Tuesday, April 11, 2017 – Fresno, CA – After a difficult start to the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech season, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports scored a top five finish in last weekend’s Bubba Burger Grand Prix of Long Beach with drivers Tom Kimber-Smith and Will Owen behind the wheel.

After struggling with mechanical issues during the first two races of the season, the team was pleased to finish on the lead lap and in the top five of the prototype class. For Kimber-Smith, the Grand Prix marked his second visit to the infamous Southern California street circuit. However, this was the first appearance from his teammate Owen.

“It was a great weekend being able to compete with PR1 at the BUBBA Burger Grand Prix at Long Beach. It was such a fun weekend, but I also learned so much about the car, about the track and about endurance racing,” said Owen.

“A lot of things were so new to me. I’ve driven this car in Europe, but with the new tires and on the street course, it felt totally different. I love the track, but it can bite you back real quick. I’m glad I was able to keep the car out of the walls during the race and keep it clean and put down some pretty quick times.”

“I know that there is a lot of speed for me to gain personally, but the PR1 Ligier ran fantastic without any problems which is great for the team. I can’t thank the PR1 team and Sanger Family of Wines enough for allowing me the opportunity to run at Long Beach this weekend, and I hope to be able to drive for PR1 at another race this season.”

Kimber-Smith was hopeful to complete the race without any mechanical issues, and at the end of the 100-minute sprint race, he was pleased to have finished without any problems and to be one of the top five cars in class.

“It was a difficult race. Will [Owen] did a great opening stint. It was his first time here and his first time driving this car here with no tire warmers or anything like that, so he did an incredible job," explained Kimber-Smith.

"When Will handed the car over to me we were a little bit out of the pack, so basically for me it was managing the traffic and trying not to do anything wrong. And in the end, we brought the car home in fifth, so we’re all pretty excited about that.”

The next race for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports is the Advanced Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. The team will test at the 3.4-mile Texas circuit later this week, and is looking forward to 2 hour and 40 minute race there next month. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with all of the team and driver racing news!