Look up the definition of “Old School” and you’ll could find a picture of the track map for Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America. At 4.048-miles and 14-turns, Road America is among the longest and fastest road courses on the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) presented by Tequila Patrón schedule. It benefits the driver who enjoys balancing the challenge of expert driving with courage. Bryan Sellers can’t wait to go “old school” in the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR he co-drives with Germany’s Wolf Henzler at the August 11 Orion Energy Systems 245. Road America’s tree lined circuit is on the short list of the Braselton, Ga.-resident’s favorite tracks making it tough to focus on only Sunday’s ALMS GT race and not run Saturday’s GRAND-AM support series event also.
Dating back to 1955, Road America has a history as deep as sports car racing’s own long tradition in the United States. In that time the track has created a mystique with certain corners becoming internationally recognized. “The Kink” is a fast right-hander that demands precision on entry through apex. “The Carousel” is a long right-hander that requires the engineer and the driver to find a balancing act to maximize performance. The medium speed final turn leads the cars up the long, uphill straightaway to the start-finish line and hard right-hander first turn that calls the driver’s bluff on who is going to go deeper before braking. Like the most recent ALMS round at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, the entire circuit demands a balance of courage and technical accuracy.
The weekend marks history as the first, and only, time that the ALMS and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series will share a race weekend. The ALMS runs its two-hour and 45-minute race on Sunday, beginning at 2 p.m. Central Time. The Rolex Series will run it’s three-class race of two-hour and 45-minute at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 10. Due to heavy commitments with Team Falken Tire, Sellers will not race in Saturday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) race. Sellers and Mark Boden (Winnetka, Ill.) have won the last two CTSCC events held, first at Watkins Glen International and then the Brickyard Sports Car Challenge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Source : Bryan Sellers