Andrew Palmer extends his 2015 USA program with the announcement that he will be contesting the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup (NAEC) during the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. Palmer made his debut with the team co-driving to the PC class victory at the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona in the #52 Cuttwood E-Liquid/Spyder Active Sports FLM09.
Palmer won the 2013 Blancpain Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Driver’s Finals and was a race winner in the highly competitive GT class during the 2014 Pirelli World Championship. 2015 sees him signed to Lamborghini Sqadra Corse as a junior GT3 driver and he will be competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series, which includes the SPA 24 Hours.
ANDREW PALMER – Driver #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
“I’ve definitely developed a taste for endurance racing and I’m looking forward to so many long distance events this year. Winning the 24 at Daytona was amazing, really a dream come true. I am getting used to and enjoying the unique nature of sharing the car with a team of co-drivers and the patience required to get a good result. Looking at how Daytona played out really opened my eyes. We were so many laps down and we’re struggling to keep the car on track with no power steering. But as the seconds became minutes, and the minutes became hours, we just kept eating into the lead more and more. In the end, we were able to take the lead when our competitors’ luck ran out.
“Originally our plan was just to do Daytona, to get the experience of a 24 hour as I have the SPA 24 Hours coming up later in the year for Lamborghini Squadra Corse. But standing on the top step at Daytona made me want to go after Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and Watkins Glen here in the States that much more. Adding the remaining Tequila Patron NAEC events in the USA to my program in Europe means we have a great year to look forward to.
“I’ll be driving on so many legendary tracks, going back and forth across the Atlantic all year. It’ll be one of the biggest challenges of my career so far, but with the backing of Spyder Active Sports and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, I know I’ll have great support and we will do our best to be successful.”
BOBBY OERGEL – Team Owner – PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
“Andrew is one of the most dedicated drivers I’ve ever met, especially at his age. It’s easy to forget that he’s a college student just a few short years removed from karting!
“His performance at the Rolex 24 at Daytona got a lot of people’s attention, so we were eager to secure him for The Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup as early as possible.”