With a new year comes new changes, and that is particularly true for TeamTGM in 2018 as the team looks forward to the four-hour IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season-opener at Daytona International Speedway this Friday..
The “off-season” has been not lacked for excitement, as TeamTGM has made several significant strategic changes in preparation for the 2018 race season.
With an expanded team effort with two GS class entries, TeamTGM will field two Mercedes-AMG GT4 machines starting at Daytona. In addition to the expected strength of the new racing platform, the team will also benefit from a strong driver lineup. Ted Giovanis, Guy Cosmo and Hugh Plumb have returned to the team, and will welcome the addition of Owen Trinkler to the roster for 2018.
The team will target both success on track as well as increased awareness of two inspiring initiatives, the Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy (JKTG Foundation) and Camp Boggy Creek. The JKTG Foundation for Health and Policy aims to change healthcare for the better. Funding innovative medical research, data analysis, events and other projects, the Foundation serves as an honest, independent broker of ideas and actions designed to advance both healthcare and health policy.
Since 1996, Camp Boggy Creek has made it possible for children with serious illnesses to enjoy a camp experience in a safe, medically-sound environment. Located just a short drive from Orlando, Florida, the 232-acre camp serves children ages 7-16 who’ve been diagnosed with chronic or life-threatening conditions.
Giovanis and Cosmo will share the No. 4 JKTG Foundation / Camp Boggy Creek Mercedes-AMG GT4, while the Plumb and Trinkler pairing will share the No. 46 JKTG Foundation / Camp Boggy Creek Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Getting the team’s first laps at the Roar Before the 24 earlier this month, TeamTGM worked closely with Mercedes-AMG to learn as much as possible about the GT4-spec machine. It was a productive weekend as the team completed every lap of every session.
With the first event of the season about to get underway, TeamTGM is excited to see the performance of the Mercedes-AMG and are prepared to adapt during the course of the four-hour event. Giovanis, who was paired with Cosmo last season and will once again drive with him this year, is excited to see the progression of the Mercedes-AMG program in the IMSA Continental Tire paddock.
“Working with the AMG guys has been great, and they have been big help to us in getting the car ready for the race. There are so many Mercedes that have entered in the series and I think this is going to be a very competitive car this season. It is hard to set an expectation with such a new car, but we are feeling confident that it can earn a podium finish.”
The BMW Endurance Challenge event kicks off on Friday, January 26th at 1:00 PM ET and can be viewed on IMSA.tv.
Driver Quotes:
Ted Giovanis: “Looking ahead to the race we are really hopeful that everything will come together. We now have both of our Mercedes-AMGs so they will be ready come race weekend. Now that we have the second one we will start working on that and getting it all set up from what we learned at the Roar. I am eager to get back behind the wheel and start the 2018 season off on the right foot.”
Guy Cosmo: “It’s been great so far. We are really excited for the race weekend but of course we just took delivery of these cars and we don’t know them as well as we normally would know a car going into a season. Given that, the car is still phenomenal. It’s such a good car right out of the box that I’m sure we will be competitive come the race weekend especially given a four-hour format. There is still a lot more homework that we need to do and preparation and just learning more about the car. Mercedes-AMG have been phenomenal so far; they are really thorough and really interested in each team’s individual success but also the success of the AMG product in this series as a whole. We are all working together and hopefully all of the cars will have a strong presence come race weekend.”
Hugh Plumb: “What I am excited very much about is the relationship with Mercedes. It’s a great manufacturer to be aligned with. I know we have all the right pieces. Our team members that always do a fantastic job all by the good graces and management of Ted Giovanis, Joe Varde and Brandon Perrott. We have all the pieces in play to help us get to where we need to be and now we just need to go and be consistent and take care of this equipment that we really don’t know very much about just yet. The Roar has proven to us that we have the right equipment and the right car that can allow us to walk away with a good amount of points at the end of the day.”
Owen Trinkler: “Between all of guys on the team, crew and drivers, combined with the help from Mercedes-AMG, I think we will be prepared come race weekend. The biggest thing when looking at the race in Daytona is that you want to finish. You always want to aim for a top five and then if you can do better than that it is just icing on the cake. Our main goal is to get to the finish line and get all of the laps in and then see where we are. Top five will be the goal and then we will see how circumstances roll. We have four hours, it’s a long event but we will see how it goes.”
Source. Sunday Group
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