Southern California Natives Michael Avenatti, Joe Foster and Bob Faieta Set for Home Race Along With Hollywood-Based Teammate Patrick Dempsey; Soccer Superstar and Team Principal Alessandro Del Piero to Attend First RaceLONG BEACH, Calif. (April 18, 2013)Dempsey Del Piero Racing is hoping to combine a little home-field advantage with a dose of international star power this weekend for some winning success at the 39th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach where drivers Patrick Dempsey, Michael Avenatti, Joe Foster and Bob Faieta will race the teams pair of Tullys Coffee Porsche 911 GT3s in Saturdays Tequila Patrn American Le Mans Series.
The Tequila Patrn American Le Mans Series at Long Beach two-hour sprint race can be seen live this Saturday, April 20, on ESPN3 starting at 7:15 p.m. EDT/4:15 p.m. PDT. The race will also air on ABC at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 21, and ESPN3 also shows live qualifying starting at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 19.
Dempsey Del Piero Racing is a new international sports car racing team established by Dempsey, the popular actor/race car driver, and Italian soccer superstar Alessandro Del Piero. The new team, and Foster and Avenatti, will be making its Long Beach debut while Del Piero is scheduled to attend his first American sports car race this weekend.
We are really excited for the whole weekend because this is the first race where Alessandro Del Piero will be able to come and hang out with us, Foster said. We are looking forward to getting him indoctrinated and addicted to racing like we all are and really just introduced to his teammates.
Foster will co-drive the No. 27 Tullys Porsche 911 GT3 Dempsey Del Piero Racing entry with Dempsey while Avenatti and Faieta will share the sister Dempsey Del Piero Racing No. 10 Tullys Porsche 911 GT3. As international soccer fans are well familiar, Del Piero has a long association with the number 10.
Foster, Avenatti and Faieta are all originally from the greater Los Angeles area while Maine-native Dempsey joins Avenatti and Faieta as current residents of the City of Angels. Foster relocated to the greater Atlanta area long ago, where the Dempsey Del Piero race shop is located, and the team also maintains a corporate headquarters operation in Los Angeles.
My family has called Los Angeles home since the late 1800s, Avenatti said. My Italian ancestors immigrated to the United States from Northern Italy, actually very close to where Alessandro is from, and my great-grandfather Augostino worked on the railroads as they were being developed to carry people West in search of a new life.
Avenatti, a key partner in the Dempsey Del Piero Racing collaboration, had his first introduction to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach as a fan, just like his teammates.
For years, I attended the Long Beach Grand Prix as a spectator and would look forward to the race for months prior, Avenatti said. Long Beach is by far my favorite race of the year. It has a great crowd, tremendous energy and usually fantastic weather. It does not get any better than that.
Foster has been racing for 30 years but will take his first career laps on the legendary Long Beach circuit in Friday mornings opening practice.
I think it will be fun because for all of the time that I have been in ALMS and GRAND-AM I have never actually driven at Long Beach, said Foster, a race and championship-winning driver. It is my first time at Long Beach but Patrick has a lot of experience there from the Pro/Celebrity races back in the day and some World Challenge, so he will teach me the track.
Long Beach will be the second race for Dempsey Del Piero Racing in the ALMS GTC class after an encouraging debut last month at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Dempsey, Foster and top sports car racing talent Andy Lally, who put the No. 27 on the pole, finished sixth while Avenatti and Foster, co-driving with Porsche stalwart Andrew Davis, finished seventh in the No. 10.
Sebring provided a solid foundation for the team with both cars finishing the race under difficult circumstances, including on-track incidents completely out of our control, Avenatti said. For our young team to put a car on pole and leave with the points we did bodes well for the balance of the season and beyond. All of us must remain focused on the prize and execute. A good result at Long Beach will be two podium finishes but, with the depth of the field, this will be no easy task. Our class is by far the most competitive in ALMS.
The second round of the 10-race ALMS championship, viewers outside of the U.S. can watch Long Beach and all other series races live on ALMS.com. Additional content, such as live in-car cameras, timing and scoring, and car-to-pit radio is available for all users around the world at www.ALMS.com.
About Dempsey/Del Piero Racing: A fulltime and year-round enterprise supported by Tullys Coffee, Dempsey Del Piero Racing is a professional international sports car auto racing team with operational bases in both Los Angeles and Atlanta in the United States.
