LORENZO TREFETHEN TO DRIVE FOR ANSA MOTORSPORTS IN 2015
A month ago, ANSA Motorsports announced that it will compete in the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge in the new GT-Cup class. ANSA Motorsports started its drivers search last November and, after interviewing a half dozen candidates, has hired Lorenzo Trefethen, to lead its effort in the Pirelli World Challenge.
Lorenzo Trefethen will drive the No. 13 ANSA Motorsports Trefethen Family Vineyards Porsche "wine artcar". The design was executed by French artist, Erwin Dazelle.
In addition to his career as a driver, Trefethen, 31, helps his family run Trefethen Family Vineyards, one of the most recognized Napa Valley wineries.
ANSA Motorsports was looking for the best possible driver - one who is quick, smart, and reliable -- and can bring a corporate sponsor interested in the marketing platform that the Pirelli World Challenge has to offer. With Trefethen and his sponsor, Trefethen Family Vineyards, ANSA Motorsports found the perfect driver-sponsor combination for its program.
"We at ANSA Motorsports are pleased to welcome Lorenzo Trefethen to our team,"said Alain Nadal, ANSA Motorsports team owner. "Lorenzo is a driver with great potential, and his talent will be revealed this season. Also, we are excited to work with him and Trefethen Family Vineyards. Their sponsorship-activation program is going to be exceptional and very innovative. Together we plan to use the racing program to increase awareness of the Trefethen brand and their wine, to market their wines and to take their business to new markets. We are excited to not only take on a new championship with a great new driver, but to build an effective sponsorship program, as well is an even greater satisfaction."
Trefethen inherited his father's love for racing and, it seems, a good bit of skill. In his rookie year of 2011, he stormed to the top step of the podium multiple times in the hyper-competitive National Auto Sport Association's Spec E30 series, setting a track record at Sears Point/Sonoma Raceway along the way, and finishing the series second overall. A drive from 17th to 1st in the rain at the NASA Nationals at Mid-Ohio was a highlight of the year and signaled that Lorenzo was ready to move up.
"I am thrilled to join ANSA Motorsports for the 2015 season in the Pirelli World Challenge GT-Cup class, said Lorenzo Trefethen. "This will be my first season racing in a professional series, and it is a big step for me in my racing career. My father and I have been competing in Porsches for a couple years, and each season I have been able to meet the competition level on track and find success. With this move to the Pirelli World Challenge, I know I will go up against a number of the finest drivers and teams in North America. I feel confident that this partnership with ANSA Motorsports will allow me to continue my growth and success on the race track."
In 2012, Trefethen was part of the team that brought Mercedes-Benz back to American auto racing and competed in the final round of the Pirelli World Challenge, marking the first time in 25 years that a Mercedes sports car had raced in the United States. In 2013, Trefethen moved to the Porsche platform as a late entry in the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy, earning several podiums and finishing 7th overall, despite missing multiple races.
He dominated the 2014 Pirelli GT3-Cup Trophy, demonstrating a winning combination of speed and race craft. Due to mechanical failures early in the season, however, Trefethen who was one of the top contenders to win the series, had to settle with a 2nd-place finish in the 2014 point standings.
ANSA Motorsports and Trefethen will contest their rookie season in the Pirelli World Challenge together in 2015. Their Porsche 991 "wine artcar", designed by French artist Erwin Dazelle, will be unveiled on Thursday, March 5, at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, at the team transporter located in the PWC paddock at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
"The Pirelli World Challenge offers an exciting opportunity not only for me personally, but for the winery as well" added Trefethen. "As the title sponsor of the No. 13 Porsche, we're very excited to bring some of Napa Valley's legendary hospitality to the races, connect with our distributors, restaurants and retail partners in their home markets, and introduce a whole new audience to our award-winning wines. This is going to be a momentous year."
About Trefethen Family Vineyards: In 1968, Eugene and Catherine Trefethen purchased seven farms surrounding a magnificent, but run-down, 19th-century winery in southern Napa Valley and created Trefethen Family Vineyards. The couple's intention was to sell all their grapes, but their son, John, had other ideas. In 1973, aided by his new bride, Janet, John produced Trefethen Vineyards first commercial wine. True to the family's vision of creating an acclaimed wine estate, they have never purchased outside grapes and are leaders in sustainable wine-growing. Today, the Trefethen family's third generation, Loren and Hailey, assist their parents in continuing the family tradition of passion for the land, its people and the art of crafting exceptional Napa Valley wines.
About ANSA Motorsports: Created in 2005 by former race-car driver and savvy businessman, Alain Nadal, ANSA Motorsports currently competes in the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge GT-Cup class. Following multiple seasons racing Ferraris and Porsches in the former Rolex Series, ALMS and the IMSA Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA, ANSA Motorsports won the 2012 Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA Team Championship Gold Cup Class and the Driver Championship with driver Angel Benitez Jr. In 2013, ANSA Motorsports won the IMSA Prototype Lites Championship Class L2. Last year, ANSA Motorsports competed in multiple racing series, including the IMSA Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA, the Porsche GT3-Cup Canada series, and the IMSA Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Championship. ANSA Motorsports won the 2014 Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA Team Championship (Gold Cup class) and its driver, Patrick Otto Madsen, won the Driver Championship (Gold Cup class).
About Artist Erwin Dazelle: Erwin Dazelle began painting professionally in Bayonne in 1996. His figurative style but also naive, colorful and partitioned, comes right out of the stained glass technique. Nowadays, Erwin is a full-fledged artist. Paintings, sculptures and stained glass make an integral part of his career. Between 2010 and 2012, Erwin designed multiple official posters of some of the greatest racing events in North America including the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway, the IndyCar Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and others. In 2011 he was also selected by american oil giant Sunoco to design their POP «Official Fuel of IndyCar» campaign and his artwork was displayed in over 5,000 gas stations nationwide. At the same time, Dazelle was also elected Artist of the year by the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance in 2010 and produced posters for some of the the greatest wine festivals in California. Dazelle also painted a giant mural in front of L'Aventure Winery in Paso Robles.
Lorenzo Trefethen will drive the No. 13 ANSA Motorsports Trefethen Family Vineyards Porsche "wine artcar". The design was executed by French artist, Erwin Dazelle.
In addition to his career as a driver, Trefethen, 31, helps his family run Trefethen Family Vineyards, one of the most recognized Napa Valley wineries.
ANSA Motorsports was looking for the best possible driver - one who is quick, smart, and reliable -- and can bring a corporate sponsor interested in the marketing platform that the Pirelli World Challenge has to offer. With Trefethen and his sponsor, Trefethen Family Vineyards, ANSA Motorsports found the perfect driver-sponsor combination for its program.
"We at ANSA Motorsports are pleased to welcome Lorenzo Trefethen to our team,"said Alain Nadal, ANSA Motorsports team owner. "Lorenzo is a driver with great potential, and his talent will be revealed this season. Also, we are excited to work with him and Trefethen Family Vineyards. Their sponsorship-activation program is going to be exceptional and very innovative. Together we plan to use the racing program to increase awareness of the Trefethen brand and their wine, to market their wines and to take their business to new markets. We are excited to not only take on a new championship with a great new driver, but to build an effective sponsorship program, as well is an even greater satisfaction."
Trefethen inherited his father's love for racing and, it seems, a good bit of skill. In his rookie year of 2011, he stormed to the top step of the podium multiple times in the hyper-competitive National Auto Sport Association's Spec E30 series, setting a track record at Sears Point/Sonoma Raceway along the way, and finishing the series second overall. A drive from 17th to 1st in the rain at the NASA Nationals at Mid-Ohio was a highlight of the year and signaled that Lorenzo was ready to move up.
"I am thrilled to join ANSA Motorsports for the 2015 season in the Pirelli World Challenge GT-Cup class, said Lorenzo Trefethen. "This will be my first season racing in a professional series, and it is a big step for me in my racing career. My father and I have been competing in Porsches for a couple years, and each season I have been able to meet the competition level on track and find success. With this move to the Pirelli World Challenge, I know I will go up against a number of the finest drivers and teams in North America. I feel confident that this partnership with ANSA Motorsports will allow me to continue my growth and success on the race track."
In 2012, Trefethen was part of the team that brought Mercedes-Benz back to American auto racing and competed in the final round of the Pirelli World Challenge, marking the first time in 25 years that a Mercedes sports car had raced in the United States. In 2013, Trefethen moved to the Porsche platform as a late entry in the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy, earning several podiums and finishing 7th overall, despite missing multiple races.
He dominated the 2014 Pirelli GT3-Cup Trophy, demonstrating a winning combination of speed and race craft. Due to mechanical failures early in the season, however, Trefethen who was one of the top contenders to win the series, had to settle with a 2nd-place finish in the 2014 point standings.
ANSA Motorsports and Trefethen will contest their rookie season in the Pirelli World Challenge together in 2015. Their Porsche 991 "wine artcar", designed by French artist Erwin Dazelle, will be unveiled on Thursday, March 5, at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, at the team transporter located in the PWC paddock at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
"The Pirelli World Challenge offers an exciting opportunity not only for me personally, but for the winery as well" added Trefethen. "As the title sponsor of the No. 13 Porsche, we're very excited to bring some of Napa Valley's legendary hospitality to the races, connect with our distributors, restaurants and retail partners in their home markets, and introduce a whole new audience to our award-winning wines. This is going to be a momentous year."
About Trefethen Family Vineyards: In 1968, Eugene and Catherine Trefethen purchased seven farms surrounding a magnificent, but run-down, 19th-century winery in southern Napa Valley and created Trefethen Family Vineyards. The couple's intention was to sell all their grapes, but their son, John, had other ideas. In 1973, aided by his new bride, Janet, John produced Trefethen Vineyards first commercial wine. True to the family's vision of creating an acclaimed wine estate, they have never purchased outside grapes and are leaders in sustainable wine-growing. Today, the Trefethen family's third generation, Loren and Hailey, assist their parents in continuing the family tradition of passion for the land, its people and the art of crafting exceptional Napa Valley wines.
About ANSA Motorsports: Created in 2005 by former race-car driver and savvy businessman, Alain Nadal, ANSA Motorsports currently competes in the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge GT-Cup class. Following multiple seasons racing Ferraris and Porsches in the former Rolex Series, ALMS and the IMSA Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA, ANSA Motorsports won the 2012 Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA Team Championship Gold Cup Class and the Driver Championship with driver Angel Benitez Jr. In 2013, ANSA Motorsports won the IMSA Prototype Lites Championship Class L2. Last year, ANSA Motorsports competed in multiple racing series, including the IMSA Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA, the Porsche GT3-Cup Canada series, and the IMSA Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Championship. ANSA Motorsports won the 2014 Porsche GT3-Cup Challenge USA Team Championship (Gold Cup class) and its driver, Patrick Otto Madsen, won the Driver Championship (Gold Cup class).
About Artist Erwin Dazelle: Erwin Dazelle began painting professionally in Bayonne in 1996. His figurative style but also naive, colorful and partitioned, comes right out of the stained glass technique. Nowadays, Erwin is a full-fledged artist. Paintings, sculptures and stained glass make an integral part of his career. Between 2010 and 2012, Erwin designed multiple official posters of some of the greatest racing events in North America including the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway, the IndyCar Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and others. In 2011 he was also selected by american oil giant Sunoco to design their POP «Official Fuel of IndyCar» campaign and his artwork was displayed in over 5,000 gas stations nationwide. At the same time, Dazelle was also elected Artist of the year by the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance in 2010 and produced posters for some of the the greatest wine festivals in California. Dazelle also painted a giant mural in front of L'Aventure Winery in Paso Robles.