Jessup, MD (March 14, 2013) Today marked an amazing start to the race season for TPC Racing. Over the offseason, both Michael Levitas and David Williams worked very hard to prepare for Sebring and to be championship contenders, and today proved that. The practice sessions on Wednesday were tough for the 36 TPC Racing / Merkle GT3 Cup of team principle Michael Levitas, but the team worked hard and sorted out the car.

Levitas started off the week in P4 turning laps in the 2:14 range while teammate David Williams was turning 2:13’s in his 37 TPC Racing / Merkle GT3 Cup. The team worked hard Wednesday night to prepare for the qualifying session this morning. Right away, the changes that were made to both cars Wednesday night proved to be successful.

Right away, Michael Levitas turned fast laps in his 36 TPC Racing / Merkle Porsche and grabbed the pole position turning a 2:10.5. This was the fastest lap that Michael has turned at Sebring in his GT3 Cup. Shortly after Levitas clocked in at a 2:10.5, David Williams turned a 2:11.4 in his 37 TPC Racing / Merkle GT3 Cup to take P2. From there, the positions stayed and TPC Racing would start the first race of the season P1 and P2.

When the race went green later that afternoon, Levitas kept his nose clean and turned consistent times holding a nice lead. David did the same and held his position in P2. Late on in the race, David starting running very fast lap times giving Michael a good run for his money. It was going to be a great team battle, but a caution late in the race would have race one of the weekend finishing under caution. When the check flag flew, TPC Racing would take its first ever 1-2 finish in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. It was a fantastic race, and the team did an amazing job preparing the cars to be race winning machines.

“It was a great run, I had a great time, I mean TPC really pulled it off in the final hours,” said the class-winning Levitas. “Even from the practice day we had a great car but for some reason we couldn’t find it and the guys worked hard and pulled it off in the final hours last night. We weren’t too sure what we had going into the qualifying but once we got to qualifying I knew I had a great car, it was a great feeling going into the race.”

This was a great run by David Williams finishing P2 in his 37 TPC Racing / Merkle Porsche GT3 Cup. David took delivery of his GT3 Cup in December after taking a few years off from racing and right away after a few test days was running in the front of the field racing for the race win.

“It was all about redemption this weekend,” Williams said. “We did well in qualifying as well as the race, so overall this was a great weekend in my first race. If it wasn’t for the hard work and determination of our team and sponsors, we wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.”

TPC Racing is hoping for another 1-2 sweep for race two Friday afternoon. The team has worked hard, and Michael Levitas will be starting from pole position again in his 36 TPC Racing / Merkle Porsche. David Williams will be starting P4, but David has a great car under him and is ready for a great race.

Jessup, MD (March 7, 2013) – The TPC Racing team has the hauler loaded and ready to depart for Sebring. After a successful test in February, both Michael Levitas, team owner and driver of the 36 TPC Racing / Merkle Inc. Porsche GT3 Cup in the Gold Class and David Williams, driver of the 37 TPC Racing / Merkle Inc. Porsche GT3 Cup are excited to return to Sebring. The TPC Racing team spent over ten days at Sebring last time testing, and it was a huge success.

During testing, the TPC Racing crew spent the test days changing the car setup and making big changes to the chassis. This seemed to work as the cars were faster and faster each session. Driver David Williams improved his personal best lap times by over five seconds and is now ready to take on the competitive field in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Gold Class.

Michael Levitas also made improvements during the test days. The TPC Racing team made several chassis adjustments to the 36 car. Levitas finally found the car and improved his lap times as well. Team coach, professional driver, Randy Pobst was also present at the test to help find the chassis on both cars and both Michael and David feel confident that they have strong cars to run up front.

“Testing went very well in February,” said Michael Levitas. Our TPC Racing / Merkle Inc. Porsche GT3 Cup cars are fantastic and should be very competitive at Sebring. I have always enjoyed racing at Sebring and could not be happier to be returning to my third season of competition in the Porsche IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama in my 2008 car. I am also very excited to have my teammate, David Williams out on track with us. He has improved tremendously and has adjusted very well to his 2009 GT3 Cup. Our sponsors play a key role in this as well and a huge thank you goes out to Merkle Inc., IBIZ World Class, JRZ USA and TPC Racing for all of the support.”

Other big news for the TPC Racing team is the addition of a third car to the stable. TPC Racing just acquired a new 2013 GT3 Cup to run in the Platinum Class starting at Laguna Seca as well as other ALMS GTC races. Once we take delivery of the car, there will be more news to come.

About TPC Racing:

TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sports cars. This long time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled us to become experts in Porsche service, tuning and racing.

TPC Racing has its roots in the IMSA Supercar Series of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, where team owner and driver Michael Levitas managed the turbocharger programs that gave the fire-breathing Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX7 Twin Turbo, Lotus Turbo Esprit and Consulier GTPs their prodigious power.

By combining a lifetime of automotive enthusiasm, business experience and technical skill with advanced aeronautical training and certifications, Levitas has managed to extend the engineering of some of the most advanced and well-regarded machines in existence – Porsche race cars.

About Merkle:

Merkle is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing customer relationship marketing (CRM) agency. For more than 20 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. Employing data-driven strategies, Merkle combines a complete range of marketing, technical, analytical and creative disciplines to offer complete integrated customer marketing solutions. With a strategically led, consultative approach, we work closely with clients to design, execute and continuously evaluate CRM programs throughout the buying cycle, across channels and media.

JESSUP, MD (December 27, 2012) – After a successful 2012 season, placing third in the team championship in the Canadian Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Gold Class and second in the team championship in the Silver Class, TPC Racing has been hard at work preparing for 2013.

For 2013, TPC Racing will be running two Porsche GT3 Cup cars in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama in the Gold Class. Team Owner / Driver Michael Levitas will continue to pilot his 2008 36 TPC Racing Porsche and joining the TPC Racing team for 2013 will be David Williams. Williams will pilot his 2009 TPC Racing / Merkle Porsche GT3 Cup along side of Levitas in the Gold Class.

TPC Racing has been out testing and preparing for next season. We have done more chassis development and David Williams has been getting a lot of seat time in his car to get acclimated to the 997 Porsche GT3 Cup. David got up to speed fast and will be a great addition to the TPC Racing team.

“There is not an off-season here at TPC Racing,” said team owner Michael Levitas. “We have been working to freshen up both cars for next season as well as doing a lot of testing. For 2013 we welcome David Williams and Merkle to the TPC Racing team and I could not ask for a better teammate. We have been working hard to get David up to speed and he is getting fast in his 2009 car. It will be great to race with David and I look forward to running my third Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge season. I am a strong believer in this series. With the combination of the support from Porsche Motorsport each weekend and the amazing staff at IMSA, there is not a better place to race.”

Also for the 2013, TPC Racing would like to welcome new partners Merkle, Red Line Synthetic Oil, Garrett by Honeywell, JRZ USA and BBS. It will be a great season for all involved and we look forward to working with our new partners.

About TPC Racing:

TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sports cars. This long time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled us to become experts in Porsche service, tuning and racing.

TPC Racing has its roots in the IMSA Supercar Series of the late 1980’s and early 1990s, where team owner and driver Michael Levitas managed the turbocharger programs that gave the fire-breathing Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX7 Twin Turbo, Lotus Turbo Esprit and Consulier GTPs their prodigious power.

By combining a lifetime of automotive enthusiasm, business experience and technical skill with advanced aeronautical training and certifications, Levitas has managed to extend the engineering of some for the most advanced and well-regarded machines in existence – Porsche race cars.

About Merkle:

Merkle is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing customer relationship marketing (CRM) agency. For more than 20 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. Employing data-driven strategies, Merkle combines a complete range of marketing, technical, analytical and creative disciplines to offer complete integrated customer marketing solutions. With a strategically led, consultative approach, we work closely with clients to design, execute and continuously evaluate CRM programs throughout the buying cycle, across channels and media.

After winning the 2012 Grand Am GS Championship on TPC Racing Sway Bars, Rum Bum Racing will return to GS competition in 2013 to defend their title. By having a great handling car and an amazing team behind them, drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi were able to achieve 5 wins, one pole positing, 247 laps lead, and running in the front of the pack for 8 of the 10 race season, Rum Bum Racing showed great success. When the Rum Bum Racing team acquired their Porsche 997 to run in GS, they put TPC Racing Sway Bars on the car right away. We wish the Rum Bum Racing team the best of luck in the 2013 season on TPC Racing Sway Bars!

INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 10, 2012) – TPC Racing owner Michael Levitas is offering fulltime competitors in the new Intercontinental Trophy Cup Racing Series (ITC) GTP class a couple of top-notch incentives to compete in one of the newest Porsche spec series. The top GTP class team that campaigns a turbocharged Porsche Cayman will receive a minimum $5,000 end-of-year bonus, and TPC will provide a 50 percent discount on its turbocharged systems to any team fielding a turbocharged Porsche Cayman this season.

In addition to the $5,000 end-of-year bonus, Levitas will add $2,500 for every two cars that compete, beginning with the second round in May at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J. To be eligible, cars must compete in six of the seven races during the 2012 season.

TPC, a Porsche aftermarket supplier based in Jessup, Md., has put up the extra incentives following the announcement of the GTP class last month. Levitas, who has raced Porsches for more than 20 years, was instrumental in the development and design of the Porsche Caymans that will compete in the GTP class. In addition to its contingency support and building the turbo kits for Porsche Caymans racing in ITC, TPC Racing also builds and supplies full suspension kits to ITC teams. TPC Racing is also expected to field Caymans in the ITC in the future.

“I want to motivate people to come into ITC, and I think this will do it,” Levitas said. “This should inject some excitement into this series. If someone is going to build a GTP car, they will get back 50 percent on a turbocharged kit for any team that registers for the season. In addition, TPC will offer support the teams with parts at each track, help with dyno time and help teams with anything it takes to be competitive.”

The GTP class features a mix of 3.8-liter naturally-aspirated and 3.4-liter turbocharged Porsche Caymans, becoming the only class in North America to do so within the same chassis. The cars, built in or after 2006, will feature a full carbon fibre body for weight reduction, along with added aerodynamics, and are expected to produce around 400 horsepower.

“We are extremely excited that Mike and TPC Racing have joined the ITC family as a contingency sponsor, and feel both the bonus and discount will provide the series a big boost,” said ITC series principal Dougie Livingston. “This has already attracted the interest of other sponsors, and we are happy that Mike and TPC Racing realize the value that ITC is trying to build.”

The inaugural race for the GTP class is the 2012 Intercontinental Trophy Cup Racing Series season opener, scheduled for Feb. 2-5 at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway.

About TPC Racing
TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche supercars. Based in Jessup, Md., TPC Racing has an aggressive engineering program, focused on developing powerful superchargers, responsive shocks and dampers for professional and clubsport cars, which keeps performance-hungry Porsche owners fed a steady diet of racing-derived aftermarket parts. To this day, TPC uses its professional, club racing and street Porsches to develop engine and suspension components for its partners. The racing team, which began in the 1980s in the IMSA Supercar Series, has won races and championships in several disciplines, including the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona and 2000 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT team title.

About Intercontinental Trophy Cup Racing Series
The Intercontinental Trophy Cup Racing Series (ITC) is a defined path for new and upcoming talent coming from a variety of disciplines, including karting and club-racing. The series, which races exclusively with Porsche Caymans, began in April 2011 and is the first nationally-touring semi-professional series sanctioned by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). The ITC provides a structure to assist the enhancement of drivers and teams not only on the track but also off, fostering business partnerships and developing marketing strategies. For more information, visit the series website,www.trophycupracing.com, and follow the series on Twitter, @itcseries.

Article copied from: Trophy Cup Racing Article

TPC Racing customers, Gary and Betty Church, have been coming to our shop for many years to have work done to their very special car. Gary and Betty are the proud owners of what started off its life, as a standard RUF RGT. However, that level of modification was not nearly enough to satisfy Gary’s thirst for power. So, added to RUF’s work, Gary had a custom built Sportec twin turbo motor installed featuring custom liquid-to-air intercoolers to work with his narrow bodystyled car. He also had us upgrade his suspension to full JRZ race coilovers and Hoosier wrapped BBS 3-piece wheels, GT3 Cup transmission, and RSR Differential. In addition, the car was completely disassembled so that the entire car could be seam welded and gusseted to provide ample chassis strength and rigidity. No part of this car has been left untouched in an attempt to create one of the wildest track/street cars we have ever seen.

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Everywhere the Church’s go, their truely unique RUF not only turns heads with it’s drop-dead gorgeous looks, but also snaps necks with it’s blistering performance. In addition to have one of the most unique and recognizable Porsche/RUF vehicles at nearly every track event, Gary and his wife Betty are commonly know as some of the friendliest folks you’ll meet. We are always hearing stories of the Church’s kindness and generosity, including in participating, along side us, in the annual Vets on Track events at Summit Point Raceway – where injured Iraq and Afganistan Veterans are given track rides in some of the fastest most powerful Porsche racers on track. Gary and Betty are also PCA instructors, helping novice drivers learn how to handle themselves and their vehicles on track.

Gary and Betty are regulars at most PCA events, as well as many other trackday events, from Vipers to Corvettes to Shelbys and Audis, and are constantly traveling to events all over the Eastern US. So, keep your eyes open for Gary and Betty’s brilliant yellow RUF, and be sure to stop and say “Hi”!

After over a year of development on Porsche’s newest DFI engine offerings, TPC Racing has reach a massive milestone. Our first DFI Turbo Kits have come to life in the form of two Boxster Spyders. The first car was 6-speed, built at TPC Racing dealer, Accumoto Motorsport in Wisconsin.

A few weeks later, the very first TPC Racing Boxster Spyder Turbo roared to life here at TPC. But this car was just little special, as it is the first car equipped with Porsche’s new PDK transmission to receive the turbo kit. We are extremely excited to experience the power of the TPC Racing 987.2 Turbo Kit in conjunction with the lightning fast performance of Porsche’s dual clutch gearbox! We just started up this car for the first time and are going to be getting some dyno numbers for this non-intercooled car very soon.

The research and developemnt of new products is a never ending job, here at TPC Racing. We are always looking for ways to improve upon factory components, and develop brand new ones, from the ground up. This requires us to purchase the vehicles we wish to modify, as we generally do not do any development on customer vehicles.

This has lead to the purchase of many vehicles, including our 987.1 Porsche Cayman, 987.2 Porsche Cayman, 997.2 Carrera S, 997 GT3, 997Turbo, 997 GT2, and more! It is now time to add another test vehicle to our fleet. Introducing, TPC Racing’s brand new Porsche GT3RS.

As our newest R&D vehicle, the GT3RS had to go through the same baseline shakedown tests on track that we put all of our development vehicles through. This means several weekends at the track for some serious driving. We use this time to see how the chassis works; how it puts down power, how it allows the driver to use the brakes, its cornering abilities and limitations, the range of its swaybar settings and more!

We are very excited to add one of Porsche’s most hardcore track machines to our garage, and look forward to truly pushing the limits with its development in the coming months!

TPC Racing to Supply Intercontinental Trophy Cup Racing Series

Lets go out and burn some rubber…

At TPC Racing, we have racing in our blood. It flows through our veins and is the driving force behind everything we do. After several years out of the spotlight of pro racing, TPC Racing is ready to get back to what we love most. Not only are we jumping feet first back into pro level competition in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama, but we are also very proud to announce our partnership with the newly formed Intercontinental Trophy Cup(ITC) Racing Series. Officially sanctioned by the National Auto Sport Association(NASA), this will be the organization’s first nationally touring semi-professional racing series. This is an excellent opportunity for serious club racers to experience top level door-to-door racing.

Drivers in the new ITC Race Series will be piloting Porsche Cayman prepared racecars and will be divided into two classes, P1 and P2. The P1 class will focus on the 2009MY and newer Porsche Cayman, while the P2 class will feature the 2008MY and earlier Porsche Cayman vehicles. These vehicles will be prepared according to very strict guidelines aimed at making the racecars as even as possible with a strong focus on maintaining certain power-to-weight ratios. ITC Series races will will be run at some of America’s top road racing venues. Drivers will run in two 50 minutes sprint races per weekend featuring a standing start that will definitely get the adrenaline flowing.

All racecars in the ITC Race Series will be prepared using brand specific parts. This will help ensure an even playing field for all of the competition, as well as help control costs for the race series participants. As one of the ITC Race Series Development Partners, TPC Racing will be supplying a number of our track developed and proven suspension components for racecars in both the P1 and P2 classes. The TPC supplied components will include:

• TPC Racing Pro Race Adjustable Sway Bars
• TPC Racing Pro Race Adjustable Drop-Links
• TPC Racing Pro Race Adjustable Toe Links
• TPC Racing prepared JRZ RS Pro Coilovers and camber plates

These components will help transform these fun sportscars into asphalt devouring racecars; and will provide serious racers a competitive and adrenaline filled racing experience.

Adding to the excitement in the ITC Race Series is their partnership with RaceFansTV.com. RaceFansTV.com will be broadcasting the ITC Race Series on their website. RaceFansTV.com has exploded in popularity over the past year with over 250,000 page views and 50,000+ visitors. RaceFansTV.com is packed with racing content, with nearly 1000 videos on file featuring everything from vintage road racing/rally/circle track/powerboat/motorcycle racing/automotive documentaries/current racing series; with lots of new content being added daily. Hardcore racing fans; RaceFansTV.com has you covered.

View the 2011 ITC Cayman Race Series Schedule

The OFFICIAL Intercontinental Trophy Cup Race Series Website