CGigon@APR
Ready to race!
- Location
- Auburn, AL
- Car(s)
- VW GTI
APR Motorsport to bid for 2008 Koni Challenge - Grand
American Sport Touring Championship
Las Vegas, NV - October 30, 2007 - APR, LLC, the world's leading Volkswagen, Audi and
Porsche performance engineering firm, is entering professional racing with the formation of APR
Motorsport, LLC. APR Motorsport is excited to announce that it will campaign three Volkswagen
GTI race cars in the Koni Challenge Sport Touring class of Grand Am in 2008.
Pulling off what might be the coup of the year in racing, APR Motorsport has signed ten-time
national series champion Randy Pobst to drive for the team. Pobst, fresh off his third World
Challenge Speed GT Championship in six years, narrowly missed the famed "double," coming
close to winning both the Speed Touring Car and GT Championship in the same year. Pobst
narrowly missed out on this yet to be accomplished feat, only after being punted off the track in
the final laps of the final Touring Car race of the season. In hiring Pobst, APR Motorsport brings
one of America's top talents back to the Grand American series, where Pobst has won two
Daytona 24 Hour championships and has 9 Grand Am race wins.
Pobst said about the move, "I have worked with the guys at APR for years in development and
testing, and as soon as I heard they were founding a race team, I wanted in." He went on to say,
"I started my professional racing career in 1985, racing a VW Golf in the Volkswagen Cup.
Before that, I won a handful of autocross national and pro titles in a 1983 Rabbit, so this
opportunity brings me full circle and gives me the chance to relive a lot of great memories."
Pobst additionally noted, "with APR's technology, professionalism and work ethic, I expect us to
challenge for the championship. My co-drivers, Ian Baas and Mark White bring vast experience
to the team and I am totally comfortable with these guys as I have raced with each in the past
years. Our team chemistry is simply unmatchable."
The second major signing for APR Motorsport is Ian Baas, who has raced with Pobst in 2006 in
Grand Am's Rolex GT series in a Porsche GT3R as well as a Porsche GT3RSR in the American
Le Mans series in 2005. Their most notable achievement together was piloting their Porsche to
win the 2006 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Besides racing in Rolex in 2006, Baas spent the full
season in Porsche's Carrera Cup in Germany, as well as racing select Porsche SuperCup races
all over the globe. In 2007, Baas raced for STaSIS Engineering in Speed World Challenge
Touring Car, as well as for At Speed Motorsports and Farnbacher-Loles in Rolex GT.
Baas reviewed his recent hiring by APR Motorsport by simply stating, "I cannot tell you how
excited I am to work with APR and be back on a team with Randy. On top of all this, APR just
signed Mark White, with whom I spent many races in Rolex GT in 2007. Mark is fast, consistent
and both physically and mentally tough. I am just so happy to be involved with such a great team
that has shown its' seriousness in signing such top notch co-drivers as Pobst and White."
Mark White, who garnered a staggering record of 10 podiums in 12 starts, set multiple records en
route to a second place finish in the ALMS IMSA Lites Prototype Series. White was one of many
drivers evaluated by APR to join this ambitious first year effort. The team selected White over
many other top racers due to the direct recommendations of Pobst and Baas. White has raced in
five series in multiple countries, and brings his clean, fast driving style and his infamous mental
and physical toughness to a team already stacked with both talent and fitness.
White noted, "I cannot thank the guys at APR Motorsport enough, along with my co-drivers, Pobst
and Baas, who recommended me for this ride. The chemistry assembled on this team is
tremendous and I am thrilled to be part of it! APR's tuning prowess is unsurpassed and Randy
and Ian are both at the top of their game. Mix in these factors with an awesome platform like the
Volkswagen GTI and we should have a potent combination right out of the gate."
APR, LLC, the parent company of APR Motorsport, LLC, is based in Auburn/Opelika, Alabama.
APR is currently in the process of moving into a new corporate headquarters, which is expected
to be completed this winter. The new 12-acre facility features 38,000 square feet of office,
design, fabrication and warehouse space. The facility, which is complete with Pro-e CAD design,
two chassis dynos, engine dyno, CNC milling, CNC lathe, stereolithography machine, as well as
other state of the art equipment, features a race shop for the exclusive use of the team as well as
a nearly one mile test track for car development.
APR has over 180 distributors in 21 countries and employs over 40 full time employees.
APR Motorsport's race team will be run by Crew Chief Jeff Mishtawy, who came to APR from the
successful Team Cobalt California Koni Challenge Team.
Mishtawy has extensive race and Koni Challenge Sport Touring background, and expects the
team's VW GTI's to be front runners right from the start. Mishtawy said, "the VW GTI, in street
form, is so sound and well engineered; it has been fantastic to build a race car on such a
platform. Development has gone very well and working with drivers such as Pobst and Baas,
with all their set up experience, should give us an edge on the competition."
APR Motorsport is currently reviewing a handful of drivers for the single remaining, pro-level
position, as well as two strong and experienced drivers to fill their third car for the 2008 season.
Driver, sponsor or media inquires should be directed to APR Motorsport's Public Relations
Director, Michael Stahlschmidt.
mike@motorsportspersonalities.com
or
847-899-5121
Web sites for reference:
APR Motorsport - http://www.aprmotorsport.com
APR - http://www.goapr.com
Randy Pobst - http://www.randypobst.com
Ian Baas - http://www.ianbaas.com
Mark White - http://www.accumoto.com
