COMPASS RACING LAUNCHES AUDI R8 LMS IMSA TUDOR GTD PROGRAM

Multiple-championship-winning CTSC team expands Audi effort 

MONTEREY, CA — Long-time Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge team Compass Racing today announced an expansion of its Audi racing program to include an Audi R8 LMS in IMSA’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class.

The new No. 76 car will be helmed by long-time Compass driver Ray Mason and his regular team-mate Pierre Kleinubing, with support from partners AERO Advanced Paint Technology, Spyder apparel and Audi Sport customer racing. As they have for the past five years, the team and drivers will fly the colors of their charity of choice, the Children’s Tumor Foundation.

The move to GTD builds on the team’s burgeoning relationship with Audi, which officially started on-track at Sebring, Florida in March with the launch of their new CTSC ST-class Audi S3 program.

“We’re incredibly excited to extend our Audi program with what is undeniably a big move for our team,” enthused Team Principal Karl Thomson. “Over the past few years we’ve expanded from ST to GS, and we feel that the time is right for us to make the jump to GTD. We’ve enjoyed working with the folks at Audi Genuine Parts and Accessories on the S3, which is still a work in progress, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to run an Audi R8 LMS for Ray and Pierre.”

“We are delighted to welcome Compass Racing into the AScr family,” remarked Audi Sport customer racing Director of Operations Brad Kettler. "They have always run a notably good program. We are looking forward to future cooperation and success.”

Tristan Herbert, Manager, Audi Motorsport and Customer Racing added, “We are excited to have Compass Racing join the Audi Sport customer racing program and we are fortunate to have a team of this caliber promoting the Audi brand.

Plans for the team’s GTD effort currently include running four of the upcoming TUDOR “sprint” races: Lime Rock Park, Road America, Virginia International and Circuit of The Americas, with a strong likelihood of attending the two remaining North American Endurance Cup rounds at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta.

“We’ve committed to the four sprint races, and are working on the final pieces of the puzzle for the endurance rounds,” remarked Thomson. “In the meanwhile, we’ve got an aggressive testing schedule put together prior to Watkins, starting in two weeks at Sonoma.”

Like the team’s S3’s, the new R8 will be clothed in a striking livery featuring AERO paint. “The response we’ve had to our new S3 livery has been extremely positive,” said Compass Racing Technical Director Ray Lee. “We’ve just painted our transporters with AERO and continue to be impressed with the quality and finish of the product.”

No. 76 will carry the Children’s Tumor Foundation logo, and will serve as one of the featured cars on the charity’s paddock tour at each race. “The Foundation is grateful to Compass Racing, who have supported us since 2010, and to all our partner teams in the IMSA paddock,” said CTF Racing4Research Director Jill Beck. “Our kids and families in the blue shirts will now have the chance to cheer for them in both the Continental series and in TUDOR.”

While the team begins work on their new Audi R8 LMS program, work continues on the CTSC Audi S3’s, which race on Saturday, May 2nd at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at 1pm. Watch the race live at IMSA.com, or watch the broadcast on FOX Sports on May 17th at 9am.

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About Compass Racing

Compass Racing has been competing in professional racing continually since 2004, fields front-running cars in IMSA's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, winning series Championships in 2010, 2009, 2007, and 2006. The team also won Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Championships in 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011, and the Canadian Touring Car Championship in 2010. Its 2015 program includes a TUSC GTD-class Audi R8 LMS, a CTSCC GS-class Subaru WRX STi, two ST-class Audi S3s and three PWC TCA-class Honda Civic Si's.

About AERO ADVANCED Paint Technology

AERO Advanced Paint Technology™ is an environmentally sustainable paint applique that eliminates the need for harmful sprayers. The aerospace-grade, self-healing paint film and solvent-free adhesive were designed to give the technology the highest performance in durability and aesthetics, while reducing weight compared to traditional spray. AERO was initially designed for The Boeing Company as a lightweight paint film technology for the 787 Dreamliner. As such, the technology provides significant performance gains in weight reduction while enabling the finish to be a fully strippable system. AERO has proven to be successful in the motorsports industry due to the ease of install, significant weight savings, and enhanced durability. For details visit http://rethinkpaint.com.

About Spyder

Boulder, Colorado-based Spyder sold its first ski sweater from the trunk of founder David Jacobs’ car. Today, its high-quality apparel is distributed in over 40 countries. While its roots began in ski racing, Spyder now offers a diverse line of year-round clothing and accessories that includes outerwear, streetwear, auto-racing inspired apparel, and fitness attire. Spyder can still be found on the mountain, but also anywhere that demands high-performance apparel with style. Brand ambassadors include Patrick Dempsey, Julia Mancuso, Steven Nyman, Chris Davenport, James Hinchcliffe and Sierra Quitiquit. For details visit http://spyder.com

About Audi

Audi has always valued the knowledge and technological innovation that the racing environment provides. Since our inception a hundred years ago, Audi Motorsport has competed on a world-wide scale resulting in numerous world championships across a broad spectrum of races. The name of the R8 is legend: The R8 sports prototype won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times between 2000 and 2005 and celebrated 63 wins from 80 starts. The first thoroughbred production sportscar from Audi with the same name, the Audi R8 unveiled in 2006, carries the genes of the triumphant racing prototypes. Now, the name R8 returns to the race track: Bearing a close resemblance to the production car and derived from a chassis taken from the production line the Audi R8 LMS arises. The R8 LMS has celebrated many victories across the world, including 24 hour titles at Spa, Zolder, the Nürburgring, and most recently, Daytona. For more information on Audi Motorsport, visit http://audiusa.com/motorsport. 

About Racing4Research 

Developed by the Children’s Tumor Foundation, the Racing4Research™ (R4R) program utilizes competitive, professional auto racing as a vehicle to increase awareness of neurofibromatosis (NF) and to raise funds for research through corporate sponsorship, personal donations, and individual fundraising by NF Heroes - children and adults from around the country who live with neurofibromatosis. The Racing4Research program offers families living with the disorder a uniquely empowering weekend, and has raised more than $3 million dollars since 2008. For details please visit http://racing4research.org, "Like" the R4R Facebook page, and follow on Twitter.