The Racers Group announces the start of their 2022 season at GT America’s recently-added season opener: GT America's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. 9-year TRG veteran, Derek DeBoer, will hit the St. Pete streets in TRG’s famed #66 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport for his second podium assault at the fabled Grand Prix. Team TRG has had phenomenal success at this street race with past podium finishes. DeBoer plans to build on that success with yet another podium win in February.

DeBoer's experience in this street race goes back to 2016, when he competed with co-driver Jason Alexandridis. Alexandridis returns to team TRG as DeBoer’s co-driver in #66 this April in the Pirelli GT4 America Championship—their first race will be on home turf at Sonoma Raceway.

This is the first return to St. Petersburg’s streets for GT racing since 2019. And, based on its immense popularity in 2021, SRO has added the Nashville Grand Prix street race— in which Derek DeBoer raced in TRG’s #66— to the GT4 America schedule. See TRG’s Complete 2022 Schedule.

Fast Cars and Fine Wine:
To herald the arrival of the 2022 GT4 Racing Season, TRG has teamed up with Adobe Road Winery and LaSalle Solutions to create a VIP Grand Prix Race Weekend Experience. This 3-day adventure, filled with trackside action and social events, is custom crafted for fans of GT and Indy racing alike.

Derek DeBoer

"I can’t wait to get back on the streets of St. Pete! It’s always an honor driving TRG’s #66 and this has always been one of my favorite events. The general feel and hype here is incredible and the support from LaSalle Solutions and our local hosts, BelleAir Development/Carlos and Beverly Yepes is truly next level! Not only do I get the best view of an amazing city from the seat of a Porsche, but we also get to celebrate the occasion in the city’s coolest penthouse and entertain our guests at the Dali Museum. Racing and lifestyle don’t get any better than this! It's also been awhile since we’ve been in town so I’m guessing there are lots of kids that haven’t had a chance to read Fastlife Let's go Racing—we’ll be excited to get copies into their hands! Get yours on-site or at Fastlife.tv."

Kevin Buckler
Founder and CEO of The Racers Group

We are so excited to return to St. Petersburg after a two-year hiatus AND with TRG veteran, Derek DeBoer, at the wheel of TRG's #66. As the first race of a FULL 2022 season, the Grand Prix is guaranteed to generate excitement amongst all of TRG's 2022 drivers. Derek launches into his 10th season with TRG at this race. Beginning in April, he'll be spending a lot of time in #66 with co-driver, Jason Alexandridis, who returns to Team TRG at Sonoma Raceway. Sonoma's race will also mark the TRG return of Dr. Jim Rappaport, in #17, and his co-driver, Todd Hetherington, who will begin his second season of GT4 racing. Watch for our pre-season press release where we'll announce the complete driver schedule, new liveries, and the BRAND NEW Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports.

The St. Petersburg street circuit is a favorite among The Racers Group sponsors, fans and teammates alike, with the exhilaration of trackside race viewing in front of the beautiful Dalí Museum, the excitement in the TRG pit, plus 2 unbelievable team dinners and special race-related events with close team friends such as Carlos and Beverly Yepes of Bellaire Development Group.

This race also marks the return of Steven Robb and LaSalle Solutions as our partner for the event. LaSalle has been a staunch supporter, ally and friend to TRG for 10 seasons running. Not only is LaSalle a leading provider of IT life-cycle asset and maintenance contract management services, it is also one of the largest Cisco resellers. Their partnership with TRG has focused on strong business-to-business, co-branding and high-end corporate hospitality events. Steve totally gets it and is a “model” for other businesses that are looking to extend an advertising budget and are looking at motorsports. I always say that the paddock is the most “fertile fishing ground” that you can find, and Steve and I always find ways to partner with other companies to help them understand the wonderful benefits of the motorsports sponsorship and make sure they receive a solid ROI.