When One Race Just Isn't Enough - Bryan Sellers to Race Twice on Sunday at MRLS
American Driver to Race Both Fall-Line Audi in GRAND-AM Rolex and BMW in CTSCC
MONTEREY, Calif., September 3, 2013 – It’s no secret that Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (MRLS) is one of Bryan Sellers’ favorite racecourses. So, what is a man to do when he’s only scheduled to run one American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race in the spring and one GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) race in the fall? You jump at the chance to race the Rolex Sports Car Series event in the No. 46 BePositive.Org Audi R8 GRAND-AM when team owner and CTSCC co-driver Mark Boden (Winnetka, Ill.) calls. The Braselton, Ga.-resident will join Boden in the No. 46 Trim-Tex Drywall Products/BCKSTGR Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 on Sunday morning, September 8, for the CTSCC race and follow that co-driving the Audi in the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda Rolex GT race on Sunday afternoon with Al Carter (Greenville, Del.). The additional two events will give three starts for Sellers at the track this year.
Sellers, who competes in both GRAND-AM and the ALMS, hopes the 2.238-mile, 11-turn track on the Monterey Peninsula will help him regain some lost momentum. Last weekend, the Falken Tire factory driver’s car was eliminated from the Grand Prix of Baltimore ALMS race in a multi-car accident even before his Team Falken Tire Porsche teammate Wolf Henzler was able to cross the start-finish line. The damage ended the day at a track that Sellers/Henzler had won the two previous runnings even before it got started. With two weeks before the next ALMS race, Sellers hopes to make the most out of this weekend’s two races. The track is an ideal place to do that as in the spring, Sellers helped lead the Falken operation to a podium finish in the ALMS race here.
The two-hour, 45-minute Rolex Series race, scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), will be Sellers’ second time in the Fall-Line Audi R8 GRAND-AM. In his Audi debut at Kansas Speedway, Sellers marched the mid-engine machine to the lead and finished fifth. This weekend, Sellers will join Carter for the first time as a co-driver. Despite both being drivers for Fall-Line, the pairing has never raced the same car together.
Earlier in the day, Sellers and Boden will fight for their third CTSCC win of the season in the GS class. Their BMW M3 will take the green flag at 10 a.m. PDT for the two-hour, 30-minute race.
While well recognized as an expert in generating low lap times, Sellers is also becoming an expert in time management off the track as well. The two official days of GRAND-AM practice, plus a CTSCC test day on Friday, will keep Sellers jumping. He’ll open with practice laps in the Trim-Tex BMW on Saturday morning at 9:15 PDT followed by his first laps of Laguna in the Audi at 10:15 a.m. Each series will have a midday practice before qualifying for CTSCC GS at 4 p.m. The 15-minute Rolex GT qualifying session will start at 5:25 p.m.
On Sunday, the CTSCC race will begin at 10 a.m. PDT. The GRAND-AM Rolex Continental Tire Sports Car Festival will start at 2 p.m. Timing and scoring for all sessions can be found at www.GRAND-AM.com .
The Rolex Series race can be seen live on FOX Sports 1 at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Motor Racing Network will provide radio coverage on www.GRAND-AM.com and www.MotorRacingNetwork.com .
The CTSCC race will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1, Sunday September 15 at 4 p.m. ET.
Quotes
Bryan Sellers:
On what makes MRLS Special: “So much of what makes me love a track is the area it is placed in and the history of the circuit. Laguna has great history and is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. I always look forward to traveling to Laguna Seca. It was also the first place I ever won a car race [Skip Barber, 1999], which makes it a little extra special. It will always be very near and dear to my heart.”
On the difference between the spring and fall races: “Laguna Seca is different from day to day much less from month to month or season to season. Laguna is so dependent on track temperature and on how much the wind is blowing sand onto the track. The differences between when we were here with the Falken Porsche in the ALMS and now with the two Fall-Line cars will be huge.”
On co-driving with Al Carter: “It will be easy to roll into the race with Al and get a good rhythm. I have known Al for a couple of years now, we know how each other drive and what the other needs and likes out of a racecar. We are very familiar with each other as Fall-Line teammates and I am looking forward to driving with him in the Be Positive Foundation Audi.”
On what was learned about the Audi R8 GRAND-AM at Kansas: “We learned a lot about the race-ability of the car and where we need to improve that. We have also been afforded a B.O.P. [Balance of Performance adjustment] from Grand-Am that should improve the racecar. I am looking forward to getting back into the Be Positive/Fall-Line Audi and seeing the differences.”
On what he learned at Kansas about running both Rolex and CTSCC races: “I learned there is not enough time in the day to do everything! I have been fortunate enough over the years to do some back to backs and the one thing that always stands out is you must prioritize and make sure you get the big things that have to be taken care of done first.”
On expectations for the CTSCC race: “Laguna was a good track for us last year with the Trim-Tex BMW. I think it be a track that we can have a good result at. Although, I do believe it will be difficult to win against the Camaro. I think we will have a podium capable car.”
On regaining personal momentum after the disappointment of Baltimore: “As the saying goes its best to get right back on the horse. Wolf [Henzler, Team Falken Tire teammate] was caught in a very unfortunate situation in Baltimore. Things closed down on him very quickly and, before you knew it, the whole track was sealed off. I am certain that start could have been run a million times and the result would have been the same. We were really looking forward to at least trying for a three-peat but unfortunately were not afforded the chance.”
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 .
Learn more about Fall-Line Racing, visit www.Fall-LineMotorsports.com .
For more on the Grand-Am Sports Car Challenge go to www.GRAND-AM.com .
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 .
Stayed charged with Batter Tender at www.BatteryTender.com .
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