Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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photography by Stephan Cooper/CourteSy of tudor The latest and most exciting incarnation of auto racing comes to Austin on September 19 and 20, when Circuit of The Americas (COTA) hosts the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. The event will involve nearly 50 teams and more than 125 drivers during two days of legendary racing, which will also include the only US appearance of the FIA World Endurance Championship that will run in conjunction with the TUSCC under the banner of Lone Star Le Mans. "Not only will we have the four classes of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship competing in the morning," says Russell Kelly, US brand man- ager for Tudor Watch USA, LLC, "but the FIA World Endurance Championship (where we are the official timing partner) will be racing into the night. Add a Blue Oyster Cult concert between the two races, and it will be nonstop excitement." Austin as a destination for this series is rooted in the DNA of the city itself and the excellence of COTA, considered by experts to be the best auto-racing venue in North America. "Austin itself is an incredible city, and Circuit of The Americas SultanS of Speed As the Tudor uniTed SporTSCar ChampionShip celebrAtes its inAugurAl seAson, the series brings the AristocrAcy of Auto rAcing to Austin's circuit of the AmericAs. by maTT STewarT is the best track in the nation by far," says racing icon Scott Pruett, who is driving car No. 01 for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the Tudor series. "When you see a facil- ity like COTA put all that effort and energy into state-of-the-art safety barriers and run-off areas and what they've put together for the fans for viewing, it has a great rhythm and f low that make it a place I love." The series is strengthened by the sponsorship of the Tudor watch brand and Rolex's racing heritage. "Rolex essentially pioneered motorsports here in the US when it began its relationship in 1959 at Daytona," says Kelly. "It's a proven platform, so it was only natural for us to continue that relationship with Tudor." The legacy of Tudor is a cornerstone of the TUSCC's suc- cess, and the nature of timing itself is the other pillar. "It is an ideal fit for Tudor to be associated with endurance sports car racing [because] every event we have is based on time," explains IMSA president Scott Atherton. "It's the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Six Hours of Watkins Glen. It is always a measurement of time." This initial year of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship is something that race fans have never seen, as the series blends the best of Grand-Am Road Racing that was previously sponsored by Tudor's parent company, Rolex, and the American Le Mans Series under the manage- ment of the International Motor Sports Association. It's proving successful with the die-hard fans of both Grand-Am and the ALMS. "Loyal ALMS fans who wouldn't go to a Rolex sports car race and fans of a Rolex sports car race who wouldn't do an ALMS race have now come together," shares Pruett. "[At] Watkins Glen's Six Hours of the Glen we saw the biggest crowds in years—there were also record-breaking crowds at Sebring and Daytona. There is this powerful energy that is not just for 2014, but for 2015 and beyond." Because the TUSCC is a new class of racing, the calen- dars of both former series had to be combined in a strategic way. "The Grand-Am Series and the American Le Mans Series [were] 22 separate events at 17 separate tracks. We were able to boil that down to truly be a best-of-the-best calendar [with] 12 stops on our championship this year," Atheron explains. "There isn't a weak link in the chain." Tudor United SportsCar Championship, Circuit of The Americas, September 19-20; for a complete list of events, visit circuitoftheamericas.com AW "alms fans who wouldn't go to a rolex car race and fans of a rolex car race who wouldn't do an alms race have now come together." —scott pruett The Tudor Championship race will involve nearly 50 teams and more than 125 drivers during two days in September. 68 AUSTINWAY.com culture eventful