the agents is slightly different than what he teaches in his usual classes. "They have a different driving style than we traditionally teach, because their mission is to get the President to a safe place as quickly as possible, not get to a checkered flag first. Keeping that in mind helped me tailor a program to their specific needs."

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King Motorsports Changes Driver Lineup, Championship On The Line

King Motorsports is in pursuit of its second-straight Sport Touring I championship in Grand-Am Cup. The team is currently second in the class team standings, and its drivers, Bob Endicott and Mike VanSicklen, are tied for third in the driver standings. However, the team will enter the eighth race of the season without VanSicklen behind the wheel.

"Mike was going to miss all of the practice due to other business commitments. With Mont-Tremblant being a new track to everyone, we couldn't expect Mike to be able to come into this class, which is very competitive, and be able to get up to speed," explained team manager Scott Zellner.

Michael Galati, a long-time friend of Endicott, will replace VanSicklen this weekend in the King Motorsports #64 Acura Integra R. Galati has raced in Grand-Am Cup in the past with the Honda of America Racing Team.

With three races remaining, King Motorsports sits six points out of the first-place team of Villaconn International in the ST I team championship hunt, while Endicott and VanSicklen are tied for third, 13 points behind the leader, Jean-Francois Dumoulin.

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Conflict Keeps Papis From Race

Max Papis will be forced to miss the 6 Heures du Circuit Mont-Tremblant due to a scheduling conflict. Papis was originally slated to run in the Falcon Racing #86 Ferrari 360 GT, but announced on Tuesday he will not make the race due to other commitments.