LEIGHTON REESE
Pontiac GXP.R #06
Minnetonka, Minnesota

2007
Leighton Reese Performance Group committed to a full-time Grand-Am Rolex GT Series effort and shifted from Corvettes to the Pontiac GXP.R. Leighton drove the #06 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R with co-driver Tim Lewis. They captured the GXP.R’s first victory at Lime Rock Park and had a 2nd place finish at Iowa. They drove to ten Top 10 finishes including 4th in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Leighton and Tim finished the season 7th in the Drivers Championship.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Leighton began his motorsports career ice racing in the International Ice Racing Association series in 1980. In 1983 he was a finalist in the Pilotte Elf Competition at the Winfield Driving School in France. He has numerous ice and circle track victories and championships, as well as several wins in IMSA Firehawk competition.

In 1991 he finished 5th in class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 3rd in GTU class at Sebring. Late that same year he scored his first World Challenge SS win at Mosport in a Chevrolet Camaro. From 1991 to 1995 Leighton drove a Pontiac in the ASA circle track series and captured five podium finishes.

From 1996 to 2001 Leighton competed in the Trans-Am Series racking up 15 “Top 5” finishes, and 41 “Top 10” finishes. In 2000 he won the race at Texas Speedway and finished 4th in the season points.

Leighton began competing in the World Challenge series in 2004 driving the Banner Racing Chevrolet Corvette to two “Top 5” finishes and six “Top 10” finishes. His highest finish was 2nd at Mosport. In 2005 Leighton posted four “Top 5” finishes and seven “Top 10” finishes which helped him to 6th place in the GT Drivers’ Championship. He earned the pole at both Portland and Mosport and narrowly missed a win at Portland where he finished second.

In 2006 Leighton drove nearly identical Banner Racing Corvettes in both the Grand-Am Rolex GT Series and the Speed World Challenge GT. In World Challenge, Leighton captured poles for the season opening race at Sebring and the finale at Laguna Seca Raceway. His best finishes were 3rd at Road America and 4th at Laguna Seca. In his first season in the Rolex GT Series Leighton had a season best 5th place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

PERSONAL
Birthday - October 18. Leighton lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota with his wife Katie, daughters Danielle and Nicolette, and Buddy the dog. Leighton and Katie own Leighton Reese Performance Group (LRPG Inc.) as well as Leighton’s Garage.

Street Car – Cadillac CTS-V

Favorite Track – Watkins Glen, Road America and Laguna Seca because they are classic drivers’ road courses.

Racing Hero – Milt Mintor

Early Exposure to Racing – Leighton’s father did some amateur rally racing and had a tremendous interest in sports cars.

#1 Racing Career Accomplishment – Operating a successful racing business

Interests outside of racing – Golf and skiing

KELLY COLLINS
Pontiac GXP.R #07
Newport Beach, California

2007
Kelly joined the Leighton Reese Performance Group for 2007 co-driving the Pontiac GXP.R #07 with Paul Edwards. The duo captured seven podium finishes including victories at Barber Motorsports Park and a flag-to-flag win at Miller Motorsports Park. They also finished second at both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the July race at Daytona. They finished in the Top 10 in all but one race resulting in a 2nd place finish in the GT Drivers’ Championship.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Kelly began racing motorcycles at age seven and came through the ranks of off-road motorcycles before progressing into Formula Ford, Formula Mazda and eventually the Barber Saab Pro Series. Kelly’s first endurance race win was a 12-hour Firestone Firehawk race at Sebring. In the early 90’s, driving in the IMSA SS Touring series, Kelly picked up victories at Road America, Phoenix and Road Atlanta.

In 1998 Kelly earned his first GT3 victory in an IMSA-sanctioned event at Sebring and in 1999 had class wins at both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 2001 Kelly teamed with Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Andy Pilgrim to gain a GTS podium finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona driving a Corvette. He also won the Petit Le Mans in both 2000 and 2001.

Driving in the ALMS Series in 2002 and 2003, Kelly scored victories at Road Atlanta, Road America and Trois-Rivieres. In 2004, driving a BMW Doran, Kelly picked up Rolex Series overall podium finishes in Miami and Phoenix.

Kelly competed in the GT Series in 2005 driving a BMW to victory at Mid-Ohio and podium finishes at Laguna Seca and Phoenix, finishing in 11th place in the GT season standings.

In 2006 Kelly partnered with Paul Edwards in the Grand-Am Rolex GT Series driving the No. 64 Pontiac GTO.R. The pair posted wins at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Homestead Raceway and Phoenix International Raceway. They captured five additional podium finishes including 2nd place at Virginia International Raceway, Lime Rock Park and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Their total of 9 Top 5 finishes resulted in 3rd place in the GT season standings.

PERSONAL
Birthday - April 21. Kelly lives in Newport Beach, California.

Street Car – Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI Turbo Diesel

Favorite Track – Mid-Ohio because it has a great rhythm for drivers

Racing Hero – Ayrton Senna

Early Exposure to Racing – Kelly’s father was an amateur bike, boat, sail boat and off-road racer.

#1 Racing Career Accomplishment – Getting his first paying race driver job.

Interests outside of racing – Watches, surfing, working out, boating and off-roading.

PAUL EDWARDS
Pontiac GXP.R #07
Fort Collins, Colorado

2007
Paul joined the Leighton Reese Performance Group for 2007 co-driving the Pontiac GXP.R #07 with Kelly Collins. The duo captured seven podium finishes including victories at Barber Motorsports Park and a flag-to-flag win at Miller Motorsports Park. They also finished second at both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the July race at Daytona. They finished in the Top 10 in all but one race resulting in a 2nd place finish in the GT Drivers’ Championship.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Paul started racing karts when he was 12 years old and during a four year karting career he had 45 race wins resulting in two western USA and four California state championships. At 18 years old he began racing in Europe in the British Formula Ford series. In two years he garnered rookie of the year, five poles, multiple wins, two track records and represented the USA in the Formula Ford World Finals.

In 1998 he switched to the European Formula Opel Winter Series winning the championship. The following year he was the European Palmer Audi Winter Series champion with three wins and the British Formula Opel Cup Champion with five wins and ten podiums. He also raced in the Formula Opel Euroseries and picked up three wins and nine podiums.

In 2001 Paul raced in the British Formula Three series with multiple podium finishes and then moved on to become a Red Bull junior driver as part of the Formula 1 driver search program.

Paul made two starts in a Daytona Prototype in 2004 with two 4th place finishes. In 2005, driving the Pontiac GTO.R he picked up GT class wins at Phoenix and Mexico City.

In 2006, Paul’s second year as a GM factory driver, he partnered with Kelly Collins in the Grand-Am Rolex GT Series driving the No. 64 Pontiac GTO.R. The pair posted wins at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Homestead Raceway and Phoenix International Raceway. They captured five additional podium finishes including 2nd place at Virginia International Raceway, Lime Rock Park and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Their total of 9 Top 5 finishes resulted in 3rd place in the GT season standings.

PERSONAL
Birthday - January 11. Paul lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his wife Nicole, and their two pet cats Cozzy and Benz.

Street Car – GMC

Favorite Track – Spa Francorchamps in Belgium – It is very fast and there is a lot of time to be gained by being brave.

Racing Hero – Kimi Raikkonen

#1 Racing Career Accomplishment – Being a GM factory driver

Interests outside of racing – Snowboarding, poker, real estate

MARC BUNTING
Pontiac GXP.R #06
Monkton, Maryland

2007
In 2007 Marc drove the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette teaming up with Dominic Cicero II, James Gue and team-owner John Stevenson for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Throughout the year Marc earned three top-10 finishes.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Marc first competed in the Rolex Series GT class in 2001 making seven starts and earning a best finish of sixth at Phoenix. That same year he made six starts in the Grand-Am Cup ST class earning a best result of second at Phoenix.

In 2002 Marc’s only Grand-Am race was the Rolex 24 at Daytona where he finished 13th in the GTS class. Marc’s focus was on the ALMS GTS class where he finished sixth in the drivers’ championship as a result of one podium finish and seven top-five results in eight starts.

With co-driver Andy Lally, Marc was co-champion of the 2004 Rolex Series SGS class, earning two victories, seven 2nd place finishes including the Rolex 24 at Daytona and a total of 11 podium finishes in 12 starts.

In 2005 Marc had two wins (Homestead and Watkins Glen) and 11 top-10 finishes en route to a second-place tie with teammate Andy Lally in the Rolex GT point standings.

Driving the Pontiac GTO.R, Marc and Andy won the 2006 GT class championship on the strength of five class victories (Virginia, Lime Rock, Daytona, Barber and Miller) and a 2nd place class finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Marc won the Bob Akin Award as the best sportsman driver in the GT category and earned recognition as a 2006 2nd Team All-American by the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasting Association.

PERSONAL
Born September 20. Marc lives in Monkton, Maryland with his daughters Jessie and Calli. Marc is Chief Financial Officer and co-founder of Alpine Bagels & Brews, a fast-growing brand of bagel bakeries / delis with 12 current locations throughout Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Massachusetts.

Street Car – Mercedes-Benz Wagon

Favorite Track – Mid-Ohio

#1 Racing Career Accomplishment – Winning the 2006 Grand-Am Rolex GT class championship

ROBERT NEARN
Pontiac GXP.R #06
London, England

2007
Robert Nearn drove the No. 30 Pontiac GXP.R in two Grand-Am Rolex GT races at Montreal and Miller Motorsports Park, with a season best 11th place finish in the Sunchaser 1000 at Miller.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Robert’s endurance racing career started in various European Series where he was the 1993 British Caterham Champion, winner of the 1994 Zolder, Belgium 24 hour for Group B and winner of the 1995 Nurburgring 24 hour for Group B. In 1996 he finished 3rd in the British GT Championship.

From 1997 top 2003 Robert competed in the FIA GT and ALMS capturing podium finishes at the Le Mans 24 hour, Sebring 12 hour, Daytona 24 hour and Suzuka 1000 KM races. In 2000 he held the road car lap record at Nurburgring with a 7 minute 55 second lap.

In 2004 Robert competed in the Rolex Series GT with three top-10 finishes in three races. He also competed in the ALMS.

Robert made seven Rolex Series GT class starts in 2005, highlighted by a third-place class finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and three top-10 finishes.

In 2006 Robert competed in 13 Rolex Series GT races finishing 7th in the Drivers' Championship. His season best finish was fourth in the Rolex 24 at Daytona (his 12th Daytona 24 hour race) and he had eight top-10 finishes.

PERSONAL
Born April 27. Robert lives in London, England.

Street Car – BMW Motorcycle

Favorite Track – Le Mans

Racing Hero – Gilles Villeneuve

ANDY PILGRIM
Pontiac GXP.R #06
Boca Raton, Florida

2007
In 2007 Andy drove the Cadillac CTS-V in the Speed World Challenge series finishing second in the Drivers’ Championship and helping Cadillac capture the Manufacturers’ Championship with a consistent run all season. Andy also drove three Grand-Am Rolex series races with the Banner Racing team earning two podiums and a win at Miller Motorsports Park in the Pontiac GXP.R #07. He drove the #88 NASCAR Busch Series car at the Watkins Glen and Montreal road courses and drove one race in the ALMS for Corvette Racing.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
A seasoned sports car driver, Andy’s resume boasts more than 50 career wins and a Rolex 24 at Daytona overall win in 2004.  The Morrison Motorsports IMSA GTO Corvette bearing Andy’s name is in the Smithsonian Museum at Washington, DC.

In the mid to late ‘80’s Andy drove in various road racing series including IMSA Renault Cup, SCCA Escort, IMSA Firehawk Endurance and IMSA Barber Saab. He captured 21 wins in the Firehawk series alone.

In 1995 Andy was the IMSA SpeedVision Cup Champion and in 1996 he competed in an unprecedented 28 professional races in U.S., Canada, England, France, China, and Brazil capturing six wins and the Brazilian GT-2 championship.

Andy was the IMSA GT1 Champion with four wins in 1997 and the Speedvision Cup Champion in 1998. From 1999 – 2003 Andy drove with the Corvette Racing team in the ALMS capturing five victories. He also grabbed an AGT class win at the 2002 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

In 2003 Andy drove a Daytona Prototype to victory at Virginia International Raceway. He continued his success in the Grand-Am Rolex Series in 2004 with the overall and Daytona Prototype class victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Driving the Cadillac CTS-V he finished 5th in the World Challenge Drivers’ Championship.

Andy won the SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge Championship for Cadillac in 2005 with 11 Top 10 finishes. In 2006 he made two Rolex Series starts, finishing a season-best third in the GT class in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. He also finished third in the World Challenge Drivers’ Championship with a win at Road Atlanta.

PERSONAL
Born August 18. Andy lives in Boca Raton, Florida. In addition to his professional racing career, Andy is Principal – Owner of ECS, a full service information technology and scientific services staffing provider. In 2005, Andy introduced a safe-driving DVD, “The Driving Zone. Essential Techniques For New Drivers,” with Dale Earnhardt Jr., presented by The Dale Earnhardt Foundation.

Street Car – Cadillac CTS-V

www.andypilgrim.com

JAN MAGNUSSEN
Pontiac GXP.R #07
Roskilde, Denmark

2007
Jan drove a limited Grand-Am Daytona Prototype schedule with SunTrust Racing capturing victories at Virginia International Raceway and Montreal. He had a total of five podium finishes in eight starts. In the American Le Mans Series, Jan drove the Corvette C6.R for Corvette Racing to three victories in the GT1 class with co-driver Johnny O’Connell. Their victories came at Houston, Mosport and Detroit. At Le Mans, Jan and co-drivers Johnny O’Connell and Ron Fellows finished second in the GT1 class.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
One of the world’s most versatile and accomplished road racers, Jan Magnussen has driven everything from karts to Formula 1. Early in his career Jan won FIA karting championships in 1987, 1988 and 1990. He won the Formula Ford Brands Hatch Festival championship in 1992 and in 1994 he won the British Formula 3 championship, compiling 15 wins in two seasons.

Jan moved to the German Touring Car series in 1995 and finished second in the championship. The following year he competed in both the Champ Car World Series and the International Touring Championship, and also had his first start in Formula 1.

Jan drove full time for the Stewart Formula 1 team in 1997 and 1998 giving him a total of 25 F1 starts. His best finish was sixth at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

In 1999 Jan drove a limited schedule in both the Champ Car World Series and the American Le Mans Series. Between 1999 and 2003 he earned eight victories in ALMS competition and won the Danish Touring Car championship in 2003.

Jan made five Rolex Series starts in 2004, earning a victory in the Sahlen’s 200 at Watkins Glen in a Daytona Prototype. He also joined the Corvette Racing team for a limited schedule in ALMS.

In 2005, Jan drove five races in the Pontiac GTO.R, capturing one pole position and wins at Phoenix (overall and GT class) and Mexico City. He also raced to the Danish Touring Car Championship in a Peugeot and competed with the Corvette Racing team in ALMS.

In 2006 Jan competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the No. 64 Pontiac GTO.R along with six events for SunTrust Racing.  He scored a victory for SunTrust Racing alongside Max Angelelli in the Road & Track 250 at Laguna Seca. Jan also continued his role with the Corvette Racing team on the extended races.

PERSONAL
Born July 4. Jan lives in Roskilde, Denmark.

www.janmagnussen.com