Canada well represented at Sebring ALMS opener

Kicking off the American Le Mans Series season, the 58th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida takes the green flag at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 20. North America's most demanding endurance race will see 36 of the world's most talented and skilled drivers, including Canada's own Tony Burgess, Kyle Marcelli, and Mark Wilkins.

In the P1-class, Burgess, of Toronto, will drive with the Autocon Motorsports Team. This veteran racer, who has sixteen 24 hour sports car races under his belt, first participated in an ALMS event in 2000. His move up to the P1-class took place in 2007 and a podium finish at Mosport, his home track. Burgess plans to compete in at least seven series events this season, including Mosport, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans in mid-June.

With a career goal to be the youngest ALMS class champion, the 20-year-old Kyle Marcelli will make his debut in the Series at Sebring's opener. The Barrie native, who placed 5th in 2009's IMSA Lites Championship, will be driving for Primetime-Braille Battery Race Group in the new LMPC division. Marcelli will co-drive with team owner Joel Feinberg.

Recently announced, Mark Wilkins will also make an appearance at the Sebring kick off. Wilkins, a top competitor in the Grand Am Rolex Series, will be driving for Level 5 Motorsports in the No. 55 FLM09 in the LMPC class. He is looking forward to the opportunity, a first for him in the ALMS series. He is joining drivers Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker.

Canadians will have a chance to see all the ALMS action live when it makes it's only north-of-the-border stop at the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport from August 26-29.

Canada's colours will also be carried in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear by David Ostella and Mikael Grenier. The series, now in its 20th year, is known for the high-profile career jumpstarts it offers young drivers.

Ostella, 18, of Maple, Ontario, is returning for a second season with AIM Autosport in the championship. Last year he finished the series 13th overall, with seven top-tens.

Also contending for the 2010 Star Mazda Championship title, is up and coming Canadian driver Mikael Grenier of Stoneham, Quebec. Grenier, 17, began racing when he was merely five. He will drive a full season, 11-race program for Andersen Racing this year, who were impressed with his performance through six races in 2009.

Both drivers will be at Mosport as part of Mobil 1 Presents the GP of Mosport weekend.

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will be covered live on SPEED starting at 10 a.m. ET on March 20. Live coverage also will be available on American Le Mans Radio, as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245. Visit the Series' schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live timing and scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at www.americanlemans.com.

From Sarah Wight, Media Relations Co-ordinator / Mosport