PARSIPPANY, N.J. (July 5, 2012)– Returning to the site of one of their best performances from the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón season, No. 48 Dunlop/Chopard/TOTAL Porsche 911 GTR3 RSR co-drivers Bryce Miller and Sascha Maassen are excited to be racing close to “home” for Paul Miller Racing in Saturday’s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.
Lime Rock is the closest racetrack to the Paul Miller Racing corporate headquarters and team owner Paul Miller’s home in Parsippany, N.J. and to Bryce Miller’s home in Summit, N.J. It’s a place where both Paul and Bryce Miller have logged thousands of miles of seat time and was where Miller and Maassen scored a sixth-place result in last year’s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix.
“I am always excited to go back to Lime Rock with all the support from our partners and for all the fans that come out to cheer us on,” said Bryce Miller. “With some of the progress we’ve made on the car and tire in testing, I’m hoping we can bring a renewed fight to some of our competitors. But with such a short lap, we still have to keep to our game and continue hitting our marks and collecting the points as well.”
Indeed, the 1.474-mile, seven-turn permanent road course is very short, very quick and takes some getting used to for most of the drivers. And it’s a place where Maassen has also enjoyed success, most notably in 2007 when he earned an overall and P2 class victory in the famed Porsche RS Spyder.
“Lime Rock is the shortest track of the ALMS calendar, but it is very challenging,” said Maassen. “The Paul Miller Racing team had a good result there last year, and this year we have a stronger package with the new Porsche and the Dunlop tires. Competition is always very intense there, so I am expecting some close battles with our competitors.”
The two-hour and 45-minute race takes the green flag at 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 7 and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com beginning at 2:45 p.m. ET. A tape-delayed television broadcast begins Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Practice and qualifying sessions precede Saturday’s race. The first official practice session for the No. 48 team takes the green flag at 10:00 a.m. ET and runs through 11:30 a.m. ET. Qualifying for the GT class is slated to run from 3:25 to 3:40 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon and will also be streamed live at ESPN3.com beginning at 3:05 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s pre-race schedule includes a warm-up practice session from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. ET and a driver autograph session at the team transporter in the paddock area from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. ET.
PHOTO: The No. 48 Porsche in action earlier this season at Sebring. Credit: Bob Chapman/Autosport Image
Paul Miller Racing
Lime Rock Park
Driver History
Bryce Miller
2011 – 6th in ALMS GT
2010 –5th in ALMS GTC
2009 – 4th in ALMS GT2
2008 – 10th in GRAND-AM GT
2007 – 2nd in GRAND-AM GT
Total Lime Rock Park Starts: 5
Best Lime Rock Park Result: Second (GRAND-AM GT – 2007)
Sascha Maassen
2011 – 6th in ALMS GT
2008 – 3rd in ALMS P2
2007 – 1st in ALMS Overall/P2
2006 – 2nd in ALMS P2
Total Lime Rock Park Starts: 4
Lime Rock Park Class Wins: 1 (2007, P2)
