From Brimtek Motorsports
WDCR member Tristan Herbert of Brimtek Motorsports continued to be a force to be reckoned with this season as evidenced by recent races in California. The Pirelli World Challenge rookie placed second in Round 9 and third in Round 10 at Infineon Raceway, Calif. Herbert followed that double race weekend with an impressive second place showing during Round 11 at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track. In addition to leading the race at Laguna Seca for 13 total laps, Herbert earned the Invisible Glass “Clean Pass of the Race” award for his stellar pass on the No 66 K-Pax racing Volvo C30 of Robb Holland after the restart on Lap 7.
“It was tough losing the leading position at Laguna Seca, especially with only a few laps left in the race”, comments Herbert. “But my team and I are still pleased with our second place finish and feel confident that we have what it takes to be a top competitor in the Touring Car series”.
Tristan was looking for a solid finish during the final Round 12 of the Pirelli World Challenge series at Road Atlanta this past weekend, but a fuel pump failure would move him back early in the race to finish eighth place. An impressive fourth place overall in the championship with one win, two seconds, two thirds and a fourth place, earned him the 2011 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Rookie of the Year award.
Tristan credits his grass-roots SCCA club racing background with the D.C. Region for his success as a rookie driver in the Pirelli World Challenge series.
“This year has been an incredible experience for me as a grassroots club racer,” he said. “I am living my ultimate dream every time I get that Number 33 Volkswagen GTI out on the track against so many world renowned racers. I also feel very fortunate that I have so many people, especially our team principal, Dave Tilton from Brimtek, that believe in my driving ability and my crew from RennGruppe Motorsports. My crew chief, Cameron Conover along with the rest of the team continues to demonstrate outstanding work ethic and unparalleled knowledge of Volkswagens.”
Cameron and Brimtek were also chosen as the 2011 Pirelli World Challenge Crew of the Year for Touring Car.
The support of fellow club racers is something that Tristan values greatly. With the invaluable support of another touring car team, Gila Monster, who helped transport the car out to California from Virginia and the support of countless other club racers who helped facilitate the transport of the car back to RennGruppe Motorsports in North Carolina for final Road Atlanta preparations, Tristan’s season has shown the value of a grass-roots racing foundation.
Excitement continues to brew amongst the team as they are already in the process of developing their program for the 2012 season.
