Drewer races for Championship Title at Road Atlanta.

Young Australian driver Tom Drewer, Daily Planet Racing, has the opportunity of taking out the 2008 IMSA Lites L2 Championship as part of the American Le Mans Series at the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia on October 2-3.


‘I have a fifty point lead in the Championship with only the two rounds at Road Atlanta and the final two rounds at Laguna Seca to go. In total there are 80 more points up for offer, but a good result at Road Atlanta could clinch the title for me depending of where my team mate Eric Vassian who is running second in the championship finishes’, Drewer said today.

‘I have to play the rest of the Championship real cool, but if race wins are in the offering I will certainly go for them. The main thing now is to keep accumulating points’.

Drewer has already accumulated 6 round wins in his first year racing in the North America, but suffered from a broken suspension component while looking for his seventh in his last race at Mosport in Canada (Round 8).

‘The wishbones had been fine all season, but after the failure at Mosport my factory WEST team have re-designed and manufactured stronger lower rear wishbones for my #45 Daily Planet WEST. So that should do the trick’.

2008 has been a near perfect start to Drewer’s international motor racing career. After winning the 2007 Australian Thundersports Sportscar Championship with the Australian factory WEST team Drewer was offered the opportunity to race in IMSA Lites.

After selling up everything in Australia to make it happen and moving to Atlanta, Georgia, to be close to his WEST team, Drewer immediately made his intentions clear by winning the opening two rounds of the Championship at the famous Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring.

Since then Drewer has racked up 6 out of a possible 8 wins, including winning his first ever race in Canada at Mosport (Round 7), 7 pole positions, 6 fastest laps and 3 class track lap records. All at circuits that he hasn’t raced at before.

‘Every race meeting presents a substantial challenge just in the fact that the circuit is brand new to me. The test day is usually the first day that I have ever seen the track. Road Atlanta is a little bit different because I did a 2 day test earlier in the year at the circuit and I’ve been out there to see a couple of races. Even so, I’m probably at a slight disadvantage as compared to the guys who have raced at these places regularly, but that’s just my situation. This is my first year racing in North America, and I love it.’

Drewer is hoping he can capitalise on his success this year and make the appropriate progression in his North American motor racing career next year.

‘I’m hoping my results so far will open some doors for next year. Certainly there are a few opportunities and tests that are beginning to present themselves. I’m very excited at some of the possibilities for next year, already.

At the moment though I have to keep my mind totally focussed on the 2008 IMSA Lites L2 title and that’s what I am doing for WEST PVM Racing, Daily Planet and all my other supporters who have backed me to race in the USA’.

Drewer, his Daily Planet Racing WEST and the IMSA Lites presented by Hankook are due to compete at Road Atlanta, as part of the Petit Le Mans powered by the Totally New Mazda6 at 2:15pm Thursday (Round 9) and 11:35am Friday (Round 10).