TRG-Aston Martin Racing takes three car team to the street fight of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, FL - TRG-Aston Martin Racing North America has returned to the picturesque streets of St. Petersburg for the second round of Pirelli World Challenge competition this weekend at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Bringing along three Aston Martin race cars, the team will have a full weekend consisting of four races over three intense days of competition. This beautiful city has played gracious host to the Grand Prix since 1985, including such historic racing series such as Trans-Am, American Le Mans, Champ Car, and now IndyCar and Pirelli World Challenge.

It’s great to see a whole city gather around an event like this

Christina Nielsen

Along with the team’s racing activities, this weekend brings with it a plethora of incredible opportunities and events that make this event truly unique and unforgettable. Friends and TRG-AMR partners Carlos and Beverly Yepes have helped coordinate and facilitate these incredible events, ranging from dinner at their beautiful downtown penthouse high above the city, to hosting a dinner at the Dalî museum and exclusive VIP hospitality in the museum all weekend long.

The team will be fighting for the win in both GTA and GTS categories, fresh from the Circuit of the Americas Pirelli World Challenge season opener which saw Christina Nielsen finish P3 in GTA and Kris Wilson taking home the win in the GTS field. While this is the first time on this unforgiving street course for all three of our drivers, they’re all confident that they are more than capable of handling the tricky 1.8 mile 14-turn street circuit.

Christina Nielsen, Team Driver, TRG-AMR North America: “I am really enjoying St. Pete so far - what an incredible city and the track is impressive. It’s great to see a whole city gather around an event like this - everyone has been so very nice and welcoming. After my podium in Austin I am really looking forward to working my way to the top step of the podium - the V12 Vantage GT3 is more than capable but I’m not sure the short, tight confines of a street course really suit the car’s abilities. A number of the other cars have some incredible power off the corners - we will see come race day!”

Derek DeBoer, Team Driver, TRG-AMR North America: “We had a great run at COTA earlier this month, in both races I improved on my starting position and brought the car home in one piece. I’m looking to build on that solid performance heading into this weekend, focusing on running clean and going for the podium. I need to thank Kevin and Debra for the continued support of this childhood dream of mine turned reality! I am looking forward to the rest of the season and continuing to run with TRG - they’ve been such a great help on the marketing and sponsorship side and making sure I’m taken care of and able to run this weekend. It’s great being with such a well-run and professional organization.”

Kris Wilson, Team Driver, TRG-AMR North America: “I am really bummed that Max couldn’t be here this weekend, but I am glad to be running in Pirelli World Challenge again, after our win at COTA, especially. This is such a great team to run with, I can never get over how they have every single little thing covered. The V8 Vantage GT4 is also a really strong platform, which makes it a little easier to look so good out there!”

Kevin Buckler, CEO, TRG-AMR North America: “Fresh from Kris’ win and Christina’s podium at our strong COTA performance, then last weekend at the 12 Hours of Sebring, we’re more than ready for a solid run this weekend.

We’ve got such a great group of drivers, partners, sponsors, and the best crew in the paddock, along with these beautiful and capable Aston Martins. - There are so many wonderful things to do this weekend, from entertaining our VIP guests trackside to partnering with the amazing Dalî museum for our teams VIP hospitality and trackside dinner over the weekend.

It’s funny, that some of IndyCar guys are looking over in our paddock for sponsors and ideas - it’s usually the other way around, but sportscar racing is at such great place right now and the strong team at Pirelli World Challenge is really making the best of it. This is going to be a great year for us and for sportscar racing as a whole - we’re looking forward to it.”

TRG-Aston Martin Racing