Intersport Racing "All In" For Northeast Grand Prix At Lime Rock

Intersport Racing will kick off the second portion of the American Le Mans series with a pair of LMPC cars and a top-flight driver line-up. The series, after its traditional break for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, returns to racing with Round 3, the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park, on July 9.

In his first on-track appearance since 2010 Petit Le Mans, Jon Field will pair up with the young Australian stand-out, James Kovacic.  The two will share the No. 37 Lenco Mobile LMPC car.

In 2010, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, James won his debut race in the Coopers Tires Prototype Lites driving the Elan DP02 Mazda powered Lite's for Intersport. Kovacic is the first Australian to taste success in this class and is the youngest competitor to do so.

Field, while no stranger to prototype racing, will make his debut appearance in the LMPC class.

"These cars are a blast," noted Jon. "I'm excited to be back behind the wheel and I'm equally excited to drive with James. He's an amazing talent and I think our combined efforts will equate into a formidable contender in the LMPC class. We're a perfect fit."

Just off an outstanding 2nd place finish at Long Beach, Tomy Drissi and Kyle Marcelli will return in the No. 89 Intersport Racing Rise of the Planet of the Apes / DynaPep LMPC car.

"I'm really excited to get back in the No. 89 Rise of the Planet of the Apes / DynaPep LMPC car with Kyle," said Tomy. "We had such a good run at Long Beach, the anticipation of getting back in the car has been killing me. And I'm a big fan of Lime Rock. Running the prototype here should be a a lot of fun."

"I think we'll do really well here," noted Drissi. "I've had quite a bit of experience at the track and I know Kyle was very fast here last year. The Intersport guys know the setup so I think we'll be quick right off the transporter. I'm also looking forward to going wheel-to-wheel with Jon Field who'll be in the No. 37 LMPC sister car. That's going to be a blast!"

In 2010 Marcelli qualified the #89 P2 in the wet conditions. Unfortunately for the team, after being consistently the quickest car in class on track, a mechanical failure forced an early retirement with only 45 minutes remaining in the 2h 45 min race.

“We had a great car in 2010," said Marcelli.  "With Lime Rock, traffic management is crucial. It's very rare that you get a clean, fast lap, You have to move through traffic as quickly as possible. Looking back at last year and our 2nd place finish at Long Beach, I know a win is definitely attainable.”

Jon Field is having a hard time containing his enthusiasm for Intersport's potential at Lime Rock.

"This is a fantastic line-up," added Jon. "I really feel good about what we've put together. We're in the right class at the right time with the right driver line-up. We've got youth and experience. And our guys have prepared a great pair of cars. They were hooked up here last year and with the testing we did during the Le Mans break, I have no reason to believe we can't run at the front."

"More importantly," said Jon in closing, "we've got a group of guys that know how to have fun. That's important to us. Yeah, it's hard work and yes we'd like to win. But in the end, we're here to meet and interact with fans and have a good time."

Cooper IMSA Lites

Ricardo Vera will return to campaign the Intersport #37 IMSA Lites car. Ricardo's first race with the Intersport was at Sebring taking a top 5 and a 7th place for the first two rounds. He's excited  to work with the team and looking forward to improving and fighting to climb the podium in 2011.

Ricardo's first driving experience was in a go kart at 12 years old in Puerto Rico. In his second year racing go karts he took the season championship.At just 17 years old, Ricardo has an exciting future ahead of him and views Intersport Racing and the American Le Mans Series as the place he wants to race.

Team Manager Brian Alder was impressed by Ricardo's performance at a recent test.

"Ricardo [Vera] went out and turned some of the fastest laps of the day in our IMSA prototype lites car, and then made the transition to the larger, more powerful LMPC car. Ricardo's situation is exactly what our ladder program is for. Coming from the Lite's prototype, Ricardo came to grips with LMPC car very quickly and was soon setting some very fast laps. Given we were experiencing spring weather in the midwest with temperatures only in the 40's, it's fairly difficult getting the tires to reach their optimal operating temperature.  Regardless, we are very happy with Ricardo's speed and performance on the track."

The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 9. Live video coverage is available on ESPN3.com in the US and americanlemans.com for international users. Worldwide radio coverage is available on American Le Mans Radio at americanlemans.com. ESPN2 will air the race starting at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10.

One of the founding teams of the American Le Mans Series, Intersport has established itself as a premier independent team in sports car racing. The Dublin, Ohio-based team has taken on mightiest of factory prototype teams in recent seasons and posted noteworthy class victories within that span including an LMP1 triumph at Detroit in 2008 and 2006 at Sebring. You can find out more about Intersport Racing at http://www.intersportracing.com, join our Facebook Fan Page or follow us on Twitter at Intersport37.