Beyer Racing announces its lineup for the 47th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona where the team will launch off its first fulltime Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season. As the team prepares for this historic event it has put together one of the youngest and most exciting driver lineups to ever compete at the 3.56 miles speedway road course.
Americans Jared Beyer, Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor and Mexican David MartÃnez will get behind the wheel of the No. 13 Beyer Racing Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype becoming the youngest team in the field with an average age of only 20.25 years.
Jared Beyer, 18, got his first taste of Grand-Am competition in 2008 when he made his Rolex Sports Car Series debut at Virginia International Raceway narrowly missing a top-10 result as a rookie. The young Texan has quickly moved up the racing ranks and after a full off-season testing program is ready for the 2009 season with Beyer Racing.
Returning to Daytona after a successful fifth-place finish in 2008 is Ricky Taylor, 19, who will join Beyer as his fulltime partner for the 2009 season. Ricky competed in selected Rolex Sports Car Series events in 2008 and also achieved great success in the Skip Barber National Championship finishing second in the 2007 Championship with two victories, five pole positions and five podiums.
Jordan Taylor, 17, is the youngest driver in the team but brings with him unprecedented experience for his age. The Orlando native participated in both the Daytona Prototype and GT categories in 2008 while also competing and winning F2000 and IMSA Lites races in the same year. Jordan is only a high school senior but is quickly making a name for himself in the racing world.
Completing the young and talented driver line up is David Martinez, 27, who in 2006 made a name for himself by scoring the best ever debut by a Mexican driver in the Champ Car World Series. Martinez has achieved significant success in the open wheel world and will now try his hand at sports cars by driving a Daytona Prototype for the first time at Daytona.
Beyer Racing has been busy testing during the off season as it prepares for its first full year of competition in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Despite their young age the Beyer drivers have shown impressive speed during testing and are now ready to take on some of the best drivers in the world on Jan. 24-25.
Jared Beyer (No. 13 Beyer Racing Pontiac Riley): “I am so excited for my first 24 Hour event. Although nervousness comes with that as well, I am ready to start the race and finish well and get a great start to the 2009 season.”
Ricky Taylor (No. 13 Beyer Racing Pontiac Riley): “I am very excited about the 24 Hour (Rolex 24 At Daytona) this year, I feel the Beyer Racing team has done a great job throughout all of the preseason testing and we will have a good package for the race. The car has been quick in testing and my teammates are all quick in the car so if we can keep out of trouble there is no reason why we can’t come out of it with a solid result.”
Jordan Taylor (No. 13 Beyer Racing Pontiac Riley): “I am really looking forward to this year’s Rolex 24. I learned a lot in last year’s 24 driving in a Porsche, but this year will be a whole new learning curve with the Daytona Prototype. We worked on a lot of different areas of the car during the testing at Daytona, and I think we have a strong car in race trim. We have one new addition to the team, David Martinez, who I think will be a benefit to the team. Our driver lineup is strong and the team is up to the task; we are all looking forward to a strong showing at the Rolex 24.”
David Martinez (No. 13 Beyer Racing Pontiac Riley): “I’m really excited to be competing at the Rolex 24, it is an event that I have followed my whole life and I’m honored to finally be a part of it. I have to thank Beyer Racing for this opportunity, as soon as I met the team and my teammates I could tell that we have great chemistry and the same hunger to win. This will be a whole new experience for me, I’ve never driven the car and I don’t know the track. But throughout my career I have always been able to adapt quickly to new situations and I’m sure that I will be able to get up to speed after only a few laps.”