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.”