APR Motorsport at the 24 Hours of Mexico
APR Motorsport Team Members travelled to Puebla, Mexico to participate in the 24 Hours of Mexico race as the guest of Z-Motors and to recognize APR Sponsored Teams Galland-AST and Team Hi for their many accomplishments in the series. APR President and CEO and APR Motorsport Driver, Stephen Hooks, Director of Motorsport, Jeff Mishtawy and APR Motorsport Driver of the #01 Audi S4, Ian Baas made the trip to Puebla this past weekend to help with strategy and driving in the VW GTi’s of similar preparation to APR Motorsport’s own Continental Tire Challenge GTi’s.
APR’s representatives received a warm welcome from the many fans of VW racing found in Mexico and were excited to see so many GTi’s in competition. Jeff Mishtawy said, “I was blown away by the experience. Back home we are one of only 2 teams fielding the newer, sporty VW chassis’ and power plants, so to see several GTi teams in the field makes us proud.” Galland-AST is supported by SuperAuto, APR’s Authorized Dealer in Mexico DF, and has two GTi’s in the series along with Team Hi, placing 6th last weekend’s race and gaining 84 points, enough to move to third place in the championship.
Ian Baas and Stephen Hooks drove with Z-Motors and were able to take Pole in their class during Qualifying although mechanical mishaps kept them off the Podium and fallen back by the end of the race. Ian remarked, “I felt so proud with the APR Sponsored GTi’s around me during the race. Every GTi was showing speed and when time expired, Galland-AST proved to us all just how fast they can be and the most consistently.” Team Hi showed very well being on pace with Z-Motors and Galland-AST but they were forced to retire early due to steering malfunctions.
Stephen Hooks was excited to be racing the 24 Hours race and he was able to set aside the his usual role of team strategy for a weekend and put on his helmet and suit for multiple sessions as another driver for the Z-Motors team along with Ian. Stephen said, “Our Authorized Dealer, SuperAuto, has proven their expertise with our products by so successfully supporting Galland-AST in their consecutive bid for the National Championship. The progress of this series and our sponsored teams is to be commended and I am proud of their accomplishments.” APR Motorsport was the first professional race team to develop the VW MK5 GTi to a competitive level in North American road racing and the opportunity to support their dealer network and other teams fielding VW’s at the 24 Hours of Mexico was a rewarding experience that APR hopes will become an annual tradition.
Other exciting news from the race this weekend was the announcement by Galland-AST to develop the new MK6 GTi for the remainder of the season. APR Motorsport will unveil their MK6 GTi race cars at the upcoming Barber Race on April 10, 2010. APR is excited to see Galland-AST developing the new chassis at the same time and strong cooperation will result in multiple Podiums for both teams in their respective series in the new MK6 GTi.
APR Motorsport is a professional race team operating in Opelika, AL as a marketing division of APR, LLC. APR Motorsport fields a 3 car VW GTi and Audi S4 race teams in both the Grand Sport and Street Tuner Classes of the Continental Sports Car Challenge. APR, LLC. is an automotive engineering firm specializing in VW, Audi and Porsche vehicle performance enhancements. For more information, please visit www.goapr.com
APR Mexico is sole the importer to the country of Mexico for all APR performance enhancements. APR Mexico maintains a professional network of retailers and installers of the entire APR performance product line. For more information, please visit www.goapr.com.mx.
Z-Motors is a professional race team operating out of Puebla, Mexico and fields a 2 car VW GTi race team in the Mexico Endurance Championship. Z-Motors is a division of Zanella Motors, a Volkswagen Automotive Group dealership holding company with VW, SEAT and other automotive dealerships throughout Mexico.
GALLAND-AST is a professional race team and race preparation service center in Veracruz, Mexico. GALLAND-AST fields a multiple car race team to include VW GTi’s in the Mexico Endurance Championship. GALLAND-AST is the 2009 series champion and is a collaborative effort between Eduardo Galland and AST Racing. GALLAND-AST is currently in 3rd in the series points standings and is APR’s Authorized Dealer in Veracruz. For more information, please visit www.ast.com.mx
Hi Racing Team is a professional race team and service center operating in Mexico City. Hi Racing Team is an Authorized APR Dealer and has participated in several professional racing series since the 1990’s. For more information, please contact Hi Racing Team by telephone at (55) 2595 6868 / (55) 2966 5322.
SuperAuto Mexico is APR’s Primary Authorized Dealer in Mexico City. SuperAuto Mexico is an automotive service, race preparation and tuning shop in business since 2000. SuperAuto Mexico supports both GALLAND-AST and Hi Racing Team in the Mexico Endurance Racing Championship. For more information, please visit www.superauto.com.mx.