(April 12, 2010) — Bryce Miller will add a full season of American Le Mans Series GTC competition to his international race program, starting with this week’s race in Long Beach, Calif. Miller, of Summit, N.J., and John McMullen, of Spring Lake, N.J., will drive the No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car prepared by Orbit, the team that took both drivers to victory early in their careers. Their 2010 Porsche will carry the colors of Marquis Jet, IPC Systems, TOTAL, Bergen County Auto Group and Macha Racing.
Miller set four series records in the Orbit-prepared Marquis Jet Porsche 911 GT3 Cup en route to fourth place in the 2006 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. He earned three pole positions, a win and four podium finishes, the first of 21 podium finishes in four years. He followed with a Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series GT team championship and 10 podiums in 2007, his first ALMS GT2 win in 2008 and a second-place GT2 finish in the 2009 TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa.
Although they missed the first 2010 ALMS race, Miller is confident the team will catch up quickly.
“I am very excited to partner with Orbit again – my first sports-car season began with this team,” he said. “We’ve had good success together in the past and I look forward to picking up where we left off. It’s great to be back with IMSA and the ALMS, too, after racing in other series. Everyone really wanted this deal to come together, which will be useful when chasing down the points loss from our late entry.
“Thanks to Orbit and their driver development, I have inherited a competitive co-driver in John McMullen. However, the most exciting part of working with John this season will be his natural ability to interpret and apply different techniques to manipulate the race car on the track – something he’s already proven in his progressing competitiveness.”
McMullen has also achieved success with the guidance of Orbit team owner Rodger Hawley. In 2009, McMullen led five hours of the PBOC Motorsports Club 6 Hours of Sebring, won his second-consecutive three-hour Historic Sportscar Racing Sebring Endurance Classic and led an SCCA race at Palm Beach International Raceway, all in Orbit Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. In addition to his race competition, he has logged 450 hours in Corvette and Porsche race cars in the past two years, honing his sports-car racing skills.
“Rodger is the reason I’ve been able to develop my skills and mental approach so quickly,” McMullen said. “I’ve been driving, collecting and selling Corvettes for many years, but I race Porsches for a reason – they can go around a corner on two, and sometimes one, wheel! The 2010 Cup car does everything the 2007 to 2009 cars did, only better, approaching the feel of and performance of the RSR. I am excited to be teamed up with Bryce and I’m looking forward to a successful season.”
In addition to the Orbit ALMS program, Miller hopes to compete in select GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series races this year, pending rules clarification. He is also considering opportunities in Europe.
