The drivers for the No. 007 Aston Martin entry of TRG-AMR at next month’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona have been revealed by the team, as has a unique non-driving partnership with Sahara Force India F1 Team’s Sergio Pérez.
Consisting of three Mexican drivers and a Briton, the No. 007’s driver lineup is meant to stand as an example of Mexico’s motorsports resurgence, along with the Pérez partnership, the return of the F1 Mexican Grand Prix this year and the FIA World Endurance Championship’s inaugural 6 Hours of Mexico City in 2016.
As the first of a series of moves by the California-based squad to partner with Mexican drivers looking to enter the North American sports car racing scene, Mexico’s Ricardo Pérez, Antonio Pérez and Santiago Creel will be joined in piloting the No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin at Daytona at the end of January by Britain’s Lars Viljoen.
“On behalf of everyone here at TRG, I am thrilled to be making this announcement regarding our partnership with Sergio Pérez and the outstanding driver lineup that we have assembled,” said TRG-AMR CEO Kevin Buckler.
“This has been a long-term project as we have been working on putting together this type of Mexican driver program since our first Daytona 24, with Carlos Slim and Jimmy Morales in partnership with the team in 2005.
“We want to offer Hispanic drivers an opportunity to compete in sports car racing at the highest level, and look forward to developing this program further by creating opportunities for companies with U.S. and Mexican business interests via the exposure of motorsports.”
Added Sergio regarding his new partnership with the team: “I’m proud to put this team of strong drivers in the hands of TRG-Aston Martin Racing for one of the biggest sports car races of the year. Our sponsors will love this new exposure, and I know the Mexican fans will be cheering our guys through all 24 hours!”
Three-time Súper Copa Telcel Mexican Touring Car Championship title winner and victor at the 2014 Ferrari Challenge AM World Final in Abu Dhabi, Ricardo Pérez de Lara was recently named the 2015 champion of the Súper Copa Telcel Trucks series.
Sergio’s brother Antonio Pérez, 2008 NASCAR Mexico Corona Series champion, won the Súper Copa Telcel title in the Super V8 category this year after finishing third in last year’s Mexican Touring Car Championship.
In driving for the team at Daytona in January, Santiago Creel will reunite with TRG-AMR following a brief stint with the team in the 2014 Continental Tire sports car Challenge and this year’s Pirelli World Challenge season. With strong finishes at the Dubai 24 Hour on his resume, Creel was also a front-runner in both the USA and Canada editions of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.
Lars Viljoen will complete the car’s lineup for the 54th running of the famed 24-hour race with the trio of Mexican drivers after five years of prototype and GT racing experience across multiple series in Europe.
Though it has been mentioned recently, a team release made no mention of a second TRG-AMR entry at Daytona. An additional Aston Martin on the grid for the race, set for January 30-31, 2016, could either be fielded by TRG or by Aston Martin Racing itself.
