TEAM NEWS: The #06 and #07 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R Head For Homestead

Photo by John Thawley Homestead Florida (March 21, 2007): The Banner Racing Team came to Homestead Florida for this Saturday’s Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami on a mission to get Pontiac back into contention for the GT Manufacturer’s championship after a disappointing weekend in Mexico.

Leighton Reese of Banner Racing feels that the past belongs there as the team is anxious to continue their pursuit of the championship and their refinement of the new Pontiac GXP.R race cars.

“We have made improvements after Daytona and since were last here at Homestead so if we can avoid the problems we had in Mexico I am optimistic that we can be fighting for podium positions with both cars,” Reese said.

Homestead does present a problem as the Banner Pontiacs have had problems keeping pace with the Porsche 997s and the lighter Mazda RX8s on the tracks with long straight-a-ways and banked turns like Homestead and Daytona.

“They (the Porsches) just have us covered on the long straights and banking is just like a longer straight,” Reese said. “If we can stay up front at the beginning of the race we can compete for the win because the strength of our Banner Pontiacs is consistency and wearing the competition down.”

Paul Edwards and Kelly Collins, drivers of the #07 Banner Pontiac GXP.R are defending champions of this race having won last year in a Pontiac GTO.R and certainly contend for a repeat but according to Reese competition in the Grand-AM Rolex GT Series is much tougher in 2007!

“Compared to last season there is much more intense competition,” Reese said of the still young 2007 season. “The GT field is bigger, the cars are better and there is larger involvement by a greater number of manufacturers. Porsche upped the ante as did Mazda and there are new and better Mustangs and Corvettes. A lot of teams have raised their game so Banner Racing must continue to improve our Pontiac GXPs as well!”

“We are looking forward to another great Grand-Am race and a tough fight at Homestead,” Reese concluded.

Round 3 of the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami is scheduled to take the Miami-Homestead Speedway at 2:00 PM ET on Saturday March 24th 2007. The race, which can be seen live on SPEED TV, is scheduled for 400 Kilometers (109 laps) and has a time limit of two and a half hours. Qualifying for the Rolex GT cars is scheduled for Friday March 23rd at 2:20 PM ET