COMPASS RACING LAUNCHES WORLD CHALLENGE MCLAREN PROGRAM

Ray Mason and Paul Holton to co-drive 570S GT4 in GTS Sprint-X races

TORONTO, CANADA – Ray Mason returns to Compass Racing to contest the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge Sprint-X series, where he will co-drive with recently-named McLaren Factory Driver Paul Holton. Mason is no stranger to the squad, having competed for them in both World Challenge and IMSA from 2011 to 2015.

The duo will pilot the No. 78 McLaren Toronto 570S GT4, starting with the opening Sprint-X weekend at Circuit of the Americas near Austin, TX on March 22nd to 25th.

“I’m really excited to be back in the Pirelli World Challenge with my friends at Compass Racing,” enthused Mason. “The McLaren is a strong package that should do well in the one-hour races, and I’m looking forward to working with Paul.”

Holton was equally enthusiastic. “It’s great to have the opportunity to move into GTS with Ray and McLaren. We know the platform really well and with a season of IMSA competition under our belt have a really good handle on set-up.”

The car will fly the colours of McLaren Toronto, a member of the Pfaff Automotive Partners dealership network, which is a long-time partner of the team. “We’re thrilled to expand our McLaren program into the Pirelli World Challenge, to welcome Ray back to the squad, and to reward Paul for delivering us the Touring Car championship last season,” noted Team Principal Karl Thomson. “This new Sprint-X format should make for some great racing!”

The McLaren will join the previously-announced No. 77 Bilstein Audi RS 3 LMS that will be driven by JT Coupal in the new TCR class, giving the team a footprint in each class. Both cars will support the Race Day Foundation, a 501(c)3 for-good organization that offers children and families living with life-threatening illness a “day away” from their daily challenges. The team (along with many of their World Challenge competitors) has been a featured stop on the Race Day tours for many years and look forward to welcoming the foundation's guests at COTA.

The races in Austin will be streamed live on http://world-challenge.com/streamvideo and will be broadcast, tape-delayed on CBS Sports.