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DETROIT (May 30, 2015) – Paul Miller Racing, and team drivers Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke, finished third in the Sports Car Classic at the Detroit Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Saturday, a race result that was also their second-straight 2015 podium finish in the No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS.
Haase and first-year team co-driver von Moltke have now finished no lower than fifth in the first four rounds of this year’s IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) season.
In addition to Saturday’s third-place showing, Haase and von Moltke finished second earlier this month at Laguna Seca. The No. 48 team also came home fifth in each of the year’s opening races at Daytona and Sebring, making Paul Miller Racing the only team in the competitive GTD class to score a top-five result in every 2015 race run to date.
This weekend in Detroit, the No. 48 team also stepped up to lead qualifying. Von Moltke, in just his fourth event with Paul Miller Racing and only second qualifying attempt in the No. 48, won the pole for the Sports Car Classic in convincing fashion on Friday.
“Dion did a nice job in qualifying to put the car on the pole, which was very important for us to start the race and to stay in the front,” Haase said. “At the end it was quite tough. I had a lot of contact with the Porsche behind and the Aston Martin, it was tough to hold the position, but in the end I think we can be happy with P3.”
Von Moltke led every lap of his race-opening shift and handed the Audi off to Haase with just under an hour remaining.
“It was a really nice start to the race in dry conditions and to lead the first half,” von Moltke said. “The car was working really well, but another car pitted earlier and grabbed the lead when we came in. Chris did an awesome job in on-and-off conditions with the rain and brought it home on the podium. Thanks to the guys at Paul Miller Racing and Audi Sport customer racing for giving us a great car.”
Haase exited the pits in third place after the driver swap and then dealt with race-slowing cautions and treacherous on-and-off rain showers while successfully defending the position to the finish.
“The race was really difficult for us, for the Detroit street circuit overall, with all the change in track conditions and the oil and the rain, it was just very challenging and difficult,” Haase said. “We had a good pit stop from my opinion, and the whole team did a really nice job during the weekend. They always pushed hard to get everything done, and I have to thank Audi Sport customer racing, they gave us great support during the weekend.”
Haase and von Moltke came to Detroit leading the IMSA TUDOR GTD driver championship standings by a point and are now five points ahead of the second-place team, 118 – 113. The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS has also provisionally moved to the top of the IMSA TUDOR GTD team championship with the same five point, 118 – 113, lead.
Follow Paul Miller Racing on Twitter @paulmilleracing @bryceracer, @ChHaase and @Dionvmracing and on Facebook fan pages available at Facebook.com/paulmillerracing, Facebook.com/brycemiller.net, www.facebook.com/Dionvm, and www.paulmillerracing.com, www.brycemiller.net, www.christopher-haase.de and www.dionvm.com.
About Audi of America and the Audi R8 LMS: Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.
Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.
