America’s Premier Nürburgring Pilot Asked to Repeat ‘11 Victory Performance

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NÜRBURGRING, GERMANY, August 1, 2012 – When the phone rings, sometimes you don’t ask questions, you just say “yes”. Shane Lewis did just that when he received a phone call earlier this week recruiting him to make a last minute flight to Germany’s famed racecourse to compete in the VLN Six Hours of Nürburgring. The Jupiter, Fla.-resident is the defending class winner of the 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen with Vic Rice (San Rafael, CA). The pairing will reprise their role in the same Hamburg Racing Team (HRT) Aston Martin Vantage N24, No. 203 for this August 4 event, they raced here at the Nürburgring 24 in May.

Lewis has dominated the 15.753-mile (25.359 km), 73-turn Nordschleife – the name of the full Nürburgring racetrack – in recent years winning the 24 Hour race (’10), two victories here in the Six Hour (’09, ’11) and taking two other 24 Hour podiums (’04, ’10). The multiple-time American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and GRAND-AM race winner also enjoys a pair of GT podiums on the “Grand Prix” circuit when the ALMS visited here in ‘99 and 2000. The unparalleled success for an American at a track considered one of the greatest racing challenges in the history of the sport has made Lewis a local celebratory in Germany and widely considered America’s Nürburgring master. In fact, of his seven different starts on both circuits, Lewis has only failed to podium twice. The lowest finish he has had here was sixth in this year’s 24 Hour after having run in the top-three of his class.

Lewis found much of his success with German Audi specialists Götz Motorsports but will be challenging this weekend with HRT. The German operation, racing the specially built British machine, has found speed since Lewis came to the venture earlier this year. They are still searching for their first victory together but the combination has all the earmarks of success. The 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen will be their third race together having opened the year with the 24 Hours of Dubai in early January before traveling here to Nürburgring for the 24 Hour in the spring.

The Nürburgring track is blindingly quick and, with 73-turns, the Nordschleife – translated to English as the “North Swipe“ – takes hundreds of laps to get any sense of confidence. It’s a true driver’s track requiring skill and bravery to extract the most from a car. This Saturday, the winner of 18 major sports car races will be making his eighth career start on the track nicknamed the “Green Hell”. The formidable combination of Lewis and Rice hopes to continue its record of success when the green flag falls. The VLN runs a minimum of 190 cars in its races – all held at Nürburgring - promising a class win will be no easy task against so many experienced entries.

Shane Lewis has raced every major class of sports car in every major international series. Most recently, he has focused on major international endurance races. In his career he has started 33, 24-hour races including victory in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, three starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 15 Rolex 24 At Daytonas.

Quotes

Shane Lewis

On his expectations for the Six Hour: “We unfortunately had some small mechanical issues that cost us big results in both races at Dubai and the Nürburgring 24. I think that the HRT team is really prepping hard for this race. They want, well even more need, a good result here. I think that amount of determination puts us in a good place for a great result. It's also great to be back with my double Nürburgring Six Hour race-winning co-driver, Vic Rice. Vic and I know how to win together.”

On the challenge of the last-minute request to race in the Six Hour: “It didn't take but a millisecond to say ‘yes’ to going back to ‘The Ring’. I guess by now everyone knows how I feel about this place. There aren't many things in life that I wouldn't change in a heartbeat to race on the Nordschleife in a competitive car.”

On seeking satisfaction after “only” a sixth-place finish in the 24H: “I know we have a good car and a good team. We do need to have a few breaks go our way though to even be on the podium at the Six Hour, let alone win it. There are many top teams, some factory programs, competing against us this season. Ours is one of the most competitive classes in the VLN Series so we know it will be no easy task. I was disappointed that we didn't find the podium at the 24 for sure, but this is racing at one of the most demanding tracks in all of the world. I realize how fortunate we were as at team to come back and finish sixth after the issues we had. But, yes, with all of that said, I want to win pretty bad.”

On his uncanny record at the Nürburgring: “I finally realized after all of the years coming here that you can’t treat this like just one race track if you want to drive it well. It is so long and has so much elevation change that the weather pattern can be different from the start of the lap to the middle of the course to the end of one lap. The Nordschleife lives and breaths differently than any track you will ever drive. There is nothing to compare it to. Learning and understanding this is imperative to being successful there. Most drivers just can’t get their head around that. It takes everything you have to be the best here. You don't really learn this place in a race or two. It can take years. But that challenge is what I thrive on. I want to slay the beast. I want to conquer this place. Maybe it can’t truly be done, you can’t be better than it is, but I will do my very best trying. I think that’s what it takes to be successful at Nürburgring.”

For more on Shane Lewis, visit: www.ShaneLewis.com . Follow Shane Lewis on Twitter @GoShaneGo and Facebook at * *Shane Lewis – Athlete .

To follow the 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen, visit * *www.VLN.de . **

Use your tag reader to see great video of Shane Lewis’s Nürburgring program on YouTube! No tag reader? Click on www.YouTube.com/ShaneLewisRacing

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