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Two-times Le
Mans-winners Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton begin their sixth season together as
co-drivers by facing the challenge of another twenty-four hour marathon - next
weekend's Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The RML AD Group racing duo will be sharing
the all-new #51 Cheever Racing Coyote-Pontiac with another Le Mans winner,
Briton Tom Kimber-Smith, and two American drivers; Brent Sherman and Scott Mayer
Having won the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2005 and
2006, and with twelve other 24-hour races shared, Mike and Tommy's is clearly an
enduring partnership. “It may not be unique,” admits Thomas Erdos, “but
to have stayed together for five consecutive years is something of an
achievement. We get on well, we get results, and as it says in the old
adage; ‘if it works, don't fix it!’.” This will be their fifth time together
at Daytona, and the third year that they have joined Eddie Cheever's
Daytona Prototype Grand-Am squad.
They link up with the team at a
significant moment, with Eddie Cheever having just launched a new car in the
Coyote – a name more synonymous in the past with that of the legendary AJ Foyt.
Considered by some to be the greatest American racing driver of all time,
four-time Indy 500 winner Foyt gave his permission just a month ago for Cheever
Racing to resurrect the Coyote name. “We were looking for an American brand,” said
Eddie Cheever. “I phoned AJ and asked if I could use his name. I was shocked
when he said yes!”
Earlier this month, during the official Daytona
Test, the Pontiac-powered Coyote turned wheels for the very first time. “It’s a
great experience and a true honour to be involved in the development of a brand
new car,” said Thomas Erdos, who was one of the first to drive it. “I like to
think that the feedback Mike and I will be putting in will contribute towards
what I am confident will become a very successful racecar. It was easy to tell,
right from the start, that the Coyote has tremendous potential,” he added, “As
with any new project, there’s a great deal of work still to be done before we
can expect to see the Coyote at its best, but I’m really looking forward to
getting to grips with it next week.”
For AD Group the association with the Daytona 24
Hours began in 2002, when the CCTV technology specialists supported a two-car
entry, with Erdos driving a Saleen in GT1 and Newton sharing a Porsche 911 in
GT2. “It’s good to be coming back to Daytona again,” said Adam Wiseberg,
Motorsport Director at AD, “and we are particularly excited by the potential of
the new Coyote. Although the car’s running during the test was curtailed, we
were able to see that the car has huge promise, and we’re hoping for great
things, not only from the car, but also the strong driver
line-up.”
Aside from Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos, the squad
has additional depth in Tom Kimber-Smith. The twenty-three year-old already has
a Le Mans victory to his credit, having secured the GT2 title in 2006 with Team
LNT, and also extensive sportscar, prototype and single-seater experience.
Former AWACS crew-member Brent Sherman has a strong NASCAR pedigree, and is
familiar with Daytona’s banked oval, while Scott Mayer first raced in Indy
Racing League in 2003 and sees the Rolex 24 Hours as his Grand Am debut ahead of
a full season with Cheever Racing in 2008.
Practice for the Rolex 24 Hours of
Daytona begins on
Thursday January 24th, with the race itself starting on Saturday January 26th at
1:30 pm. More info will be available on www.mg-lola.com
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