The Muscle Milk team will be putting an end to its winningest season yet at this weekend's American Le Mans Series finale at Road Atlanta.
Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing, who has scored four wins this season, - the most of the prototype teams - is looking to Petit Le Mans to end the season on a high note after a run of bad luck in the past couple of rounds ended their hopes of winning the LMP1 Championship.
Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr will be facing even tougher competition than usual with the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup entries making the trip overseas to take part in the famous 1000-mile/10-hour race this week.
The LMP1 class will feature 13 car and driver combinations including the diesel-powered factory teams of Peugeot and Audi, who are the favorites to take top honors.
Knowing that they will be at a disadvantage to the diesel-powered cars, the Muscle Milk squad is aiming to be the 'best of the rest' and, most importantly, hoping for their luck to turnaround as the season comes to a close.
Graf and Luhr will be on track starting Wednesday, September 28 for a two-hour test session in which they will be joined by team owner Greg Pickett who has decided to get back behind the wheel and turn a few more laps aboard the team's Aston Martin LMP1 car during the test day.
The German duo will then be back on track for the start of official practice on Thursday, September 29th. Qualifying for the season finale will take place on Friday afternoon with the race going green at 11:30 am ET on Saturday, October 1.
The race will be streamed live in its entirety on ESPN3.com starting at 11:15 am ET and will be broadcast on tape-delay on ABC, Sunday, October 2 at 4:00 pm ET.
Bullitt targets strong finish
Muscle Milk Pickett Racing's Mark Bullitt is coming off his second podium finish of the season and is carrying plenty of momentum as he heads into the final two rounds of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama season at Road Atlanta.
The German took over fourth place in the championship standings following his performances at Laguna Seca and with some luck he could still move his way up the points standings. Bullitt sits 15 points out of third place and 20 points out of second with 40 points still in play.
During his previous weekend of racing, Bullitt scored 27 points for his two races and passed a total of 17 cars at a track he was visiting for the first time.
This weekend, at Road Atlanta, the Muscle Milk driver will be taking on a track he's been to before and that he qualifies as one of his favorites. Bullitt, just like the Muscle Milk ALMS team, will be looking to end his season on a high note and add to what he has already accomplished in what has been a remarkable first season for him in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge.
Bullitt will be on track for a couple of test sessions on Tuesday, September 27 and will have two practice sessions on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's qualifying and race.
The second race of the weekend and final round of the season will take place Friday, September 30 at 11:30 am ET.
MUSCLE MILK QUOTES
AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES DRIVERS Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing "Petit Le Mans has become one of the biggest sports car races in the world and I'm really looking forward to it. The teams from Europe will meet with the regular ALMS participants and that should make for some great racing. "I think the circuit suits our Muscle Milk Aston Martin car and we had some very productive test days there earlier in the year. I like the track a lot as I called Atlanta my home town for three years during my early days in sports car racing in the United States and it's always great to return there."With the championship already decided, it's all about winning this one within the ALMS competitors and with a little bit of luck we could maybe even sneak up on the overall podium. That's what we'll be pushing for."
Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"After our strong performance at Laguna Seca but the bad luck that consequently ended our championship hopes, we just want to have a good result at Petit Le Mans and end the season with a happy ending."Road Atlanta is a good track but with the diesel cars coming in for this race it will be tough. That said, if we can be the best of the non-diesel cars, I think that would be like a win for us."The Muscle Milk team has done a great job all year long and I hope we can give them a good result before we head into the off-season."
IMSA GT3 CUP CHALLENGE BY YOKOHAMA DRIVER
Mark Bullitt, driver #6 Muscle Milk Team CytoSport"I look forward to our last race weekend of the season. I especially like that it is at Road Atlanta, which is one of my favorite tracks. "I've been there already a couple of times and I can't wait to race there in our Muscle Milk Porsche GT3 Cup car. It is a very fast track with the last turns being some of the best ones in the world. "We are carrying some good momentum from our last couple of races on the west coast and aiming for another couple of good finishes this weekend to end the season well."
Race Facts:Petit Le Mans powered by MazdaRoad Atlanta, 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course, Braselton, GASeptember 28 - October 1, 2011
American Le Mans Series: Round #9 of 9Race Duration: 10 hours/1000 miles (whichever comes first) ALMS live online coverage:United States: ESPN3.comInternational: americanlemans.comQualifying - September 30, 2011: 2:55 pm - 4:10 pm ET Race - October 1, 2011: 11:15 am - 9:45 pm ETTape delayed broadcast:ABC: October 2, 2011 from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm ET
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama: Rounds 14 & 15 of 15Race duration: 45 minutes each
Schedule (All times Eastern):Tuesday, September 27, 2011:GT3 Test Session: 8:50 am - 9:30 amGT3 Test Session: 1:50 pm - 2:30 pm
Wednesday, September 28, 2011GT3 Practice: 8:45 am - 9:15 amGT3 Practice: 1:15 pm - 1:45 pmALMS/ILMC Test Session: 2:45 pm - 4:45 pm (All classes)
Thursday, September 29, 2011GT3 Qualifying: 9:15 am - 9:45 amALMS/ILMC Practice: 10:00 am - 11:00 am (All classes)GT3 Race 1: 1:45 pm - 2:40 amALMS/ILMC Practice: 2:55 pm - 3:55 pmGT3 Autograph session: 5:40 pm - 6:10 pmALMS/ILMC Night Practice: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Friday, September 30, 2011:ALMS/ILMC Practice: 10:15 am - 11:15 am (All Classes)GT3 Race 2: 11:30 am - 12:25 pmALMS Autograph Session: 12:15 pm - 1:15 pmLive Auction at team transporter: 1:15 pm - 1:30 pm ALMS Qualifying: 2:40 pm - 2:55 pm (GTC/LMGTE Am)ALMS Qualifying: 2:55 pm - 3:10 pm (GT/LMGTE Pro)ALMS Qualifying: 3:15 pm - 3:30 pm (LMPC)ALMS Qualifying: 3:30 pm - 3:45 pm (LMP1/LMP2)
Saturday, October 1, 2011:ALMS Warm-up: 9:15 am - 9:40 amALMS Race: 11:30 am (10 hours or 1000 miles)
