Autosport Development - Immediate Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: John Thawley 248.227.0110 johnt@c2group.com Autosport Development GTO Makes North American Racing Debut Hayner turns first laps in practice at Sebring Sebring, Fla – March 17, 2004 After a back-breaking pace of developing a race car in just six weeks, Stu Hayner and the Autosport Development team turned the first wheel on the #5 GMAC Commercial Finance / Trenton Forging GTO today at Sebring. “This is a great feeling,” remarked Trenton Forging President, David Moxlow. “These guys have poured their heart and soul into getting the car to this point. It’s unbelievable to see it out there on the track. Our core crew is Rob Wanamaker, Dave Marchioni and Rob Hahn… they’ve done an amazing job. We owe a lot to them.” “We’re taking a very realistic approach to this first race,” added Crew Chief, Rob Wanamaker. “This is strictly a test. Stu [Hayner] is the best source of feedback you could ask for… so his instructions are simply to shake the car down, find the bugs and get ready for Lime Rock.” After the first session, Hayner was very pleased. “The car feels real nice,” he said. “I’m pleasantly surprised. I mean, being realistic, we’ve got a long way to go. But, I didn’t expect it to feel as good as it did…. Not the first time out anyway.” “We have local Pontiac dealer Alan Jay on board for the weekend and they’ll be joining us at the track,” Hayner added. “It’ll be fun to have them here for the maiden voyage. Obviously, we’ve got big plans for the team and the rest of the season, so it’s nice to have this first step behind us. We did some laps, the wheels stayed on and we’re going to build from here.” GMAC Commercial Finance, considered a leader in its segment of the financial services market, provides accounts receivable management and financing, asset-based lending, equipment finance/leasing, retail financing, structured financing, and supply chain management services to a wide variety of clients in diverse industries. Loan facilities are in the $2 million to $200 million range. With locations in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the Company is positioned to provide lending services worldwide. Trenton Forging Company from Trenton Michigan is a leading producer of custom impression die forgings to a wide variety of industries. They have a strong reputation as a supplier of choice to many Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive/light truck suppliers. Trenton produces multiple cavity die forgings to meet customers exacting specifications and offers a wide range of high quality custom forging products with exceptional customer service. In association with Trenton Forging, Autosport Development will compete as part of the SPEED World Challenge GT Series. All events are nationally televised on SPEED channel (formerly Speedvision). The SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT season will make its first standing start of 2004 at Sebring International Raceway for the fourth-consecutive year as part of the 52nd Mobil1 Twelve Hours of Sebring week March 17-20. In 2004, the series will visit Lime Rock Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Infineon Raceway, Portland International Raceway, Mosport International Raceway, Road America, Road Atlanta Motorsports Center and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For more information about Autosport Development and the Stu Hayner #5 GTO, visit www.GoAutosport.com For more information about Trenton Forging, visit www.trentonforging.com For more information about GMAC Commercial Finance, visit www.gmaccf.com For more information about SCCA SPEED World Challenge, visit www.world-challenge.com IMPORTANT NOTICE: A High-resolution rendering of Stu Hayner’s 2004 #5 Pontiac GTO is available in two views at http://www.johnthawley.com/comp_rendering.jpg
