TAVARES, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2013) — Two American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT category teams, supported by Yokohama Tire Corp., are joining forces to field a Ferrari 458 GT in the ALMS GT Challenge class for the 2013 season.
West Racing Team and Alex Job Racing—both Yokohama partners in the past—are blending their resources into Team West/AJR/Boardwalk Ferrari to field the Yokohama-backed 458 GT, with Job Racing veterans Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell behind the wheel.
The team will debut at the season-opening 61st Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway in Florida March 16. Yokokama will be both the race tire supplier and a key sponsor.
Tavares-based Alex Job Racing has a solid resume in sports car racing, recording 68 wins since 1995 in a variety of series, and took ALMS GT class championships in 2002, 2003and 2004 to go with the GTC championship last year for Porsche GT3 cup cars.
Last year it also tried to develop and race a Lotus Evora in GT and also fielded a team in the ALMS GTC category, where it won the season-long championship. The Evora GT project resulted in a best single race finish of sixth out of nine starts.
West Racing organized in 2010 to prepare and field a team of Lamborghini Gallardos in the ALMS GT category in 2011, but the team started only a single race that year.
Of the partnership with West Racing Principal Eduardo Espindola, Job Racing Owner Alex Job said, "Eduardo has quietly assembled all of the assets required to become a championship-contending race team, and I'm excited that we are combining efforts to help get the team to the front. I am also excited that Yokohama will be with us again this year as well."
For his part, Mr. Espindola—described in the past as the operator of a business in Mexico selling personal care and household products through major retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Corp.—called the partnership with Alex Job and the selection of the Ferrari 458 GT the "ingredients that make up a front-running" team.
Other backers of the team include: Boardwalk Ferrari, a Plano, Texas-based Ferrari dealer; William Rast, the "New America" denim culture brand; and Motegi Racing Performance, a maker of racing and high performance alloy wheels are designed and engineered for performance.
The sponsors' financial contributions were not disclosed.