Bryan Sellers Eager to Hear the Rhythm of the Road (America)

Falken Works Driver Racing to the Beat of His Own Drum In ALMS

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc., August 13, 2012 – Certain racetracks just ring true to Bryan Sellers. While the Braselton, Ga.-resident loves to race anywhere he is given the opportunity, his natural harmony is more in tune with the rhythm of the road at Road America. One of the sport’s iconic facilities, Road America has a cadence all its own and Sellers will show he can play in perfect tune at the Road America Road Race Showcase on August 18. The Elkhart Lake, Wisc.-event is the seventh round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) 10-race season scheduled for the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Sellers shares with Wolf Henzler (Germany).

Sellers has two consecutive top-four finishes entering this weekend’s four-hour race. It was a team-wide decision to break from the mold and try a unique approach in strategy at both Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP) and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and that decision has helped garner the results. Now, by racing to the beat of their own drum, Sellers’ goal is to fall into sync with the rhythm of Road America to take his first victory of the year.

Driving for Team Falken Tire with Henzler, Sellers won twice in 2011 (Mid-Ohio and Baltimore). However, the first-half of this season has proven a greater struggle as the team fought to learn the right combination of Falken tires and the new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. However, at the last two ALMS events, the official factory effort of Falken Tire made a dramatic departure from its traditional strategies and those of its competitors. By finding their own unique tactics – such as having Sellers start and finish the Mid-Ohio event – the two top-five results have been the best for Team Falken Tire in 2012. There is strong promise for the remaining races on the schedule.

If there is a track that is genuinely beloved by the drivers of the ALMS, it would be Road America. The 14-turn course is cut through the woods of Wisconsin and at 4.048-mile it is the Series’ longest racetrack. The extension of the race distance from a standard sprint race to a four-hour enduro in recent years has added even more to the allure of the Road Race Showcase. When all of the individual instruments are brought together, they create a symphony that draws racers to take part like mice to a flute.

ESPN2 will broadcast the Road America Road Race Showcase at 2 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, August 19. Live flag-to-flag streaming of the event can be seen on ESPN3, August 18 beginning at 3:15 p.m. Multiple in-car cameras, available at www.ALMS.com, ** will complement race coverage. Live coverage of qualifying in all classes can be found on ESPN3 opening with GTC class at 4:40 p.m. Friday, August 17. Testing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon while official practice begins on Friday morning. Live timing and scoring of all sessions, including qualifying and the race, is offered at www.ALMS.com.

Quotes

Bryan Sellers:

On maintaining the rhythm of the season at Road America: “Team Falken Tire has been great over the last couple of weeks. The guys on the team are really working at a high-level right now. As we get later into the season the team becomes more and more important. Everyone in the paddock is hitting their peak and we need to be doing the same. With Road America being a long race, the four hours here should play into our hand a little. With as good as our strategy calls and pit stop execution have been, the longer races are really a place where we can show as a team. It’s a great time to keep our rhythm going.”

On the rhythm of Road America: “Road America is a great rhythm track! With as long as the circuit is there is no corner that is meaningless. They all have a very significant impact on the overall lap so it is very important to link all of the corners together.”

On the Road America Road Racing Showcase: “I like the longer races and I think it does help our team. This race will be not be very different from a driver’s perspective. We will push as hard as we can for four hours. The long races have become more and more fun over the years because there is no more conservation. It is push as hard as you can as long as you can.

It’s hard to say what our strengths and the weaknesses will be at Road America. The new car has been very strong at a lot of tracks that we haven't been in the past. I am very hopeful that this track will be the same and we are able to compete for a win.”

On what makes Road America special: “There are many great aspects that make Road America special! Two of those are the history and the racing. The track is one of the most famous circuits we have which always makes it special to race at. The racing at Road America is some of the best you will ever see. There are a lot of long straightways and hard brake zones which allows for a lot of passing and ultimately great racing. Any track that provides the kind of racing Road America does, is going to be a great track. You add in the history here, and it becomes special.”

For more on Bryan Sellers, please visit him on the web at "> www.BryanSellersRacing.com . Follow Bryan on Twitter ("> www.Twitter.com/BryanSellers ) and LIKE him on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/BryanSellersRacing . Tune-in to Bryan’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/BryanSellersRacing.

Visit www.FalkenTire.com for more on Team Falken Tire. Learn more about the American Le Mans Series at www.ALMS.com.

Go R/C racing with Bryan at www.HPIRACING.com.

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