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Tveter Relishes Opportunity To Work with the Champion
At Star Mazda Season Finale;

Earns Quarter Master Clutch Performer Award for 2012

OYSTER BAY, N.Y., Oct. 22 - Ryan Tveter made the most of the opportunity to be coached by the 2012 Star Mazda champion, Jack Hawksworth, and to drive his car during the season finale of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear last Friday at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.

It was a great learning experience for Tveter, 18, a resident of Oyster Bay, N.Y. and Zurich, Switzerland who has been running a limited schedule this year in this Mazda Road to Indy series.

In addition to the tips and encouragement he received from Hawksworth and other members of Team Pelfrey, Tveter was very pleased to learn that he’d been chosen as the 2012 recipient of the Quarter Master Clutch Performer Award at the series’ year-end celebration on Saturday. The award recognizes the driver who gains the most positions during the second half of the season.

"I was so thrilled and surprised to receive the 2012 Quarter Master Clutch Performer Award,” Tveter said. “It’s such an honor because the Star Mazda field is so competitive and the races are so tight. I feel even more excited because I only had 11 starts this year (excluding the two mechanical failures on the grid) compared to 17 for most of the drivers, so there weren’t as many opportunities for me to perform. I really didn’t think I was in the running for any awards and I’m really grateful to Quarter Master for sponsoring the $5,000 prize! It will definitely come in handy as I begin testing in the off-season."

Tveter had never been to a race at Road Atlanta before last week, let alone drive there, but he enjoyed the challenge.

"Working with Team Pelfrey and Jack Hawksworth for the final event of the season was an amazing learning experience,” he said. “I felt incredibly welcomed by the whole team and it was great to be able to benchmark myself against the other Team Pelfrey drivers, Petri Suvanto (the 2011 USF2000 champion and Mazda Road to Indy Scholarship driver) and Gustavo Menezes, who have both been consistently running in the top 10 and top five all season long. Almost all of my experience this year has been on

street circuits so it was difficult adapting to a challenging new road course. It demands a much different driving style, where small variances in the brake pressure and throttle application make a huge difference. I ended the week 1.7 seconds off the pole and 1.1 seconds off Petri, who ended up qualifying fourth for the race, which was a huge improvement from where I started in the first test session on Tuesday.

“Jack was a great coach and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him, Geoff [Fickling], and Rocky [Moran] over the week. They really supported me, pushing the limits of the car and myself, and they were very specific about what to do to get the next gain. Every session was a new opportunity to refine my brake pressure for different corners, to become more precise in my car placement, and to get used to a completely different car, setup and seat. It was a real team effort, with everyone helping me to push harder and harder each time out.

“I want to thank everyone at Team Pelfrey for an extraordinary learning opportunity at Road Atlanta,” Tveter continued. “It was great to be part of the team and participate in the season finale with them. I also want to acknowledge Team GDT as well as Star Mazda for their work this season. Of course none of it would be possible without my marketing partners — CIMIER Swiss Watches, Motorola Mobility LLC and Rogers TV — whose support has meant so much to me. I will continue to work as hard as possible to bring them the success they deserve."

Tveter started 12th in Friday’s 50-minute race. He spun working lap three and then worked his way back from 17th to finish 14th.

“The race on Friday was definitely challenging,” Tveter said. “I got off to a good start and maintained my position into the first corner. On lap three, unfortunately I spun at 120 miles per hour in Turn 1, narrowly avoiding some of my fellow competitors, but I managed to keep the engine running and the car on the track. I recovered, put my head down, and pushed hard to pick up three positions by the end.

“Road Atlanta is such a long, fast track,” he added. “I really had to fight for every inch. The race was green from start to finish so there were no cautions to help me close the gap. Although it wasn't the result I was hoping for, it was great experience and I worked hard to apply everything I had learned during the week every lap of the race to keep a consistent and fast pace."

The Road Atlanta Star Mazda race will be broadcast in the United States on the Discovery network’s Velocity channel on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 24, at noon Eastern.

For more information on Tveter, see his website at RyanTveter.com and his videos on YouTube. Fans can also interact with him through Facebook and Twitter. The Star Mazda series’ website is at StarMazda.com. For more information on CIMIER, see its website at Cimier.com.

About CIMIER Swiss Watches

CIMIER is a Swiss watch brand that has been combining tradition, innovation and quality since 1924. Solid functionality and timeless design reflect the elegance of CIMIER’s watches. In addition to its popular quartz watches, CIMIER also offers a wide range of mechanical models. All CIMIER watches have an attractive price–performance ratio. Customers who would like a unique watch can tailor their own CIMIER model under expert guidance at the CIMIER Watch Academy in Baar, Switzerland. CIMIER’s ambassadors include various renowned personalities such as Massimo Busacca, Tanja Frieden, Seven, Sarah Meier, Caroline Rominger and Edoardo Molinari.