Two-thirds of the winning GT class driving team from the inaugural race of the American Le Mans Series in 1999 will reunite and join with a young rising star of road racing for the 52nd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Mar. 17-20 at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway.
Veteran driver Kelly Collins of Corona del Mar, Calif., has been named to join Cort Wagner of Pacific Palisades, Calif., and Patrick Long of Oak Park, Calif., in the lead Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for The Racer's Group/New Century Mortgage team in the opening event of the 2004 American Le Mans series season.
Collins, who was a driver for the factory Corvette team in the ALMS the past four seasons, joins season-long teammates Wagner and Long to form an All-California driving squad. Collins and Wagner drove together at Sebring in 1999, taking GT class honors in the first race for the newly-formed ALMS, and Collins tutored both Wagner and Long during his days as a racing school instructor.
Long, who will race fulltime in the ALMS this season for the first time, has been groomed for future stardom by the Porsche factory and will co-drive with Wagner for the remainder of the season. Wagner was the first GT class driving champion of the ALMS in 1999.
"I'm just happy to have a rear-view mirror and a motor behind me again," said Collins of being back in a Porsche. "This is a great situation for all of us to be in. Cort and I have been friends forever, going all the way back to his days as a student of mine. We've been very successful teammates and I'm thrilled to be teammates again with him in such a good, competitive car.
"Patrick Long is also a friend and former student of mine, which I suppose makes me the old guy in the car," said the 38-year-old Collins. "It's fantastic to run a car with my friends."
In addition to his win at Sebring, Collins also won twice for Corvette in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, the other long-distance race on the American Le Mans Series schedule. He recorded six ALMS wins during his time with Corvette.
"We are really excited and honored to have Kelly on board," said Kevin Buckler, owner of The Racer's Group team. "His experience at Sebring and in a multitude of GT cars will definitely add a major strength to our team for this event. We've also known each other for a long time and the chemistry among he and our team is fantastic - that's a very important element of a winning effort."
The Racer's Group has been successful in long-distance races but is looking for its first win in America's oldest and most prestigious sports car race. The team took GT class honors in both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona in 2002 and won Daytona overall in 2003. The team has also won twice in American Le Mans Series competition, both victories coming in 2002.
The 52nd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will get the green flag at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 20, and will be televised live from flag-to-flag by the Speed Channel. The American Le Mans Series Radio Web will have live coverage online at americanlemans.com.
Ticket information is available online at sebringraceway.com and americanlemans.com or by calling (863) 655-1442 (toll-free 800-626-RACE).
