Fall-Line Motorsports Press Release
Buffalo Grove, IL (November 16, 2013) -
Just in time for the winter series test that begins today, Fall-Line
Motorsports is pleased to announce another exciting confirmation, this time for
their 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship team competing in the GT
Daytona (GTD) category. Fall-Line veterans and fan favorites Charlie Putman and
Charles Espenlaub will compete in a full-season in the team's Audi R8 LMS that
they both drove during select events in 2013.
This exciting announcement comes just
in time for the pre-season test that will take place at Sebring and Daytona
November 16-20.
"The Charlie's" are known in
the sportscar paddock for their big personalities and quick wit (and the
occasional impromptu acoustic guitar jam session from Putman) and have been
driving together for many years now. They won the 2010 Continental Tires Sports
Car Challenge Series in GS together and have also competed overseas in
endurance races in addition to racing in the GT category in the U.S.
Fall-Line and Audi Sport customer
racing teamed up midway through the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series
season beginning with the 6-hour race at Watkins Glen in which both Putman and
Espenlaub participated. The newly formed GT program is an addition to the
Fall-Line team and competed in six races with a season-best 5th place result at Kansas Speedway.
Audi has a long history competing in
sports car racing and their continued commitment to the IMSA TUDOR SportsCar
Championship as a partner of the series shows this dedication. Audi won the
2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona and will be looking to defend that title with the
Fall-Line crew come January.
Charlie Putman: "I am of course happy to be back
with the Fall Line gang full-time. They worked very hard at making it
possible for Charles and I to run the full 2014 TUDOR United Sportscar
season. This first year of the series is going to be a special (and
difficult) historic year. We wanted very much to be a part of it.
Nathan, Dave, and JP, along with the full capabilities of the Fall Line shop
have already been hard at work making sure that the Audi R8 is ready for a
serious run at the 2014 Championship. All the Fall-Line guys as well as
Charles and I are doubling down on our efforts at getting prepared to be the
best of the new GTD class."
Charles
Espenlaub: "I am beyond thrilled to be back racing full-time with Charlie,
and in the Audi, no less. I had a blast driving the car this past season and
getting the opportunity to race in the new series full-time with such an
amazing machine is truly a gift."
Brad
Kettler, Director of Technical Operations, Audi customer-racing: "We are excited to continue our
relationship with Fall-Line Motorsports as we begin the first season of the new
series. Fall-Line have been a great partner and we look forward to supporting
them in the hunt for the podium."
Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager: "We are
extremely excited to welcome back Charlie (Putman) and Charles (Espenlaub) to
the Fall-line Motorsports GTD program. We have previously enjoyed great success
together and it is a privilege to continue our relationship as the TUDOR United
Sportscar series enters its inaugural season. Both Fall-Line
Motorsports and Audi Sport customer racing have worked tirelessly together over
the past few months to continue to build upon the program we started in 2013 as
we look forward to starting 2014 with the Sebring and Daytona tests."
Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of
race cars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche,
Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their
Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car
Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3's
in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, and one Audi R8 in the TUDOR
Untied SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for
other CTSCC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high
performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com
ABOUT
AUDI OF AMERICA AND THE AUDI R8 LMS
Audi
began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport
customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport
customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its
inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3
racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition
of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts
with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter
engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.
Audi
of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered
luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands
globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and
broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will
invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.
Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi
vehicle and business issues.
Photo credit: Wes Duenkel Motorsport Photography / Fall-Line Motorsports
