MILWAUKEE , Wis. (March 3, 2015) – Fourteen-time World Challenge Champion RealTime Racing is ready to take on the Pirelli World Challenge GT season with two Acura TLX-GT machines. The 20-race 2015 World Challenge season kicks off this weekend with a doubleheader at Circuit of the Americas ( COTA ) in Austin, Texas.
Coming off of a successful three-day test at COTA , RealTime is looking forward to unleashing its No. 42 and No. 43 Acura TLX-GTs among a record 40-car GT field in the World Challenge season opener. Thirteen different manufacturers will compose the GT grid in Texas, including:
Acura, 2 cars |
Audi, 7 cars |
Aston Martin, 4 cars |
Bentley, 2 cars |
BMW , 2 cars |
Cadillac, 2 cars |
Dodge, 1 car |
Ferrari, 6 cars |
Lamborghini, 3 cars |
Nissan, 2 cars |
McLaren, 2 cars |
Mercedes, 4 cars |
Porsche, 3 cars |
Amid this formidable field, seven-time World Challenge champion Peter Cunningham and Honda ace Ryan Eversley will attempt to put the Acura TLX-GT at the front of the pack. Developed from the production Acura TLX , the TLX-GT made a limited race debut in 2014 with one car. Working alongside HPD , RealTime Racing has built a second TLX-GT in the short off-season and continues to develop and test the GT class’ only all-wheel drive car.
“We had a very successful three days of testing at Circuit of the Americas last month,” Cunningham said. “We were very happy with the reliability and pace the car showed. It makes us confident that our TLX-GT will be able to hold its own as the only non GT3-spec car in the class. We have a lot of respect for our diverse competition, so I’m looking forward to being back on the starting grid and showing what this four-door sports sedan can do.”
New to RealTime Racing is 31-year-old sportscar standout Ryan Eversley. No stranger to World Challenge, Eversley already has two Touring Car wins to his name (Mid-Ohio, 2010). Most recently, Eversley competed in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, driving the No. 75 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic to three ST victories in 2014.
“This will be my first weekend racing for the RealTime team, but I feel like we have already gelled very well in pre-season testing and I’m excited for our challenge ahead,” Eversley said. “Everyone at Acura, HPD and RealTime have put in long hours to get our second chassis built during the off season which is great news because now we will have twice the amount of data to develop the TLX-GT . It looks like its going to be cold and potentially raining during the race weekend at COTA , which hopefully will give our all-wheel drive TLX an edge over the competition!”
The World Challenge season will kick off in earnest for RTR when Race 1 coverage begins at 3:50pm ET, Saturday, March 7. Race 2 is slated for 2:50 pm ET, Sunday, March 8. Both races will be broadcast live on www.world-challengetv.com. The race will be re-aired on CBS Sports Network, Saturday, March 14, at 11am ET.
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