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Alton, VIRGINIA - August 31, 2020 - Simon Gregg has been busier than any other Trans Am driver this year, and his hard work and professionalism has been duly rewarded. Simon currently sits in P3 of the 2020 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship in the TA Class with 90 points while over in the West Coast Championship his newly acquired AMG Mercedes-Benz GT3 has been a revelation, setting track records and racking up maximum points.
Next up on the calendar for Simon will be the GT Celebration race weekend in Northern California at the spectacular road racing gem that is now dubbed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Sept 11-13.
Simon has opted to skip the trip to Portland, Oregon for the next round of the West Coast Championship in favor of focusing on the National Championships, with the double-header at Virginia International Raceway now firmly in his sights. It's a track he's been successful at before, having won the 2013 edition of the TA race when he led every practice session, set the fastest lap in qualifying and led every lap of the race behind the wheel of his No. 1 Derhaag Motorsport Chevrolet Corvette.
The Corvette has been replaced by an even more powerful Chevrolet Camaro and it was behind the wheel of the beautifully presented No. 59 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro that Simon notched his first podium of the season at Brainerd. With two races now scheduled for a busy weekend at VIR, Simon will be looking for another podium finish where his tremendous experience will prove invaluable in Sunday’s race, which is set to incorporate cars from all classes with the usually distinct TA2 Class race in a 3-way split-start. It promises to be quite a spectacle, something Simon alluded to when we spoke to him this week.
"Putting the TA2 cars on the track at the same time as the TA and other classes is going to be exciting and the added traffic may mean a shake-up in the pecking order. We're all going to have to drive neatly as the track will be crowded all the way round. I think the fans will love it."
Reflecting on his previous experiences at VIR, Simon continued, "I had a fantastic weekend there in 2013 when I went there as reigning Trans Am Champion and everything went right. It won’t be easy to reproduce that, but I'm getting to know the new Camaro better with each race and it would be great to get another podium finish over the weekend."
None of us need be reminded that this year has been extremely difficult for the Trans Am Series organizers, something not lost on Simon when he added, "After canceling the race at the Glen this year, it was a brilliant idea to stage two races on the same weekend in Virginia. Full credit to the Trans Am team and leadership."
Recently chosen as one of Car and Driver Magazine’s top six road courses in the nation, Virginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road course which for Trans Am Racing uses the Full Course of 3.27 miles. Simon and the other TA Class drivers get their first taste of the track when testing starts at 11:40 a.m. on Thursday September 24 with a second session at 4:40 p.m. the same afternoon. Practice is at 11:20 a.m. on Friday with the all important qualifying session at 4:40 p.m. that afternoon. Saturday's TA feature race over 31 laps is at 11:20 a.m. with the unique, all-class race at 11:05 a.m. on Sunday. All being well, both races will be streamed on the Trans Am YouTube channel as well as on the terrific new Trans Am App.
Download the new Trans Am Racing App and watch the race events live from the Google PlayStore or Apple from your smartphone or mobile device.
Trans Am Series and team news about Simon Gregg can be found at gotransam.com. Keep up with Simon personally on the Simon Gregg Facebook page.
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