Mark Bullitt returns to action in IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge -The Muscle Milk team is looking to put the bittersweet memories of last year's American Le Mans Series race at Road America behind them when they take on this season's Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at the Elkhart Lake track August 19 - 20, 2011.
Victory was snatched from the team last year only a few hundreds yards from the checkered flag when the Lola machine of Drayson Racing flew by Klaus Graf who had been slowed by a GT car in the final turns.
What ended up being a sweet second place finish still brings back bitter memories that Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing plans to erase by hopefully adding to its current win streak that started two races ago in Canada.
Graf and Lucas Luhr will be trying to once again cut into the championship lead. With their most recent victories the pair reduced the lead by eight points and currently sit 22 markers behind in the standings with four races remaining.
Additionally, the team will be vying for a fifth Michelin Green X Challenge trophy in a row. Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing has proven to be the prototype team with the best 'Fast, Clean and Efficiency' scores in all four previous rounds.
The challenge will be a little greater for the Pickett Racing team and their fellow competitors at Road America with the race being a four-hour endurance event around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course.
The German duo will be on track starting Friday morning from 10:20 pm ET for the first official practice session. Qualifying for Round 6 of the 2011 ALMS season will be streamed live on ESPN3.com starting at 4:05 pm ET with LMP1 cars taking to the track at 5:00 pm ET.
The green flag will drop on the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase featuring the American Le Mans Series at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, August 20, 2011. The race will be streamed live on ESPN3.com from 3:45 pm ET.
ABC will be broadcasting the event on tape delay Sunday, August 21 at 4:30 pm ET.
Bullitt returns to action
Muscle Milk Team CytoSport's Mark Bullitt will be returning to the track at Road America in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama for Rounds 10 and 11.
The series was last in action at Mosport International Raceway in July where the German picked up plenty of momentum to carry him into the Wisconsin rounds.
Bullitt took home his first podium finish in Canada and will be looking for a repeat performance at Road America, a track that he previously raced on a couple of years ago.
The driver of the #6 Muscle Milk Porsche GT3 Cup car will be on track on Thursday, August 18 for a test session and practice before taking part in qualifying and Race #1 on Friday, August 19. Race #2 will go green on Saturday, August 20 at 1:50 pm ET.
MUSCLE MILK QUOTES
AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES DRIVERS
Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing "Going to Road America is always great fun. It's one of the best tracks in the United States. You have very long straights with very fast speeds and what are very challenging corners to drive in the prototypes. "It's a four-hour race at Road America so that will be a nice change since it's longer than our regular race distances but we still approach it as any other race and we prepare the same way. The track should suit us well as I think it will be a good track for the Muscle Milk Aston Martin."We came so close to winning there last year with Timo Bernhard and me in the Spyder, in what was an awesome race on fuel strategy. We just didn't have the straight line speed there to do anything really and we almost won, so hopefully we can go a little bit further this year and win it."
Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"I'm really looking forward to going to Road America. I think it's one of the best tracks in North America, if not the best track. It should be good for our Aston Martin. It has long straights and a lot of quick corners and I'm looking forward to that. "The last time I was there was in 2008, I scored a win. It seems to be a good omen because so far this year, wherever I was last time in 2008 and won, we win this season as well. So hopefully we can go for three in a row with our Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team. We need to win to again score more points than the Dyson car and help Klaus for the Championship."
IMSA GT3 CUP CHALLENGE BY YOKOHAMA DRIVER
Mark Bullitt, driver #6 Muscle Milk Team CytoSport"I'm looking forward to Road America and keeping the momentum gained from our good performances at our previous race going. Our weekend at Mosport was pretty good and we are planning on doing the same next weekend."I have been once to Elkhart Lake a couple of years ago and I liked the track right away. It will make for some interesting racing since it has plenty of areas to overtake and long straights. We haven't been to this track with the new Cup car yet, so dialing the car in will be key. I'm confident we will quickly find a good setup thanks to the experience the Muscle Milk team has at Road America. "This is finally a track I'm familiar with, so I'm sure we will be competitive. I can't wait to be behind the steering wheel of my Muscle Milk Porsche Cup car again."
Race Facts:Time Warner Cable Road Race ShowcaseRoad America, 4.058-mile, 14-turn Road Course, Elkhart Lake, WisconsinAugust 19 - 20, 2011
American Le Mans Series: Round #6 of 9Race Duration: 4 hours ALMS live online coverage:ESPN3.comQualifying - August 19, 2011: 4:05 pm - 5:20 pm ET Race - August 20, 2011: 3:45 pm - 8:15 pm ETTape delayed broadcast:ABC: August 21, 2011 from 4:30 pm - 6:00 pmLive International Broadcast:MotorsTV - Live on Saturday, August 20Fox Sports Middle East - Live on Saturday, August 20Fox Latin American Networks - Live on Saturday, August 20Rogers Sports Net West - Live on Saturday, August 20, beginning at 2:00 pm (Mountain Time)
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama: Rounds 10 & 11 of 15Race duration: 45 minutes each
Schedule (All times local):Thursday, August 18, 2011:GT3 Test Session: 10:45 am - 11:30 amGT3 Practice: 5:45 pm - 6:30 pm
Friday, August 19, 2011:ALMS Practice: 9:20 am - 10:20 am (All classes)GT3 Qualifying: 11:10 am - 11:40 amGT3 Autograph session: 1:30 pm - 2:00 pmALMS Practice: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (All Classes)ALMS Qualifying: 3:10 pm - 3:25 pm (GTC)ALMS Qualifying: 3:25 pm - 3:40 pm (GT)ALMS Qualifying: 3:45 pm - 4:00 pm (LMPC)ALMS Qualifying: 4:00 pm - 4:15 pm (LMP1/LMP2)GT3 Race #1: 5:15 pm (45 minutes)
Saturday, August 20, 2011:ALMS Warm-up: 10:15 am - 10:35 amALMS Autograph Session: 11:30 am - 12:30 pmGT3 Race #2: 12:50 pm (45 minutes)ALMS Race: 3:00 pm (4 hours)
