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Wolcott and team win at 25 Hours of Thunderhill

Young driver wins E2 class at country’s longest sports car race

Race car driver Travis Wolcott finished off his season with another win in California, finishing 1^{st in his class at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, December 8-9th. He and his co-drivers raced a Mazda MX-5 specially prepared by Atlanta Motorsports Group in the country’s longest endurance sports car race.}

This was Wolcott’s endurance sports car racing debut, and an important race for his career. Endurance racing requires much more stamina than sprint racing. Winning at Thunderhill is a challenge. The technical course and long hours took a toll on all competitors for over a full day of racing nonstop.

"I knew that if we could keep mistakes to a minimum, stay out of trouble, and run consistent, fast laps we had a car that could win. It’s a difficult race for everybody. There are so many cars of varying speeds and so many opportunities to lose focus. The most important thing is to stay sharp, " said Wolcott.

Wolcott shared driving duties with three other drivers in the #79 Mazda MX-5. Guy Laidig, Beau Borders, and Todd Launchbaugh each took stints in the car and together the whole team drove from 4th place in class all the way up to the race win, a full 20 laps ahead of their nearest rival.

"I’m thrilled to win the 25 Hours of Thunderhill on my first attempt. These are the kinds of challenges I like to set for myself as I progress. It was critical that I prepare for it properly and find myself with a crew that could get the job done. This is invaluable experience as I continue towards my goal of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans," said Wolcott.

Wolcott was coached through the course at Thunderhill by one of his Pirelli World Challenge competitors, Todd Lamb, who was driving another of Atlanta Motorsports Group’s MX-5s that weekend in a different class. Lamb has won at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, has competed in Grand-Am, and is a past Playboy MX-5 Cup Champion.

"We had six drivers entered in the 25 that had never seen Thunderhill before. It's a daunting track with blind corners and significant elevation changes. Travis stood out among the six as a true talent, soaking up information that I gave him on the proper lines and getting up to speed quickly on the 15 turn circuit. He and his co-drivers never put a wheel wrong over 25 hours, and it paid off with a win at a very challenging event," said Lamb.

Adding this win to his impressive first professional season in the Pirelli World Challenge, Wolcott is talking to sponsors, partners and others who have taken notice of his strong contention in different cars and conditions. 

About Travis Wolcott

Travis Wolcott is a professional race car driver based in Boulder, Colo. He competes in the Touring Car Class of the Pirelli World Challenge in a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI. He received his SCCA Competition license in late 2009 and won his first divisional Championship in 2010. He races with 3ZERO3 Motorsports and Emich Volkswagen in Denver. Wolcott currently offers opportunities for corporate sponsorship, event appearances, private coaching, and product endorsements and distribution. For more information on Wolcott, please visit his website at

^{www.Traviswolcott.com.}

This is a link to a youtube video of Travis driving day and nightime laps at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill

http://youtu.be/Jt2ibCGI8y0

In Paris, France on April 10th the top bike racers in the world will gather for the Paris-Roubaix race.  Known as the "Hell of the North" the Paris Roubaix is a grueling road race that challenges the handling skills of the racers as they finish up on the cobbled roads of Roubaix.   In Mead, Colorado on April 10th, the same day as the Paris-Roubaix, over 700 racers will gather to start the Mead Roubaix, part of the Colorado Roubaix Series.  This race is as close as many will come to terrain of the Paris-Roubaix.  But for some racers it is the Mead Roubaix that will help prepare them for a future as professional cyclist. 

Alexi Grewal is an Olympic gold medalist and former professional road racing cyclist. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Grewal became the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in road cycling. His winning bicycle is now at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.  At age 50, Alexi, a Loveland Colorado resident, has decided to make a comeback to the world of professional cycling.   He has chosen to race the Mead Roubaix in preparation for future multi-day stage races.   

Robin Eckmann, a recent Boulder High School graduate, now races on Lance Armstrong's  U23 Trek/Livestrong Development team.   Robin first rode the Colorado Roubaix Series in 2006 as a Junior cyclist.  Robin is very excited about racing the Mead Roubaix as it will help prepare him for the Espoire Paris Roubaix this May. 

"Mead Roubaix will help me to accomplish some of my goals in preparing for European road races. For example the dirt, although not true cobble stones, will provide some of the challenges of the Paris-Roubaix"   explains Robin, as he talks about the course " I think the Mead Roubaix is a very challenging course and it should be an interesting race.  I have a feeling that if we get a crosswind on the course it will be extremely hard and the race will split up like an European race"! 

Tom Zirbel, an well known professional cyclist and national champion, was sidelined in 2008 with a USADA suspension.   His suspension was recently lifted and he, like Alexi, is working to rejoin the professional peloton.   When discussing the Mead Roubaix Tom commented, " I just spent a week on a beach in Mexico so I feel like I'll be specially prepared for the 4" deep sand/gravel sections that the Mead Roubaix course has to offer." 

As evidenced, veteran cyclists revere the Mead Roubaix. Not only does a win in the event help make and define a rider's career but it provides the type of training that is rarely found in the US.   

The 2011 course has almost 1,000 feet of elevation gain per lap during the 19.4 mile circuit.  Top riders will complete 4 laps for a total of 77.6 miles with winners clocking times around three hours.  First-time competitors and the youngest juniors will do a single lap.  

'I'm proud to do this course," says Grealish.  "We include the unpaved sections in honor of the race in France, which is regarded as the hardest one-day event in the world.  We recreate a bit of that here with the dirt. This race is not for everybody, but for the ones that do participate it becomes the best race of the year!"

The Town of Mead and the Mead Chamber of Commerce have worked closely with DBC Events, building the Mead Roubaix Festival around the bike race.  The Festival will provide a Kidz Adventure Zone, a Doggie Dash, a 5K Run/Walk, the Boulder Beer Garden and many expo vendors.  

Sponsors for the Mead Roubaix Road Race  include Boulder Beer, Clif Bar, Eldorado Natural Spring Water, Mead Chamber of Commerce, Podium, Primus Mootry, Singletrack Maps and Victory Circle Graphix.

For more details on the race - www.dbcevents.com