BALTIMORE, Md. (August 31, 2013) – The Paul Miller Racing No. 48 Chopard/TOTAL Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was among the eliminated entries before the Baltimore Grand Prix barely began Saturday, the victim of a multi-car accident just seconds after the race start on the 2.02-mile Inner Harbor road course.
Bryce Miller was at the wheel of the No. 48 Chopard/TOTAL Porsche that sustained multiple hits in the chain-reaction accident.
“It wasn’t really clear what was happening ahead because where this pile up initiated was a few rows yet in front of me,” Miller said. “Everybody came to a screeching stop and that is about as much as I knew before going to the monitor after. I spoke to some of the other drivers and it is pretty much all of the same. Somebody spun Scott Tucker around, pitched him sideways going down the straightaway, and there was just nowhere for anybody to go.”
The No. 48 was hit at least five times, including in the rear end and driver-side door, and sustained front-end damage after being knocked into the cars ahead. The accident involved a full 1/3 of the starting field and eliminated five cars, including all three GT-class Porsches. Miller’s teammate Marco Holzer never had a chance to drive in Saturday’s race.
“We were all standing on the brakes and everyone from behind was just ramming in,” Miller said. “I started in on the brakes pretty hard and everybody in front of me started braking down. I got tagged from behind, then spun sideways, and then the same car rammed me in the door again, a second time, and then a third, a fourth and a fifth time as everyone piled into the back of him.”
The disappointing race result didn’t tarnish what was an otherwise uplifting day as Paul Miller Racing hosted several members of our nation’s armed services through the Full Circle Home Wounded Warriors program. An American non-profit organization whose goal is to support the special women of our armed service members during their separation from loved ones deployed overseas, Full Circle Home has also been assisting Wounded Warriors since May of 2012.
“It was a tough day, a challenging weekend in all really, but seeing the sacrifices made by these brave service members certainly keeps it all in perspective,” Miller said. “We were honored to have them here with us today, they are welcome back any time, and we look forward to building our new relationship with Full Circle Home.”
Despite the poor race result, the No. 48 Chopard/TOTAL Porsche should remain the top-ranked single-car and privateer team in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT Team Championship standings. While the factory-backed and two-car Corvette, BMW and Viper teams remain in the top three, Paul Miller Racing will likely continue to be in fourth position when the Baltimore post-race point standings are issued.
The Baltimore Grand Prix can be seen tomorrow, Sunday, September 1, at 12 p.m. EDT/PDT, on ABC.
Next up for Paul Miller Racing is the debut ALMS race at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, September 19 – 21. The weekend’s feature race can be seen in next day coverage on ESPN2, Sunday, September 22, at 1 p.m. EDT, in addition to live race-day and qualifying streaming on ESPN3.
Paul Miller Racing: Paul Miller Racing is among the top GT teams competing in North American sports car road racing. In 2013, the team will contest the full American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón with lead driver Bryce Miller and season-long teammate Marco Holzer. The team enjoys a long-standing relationship with Porsche and competes with the support of Chopard, TOTAL Lubricants, Search Marketing Group and Motegi Racing, and races exclusively on Michelin tires. The team is affiliated with Paul Miller Porsche, a 2013 Porsche Premier Dealer Award recipient.
Follow the team on Twitter @paulmilleracing @bryceracer @marcoholzer and become a Facebook fan at Facebook.com/paulmillerracing and Facebook.com/brycemiller.net. Learn more about the team at www.paulmillerracing.com.
Full Circle Home: Full Circle Home supports the women who support the troops, who support us here at home. The deployed troops and Wounded Warriors can send their love and holiday gifts home to their wives, moms or other special women through FCH’s holiday programs. FCH provides businesses and individuals an opportunity to thank our troops and the women at home by sponsoring a special box of gifts. Started in 2007, FCH is a 100% volunteer nonprofit that has sent over 9,000 boxes of gifts to every state in the nation and to bases around the world.
