Paul Miller Racing Press Release
Riding a wave of momentum straight to the Motor City after a season-best second-place finish
one race ago at Laguna Seca, Paul Miller Racing and No 48 Audi R8 LMS drivers Bryce Miller and Christopher Haase are primed for more podium success at this weekend's IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race on Belle Isle in Detroit.
Saturday's featured sprint is the fourth TUDOR Championship GT Daytona (GTD) round of the year and starts at 12:10 p.m. EDT. The 100-minute race, which also includes the top-tier Prototype class, can be seen in virtual live coverage - the telecast will begin before the race is over - on FOX Sports 1 at 1:30 p.m. EDT/10:30 a.m. PDT. Live coverage can also be heard on MRN Radio starting at Noon and local Detroit radio network WDFN-AM 1130.
"Laguna was a great morale boost for the team and it's important that we've rebounded at this early stage in the season after our results from Daytona and Sebring," Bryce Miller said. "If we can get into the points battle before the season's halfway point it will position us better to manage risk going into the last races."
The great weekend at Laguna Seca began with a third-place qualifying effort by Haase who joined co-driver Miller in battling for the race win from the start of the two-hour sprint. The team fought its way back into race-leading contention more than once, frequently battling in the top five and, for the last turns of the final lap, the race victory.
"First of all, we were always good already in the first races but we had no luck," said Haase, a German driver in his first full season of North American racing. "At Laguna the luck came back to us and we were able to fight at the front. It is a great motivation for the team. Never give up."
The persistence has already moved the Paul Miller Racing team and drivers into the early-season points race in the TUDOR Championship's competitive GTD division. Miller and Haase rank seventh in the driver championship standings with 69 points, trailing the sixth-place drivers by three points and just six points out of the top five. The No. 48 team has the same 69 point tally to rank seventh in the GTD team standings heading to Detroit.
Another strong result in Motown would keep the team's championship aspirations alive but it will have to be earned on a track that neither team nor the drivers have ever even seen.
"This will be my first time at Detroit Belle Isle," Bryce Miller said. "I was moonlighting some hours this week to catch some in-car footage. I think there are other tracks that will favor the Audi more than the Detroit circuit but it will also be both Christopher's and my first time driving here. We will know more after the first session."
A two-day event, the Detroit schedule begins Friday with a pair of practice sessions from 9:35 until 11:05 a.m. and 1:35 to 3:05 p.m. The GTD division qualifies later on Friday from 5:25 to 5:40 p.m. Race-day Saturday starts with a 20-minute warm-up at 8 a.m. before the start of that afternoon's race at 12:10 p.m.
Noteworthy
- Bryce Miller feels right at home on temporary road courses. "I quite enjoy street circuits," Miller said. "We finished fourth in 2011 at Long Beach in the ALMS GT class and I finished on the podium in Montreal in 2007 so it would be nice to break some of that dry spell at Detroit."
- Haase has a familiar drill leading up to his first time at any new circuit. "For me, it will be my first time here," Haase said. "My preparation is always the same. I do some laps on my simulator. Also, I look for onboard videos as well data. At the end you have to learn quickly in the free practice."
- After starting the season with the Rolex 24 At Daytona - where Haase won the pole and the No. 48 team set the pace for more than half the race - and the 12 Hours of Sebring, Detroit is the second GTD short sprint in a row. The GTD class also joined the Prototype Challenge (PC) division at Laguna Seca for a two-hour sprint.
About Paul Miller Racing: Paul Miller Racing is among the top GT teams competing in North American sports car road racing. In 2014, the team will contest the full GT Daytona (GTD) season in the new IMSA TUDOR SportsCar Championship in a new partnership with Audi Sport customer racing. Bryce Miller and Christopher Hasse will co-drive the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS. The racing team is affiliated with the Paul Miller Auto Group, which has operated Paul Miller Audi since 1976, races in support of Full Circle Home, and competes with the support of TOTAL Lubricants, Search Marketing Group and Motegi Racing.
Follow Paul Miller Racing on Twitter @paulmilleracing @bryceracer and @ChHaase and become a Facebook fan at Facebook.com/paulmillerracing and Facebook.com/brycemiller.net. Learn more information about Paul Miller Racing and the team's drivers at www.paulmillerracing.com, www.brycemiller.net and www.christopher-haase.de.
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.
Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Bob Champan
