Ende claims home court advantage at Tequila Patron American Le Mans at Long Beach
April 9, 2012 (Los Angeles, Calif.) – Duncan Ende is going to face two of the world’s busiest kind of traffic next Saturday, when he competes in the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach. In addition to having to navigate the 1.968-mile circuit on the streets of Downtown Long Beach, which will feature 35 cars in five different classes, Ende will have to travel down the notorious 405 freeway to Long Beach from his home in Los Angeles.
After a disappointing start to the season, where the no. 25 Dempsey / Silicon Tech Racing PC that he shared with Dane Cameron and Henri Richard didn’t see the finish, Ende – a longtime fan of the local Los Angeles Clippers – is looking to kick start his season at his home event. With no points scored from Sebring, and a very challenging field of Prototype Challenge cars, Ende will be looking to jump back into the championship chase.
“The whole week of Sebring was definitely challenging, and we didn’t get the result that the team deserved for all the work they put in,” said Ende. “But we did come away from Sebring having learned a lot and having grown quite a bit as a team. The Dempsey / Silicon Tech Racing team is new to ALMS Prototype Challenge competition but we all left Sebring very upbeat and ready to take on the rest of the year. We are all eager to show what we are capable of against a very tough field of PC cars.”
Ende has competed at the Long Beach Grand Prix twice before – in the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic race, as well as last year’s ALMS race – but is looking for his first strong result on the challenging street circuit.
“The two races I’ve had at Long Beach haven’t been particularly good ones,” said Ende. “That’s really a shame, because being so close to home, it’s the one that is easiest to get my friends and family to come to. I’d like to get on the podium so we have something to celebrate that night. I would, at least, like to make it farther than last year, when we got taken out in turn one.”
Not only will he be focused on the race, but Ende’s week will be a busy one, with several media and promotional appearances leading up to the race. In addition to visiting the Loma Linda University Medical Center on behalf of the American Le Mans and the Austin Hatcher Foundation, Ende – and the no. 25 Dempsey / Silicon Tech Racing PC – will be at the Roar on the Belmont Shore festival on Wednesday evening.
“There is definitely more off-track stuff for Long Beach than any other event,” said Ende. “But that’s because this event may be the biggest party on the calendar – with all due respect to Sebring. The whole week will be a blur before we even get into the car on Friday and I’m looking forward to all of it.”
The Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach will be broadcast live on Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com.
For more about Duncan Ende, visit www.duncanende.com, or follow him on twitter at @duncanende.
MotoIQ.com Blog
Read Duncan’s blog from the 60th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring here: MotoIQ Blog from 12 Hours of Sebring
To learn more:
Racer’s Roast, visit The Racer’s Roast Website
STANDD, visit www.standd.org
Silicon Tech Racing, visit www.silicontechracing.com
Dempsey Racing, visit www.dempseyracing.net
Media contact:
Efrain Olivares, (818) 254-7196, efrain@shiftgroup.net