POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (March 29, 2005) - Five-Time SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Drivers' Champion Michael Galati makes his return to the SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship this weekend, as he has been signed by Autohaus Motorsports to drive its No. 02 Mercedes-Benz C230 at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Galati, who served as the lead driver in the Champion Racing Audi program that participated in SCCA SPEED GT from 2000-2004, won the first three of his five titles in SCCA SPEED Touring Car competition in 1996, 1998 and 1999. With Audi's absence from the 2005 SCCA SPEED GT campaign, Galati's services became available and Autohaus Team Director and driver Peter Lockhart is excited about the opportunity to work with the former Champion.

"Michael has a huge amount of experience and will bring a significant amount of attention to the Benz program," Lockhart said. "We're excited to see what he can do with the car."

Galati and Lockhart began discussions at Sebring two weeks ago, and the two traveled to Moroso Motorsports Park Monday to test.

"The test went well enough, and Michael is enthused to see the potential of the cars at St. Petersburg," Lockhart added. "We had a shock related ride-height issue during the race at Sebring, so our performance wasn't very representative of the car's potential. We believe that the St. Petersburg course will be well-suited for our Mercedes."