Intersport Racing - Mazda Raceway wrap-up
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 2007 Contact: John Thawley ~ johnt@c2group.com Tough Break At Monterey Can’t Dampen Intersport Team Spirit And Plans For 2008 Monterey, Calif. — With the 2007 American Le Mans Series Championship now in the record books, hope springs eternal throughout the competitors’ paddock. And while their season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca may not have ended as they might have hoped, Intersport Racing, the Series’ perennial privateer team, symbolizes that renewed hope as they look forward to the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring in 2008. The #37 Very Berry Exotics AER powered Lola LMP1 car performed well throughout the week. Having rebuilt the car after an incident at Petit Le Mans, the team had the car back up-to-speed and turning very competitive times. “I can’t believe what a great job our guys did getting the car repaired and ready in time,�?? acknowledge team owner and driver, Clint Field. “After the shunt at Road Atlanta, the car had to come right down to the tub. It’s unbelievable that the car was not only here and ready, but was extremely competitive.�?? Though Jon Field started the race with blistering lap times, the team couldn’t escape their recent string of bad luck. “Dad [Jon Field] had a great first session,�?? said Clint. “We were having a ball watching him tear up the track. When he came in for a driver change, we thought it would be best to double stint the tires thinking it might be better than sending Richard [Berry] out with cold tires. Unfortunately, the temperatures had dropped drastically, cooling enough to still catch Richard off guard. Unfortunately, he had a spin heading into turn 6. So, that ended the race and our season.�?? “Regardless,�?? continued Clint, “we’re extremely pleased with the new car and we’re confident we’ll make more progress with it in the off-season. We’re planning several test sessions and we’ll do the Series’ Wheels Down test in the spring at Sebring. Believe me, we’re not down about this at all. Everyone is happy with the car and happy to be racing in the American Le Mans Series. We’re still having a ball!�?? Jon Field was recently acknowledged as being one of only three people who have competed in every season of the American Le Mans Series since its inception. Beginning with the 1998 Petit Le Mans, Field’s has competed in the Series both as a driver and a team owner. 2008 will mark the 10th season for the American Le Mans Series. Earlier this week, the Series announced its 2008 television schedule. The Series introduced a key new network partner, welcomed back a long- standing network broadcast friend and reaffirmed its 10-year relationship with SPEED through its recently announced new three-year agreement with the motorsports network. For the first time in Series history, ESPN on ABC will join the mix of network broadcasters and will feature "three-in-a-row" second quarter event coverage from venues in St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Houston. It is the first time in American Le Mans Series history that it will be so heavily exposed early in its season during the important second quarter sports viewing season. "We could not have a better start to our season than these four races," said Scott Atherton, CEO/President of the American Le Mans Series, "and to add a new television partner like ABC with its ESPN brand certainly validates the prestige and growth of our Series." "We look forward to the opportunity to televise the American Le Mans Series and help it continue to grow," said Tag Garson, ABC senior director of programming and acquisitions. "We're very pleased to be associated with this great American road racing series." In July, the Series returns to the airwaves of NBC Sports - the network of the Beijing Olympics next August - for the first time since 2004 from Mid-Ohio and the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (October) in the chase to its four-class championships. "We at NBC believe that the American Le Mans Series is one of the most exciting and fastest growing sports entities across the board," said Jon Miller, NBC's executive vice president of sports programming. "Our telecast from Mid-Ohio allows us to showcase one of America's classic sports car courses just as the American Le Mans Series is gathering momentum going into the second half of its season." "The American Le Mans Series has become one of the marquee race series in America," said Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. "It is certainly fitting that a premier network such as NBC recognizes the special event here in Monterey as we conclude the American Le Mans Series season." SPEED, now reaching more than 74 million cable households in the United States and more than five (5) million in Canada, opens the season with its traditional endurance coverage of the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 15. The 2008 Series television slate also balances the exposure for SPEED's seven airings with Salt Lake City (May 18) and Lime Rock (July 12) before NBC Sports airs the Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio on July 20. Then, SPEED picks up the chase for the Series' championship with consecutive events from Road America, Mosport, Detroit's Belle Isle and Road Atlanta (Petit Le Mans) before NBC Sports caps the telecast season from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA. Earlier this month at the annual State of the Series address, Atherton announced a new three-year agreement with SPEED which will telecast up to seven American Le Mans Series events per season through 2010. Internationally, the Series will continue to air "live" on MotorsTV in Europe to its 31 countries and 45 million viewers in four languages as part of an on-going multi-year agreement. "Live" platforms in Mexico and Latin America with Fox Latin America channels and Russia with terrestrial 7TV are expected to continue with various upgrades. The American Le Mans Series also has a partnership with Greenlight Television that delivers race highlights and three weekly anthology programs - Motorsports Mundial, Planet Speed and Max Power - to nearly 500 million television viewers worldwide. The American Le Mans Series features 12 races in 2008, including the prestigious season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (March 15) and the 1,000-mile/10-hour Petit Le Mans. All other races are sprint endurance formats, ranging from an hour, 40 minutes at Long Beach to four hours at both Road America and the Series finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. All events are televised by CBS, NBC or SPEED. The 2008 American Le Mans Series will kick off with the 2008 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 15, 2008 from historic Sebring International Raceway. SPEED will provide live television coverage. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com. 2008 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES TELEVISION SCHEDULE March 15, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, SPEED April 5, Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, ABC April 19, Grand Prix of Long Beach, ABC April 26, Lone Star Grand Prix Presented by MSR Houston, ABC May 18, Utah Grand Prix, SPEED July 12, American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, SPEED July 19, Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, NBC Sports August 9, Generac 500 at Road America, SPEED August 24, Grand Prix of Mosport, SPEED August 30, Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, SPEED October 5, Petit Le Mans, SPEED October 18, Monterey Sports Car Championships, NBC Sports Very Berry Exotics specializes in buying and selling some of the world's more exotics and hard to find automobiles. Not only do they sell cars already in the inventory, Very Berry Exotics will search for automobiles that are their customer's dream cars. Company owner Richard Berry founded Very Berry Exotics in 2004 and is himself a racer. Based in Chicago, Klein Tools is a family-owned and operated company which has been in business since 1857, designing, developing, producing and marketing worldwide quality tools and protective equipment to meet the demanding needs of trade professionals who earn a living with their tools. The company, which initially grew as the premier plier manufacturer for the telecommunications and electrical industries, offers hand tools used in construction, electronics, mining, electrical, communications, aviation, security, audio/video and other fields. Klein Tools, which employs approximately 1,000 people nationwide, began its motorsports association to support the marketing efforts of the company and its distributorships in key markets. Klein Tools’ motorsports sponsorship has also led to the development of products specifically designed for the motor racing industry including spark plug pliers and protective wheel gun covers now used by sports car and open wheel racing teams. The American Le Mans Series is the premium brand of motorsport in North America, featuring high-tech sports cars from the most prestigious automobile manufacturers in the world. Its unique four classes of competition showcase exotic, open-top prototypes and sophisticated production-based GT cars, all competing on the track at the same time. The American Le Mans Series competes at the premier road racing tracks across North America and at selected temporary street circuits in major urban markets. With a 2007 television package that includes five network broadcasts on CBS and NBC and seven telecasts on SPEED, plus live broadcasts across Europe, the Series delivers a global marketing platform that is unmatched in motorsports. The Series, founded in 1999 by Georgia entrepreneur Don Panoz, represents a mirror image to the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most famous and authentic automobile race. The American Le Mans Series features elite marques such as Audi, Porsche, Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Panoz, and premium brands such as Michelin, Yokohama, Kumho, Lowe’s, Shell and many others.