John Mowlem joins SAMAX for Daytona

MOWLEM JOINS SAMAX MOTORSPORT FOR ROLEX 24

DAYTONA, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2006) -- British sports car racing star Johnny Mowlem will team with SAMAX Motorsport for the Rolex 24 at Daytona classic endurance race at Daytona International Speedway later this month.

Mowlem will co-drive a SAMAX-prepared brand new 997 Porsche GT3 Cup car in the GT class of the twice-around-the-clock event. A former GT winner of the Rolex 24, Mowlem also finished second overall consecutively in 2003 and 2004 for Ferrari and Porsche respectively. He also has three class podiums in his six starts there.

Mowlem noted that he and SAMAX owner Peter Baron have tried to work together in the past and the 2006 Daytona race presents the first opportunity for the pair to team up.

"I'm absolutely delighted to finally get to drive for Peter Baron and SAMAX," Mowlem said. "They have already proven themselves as a top team in not just the GT but also the Daytona Prototype division, and I'm very excited at going back to Daytona to try and win myself another Rolex watch, especially with such good teammates. It has always been a happy hunting ground for me and I'm hoping that 2006 will be no different!"

Mowlem's co-drivers will be veteran David Shep of Canada, up and coming sportscar driver Bryan Sellers and a pair Porsche Junior factory drivers from Germany, Lance David Arnold and Jan Seyffarth.

January will be a busy month for Mowlem. He'll be in Daytona for the annual pre-season test days, and then fly straight back to England to attend the Jan. 11 Reading Sports Personality of the Year Awards dinner. Mowlem has been nominated for the award. After a few days at home, it's back to Daytona for the Rolex 24 race itself.

"It's a huge compliment to be nominated for the award, but more importantly for me, I am going to be presenting an award that has been named after Richard Burns, the 2001 World Rally champion, who sadly lost his heroic fight in November of last year," Mowlem said. "The organizers of the event have kindly agreed to rename the main trophy the "Richard Burns Memorial Trophy" for perpetuity, and have also agreed to have the charity evening raise funds for Richard's charity: the Cancer Research Trust. That will be a big moment for me, as I'm sure Richard would have approved".

One of Britain's most successful and personable sports car drivers, Mowlem started his career behind the wheel at age 19. In 2004, he finished fourth in the British Racing Drivers Club Gold Star Award, a ranking of all British racers competing in international series, including Formula One. A married father of two, Mowlem was raised in Majorca, Spain. He has earned university degrees in economics and Spanish.

-www.johnnymowlem.com.