for 2013 Pirelli World Challenge SeasonFull-Year Support for the Fight against Neurofibromatosis with GMG Follows Successful Season-Opening Fundraising Campaign of nearly $700,000 at the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Park Place MotorsportsHaving most recently raised nearly $700,000 in the 2013 Rolex 24 At Daytona fundraising campaign, the Childrens Tumor Foundation (CTF) Racing4Research (R4R) announced today that its motorsports fundraising program for the fight against neurofibromatosis (NF) will be anchored this year by Pirelli World Challenge Championships GT competitors Global Motorsport Group (GMG) and its Audi R8 LMS GT class entries.
The announcement of the year-long CTF/R4R fundraising campaign with GMG was made just days before this weekends season-opening Pirelli World Challenge Championships doubleheader, March 2224, on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.We couldnt be happier or more fortunate to have this great new relationship with everyone at GMG, said Childrens Tumor Foundation Racing4Research National Program Director Jill Beck. We added Pirelli World Challenge to our Racing4Research program last year, and we started it off in impressive fashion when we were fortunate to win both weekend races in our very first starts in the series. Ultimately the real winners are the kids, our 'NF Heroes,' who not only benefit from the research funds raised but who also join the team at the track and enjoy a rare day away from the daily struggles of living with NF. We are delighted to be able to continue this program in 2013 with GMG.The CTF and its unique R4R program is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by NF, a common yet under-recognized genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. Neurofibromatosis can lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer and excruciating and disabling pain.
Found in one of every 3,000 children born, NF is a more common disorder than many more widely known illnesses, including cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The CTF/R4R program raises funds and awareness for the fight against NF through a busy and diverse racing program that is annually anchored by a Rolex 24 program and, for the second consecutive year, a season-long campaign in Pirelli World Challenge. Donations to CTF/R4R can be made directly at www.Racing4Research.org.The 2013 GMG Pirelli World Challenge effort includes team principal and driver James Sofronas, veteran competitor Alex Welch, familiar GMG driver Bret Curtis and experienced GRAND-AM Road Racing and American Le Mans Series competitor Duncan Ende, who will be getting his first experience in Pirelli World Challenge this year. All four drivers and their Audis, as well as GMG-entered Pontiac Solstice GTS-class car for team regular Bill Ziegler, will all race in support of CTF/R4R this weekend at the St. Petersburg opener. A fifth Audi for former GRAND-AM Road Racing GS Champion Anders Hainer may also be added to the GMG stable later in the season and will be another on-track campaigner for the CTF/R4R cause.Last years CTF/R4R presence in Pirelli World Challenge was anchored by champion driver and popular SPEED TV personality Justin Bell who drove the majority of the series races in the No. 50 Tiger Racing Mustang Boss 302S. Bell drove the Mustang to victory in both the Saturday and Sunday races a year ago in St. Petersburg but is primarily focusing on his ever-expanding television career this year, although he has not ruled out a return to the track this season.The new relationship with GMG follows another successful kick-off to the annual CTF/R4R program at the Rolex 24 in late January. It was the fifth-consecutive year that the CTF/R4R annual fundraising campaign began with the day-long race in Daytona but the first with Park Place Motorsports and No. 73 Porsche 911 GT3 drivers Patrick Long, Daniel Graeff, Spencer Pumpelly, Patrick Lindsey and Jason Hart.
The team finished 16th after a problem-plagued but determined run to the checkered flag, but the big winners were once again the 50 NF Heroes that showed up in full force, along with their families and friends, for an enthusiastic group of supporters who cheered on their team through the grueling race. So named for their unwavering courage in fighting the disorder, NF Heroes are the brave young people tackling NF head on who are nothing short of an amazing inspiration for the teams and drivers that are fortunate enough to compete in their honor.
A second Park Place Motorsports entry, the No. 72 Park Place Motorsports/Vess Energy Services Porsche GT3, driven by Mike Vess, JF Dumoulin, Grant Phipps, Chuck Cole and Mike Skeen, also featured the CTF logo. The team finished 14th and the pair of CTF/R4R GT3s crossed the finish line in tandem for the only photo finish of the race.
Round One of the Pirelli World Championship will take place, Saturday, March 23, at 5:00 p.m. EDT, with round two taking place the next day at 10:25 a.m. EDT. Live coverage will be streamed at World-ChallengeTV.com, as well as an encore telecast on NBC Sports on Sunday, April 7, at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Noteworthy
- The Park Place Porsches anchored the CTF/R4R program at Daytona but they werent the only entries in the Rolex 24 racing for the fight against NF. In fact, CTF/R4R made it to victory lane for the first time at the World Center of Racing not once but twice in this years race. The overall winning No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley of Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Charlie Kimball also carried the CTF/R4R logo, the first time a top-level Daytona Prototype team supported the cause. The winning GX class No. 16 Porsche Cayman S of Shane Lewis, David Donohue, Dr. Jim Norman and Nelson Canache Jr. also raced in support of CTF/R4R. No. 16 team entrants Napleton Racing are longtime CTF/R4R supporters and first joined in the fight against NF at Rennsport Reunion IV two years ago.
About Children's Tumor Foundation/Racing4Research: Developed by the Childrens Tumor Foundation, the Racing4Research (R4R) program utilizes competitive, professional auto racing as a vehicle to increase awareness of neurofibromatosis and raise funds for research through corporate sponsorship, personal donations, and individual fundraising by NF Heroes: children and adults from around the country who live with neurofibromatosis. NF affects one in every 3,000 children, more than cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Huntingtons disease combined, and can lead to a wide variety of complications, including blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer, deafness, disfigurement, learning disabilities and excruciating and disabling pain. The Racing4Research program offers children and families living with the disorder a uniquely empowering weekend, and has raised over $2 million dollars since its inception six years ago.
Donations can be made at www.racing4research.org.
