APR Motorsport debuts in the Pirelli World Challenge at Road Atlanta

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 10:50 AM PDT

Kevin Gleason is driving the No. 58 Volkswagen GTI

This Friday, September 30, APR Motorsport will be adding a new chapter to their race portfolio by making their debut appearance in the Pirelli World Challenge series in the Cadillac Road Atlanta Grand Prix.

Hopes are high for the APR Motorsport team after driver Ian Baas set the fastest lap time of 1:31.345 (100.104 mph) in the APR Motorsport No. 56 Audi B8 S4 during the morning practice session. The anticipation of racing at APR’s home track filled with Audi race fans and enthusiasts coming out to support Team Joest is only fueling this momentum further.

The Cadillac Road Atlanta Grand Prix will be a completely new experience for the drivers and the team. It is an adrenaline-pumping race of fifty minutes and it does not involve the pit stops and driver changes that the APR Motorsport team is accustomed to doing. Furthermore, during the Cadillac Road Atlanta Grand Prix, three separate classes – GTS, GT, and Touring Car – will be on the track at the same time.

Ian Baas, APR Motorsport No. 56 Audi B8 S4

In addition to the No. 56 Audi B8 S4 in the GTS class, APR has two entries into the Touring Car class. Josh Hurley is driving the No. 57 Volkswagen GTI, and Kevin Gleason is driving the No. 58 Volkswagen GTI. All three drivers are highly qualified, each has remarkable accomplishments in their respective racing careers and all three drivers have won races for APR Motorsport. This talent and experience was evident in the results from both practice sessions.

The practice sessions ended with Hurley leading the Touring Car class in the morning session with a lap time of 1:36.590 (94.668 mph), and finishing the afternoon session in fourth place overall. Gleason finished in fifth place in the morning session with a lap time of 1:37.244 (94.031 mph).

Making this debut race even more of a monumental occasion for APR Motorsport is the fact that this will be the first sprint race for their newly built No. 56 Audi B8 S4. This truly is an exciting event for the APR Motorsport team and drivers. For those who have followed the S4 build in recent months, this will be an opportunity to see the results of all that hard work in action.

The Pirelli World Challenge is scheduled to begin at 1:25pm Eastern. During the race, live timing and scoring can be found at world-challenge.com. Fans can also see the scheduled broadcast complete with commentary on the Versus network. The race is scheduled to air on October 29 at 4 p.m. Eastern.

- Elaine Bak