Miller Barrett Racing - Rolex 24 test preview
Miller Barrett Racing will start its first full season of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series racing with a strong driver lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. Bryce Miller of Summit, N.J., will lead the charge, joined by two of his 2009 teammates – Peter Ludwig of New Paltz, N.Y., and Kevin Roush of Upland, Calif. Luke Hines of Sedge Green, Essex, U.K., will complete the foursome. They will share driving duty in the No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car during the upcoming Rolex 24 test on Jan. 8 to 10 and in the 24-hour race on Jan. 30 and 31, both at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. The car will be prepared in the team's Braselton, Ga., race shop by an experienced crew led by team manager Eric Barrett, race engineer Alessandro Ferrari and crew chief Paul Caves. Miller Barrett Racing competed in four races this season, as a test program for 2010. The rookie team led the GT class in its first race, at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in August, with Miller and Roush behind the wheel. Watkins Glen was the meeting place for Miller and Ludwig, too. They drove together in the six-hour race at Watkins Glen in June. Paul Miller, who shares team ownership with his son Bryce and with Eric Barrett, believes the test program was worthwhile. "We're excited about the way our new team has so quickly evolved! We are fortunate to have such a high level of talent and experience for 2010, and it shows in the development and level of preparation of our car during these last six months," he said. "We're also very pleased with the awesome caliber of drivers who have joined us for the 24. The 24-hour requires a special mentality and maturity, and we really like the mix of talent, pace and experience we will have to get the job done. Even though we are a small team, with only our single Porsche entry, we believe we can be very focused, present a first-class effort across the board and compete at the front." Bryce Miller has shown his aptitude for endurance racing with a second-place GT finish in the 2008 Rolex 24 At Daytona. His resume includes a Rolex Series GT team championship, a string of victories and 22 class podium finishes. He finished second in class, fifth overall, in the Total 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium in July. Ludwig also raced at Spa and finished seventh in class. He moved up from a winning, record-setting start in Skip Barber racing to earn wins and podiums in the Grand-Am KONI (now Continental Tire) Sports Car Challenge Series. He has trained on the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany, in preparation for races including the 2010 24h-Rennen Nürburgring. Roush has enjoyed the pace of strong Rolex 24 performances. He and his co-drivers led the GT class for 3.5 hours this year and he drove to third in the first hour of the 2008 race. He has earned two Porsche Owner's Club championships and has designed, built, serviced and campaigned winning Porsche 911 race cars. Hines is a Rolex 24 rookie, but a European winner. He has notched wins and podiums en route to a British Touring Car Championship class title, second overall in the BTCC and second-place honors in the British GT Championship. He has also earned an FIA-GT Championship GT1 podium and has driven Le Mans prototypes. The Rolex 24 test is set for Jan. 8 to 10 on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Rolex 24 At Daytona will run Jan. 30 and 31. partners Miller Barrett Racing competes with the support of three international sponsors. Marquis Jet is the recognized leader in private jet cards because it's the only program that offers exclusive access to NetJets – the gold standard in private aviation – 25 hours at a time. IPC Information Systems is a leading provider of mission-critical communications solutions to financial services firms. Total Lubricants is the world's fourth-largest publicly traded integrated international oil and gas company. – brycemiller.net – Sylvia Proudfoot sylvia@spurcom.ca 403 287 3945