DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A first-year driving team appropriately came home championship winners in the first year of the new HSR Classic Endurance Championship presented by Mission Foods.
The quick combination of Dan Ammann and his coach and co-driver Owen Trinkler capped a competitive season in the Vintage Racing Co. No. 91 Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with the inaugural Modern GT division HSR Classic Endurance title.
“It was a great result, a great outcome,” Ammann said. “This was the first season working together with Owen, driving together, and he has also been my driving coach in single-make Porsche racing series and coach and co-driver here in HSR. We have really enjoyed working together, and it was great to drive together in the HSR Classic Endurance Championship. We have really enjoyed the series, and happy to have a good result at the end of the season.”
Ammann is one of HSR’s relatively newer competitors, but he has quickly taken his place in the competitive cadre of race winners and champions in the HSR paddock.
“My first racing season was three years ago with HSR,” Ammann said. “I’m still pretty early in my racing career despite my advanced chronological age! I began in Group 11 and ran the Cayman in the sprint series and the B.R.M. Endurance series and actually won both of those championships the first year out.
“That was fun, and then I spent the last couple of years in the Porsche series but have kept in touch and continued running in HSR when we could along the way. The Classic Endurance Championship this year was a nice way to do that.”
Trinkler and the Vintage Racing Co. team were the major support players in Ammann’s Classic Endurance championship all season.
A pivotal highlight was the Modern GT and overall Run Group B victories in June’s HSR Classic Watkins Glen Six Hour presented by Mission Foods where the No. 91 team swept all four race segments. Ammann, Trinkler and Vintage Racing were all first time HSR Classic overall group race winners with the convincing performance at The Glen.
“Dan is clicking on all of the cylinders right now, and Michael Eberhardt, who owns the Vintage Racing Co. team, has put a great crew together,” Trinkler said. “We all have a special bond. We work really well together, and we’ve been together for just over a year now. It’s been a good fit for Dan and a good fit for me. The whole group has jelled together, and to see the whole team at Vintage Racing come together like we have is really special because there are some big things on the horizon for us that we are going to do in the future.”
Staying within the IMSA and HSR family, Ammann, Trinkler and Vintage will compete in the Cayman in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class next year.
“Owen’s coaching has really helped me a lot, and even over the last year I have come really a long way,” Ammann said. “I am on the steep part of the learning curve for sure, and next year Owen and I are moving to IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge together. It will be another step up, I am excited, looking forward to that, and we hope to be competitive there.”
