Reigning Trans-Am Champion Gar Robinson and sports car racing veteran Shane Lewis have been confirmed in a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT4s entered by Robinson Racing in Pirelli World Challenge next year.
Known for its exploits in Trans-Am and IMSA GT and Grand-Am competition, the 74 Ranch Resort-backed effort will make its PWC debut in the GTS Sprint class.
The pairing, meanwhile, will team up in a single Mercedes-AMG GT4 for the SprintX races.
“This is a big, positive move for everyone at Robinson Racing,” said team owner George Robinson.
“In the nearly 30 years this team’s been racing together, it’s probably been at least 20 years since we’ve entered a paddock so ripe with manufacturer presence and support.
“That’s huge, and not just for the opportunities it presents to all the drivers, but it has also had very real benefits to teams like ours through the ability to campaign factory-built cars with factory support on- and off-track in terms of engineering support, parts and spares, and of course the marketing power that we all get to enjoy.
“This is one of the few series we haven’t raced in, and we’re very excited to compete there.”
Second-generation racer Gar Robinson will campaign the No. 74 with which his dad and storied co-drivers such as Hurley Haywood, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Johnny O’Connell, Jack Baldwin, and others enjoyed success.
Gar has been competing professionally for the past three seasons, highlighted by two Trans-Am titles and a podium finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
“Pirelli World Challenge has some of the best racing out there, and such a diverse field of awesome cars and manufacturers,” he said.
“Sometimes my friends give me a hard time because I don’t always like change, but I’m really looking forward to this one.
“Plus, my crew is my dad’s old crew – the same guys I’ve been racing with since they were running prototypes for my dad and quarter midgets for me, so no matter where we’re racing, it always feels like family.”
Lewis added: “I don’t have words to describe how great it is just to be able to know this team and call the Robinsons friends, so that I also get to race with them and now we’re adding Mercedes-AMG and Pirelli World Challenge to the mix, it really is a dream come true,” said Lewis.
“This is a bit of a homecoming for me as I raced in World Challenge earlier in my career, though there’s obviously a typo in the record books because it’s impossible that that was nearly 22 years ago.”