Bryan Sellers Scores Second Top-5 in Three ALMS Starts

BRYAN SELLERS SCORES SECOND TOP-5 IN THREE ALMS STARTS

American Young Gun Keeps Momentum Going Despite Challenges at Lime Rock

LAKEVILLE, CT, July 11, 2011 – Bryan Sellers scored his second, consecutive, Top-Five finish of the three race-old American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) season Saturday at Lime Rock Park. Despite a hiatus of nearly three months which put the momentum garnered from a career-best, fourth-place finish at the Grand Prix of Long Beach (CA) on pause, the Braselton, GA-resident and teammate Wolf Henzler (Germany) had a stellar run at the Lakeville, CT track to finish fifth in the Grand Touring (GT) class. The run continued the serious threat of the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR taking a podium finish in the world’s elite GT class. The dramatic run secured the team the “Battery Tender Hard Charger” of the race award but, ultimately, Sellers came just shy of his personal-best result in the ALMS, a victim of a mechanical failure in the car’s fueling system and a last lap penalty.

Despite the young, American talent leaving Lime Rock with a strong result, it looked like it could have been a career-best day for Sellers. The former open wheel champion added to his impressive resume by bringing the Team Falken Tire Porsche from ninth on the grid to fourth within the first hour of the race. He handed the car over to Henzler when the first full-course caution flew with one hour, 48-minutes remaining. A strategy by team leader Derrick Walker (Indianapolis, IN) called for just one additional stop while others would require two further stops. The plan, playing out perfectly to this point, gave the Team Falken Tire operation the hot hand for the second-half of the race. Playing the strategy, Henzler pushed the Porsche up to second-place after several daring battles to regain a lap lost during the planned “final” stop for fuel.

When the flat-six engine starved for fuel as a result of a ruptured line inside the tank, a third pit stop with just over 30 minutes remaining in the two hour, 45-minute race was required to top off the fuel cell. The unscheduled stop dropped the Sellers-Henzler combination to third in class and into the clutches of a charging fourth-place. Like Sellers had in the first stint of the event, Henzler drove with precision and intensity. However, the car, hungry for fuel, slowed with each lap. On the final circuit, Henzler brought the car down the hill and onto the main-straightaway of the 1.5-mile, eight-turn course just inches in front of the No. 04 Ford GT. The two cars made contact with the Falken Porsche beating the other entry across the finish line. Race officials declared the contact “avoidable” and penalized the No. 17 for violation of 2011 IMSA Code 5.6. The resulting 90-second penalty dropped the team from third to fifth in class.

Next on the ALMS calendar is the dauntingly quick and ever-challenging Mosport International Raceway on July 24. The Bowmanville, ONT, Canada track is among the fastest on an ALMS schedule that pits the best tracks in North America against the best drivers in the world.

Quotes

Bryan Sellers: About the race: “It was a great weekend in the grand perspective of things. We ran extremely competitive the entire race and were in the position to fight for a podium position at the end of the race. It was extremely emotional with the ups and downs of the race. We went from fighting for a second-place position on the podium, which was an all time high for Team Falken Tire, to having a fuel line burst and ultimately cost us a podium position. Wolf did a fantastic job and watching him gave everybody on the team a huge boost!

We learned about our fuel problem with about 45 minutes remaining in the race. It was a very long, agonizing 45 minutes watching our one lap lead over fourth deteriorate due to the issue.”

About his stint: “My stint was very good. I was able to move forward to fourth-place. We had some help along the way with cars falling out but we were able to keep clean and run our way through traffic. My stint was a little bit of a guessing game for us. It was the first time we had run this particular set of Falken tires for a whole stint so we used the first half of the race as a tuning tool for later. We tried to gather information and apply it for some adjustments for Wolf so he could make a run with the leaders.”

About the success of the early part of the season: ** “We have been very fortunate in the ALMS this year and it would be unfair to contribute it to one thing. I would say the overall key has been execution. The Falken team has done a great job for Wolf and I. The pit stops have been great along with the car preparation. From there, we’re just trying to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself to us on and off track.”

About the advantage of testing during the “break”: “The only thing in racing that there is no replacement for is time. To be able to reorganize after Long Beach and get some testing in has been huge for our Team. Things are still very new and every day we get to spend together on track is valuable.”

Full statistical results of the race can be found at www.AmericanLeMans.com.

For more on Bryan Sellers, please visit him on the web at www.BryanSellersRacing.com. Follow Bryan on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/BryanSellers) and Facebook.

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