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Area 81 Racing Team based in Wilmington, NC ( www.Area81Racing.com ) announces a 2 car team entry in select events in the Formula 1000 Championship Series ( www.F1000Champ.com ). The team is moving up the ranks after 3 seasons in Formula Continental (FC) SCCA Club Racing competition and 1 year of SCCA Club Racing competition in the Formula 1000 (FB)Class.

Drivers Richard Franklin & Tim Pierce have both finished as high as 2nd place in past SEDIV SCCA SARRC (South Atlantic Road Racing Championships). Tim most recently in his F1000 (2011) and Richard in his Formula Continental (2009). Tim Pierce is the 2005 & 2006 Cape Fear Solo Series A-Stock Champion and will be driving car #18. Richard Franklin was awarded the 2006 NC Region Member of the Year, 2008 NC Region Club Racing Rookie of the Year and will be driving car #81.

One unique aspect of Area 81 Racing is the team fielding chassis from two of the most prominent F1000 chassis manufacturers in the industry. Richard will be campaigning his 2011 Stohr F1000 & Tim his 2010 Ralph Firman RFR1000. Both cars will be Suzuki GSXR1000 powered with engines from GDRE.

Team Principal - Tim Pierce “Area81 Racing may be ‘David versus Goliath’ and the learning curve will be steep, but we have raw talent and tremendous desire. The Formula 1000 Championship Series is a great venue to show the racing community that we belong on the track with the best in the business. The buzz that Jon has created is extremely contagious and we look forward to a very successful series.”

Team Principal - Richard Franklin “We have been working on moving Area 81 Racing up to the next level for some time now. The Formula 1000 Championship Series has made it much more attractive for our racing team to travel longer distances. Aside from the higher level of competition, I truly believe the European-style standing starts in the F1000 Series will add a completely new dimension to the racing weekend. With engines capable of revving over 12,000 rpm, the excitement level at the start of a F1000 Series event will be quite high vs. traditional American-style rolling starts”.

It’s great to see another team like Area 81 Racing enter the Series,” Stated F1000 Managing Director, Jon Lewis. “Richard and Tim are coming up through the ranks of club racing into the Championship and will be campaigning cars from two separate manufacturers. The Formula 1000 Championship Series is making the jump to professional racing more affordable for many teams and I have no doubt that Area 81 Racing will find our Series both exciting and rewarding.”

Richard Franklin is an Area Manager for Electri-Products Group Inc. an Independent Manufacturers Representative of Electrical Wholesaling Products. He and his wife Kimberly reside in Wilmington, NC and have one son, Ryan.

Tim Pierce is a Technical Support Engineer for Waterfall Security Solutions and resides in Leland, NC. His wife Kristen, son Alex, and father Ray also support his racing obsession.

Sponsorship opportunities are currently available. Additional information is available at www. Area81Racing.com

Going into the SARRC Invitational Championship race at Roebling Road Raceway 16 points behind the class leader, a 2nd place finish secured Area81Racing driver Tim Pierce a 2nd place finish in the 2011 SARRC Southeast Division points championship.  Tim finished the winning season with two 1st Place and four 2nd Place podiums, while also learning a new car in a new class.

Area81Racing began the 2012 SAARC season in spectacular fashion at the Goblin’s Go at VIR.  Tim Pierce continued to shave his lap times each session on his way to the first win of the 2012 season.  He posted the 4th best lap time in the group during the race in addition to the 1st Place finish.

While awaiting delivery of the new Stohr F1000, Area81Racing spent the hot summer months enhancing the 2010 Firman with new power from George Dean. This proved to be challenging and also very rewarding. Driver Tim Pierce continuously logged his personal best times at Roebling Road Raceway with the support of teammate Richard Franklin and the entire Area81Racing team trackside. His starting position of 8th overall and 2nd in class placed him in the upper half of a very strong group. He took advantage of the beautiful weather and optimum horsepower conditions to climb his way to 4th overall with the class leader in sight until a fluid leak forced him to settle for an early exit and 2nd place finish.

Area81Racing driver Tim Pierce continued to make a splash in the southeast over Memorial Day weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park. Tim qualified with the Firman RFR1000 second in class both days and began both races third overall. An unfortunate spin pushed him to the middle of the pack on Saturday. However, he would finish second in class both days and finish third overall on Sunday. There were smiles all around as he continued to post career best laps throughout the weekend in his first races ever at CMP.