RENNtech Motorsports Scores Back to Back Podiums at Road America

RENNtech Motorsports – Scores Back to Back Podiums at Road America

The Torxen #89 RENNtech Motorsports AMG GT4 scores a P1 and P2 in the Pirelli World Challenge America PRO-AM Sprint X East -class at Road America.

RENNtech Motorsports heads to Road America

RENNtech Motorsports is returning to the track at Road America with Guy Cosmo and Patrick Byrne
behind the wheel of the #89 Torxen RENNtech Motorsports AMG GT4.
The RT Motorsports Team and both drivers are headed for the grid in the second-to-last race of the Pirelli GT4 America SprintX race at Road America, WI, September 20 -22, 2019.

RENNtech Motorsports withdraws from Watkins Glen Race due to Highway Accident

Early Tuesday morning, a tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 86 outside of Buchanan, VA, and set in motion a chain reaction which left one GT 4 - Racing Team, and two Ace Drivers in a race to make the grid at Watkins Glen International.

Six days earlier, RENNtech Motorsports, the Stuart, Florida based GT4-racing team led by Hartmut Feyhl, had announced agreements with Pro drivers Guy Cosmo and Patrick Byrne, along with a sponsorship deal with TORXEN for the remaining races of the 2019 Pirelli World Challenge GT4 America -series, starting with a Labor Day -weekend race at The Glen.

“We were excited to go racing with Guy and Patrick at Watkins Glen. The car and the team equipment was loaded up, strapped down, and had left for New York on Monday morning. We worked through the weekend to make time, and I was planning on meeting up with the car on Wednesday. Then, Tuesday morning i got a call from Stephen Franz, our truck driver.” Said Hartmut Feyhl.

The team trailer carrying the TORXEN #89 Mercedes AMG GT 4 race car, along with the team gear had ran been run off the road in an attempt to avoid a collision with another tractor trailer, sending the trailer and driver off the highway and down into a 100 foot ravine outside of Buchanan, Virginia.

Heavy Lifting - Trailer emerging form

the ravine with the help of Hugh's Transport.

Wednesday, 3 am, on Interstate 86 outside

Buchanan, Virginia

“Stephen tried to avoid the jack-knifed trailer in front of him on I-86 and ended veering off the highway. motor home trailer was completely destroyed and a tree-limb was going straight through the dash into the cabin. It is a miracle that he survived.” Said Feyhl.

Feyhl, Race Team Manager Sascha Kempter, and Team Member Sam Russell, took the first plane out from West Palm Beach, FL, to Virginia, to assess the situation and damages.

“It was shocking. We raced from Stuart,FL to Buchanan, VA in about 6 hours. When we got there the trailer looked to be in good shape, in relative terms, but it was wedged between the trees and we could not get into it. It was 3:30 am on Wednesday morning that the trailer was pulled out of the woods. On the inside, the car, tire racks, and all the equipment was in place, thanks to the proper loading and tie-downs our team had done.” Said Kempter.

Tree Limb - Image of tree limb piercing

the glove box. Stephen Franz was in the drivers

seat and avoided any serious injuries.

“Until Hartmut and Sascha arrived on the scene, no one really knew the full extent of the damage. On Wednesday, everyone started hitting the phones in a massive effort to exhaust every effort to salvage the race weekend. Guy and Patrick were notified around 10 a.m. to put them on alert of the circumstances as well as the effort to continue on. By that time we knew we had the drivers(s), the car, all the gear and the trailer… but we still were missing one rig, and had to work through the red-tape that goes with Interstate traffic accidents involving two semi-trucks! ” stated Eric Burch of P1 Groupe, RENNtech’s driver agency.

After logging 70 hours of work, a few hours of sleep, burning through phone batteries, and racing against the clock in an-all-out effort to get to the grid at Watkins Glen, the Team and Drivers were forced to make a decision on Thursday afternoon, and called off the race at Watkins Glen.

“The motor-home is gone, but the car and our equipment is in good shape and on its way back to Stuart. I am grateful that no one got seriously hurt, and for all the professionals in Buchanan, especially Hugh's Tansport, that worked incredibly hard to get us back on the road so that we could return home and go racing again.” Said Feyhl.

Walking Away Unharmed - Driver

of the rig was unharmed and was ready

to continue the journey. The rig was

destroyed beyond repair.

Beat, but not defeated, Feyhl and the Team returned to their Head Quarters in Florida on Friday, and began preparing the Team and the TORXEN #89 AMG GT4 for the next race, all while keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian, a category 4 storm, looming southwest off the Florida Coast.
“As well as we plan, practice, and prepare, no amount of practice could ready us for that phone call on Tuesday morning. This experience with all the work and effort has made us more resolute, and we look forward to seeing the #89 TORXEN RENNtech car back on track with Patrick and Guy behind the wheel at Road America.” said Hartmut Feyhl.

The next stop for #89 TORXEN RENNtech Motorsports AMG GT 4 will be at Road America, WI, September 20 – 22, followed by the final race in the Pirelli World Challenge GT4 America series in Las Vegas, NV.

RENNtech Motorsports Trailer 

Stuart, FL Friday, Friday, August 23rd

RENNtech returns to GT 4 America Challenge with Patrick Byrne and Guy Cosmo.

Cosmo and Byrne will take the wheel of the Torxen #89 RENNtech Motorsports AMG GT 4 for the remainder of the SRO America’s Pirelli GT4 America schedule with races at Watkins Glen International, Road America and Las Vegas. The lineup of experienced drivers Cosmo and Byrne, together with main sponsor Torxen show great promise for the re-maining three races. Cosmo and Byrne, who previously won the Asian Le Mans series in the LMP3 class as co-drivers, will compete in 60 minute Sprint-X style race events.

A Test of Power and Performance Quarter Mile – The Drag Strip

On a hot and humid night in May, RENNtech arrived at Palm Beach International Raceway’s drag strip with a brand-new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-door Coupe. The menacing family “sedan” had left the factory in Affalterbach, Germany, with the AMG developed 4.0L (M177) twin-scroll BiTurbo V8 engine 630 HP and 664 lb-ft of torque, but since arriving in the United States, the car had benefitted from RENNtech’s engineering and know-how for developing some seriously fast Mercedes-Benzes in Stuart, FL.

Parker Chase and Reinhold Renger finish P2 with RENNtech Motorsports at the SRO America Season Opener.

Austin, TX - The return to the Circuit of The Americas marked the start to RENNtech Motorsports first full season of GT 4 racing. RENNtech Motorsports teamed up with drivers Parker Chase and Reinhold Renger for the SRO World Challenge Pirelli GT4 America double header with the #89 Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Parker Chase to Join RENNtech Motorsports for SRO America Season Opener

Parker Chase to Join RENNtech Motorsports

for SRO America Season Opener

NEW BRAUNFELS, Tex., STUART, FL (February 25, 2019) – After winning the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Pro/Am title in 2018, 18 year-old champion Parker Chase is returning to the series this week for the season opening event at Circuit of The Americas with RENNtech Motorsports. The season will kick off with a double header race event at the Austin circuit, where Chase, a Texas native, will share the driving duties of the No. 89 Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Reinhold Renger in Pirelli GT4 America‘s East Pro/Am class.

“I’m thrilled to be returning to SRO America this weekend,” said Chase. “I got the call late Friday and the deal came together very quickly. I last raced in the GT4 class in 2017, and it’s been great to watch the competition in that series grow.  RENNtech Motorsports has put a lot of effort into this first event, and I’m looking forward to working alongside with Reinhold to bring them some strong results.”

Chase’s invitation to drive for the team came less than a week before the first practice session, but the young champion aims to quickly get up to speed with the new team and new machinery.

“We were looking for a strong silver to put in the Mercedes-AMG for this first event, and Parker Chase came highly recommended,” said team owner Hartmut Feyhl. “Given his excellent record in the series and being a local to the circuit, he seemed like the natural choice for our first event of the year. We’re proud to have him on board and are excited to get this event started.”

While the 2019 SRO America season is just getting started, Chase kicked off his 2019 race season with the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where he performed well during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, before torrential downpour and hazardous track conditions ended the race early. He gained additional track time last week with a one-day test at Sebring International Raceway in preparation for the next rounds of racing on his 2019 calendar. Chase has yet to announce his race schedule for the full 2019 season, but has held discussions in both IMSA and SRO America, with hopes to make an announcement soon.

With the return to the Circuit of The Americas, RENNtech Motorsports starts their first full Season at the same track where they celebrated their inaugural race in November 2018. Having had a successful first outing at the 24H Series, RENNtech brings a huge Momentum to the first race of the season. Proving to be a serious contender right from the get-go, RENNtech Motorsports was able to set the Pole Position time and finished the race after 24 hours just 50 seconds behind the leader in class.

Teaming up with Parker Chase is veteran driver Reinhold Renger from Rothenburg, Germany. Reinhold is a long-time factory Mercedes-AMG driver and current Chief-Instructor of the AMG Driving Academy. He scored his biggest success at the 2008 24h-Nürburgring, scoring the win in his class. He is the current Blancpain GT Series Asia champion, which he won with the Mercedes-AMG GT4 as part of the Gruppe-M Team. At RENNtech Motorsports the speed and experience of Parker and Reinhold built a dynamic duo, ready to fight for the highest positions.

Official practice sessions for rounds one and two of the Pirelli GT4 America championship at Circuit of The Americas begin Friday March 1^st. The GT4 America series will host an impressive field of 33 competitors on the 3.4 mile, 20 turn, permanent road course, the arguably most prestigious race-track in North America. Race one will begin Saturday, March 2^nd at 1:05PM Central, followed by race two on Sunday, March 3^rd at 10:10AM; both races will air live on www.world-challenge.com.

Sufficient is not enough

The Rolls Royce cars are the epitome of luxury and comfort. For years Rolls Royce did not bother with performance figures, and if you insisted, the answer was sufficient. In 1988 that was 200 hp from a 6.75 L V8 in a 5000 lb car, which is sufficient if you do not accelerate beyond the 25 MPH speed limit on Worth Avenue. In 1985 Grey Poupon advertising campaign featured a man chauffeured in a Rolls Royce searching for more mustard. The ad hit the nail on the head; the best way to enjoy a Rolls Royce was by hiring a chauffeur and enjoying a sandwich in the back seat, because driving the car was not much fun.