LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 18, 2013) – After more than a month long break for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, Paul Miller Racing and lead drivers Bryce Miller and Marco Holzer return to action this weekend, April 19 – 20, on the legendary streets of Long Beach in the No. 48 Chopard/TOTAL Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
The featured Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach two-hour sprint race can be seen live this Saturday, April 20, on ESPN3 starting at 7:15 p.m. EDT/4:15 p.m. PDT. The race will also air on ABC at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 21, and ESPN3 also shows live qualifying starting at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 19.
Along with co-driver Richard Lietz, Miller and Holzer drove the Michelin-shod No. 48 Chopard Porsche to a solid sixth-place run in last month’s season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by “Fresh from Florida.” Holzer ran as high as second in the early stages and all three drivers kept the Chopard Porsche in contention and on the leader’s pace throughout the challenging 12-hour race.
Although Long Beach, with its two-hour sprint format and tight and tricky track run entirely on the streets of Southern California’s third largest city, couldn’t be more different than Sebring, both Miller and Holzer are ready for the challenge.
“The racing here is quite aggressive, and with walls everywhere, it puts pressure on the driver to bring the car home and score points,” Bryce Miller said. “With a shorter race format the pit strategy and fuel window become that much more critical too.”
Holzer, a works Porsche driver from Germany, looks forward to returning to Long Beach in his first fulltime season with Paul Miller Racing and his American teammate Bryce Miller.
“I’m really looking forward to Long Beach,” Holzer said. “It’s really one of my favorite events in the year, and I like street tracks a lot! I think we will have a good chance for a good result. What will be really important is the qualifying for us because it’s really hard to overtake if the car in front makes no mistake.”
Bryce Miller is also a fan of the Long Beach event. Saturday’s ALMS race co-headlines what is the biggest three-day sports special event in California, with the 39th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach IndyCar race running on Sunday.
“Long Beach is a spectacular event for our championship,” Bryce Miller said. “The fan attendance and all of their enthusiasm for our sport makes it very special.”
Total team execution was a major factor in the strong Sebring race result and needs to be again this Saturday at Long Beach for every member of Paul Miller Racing.
“Everyone needs to hit their marks and there is not much margin for error,” Bryce Miller said. “So, if we can come out of Long Beach having collected some good points, just like we did at Sebring, it will be good momentum that we can carry forward with us into the season.”
The second round of the 10-race ALMS championship, viewers outside of the U.S. can watch Long Beach and all other series races live on www.ALMS.com. Additional content, such as live in-car cameras, timing and scoring, and car-to-pit radio is available for all users around the world at www.ALMS.com.
About 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, Motegi Racing and competes exclusively on Michelin tires.
Follow the team on Twitter @paulmilleracing @bryceracer @marcoholzer and become a Facebook fan atfacebook.com/paulmillerracing and Facebook.com/brycemiller.net. Learn more about the team at www.paulmillerracing.com.
