(March 5, 2010) — Miller Barrett Racing will start the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway from eighth on the GT-class grid. The team’s No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was the fastest Porsche qualifier in the 19-car class, behind five Mazda and two Chevrolet entries.
Luke Hines of Essex, England, qualified for Miller Barrett Racing, lapping the 2.3-mile infield road course in Homestead, Fla., in one minute 18.830 seconds, at an average speed of 105.036 mph. A Homestead rookie, Hines had little time to learn the track as a tire puncture put him into the wall during the Friday afternoon practice session. The crew quickly replaced the car’s right-rear bodywork and got him back on track just in time for the qualifying session.
“The tire blew up and I saved the car, so I didn’t hit the wall as hard as it could have been. So we were lucky, and the team worked really hard to get the car ready for qualifying. I’m happy that we got it on time,” Hines said.
“I had a good sit-down with Bryce after the last session. He helped me out with a few corners I needed to learn. This is the whole thing of coming into the track and not knowing it. But we got it right for qualifying and at the end of the day, we were the top Porsche with a new team, so that’s good going.”
Hines will start the two-hour 45-minute race on Saturday, and Miller will drive the final stint. He is optimistic the car setup will be effective.
“We’re really excited about this result because this places us as the top Porsche going into the race,” Miller said. “Luke did a great job in what is a new car and a new track for him. Everyone is pleased with the result, and I think we have a really good car to run at the front tomorrow.”
The race is scheduled to start at 5 pm ET on Saturday, telecast live on SPEED.
partners
Miller Barrett Racing competes with the support of four international sponsors. Marquis Jet is the recognized leader in private jet cards because it’s the only program that offers exclusive access to NetJets – the gold standard in private aviation – 25 hours at a time. Grand Prix Racewear is a respected supplier of motorsport protective clothing and driver accessories, based at Silverstone Circuit in England. The company offers worldwide delivery of 15,000 product lines. IPC Information Systems is a leading provider of mission-critical communications solutions to financial services firms. TOTAL Lubricants is the world’s fourth-largest publicly traded integrated international oil and gas company.
