Mears Motor Coach and the SpeedSourceRace Engineering team have been working with Riley Technologies to bring anew Daytona Prototype to the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. After aone-race hiatus, SpeedSource will return to the series with aPontiac-powered Riley for the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen race. The No. 9Mears Motor Coach-sponsored entry will also unveil a new paint scheme whenit arrives at Watkins Glen, N.Y. on June 18th.
The car will be driven by experienced Daytona Prototype drivers Paul Mears,Mike Borkowski and Sylvain Tremblay. Mears has been a member of theSpeedSource team since 1999, scoring the 2002 Grand-Am Cup Grand SportRising Star of the Year Award. Borkowski joined the team in 2003 and isexperienced in many series including Trans-Am, IRL and NASCAR.
Tremblay, who owns the SpeedSource Race Engineering effort, will join thetwo co-drivers for the six hour Glen race only. He is the 2001 Grand-Am CupGrand Sport driver champion and has 11 Grand-Am Cup wins to his name.
The Tremblay-owned SpeedSource effort has 16 professional wins and nearly 40professional podiums. Tremblay feels that the team is now poised toduplicate that success in the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype class. In thefirst four races of the 2004 season, the Riley chassis has won the last tworaces, while the Pontiac powerplant has brought home three wins.
"We are looking forward to returning to Watkins Glen for a classic six-hoursprint race," Tremblay said. "The Riley appears to be the strongest car inthe class. The Pontiac motor looks very strong. Mears Motor Coachsponsorship made it possible to move forward with this package, and I amvery anxious to hit the track at Watkins Glen.
"We plan on having two strong days of testing next week at VIR. Riley hasbeen helpful in giving us insight into the base package to start out with.Now we have to start working on tuning the car to Paul and Mike's drivingstyle."
"We want to stand behind [this car] and make sure it's quick right away,"Director of Riley Technologies Bill Riley said. "We are happy to work withPaul Mears and SpeedSource, and we hope to have some solid race resultssoon."
The No. 9 Mears Motorcoach/SpeedSource Pontiac Riley can be seen in the SixHours of The Glen, June 18-20, at Watkins Glen International. Tickets can bepurchased by calling 607-535-2481 or by going to theglen.com. Thesix-hour race can be seen live on SPEED Channel starting at 11 a.m. ET onJune 20.
