Davis, Calvert Set for Two-Car PWC Porsche Program

Calvert Dynamics will increase its presence in the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge season, in partnership with Phoenix Performance, with a two-car Porsche effort for Andrew Davis and Preston Calvert.

Davis, a several-time sports car champion including most recently the 2015 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge title with Stevenson Motorsports, will run in World Challenge’s GT class with a Porsche 911 GT3 R. That new car will be delivered in January.

Davis has an extensive history with Porsche, winning the 2011 Rolex GT Championship for the German manufacturer. He’ll reunite with race engineer Joe La Joie; the two worked together with Brumos Racing that year.

“I am extremely honored to be a part of this exciting new program with Calvert Dynamics and Phoenix Performance, and I would like to start by thanking Preston Calvert and Joe Aquilante for this amazing opportunity!” Davis said.

“My relationship as a driver coach for Preston last season gave me the opportunity to see the product that the Pirelli World Challenge series puts out on the race track, and I must say that it’s quite impressive.

“The FIA GT3 homologated cars are absolute beasts!  When you add top level teams and drivers into the mix, the result is an appealing series for everyone involved.

“It’s going to be a sharp learning curve, but I am confident because we’ve assembled an all-star crew to get the job done. My expectations are to come out of the box strong and make our presence known right away.

“This team has a long pedigree of success, and they’ve accomplished so much by working tightly as a team unit.  That will remain the focus of this effort. We will meet our goals with the help of each and every team member.”

Andrew Aquilante and Kurt Rezzetano take on roles on the management side of this newly expanded 2016 Porsche program, as Team Manager/Technical Director and GT3-R Crew Chief, respectively, and contributing thorough knowledge of the series and competitors to the new GT effort.

Meanwhile Calvert, who Davis coaches and who raced in 2015 in both the GT Cup (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) and GTS (Ford Mustang Boss 302R) classes, will continue in GT Cup for a second season. He won the GTS rookie of the year honors.

“In the course of competing in the GT Cup class with a 991 GT3 Cup car in 2015, the team had a chance to gain experience with this well-developed racing car platform, and was impressed with its performance and well-known reliability, and with the support provided by Porsche Motorsport North America,” Calvert said.

“The new Porsche 991 GT3-R is a very exciting update of the successful FIA GT3 car that has been performing well in the GT class of PWC in its previous generation form.

Calvert’s then-GTS teammates, Aquilante and Rezzetano, helped contribute to Ford’s GTS manufacturer’s title last year.

The team begins track testing in February, ahead of the Pirelli World Challenge season-opening weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, March 3-6. Entries will be fielded out of Phoenix’s shop in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and overseen by Joe Aquilante.

Along with Calvert Dynamics and Phoenix Performance, sponsors of the 2016 program include Brett King Design and Boys Republic.