Ray Catena Auto Group Porsche and Bodymotion Surpass First Goal in 2014 Continental Challenge at Daytona

Shane Lewis and Andrew Baxter Overcome Short Lead Time To See Checkered Flag

Daytona Beach, Fla., January 25, 2014 – Every team enters the first event of any new race season with its own set of objectives. Despite an almost improbably short lead time of just a few weeks to prepare, Bodymotion Racing was able to check off its first major objective of 2014 with the No. 12 Ray Catena Auto Group Porsche 911: it took the checkered flag. The Mike Bavaro-owned operation had been out of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSCC) for six years and came to the BMW Performance 200 season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) with the primary goal of reintroducing itself to the highly competitive GS class. After two-hours and 30-minutes of racing on the 3.56-mile road course, the No. 12 of Andrew Baxter (Rumson, N.J.) and Shane Lewis (Jupiter, Fla.) had done so finishing the race on the lead lap, 18th in the 68-car field.

Bodymotion (Bodymotion.com) had limited time in preparing for Friday’s race. The program was finalized relatively late in the off-season and weather prevented local testing of the freshly built Porsche which began life as a road-going Porsche 911 GTS. The only significant time the car had been run was just a few weeks ago at the “ROAR Before the Rolex 24” here at DIS. Furthermore, very little track time preceded rookie Baxter’s first race at Daytona this weekend. Despite having veteran racer Lewis, who won the 2013 Rolex 24 At Daytona in the GX class, as a teammate to help flatten the learning curve, the high-speed oval/road course track can take years to master.

"We’re proud of Andrew Baxter in his inaugural IMSA race and congratulate veteran Shane Lewis for their outstanding performance in today's BMW Performance 200,” offered Bavaro. “Both drivers were able to compete with a brand new Porsche. We are honored to represent the Ray Catena Automotive Group in this historic first United Sportscar Racing weekend. The team executed two penalty free stops to keep the No. 12 car on the lead lap, ultimately finishing 17th overall. We laid the foundation for a strong season ahead and are excited to head to Sebring."

The limited testing time and cold weather conditions required Bodymotion to gamble on car setup before the race. Unfortunately, the risk on the setup did not yield the reward hoped for by the team. However, through focused drives by both Baxter and Lewis, as well as strong pit work by the Bodymotition effort, the young group was able to surpass several objectives including reaching the finish and getting rookie Baxter valuable seat time in the car.

“Our first goal was to come out and get the groundwork for a strong program in place. We did that,” remarked Baxter. “We knew we had a bit of an uphill battle here at Daytona. It was a new car, a team returning for the first time in over five years and my first time in an IMSA race. That’s a lot of firsts. Despite everything, I was able to run the Ray Catena Auto Group Porsche for my whole stint and turn the car over to Shane in one piece. There are a lot of guys that can’t say that today so I am pleased with that. The Bodymotion guys did a great job in the pits and Shane drove a terrific stint. We’ve still got work to do, of course, but I’m really pleased with where we’ve started off.”

Baxter took the green flag in the Ray Catena Porsche and drove a challenging but mishap free stint. Lewis, who is a six-time winner in the series, drove the final leg of the race. Despite a car that was not ideal for the cool conditions at Daytona, the multi-time 24-hour race winner was able to avoid the multiple accidents that spotted the race’s final laps to see the checkered flag.

“You know, every new car has its teething problems,” said Lewis. “We had a few of those leading into the race. Bodymotion built a heck of a car but we all put this deal together pretty late in the off-season so we didn’t have much time to run the bugs out of it. But, we saw the checkered flag and we were on the lead lap of a field of almost 70 cars. That’s a pretty impressive debut in my book. It shows where we are going. Andrew did a heck of a job. He didn’t let the track or the competition faze him at all. That’s pretty impressive for someone visiting this place for the first time. He showed a lot of respect but he didn’t let it get to him. That’s the kind of teammate I want! The Bodymotion guys did a terrific job with the Ray Catena Porsche and I’m really looking forward to getting to Sebring.”

Founded in 1959, the Ray Catena Auto Group (RayCatena.com) has 13 dealerships representing 11 luxury brands in New York and New Jersey. The “Legend of Luxury” markets and services manufacturers such as Porsche, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Mini, Land Rover and soon to be added Audi.

Bodymotion Racing will now take the Ray Catena Auto Group Porsche to central Florida’s Sebring International Raceway where it will race in support of the 62nd Running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. The second round of the CTSCC will take place on March 14.

For more on the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, visit IMSA.com.

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