The Muscle Milk team saw what has been its winningest season in the American Le Mans Series come to an early end on Saturday during the running of the 2011 Petit Le Mans.

The team encountered engine problems on its Aston Martin Racing car on lap 64 just over one hour and 45 minutes into the race and had to call it quits shortly thereafter.

At the time, Klaus Graf was running in fourth place and things were looking up for the Pickett Racing crew, but sadly, as has been its luck these last few races, it just didn't go the way they had hoped.

However, the highlight of the day for the team was that team owner Greg Pickett enjoyed what will probably be his final race laps in a P1 car, jumping out with a huge smile on his face, having finished an impressive stint in sixth place overall ahead of two Peugeots and an Audi, after having started the race in 11th.

Despite the final result, the Muscle Milk team still finishes second in the team standings and second and third in the Driver Championship with Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr.

Over the course of the season, the Greg Pickett-led team scored a class - and team - high four wins along with a second place finish.

To show their appreciation to their fans, the Muscle Milk team would have liked to offer them a better end to the season, but as a big thank you to all of their incredible supporters, the team promises to come back with a vengeance next season.

Greg Pickett, team owner/co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"This will likely be my last drive in a P1 car, I'll probably test and play around but I think it's time for me to get out when the getting is good. I very much enjoyed my session. When I can start my race like this, with such this deep of a field and bring the car in after my stint in sixth place overall, obviously makes me very, very happy. I enjoyed it immensely.
"The car was great for me but then Klaus went out and we had to retire it from P4 and now we see these other cars having trouble, with everybody falling aside but that's what goes on here at a long race.
"We had changed everything on the car, as far as the transmission, the differential, the brakes - even though the Championship had been decided and my congratulations to the Dysons - we had kept putting the best stuff that we knew how to put on this car and so, the only thing that we don't do is build the engines.
"We're not going to feel terrible about this year. We won four races, so I consider that a successful year. I think the driver combination of Klaus and Lucas was great, we had a great spirit within the team, we kept a smile on our face through thick and thin and I'm just very appreciative of our fans, and of our company Muscle Milk who continues to thrive and help us to do this.

"We are going to come back next year with a vengeance. I'm saying it right now, we are running for a Championship. I haven't said that before. When we came out in 2010 against Highcroft, we wanted to get to that level and compete, maybe. This year we were in a transitional year and we wanted to see if we could do better and we did, we won more races. So now, I am saying point blank, all we are doing next year is running for a Championship and we are going to do that with everything that we can. We're bringing it next year, so everybody needs to get ready."

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"Sad ending to a strong season but it's really a shame because we had a really good car in the race and with a little bit of luck we could have been on the podium, for sure we could have been the quickest petrol car, we were the quickest petrol car by far in the race. It's too bad we couldn't finish it.
"The guys worked very hard all year and even here this weekend. We had a good car and the bright side of it is that Greg had a lot of fun today in the car and it seems it was his last P1 race and I think that's very rewarding for him. He had a big smile on his face getting out of the car and that is what we take from here.
"We didn't get a result but it's racing. We'll come back very strong next year, I'm confident about that. It was a great year and thanks to all the crew members, everybody on the team did a great job this year and I think this organization will just grow and get stronger every year."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"I feel sad for the Muscle Milk guys because they have worked so hard all season and this week and it would have been nice to offer them a great result to end the year. They have done an incredible job and it's been great to work with them.
"Greg did a spectacular job in his stint. It's pretty amazing to see him drive. It's too bad what happened with the car, Klaus was doing a great job and we were the fastest petrol car out there.
"It was a year with highs and lows but our four wins this season are what I will remember most. I want to thank Greg and Penny (Pickett) for giving me the opportunity to be part of their team, I really enjoyed my season with them."   

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing saw their American Le Mans Series championship hopes disappear on Saturday at Laguna Seca when they crossed the finish line fifth in class, despite another great effort by the team.

The Benicia, California-based crew was faced with many adversities throughout the race, starting with a 60-second stop and go penalty given to Lucas Luhr for what was considered avoidable contact between the sister Aston Martin Racing factory car and the Muscle Milk car just over an hour into the race.

Although the German wasn't responsible for the contact, he served the penalty and unfortunately found himself one-lap down upon exiting the pits. As has been the team spirit since the beginning, Luhr didn't give up and just pushed harder to get back on the lead lap only eight laps later.

Luhr then went on to reduce the gap from over one minute 25 seconds to just over 25 seconds before a full course caution came out 10 minutes later. The team took advantage of the caution period to pit for fuel and tires and do a driver change.
When the race went back to green, Klaus Graf found himself in second place fighting for the lead with Guy Smith in the #16 Dyson Racing car. The two continued to battle for another hour and a half but just when Graf was closing in on Smith, the German encountered problems with the oil pump that sent him to the team's paddock area for repairs.

While it initially looked like the team was not going to make it back out, the Muscle Milk team once again prevailed, never giving up, and headed back on track one hour and 13 minutes later.

Even if the team was 50 laps down to first place, Graf kept on pushing and running laps faster than the leaders, but the damage was done and they had to settle for fifth in class.

The team's position at the finish combined with Dyson Racing allowing their #16 car to pick up first place points, meant that the Muscle Milk team would see their class rivals take home the Championship honors.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be back on track in two weeks time for the season finale at Road Atlanta.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing 

"Tough day. Once again, it is what it is. What can you say, it just wasn't meant to be. I think we had a strong package, certainly strong enough to win today, even with some hiccups and a stop and go and all kinds of stuff going on. We fought back and we were looking very strong at the point when the problem occurred.
"Honestly, I didn't think that we would make it back out, I thought that was it. But hats off to the guys, again. John Ogden, our Aston Martin engineer, he's a great guy and he said we could probably fix it and we did and got back out.
"That shows the spirit of the team and that's important. It's obviously a disappointing day for us but we look forward to the final race at Petit Le Mans. It's a fun place and I love it there.
"Finally, congrats to Dyson Racing, they've run very consistent this year, and that's what you have to do to win a championship, we had some problems and yes it's disappointing but at the same time it probably means that Greg (Pickett) might be driving at Petit Le Mans and that would be great."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be starting Saturday's six-hour event at Laguna Seca from the second row after qualifying fourth today.

Klaus Graf who was aboard the Aston Martin for the 15-minute session initially took over the top spot on his first fast lap but despite constantly improving his lap times, he was relegated to fourth by the time the checkered flag fell on qualifying.

The German registered a fastest lap of one minute 15.564 seconds but struggled with a lack of grip and was unable to catch the turbo-powered Mazdas of Dyson Racing.

Starting next to the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1 car, in third, will be its sister car of the factory Aston Martin Racing team.

Graf and Lucas Luhr will have a 20-minute warm-up on Saturday morning to make final adjustments to the car ahead of the main event later that day.

The ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey race will go green on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com. The event will also be broadcast on tape delay on ESPN2 Sunday, September 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing 
"It wasn't our best qualifying effort, but at the end of the day it's a long race and I'm sure we'll have a better race car tomorrow. "It was tough in qualifying today. I struggled with grip and couldn't do the things I wanted to do out there. That makes it obviously a bit difficult and frustrating as well. But on the other hand, I know it's such a long race and it doesn't really matter where we start. "I'm confident for tomorrow's race, we had good sessions in the practices and in the long runs I think we were the most consistent and that's important."

The Muscle Milk team is looking to their home event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend to return to their winning ways after a difficult previous round on the east coast.

After spending the last couple of months working out of the Mark 1 Composites shop in Indianapolis, the team returned last week to their headquarters in Benicia, California, located only a couple of hours from the Monterey, CA race track.

Although the American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca is considered its home event, it's never really been a lucky circuit for the California-based crew.

The team has finished on the podium in its last two visits to the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course, but it hasn't been without difficulty.

In 2009, the team failed to complete the full race distance due to suspension damage and last season, they came back to finish second, after going seven laps down because a pebble had lodged itself behind the shift paddle.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing is hoping to change that this time around in the six-hour endurance race at Laguna Seca while looking to score maximum points and remain in the Championship hunt.

The team currently sits 24-points behind Dyson Racing in the points standings with only two races remaining.

Helping the team out and returning to his co-driving duties alongside Klaus Graf at Mazda Raceway will be Lucas Luhr, who missed out on the last round due to his racing commitment in the FIA GT1 World Championship where he continues to lead the driver's standings.

The Muscle Milk squad will not be the only team fielding an Aston Martin LMP1 car at Laguna Seca as the factory Aston Martin Racing team will be returning to the American Le Mans Series for the first time this year with their familiar blue and orange Gulf Oil liveried V12 powered DBR1-2.

The ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey race will go green on Saturday, September 17th at 1:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com. Round 8 of the season will be broadcast on tape delay on ESPN2 Sunday, September 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"Going to Laguna Seca is like coming home for the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team. Our race shop and the CytoSport company are just two hours north of the track and so we call this our home race on the ALMS calendar.
"With the race being a six hour event this will ask for a lot from both the drivers and team. We will do the race with just Lucas and I driving but I'm sure we'll perform at the same level as usual and push hard all the way.
"The layout of the Laguna Seca track is a very challenging one and the conditions change a lot with dirt coming on the race track and the temperature differences racing into the dark are quite dramatic. But I'm confident that our partner Michelin will have the right tires for the difficult conditions.
"I personally always look forward to this race as I like this part of the world very much."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"I missed being with Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing at Baltimore and I'm looking forward to getting back to the United States after spending two weeks in China for a couple of GT1 races.
"Laguna Seca is one of the best tracks in what is a great part of the country. With the circuit being so close to the team's shop and CytoSport's head office, this will be a home race for the team. They had a tough weekend at the last race so I hope we can turn things around in front of the home crowd and do well to keep Klaus in the chase for the driver's championship.
"Once again, it won't be easy as Laguna Seca i

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing faced its toughest race so far this year, and it wasn't even one that was disputed on the racetrack.

After having an electrical issue on the first lap of the first practice on Friday at the Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix, the Muscle Milk team was in a battle against time to make it onto the grid of the 2-hour American Le Mans Series race.

The team had to repair several hundred burnt wires in its main electrical wiring loom, a long and tedious task that was taken on by the team's Data Acquisition Engineer (DAG) Lee Szczypski.

It was with no sleep and with as much help as he could get on what is mostly a one-person job, including some very appreciated aid from fellow DAG at CORE Autosport, that Lee accomplished the near impossible feat more than 21 hours later.

In addition to repairing the loom, the team needed a rare replacement part that had to be flown in from Indianapolis early Saturday morning, as well as other parts that the Pickett Racing team received from fellow competitors Flying Lizard Motorsport, Corvette Racing and Dyson Racing.
With time ticking down to the 4:30 p.m. race start, the crew started putting in the repaired loom during the noon hour, which was another nearly three hour job. Once the wiring was back in the car the next step was to start it.

It wouldn't ignite. After showing so much commitment and passion so far, the team was not ready to quit. They searched for the cause and once diagnosed, the Muscle Milk Aston Martin finally started at 3:31 p.m. on Saturday, just over 25 hours from when it had died on Klaus Graf coming out of the hairpin turn and less than an hour from the 'Drivers start your engines'.

It was to the sound of applause and cheers from fellow team members and Muscle Milk guests that the car was sent off to grid for the Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix, with the team coming out victorious of Round 1 in Baltimore.

Then came Round 2, the real on track race, and while it was not as long, it wasn't much easier than Round 1.

With no practice time whatsoever, not just on the 2.04-mile Baltimore street circuit, but aboard the Aston Martin LMP1, Klaus Graf's co-driver for the weekend Romain Dumas was starting the race for the Muscle Milk squad.
The team couldn't have asked for a better 'replacement' driver as Dumas made it up to 12th on the first lap and avoided a traffic jam in Turn 1. Off to a great start, the Frenchman got up as high as eighth as one point before brake issues forced him to pit lane.

With 30 minutes gone by in the race, and with the car getting some brake repairs in pit lane the team proceeded to put Graf in the Aston Martin.

The German took to the track and finally turned his first complete laps on the streets of Baltimore with one hour and 24 minutes to go, fourth place in class and six laps down to the leading LMP1 car of Dyson Racing.

Despite having zero run time and not having tweaked the set up, Graf went on to register the fastest race lap with a time of one minute 29.767 seconds, a feat in itself, on his way to a fourth place finish. Had it not been for the brake issue, the team can only imagine where they could have ended up.

With the #16 car of Dyson Racing finishing second, the team now sits 24 points behind in the Championship heading into the next round of the American Le Mans Series season at Laguna Seca in two weeks.

MUSCLE MILK QUOTES

  

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing 

"We didn't turn a lap until the beginning of the race and even just before the race it wasn't clear that the Muscle Milk Aston Martin car would even run, so to manage that and the car runs without any electronic problems, that was pretty awesome and thanks a lot to Lee (Szczypski) for rebuilding the wiring overnight, an unbelievable job.
"For no practice and not being on the track and then to do fastest race lap that is a big accomplishment. We had a little brake issue and that forced us to come in and fix it, especially at a place like this you have to come in and do the job right. We lost laps there but still we never gave up and managed to finish the race and score some points, which was important. We're still in the chase for the championship with lots of points still up for grabs.
"Thanks to Romain (Dumas), that was really, really difficult. He had never driven the car, never seen the track, obviously I had never seen the track but at least I've driven the car! So that was really awesome from him, we knew that was the caliber of driver we needed to get the job done. And thanks to the whole team, what an amazing group of guys."

Romain Dumas, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

With an ever-changing schedule on the first day of action at the Baltimore Grand Prix, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing was anxious to get on track when practice got underway in mid-afternoon, but unfortunately for the Pickett Racing crew, an electrical issue sidelined the team during practice and also forced them out of qualifying.

When the green flag finally fell on the one-hour practice session, Klaus Graf was the first one to take to the track but his outing was short lived when all the electrical power went out on his Aston Martin LMP1 car coming out of Turn 3.

After the car was towed back to pit lane the team assessed the problem but had to wait until the end of the session to exit pit lane and return to their paddock area to further diagnose the issue.

Although the team tried its hardest to make it back out for the qualifying session later that day, the amount of work to repair the electrical wiring loom is too time consuming and could not be done before the start of qualifying.

After starting on pole position at the last event at Road America, the Muscle Milk team will have to start from the back of the field on the streets of Baltimore once they have accomplished the difficult task of repairing the wiring loom.

The challenge will be even greater for the pair of Klaus Graf and Romain Dumas as both drivers still have not completed a lap of the 2.04-mile circuit and additionally, Dumas still has to take his first laps aboard the Aston Martin.

If the schedule remains according to plan, the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team is looking to be back on track Saturday morning for a 20-minute warm-up at 10:25 am before the two-hour race later that day at 4:30 pm ET.

The race will be streamed live on ESPN3.com starting at 4:15 pm ET and will be broadcast on tape-delay, Sunday, September 4, 2011 at 4:00 pm ET.


MUSCLE MILK QUOTES

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"It's a big task for the drivers and a big task for the team but we're going to need all of our experience to get up to speed as quickly as possible. We hope to get some laps in a street car prior to it and then we'll just have to be careful and be smart and just go step by step. The number one priority right now is to make the race, then it will be about finishing the race and everything after that it's a bonus. At that point you forget about the championship situation and you make the best of it."

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be taking its three race win streak into completely unknown territory this week as the team and its fellow competitors head to the American Le Mans Series race at the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix.

The team is coming off its most satisfying and exciting win yet having crossed the finish line 112 thousandths of a second ahead of their Championship rivals at Road America, two weeks ago.

The finish was the closest overall margin in Series history and allowed the Muscle Milk squad to once again close the gap to the Championship leading Dyson Racing team, who now sit 18 points ahead in the standings.

The Greg Pickett-led crew will be looking to once again reduce the deficit in the points race by trying to keep its overall win streak alive on the streets of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Furthermore, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will also be chasing a sixth Michelin Green X Challenge victory this year after claiming their fifth ‘Fast, Clean and Efficient’ award in a row at the previous round.

The feat won’t be easy to accomplish, as Klaus Graf and his co-driver for the weekend Romain Dumas will be racing on a circuit that no one has any information on and that they will be seeing for the first time during the Thursday afternoon track walk.

As at every racetrack, the team’s engineers and drivers work closely together in setting up the car, but the collaborative work between the two groups becomes of the utmost importance when arriving at a brand new track.

Both drivers and the team’s engineers will be looking to collect as much data as possible, in very little track time, in order for them to quickly find the right balance on its Aston Martin and remain ahead of the competition.

While the playing field will be level for everyone in terms of learning the track, Frenchman Dumas will also need to acclimate himself with the Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1, a race car he will be sitting in for the first time when he jumps aboard at Baltimore.

Graf and Dumas will have two one-hour practice sessions on Friday, September 2, to familiarize themselves with the track ahead of the 15-minute qualifying session later that day.

Round 7 of the American Le Mans Series will go green at 4:30 pm ET on Saturday, September 3, 2011 and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com starting at 4:15 pm ET. The race will be broadcast on tape-delay on ABC Sunday, September 3 at 4:00 pm ET.

Muscle Milk Quotes

Klaus Graf, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1

“The team is really looking forward to the first ALMS race in Baltimore. From what I’ve seen, the layout of the track is very good for a street course and the location along the harbor should be spectacular.

“We’ve won the last three races in a row and obviously we want to keep that streak alive. It’s going to be crucial to quickly find a good balance on our Muscle Milk Aston Martin as track time is limited due to the schedule with the other series. It will be important to gather as much information as possible to find the right settings for the car in the little time we have on track. It should make for a fun and challenging weekend.

“Unfortunately, Lucas won’t be able to team up with me for this one, but I’m very confident that we found the perfect driver in Romain to just jump in the car and do a good job. We enjoyed working together last year and the team will really welcome him back.”



Romain Dumas, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1

“I’m very much looking forward to the race weekend and rejoining the Muscle Milk team but I have quite the challenge ahead of me going into Baltimore as it won’t be an easy situation.

“Learning the track itself is a fairly easy process for me, walking the track on Thursday will be important but my top priority will be getting comfortable with the Muscle Milk Aston Martin and getting to know my new work environment, like learning all the buttons in the car and on the steering wheel as quickly as possible.

“Having to do that with limited track time, as both Klaus and I will both need to spend a good amount of time on track, just adds to the challenge. Additionally, the team is fighting for the championship so I need get up to speed very quickly in order to help them the best I can, and hopefully I can help keep their winning streak alive. All that said, I’m definitely ready for the challenge.”

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing had one of its best days in racing, if not the best, at Road America on Saturday, taking its third victory in a row in a four-hour endurance race that was more of a sprint to the checkered flag which resulted in the closest finish in American Le Mans Series history.

Asked to do the impossible of 'pushing hard and saving fuel', Klaus Graf drove an amazing race to hold off a charging Guy Smith in the Dyson Racing Lola in the final 30 minutes of the race and capture the win by 0.112 seconds.

Graf had taken over driving duties just over one hour and 25 minutes into the four-hour event and thanks to an excellent job by the Muscle Milk crew picked up the lead upon exiting pit lane.

The German had built a gap of over 20 seconds at one point in the race, only to see it vanish when the third full course caution came out. When the green flag waved again with one hour and 19 minutes to go, Graf had to keep on pushing as his lead now ranged from 1.9 to 3.7 seconds.

With another full course caution slowing down the field with 54 minutes remaining, the team could now look at finishing the race with only one more stop for fuel, but it would be really, really close to make it the full distance.

So, while Graf was on track pushing as hard as he could and saving as much fuel as possible, the crew members behind the wall and on the timing stand were having flashbacks to last season when the team lost the race in the final turns after being slowed by a GT car.

Fortunately for the team déjà vu was not in order but sweet redemption was despite facing some adversities, like a small fire during the first pit stop and contact with a GT car, throughout the event that took 107 to complete.

Earlier in the race, Lucas Luhr, who had started aboard the Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1 car, had built a gap of over one minute to the 16 Dyson car in third, all while fighting for the lead with the 20 Dyson car.

Unfortunately for the Muscle Milk squad, the huge gap with their Championship standings rivals was lost when the second caution came out on Lap 35, but less than three hours later it didn't really matter as it all came down to just over a tenth of second.

By completing their first hat trick of victories, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing now have four wins this season and have closed the gap to 18 in the Championship point standings. The win was also the 35th career victory for Luhr who now sits alone in third place in all-time wins in the ALMS.

Next up for the Greg Pickett-led team will be the Baltimore Grand Prix in two weeks time.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing scored its second pole position of the season today at Road America for Saturday's Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase.

After leading both practice sessions earlier in the day, the Pickett Racing group continued its domination in qualifying with Klaus Graf registering a lap time of one minute 51.828 seconds which was more than three tenths of a second over second place.

Right from his first timed lap, Graf took the top spot on the timing sheet and improved each lap, putting in his fastest lap on his third time around.

The team's pole position was its third in the American Le Mans Series and first at the 4.058-mile, 14-turn road course.

The Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase featuring the American Le Mans Series will go green at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, August 20, 2011. The race will be streamed live on ESPN3.com from 3:45 pm ET.

ABC will be broadcasting the event on tape delay Sunday, August 21 at 4:30 pm ET.


Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"We made the right changes to the car before qualifying. We worked a lot between Lucas, the engineers and myself. We really focused on getting the car the way we have it now. It wasn't easy here at Road America. It's tough to get a good set up and really go fast at this track. We actually made the car more uncomfortable to drive but faster. We don't really care about that as long as it's fast so I think with the set up we have it will be very good for the race.
"To get pole here, it's a big reward. It's always tight with our main competitor so today to just be a little bit ahead it's always good for the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team. It's certainly a very good starting point for our race and a pole is a pole, so it's very good."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"We had a good day. I wasn't so happy this morning in Practice 1 but we constantly made good progress with the car and I was very happy with it in Practice 2. We got what we expected around the Road America track with our Muscle Milk Aston Martin and then Klaus did a very good job in qualifying, and put in a lap time that was pretty much what we had expected, what is possible here with the Aston.
"Once again we didn't really set up the car for qualifying, basically we qualified with the race set up so the car is really good. I think we can look forward to tomorrow because we have a quick and also very constant car for the race and obviously that's very important."

The Muscle Milk team is looking to put the bittersweet memories of last year's American Le Mans Series race at Road America behind them when they take on this season's Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at the Elkhart Lake track August 19 - 20, 2011.

Victory was snatched from the team last year only a few hundreds yards from the checkered flag when the Lola machine of Drayson Racing flew by Klaus Graf who had been slowed by a GT car in the final turns.

What ended up being a sweet second place finish still brings back bitter memories that Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing plans to erase by hopefully adding to its current win streak that started two races ago in Canada.

Graf and Lucas Luhr will be trying to once again cut into the championship lead. With their most recent victories the pair reduced the lead by eight points and currently sit 22 markers behind in the standings with four races remaining. Additionally, the team will be vying for a fifth Michelin Green X Challenge trophy in a row. Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing has proven to be the prototype team with the best 'Fast, Clean and Efficiency' scores in all four previous rounds.

The challenge will be a little greater for the Pickett Racing team and their fellow competitors at Road America with the race being a four-hour endurance event around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course.

The German duo will be on track starting Friday morning from 10:20 pm ET for the first official practice session. Qualifying for Round 6 of the 2011 ALMS season will be streamed live on ESPN3.com starting at 4:05 pm ET with LMP1 cars taking to the track at 5:00 pm ET.

The green flag will drop on the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase featuring the American Le Mans Series at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, August 20, 2011. The race will be streamed live on ESPN3.com from 3:45 pm ET.ABC will be broadcasting the event on tape delay Sunday, August 21 at 4:30 pm ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"Going to Road America is always great fun. It's one of the best tracks in the United States. You have very long straights with very fast speeds and what are very challenging corners to drive in the prototypes.
"It's a four-hour race at Road America so that will be a nice change since it's longer than our regular race distances but we still approach it as any other race and we prepare the same way. The track should suit us well as I think it will be a good track for the Muscle Milk Aston Martin.
"We came so close to winning there last year with Timo Bernhard and me in the Spyder, in what was an awesome race on fuel strategy. We just didn't have the straight line speed there to do anything really and we almost won, so hopefully we can go a little bit further this year and win it."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"I'm really looking forward to going to Road America. I think it's one of the best tracks in North America, if not the best track. It should be good for our Aston Martin. It has long straights and a lot of quick corners and I'm looking forward to that.
"The last time I was there was in 2008, I scored a win. It seems to be a good omen because so far this year, wherever I was last time in 2008 and won, we win this season as well. So hopefully we can go for three in a row with our Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team. We need to win to again score more points than the Dyson car and help Klaus for the Championship

The Muscle Milk squad celebrated its return to Mid-Ohio by taking a second consecutive win this season in what ended up being a wild and wet race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The Greg Pickett-led team missed out on last year's event after a testing crash forced them to sadly withdraw from the race at the track that also holds a special place in the team's history as it was there, in 2009, that the team returned to competition in the American Le Mans Series.

Right from the start of the two hour and 45 minute race, Lucas Luhr stayed within striking distance of the Dyson car driven by Guy Smith.

Luhr initially took the lead when his closest rival pitted for fuel and tires, however, the German found himself once again in second place following his own stop for a new set of Michelin tires and E85 fuel.

The driver of the Muscle Milk Aston Martin remained in second for another 23 laps but took advantage of a lap 62 restart to jump to the lead and never look back.

The team had a near 18 second lead when Klaus Graf took over driving duties on Lap 79 and Graf was able to keep increasing that gap when the rain decided to play a part in Saturday's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge.

The drizzle that was falling quickly turned to a downpour, sending Graf and others to pit lane for rain tires. Upon exiting the pits, the German had built a lead of over one minute and a half that unfortunately was quickly eliminated when a full course caution came out for cars spinning on track due to the inclement weather.

While the race resumed with just under 30 minutes to go, it immediately went back to a full course caution on account of a heavy downpour that sent cars spinning off course left and right.

Although the race was under yellow, Graf still had to keep the car on the track in what had become treacherous driving conditions. Using all his experience racing in the wet, Graf continued to sail around the track until a red flag came out with 10 minutes to go, ensuring another victory for Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing.

Saturday's win at Mid-Ohio was a third for the team this season and fifth overall since joining the series again in 2009. The Muscle Milk team also took the Michelin Green X Challenge honors for a fourth race in a row.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing, along with its IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge team, will be back on track in two weeks time for the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at Road America.


MUSCLE MILK QUOTES

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

"It started two years ago here at Mid-Ohio for us and everybody was surprised with our performance at the time. And now look where we are. It's our first Mid-Ohio win. After last year it's certainly a big reward, a very special win for Greg (Pickett) after what we went through in 2010. It was a great day for the Muscle Milk team.
"It was very difficult out there, this was a tough one. Not physically but mentally it was very stressful just to keep the car on the road in these conditions. I think I can be even more proud of myself when I see how many GT cars spun off, because those cars are easier to keep on the road than a prototype and our cars are just so difficult in those conditions especially at Mid-Ohio with all the surface changes.
"It was really good to have Lucas put the car in the lead because it's easier to control something like that from the front of the field rather than being stuck behind the GT cars in the middle of the pack. I was able to time my restarts nicely. At the end it was silly and that's when things actually get really dangerous, when you go a normal car speed and you almost can't keep it on the road, that's really difficult!
"Finally, the way the Michelin tires performed today was very good, very special. We made the right choices for every condition and the tires performed outstanding. To keep the car on the road you need the tire to do that as well and that was certainly the case today."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

"It was a good start of the race for me. I had a good battle with Guy Smith. Sometimes he was luckier than me in traffic and sometimes I was. After we did our first round of pit stops, he remained ahead of me probably because he had pitted a lap earlier. I was able to continue keeping up with him and then on the restart, I had a better run, or I kept my tires up to temperature better, I don't know exactly what happened but I just launched into the lead and I was gone. I was then able to build a nice gap, I think it was 15 seconds at the end. I messed up the first pit stop a bit because I stopped a little too close to the wall so afterwards I pushed extra hard to give the boys a cushion for the next one.
"I do think I had the easier part of the race compared to Klaus. Heads up to him, it was not a racetrack anymore it was a lake. I totally agree with Race Control to have stopped the race. It was not drivable. When you have that much water on the racetrack you don't have any grip, it's like a boat more or less, therefore it was the right decis

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing came a tenth short of scoring a second consecutive pole position today at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and had to settle for a second place start for Saturday's American Le Mans Series race.

The team had topped Practice 2 heading into qualifying and had high hopes of repeating in the 15-minute qualifying session one hour later.

Things looked good early on for the Muscle Milk team as Klaus Graf set the pace on his third lap with a time of one minute 13.001 seconds. Two laps later the German went even faster, registering a lap of one minute 12.892 seconds.

Having completed his qualifying stint, Graf entered pit lane with about four minutes to go in the session.

In the meantime, the Dyson Racing car piloted by Guy Smith started closing in on the time put in by the Muscle Milk driver. It was with about two minutes left that Smith took over pole position with a lap of one minute 12.727, just over 15 hundredths of a second quicker than Graf's time.

The front row start is a fourth one for the team this season who also started second at Long Beach and Lime Rock as well as from pole at Mosport.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge will go green at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 6 and will also be streamed live on ESPN3.com from 3:15 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on ESPN2 on tape delay, Sunday, August 7 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"I think we can be pretty happy. We made a lot of progress with the Muscle Milk Aston Martin. The track is in very difficult conditions, it changes a lot and you still don't know coming around the corners if there's dirt or not. Obviously, it's the same for everybody, it's just hard to get it all perfect but we got really close. We gained a lot of speed from the last practice session and it was so close to the Dyson car.
"I think we have a good car for tomorrow. We made a couple of changes that will be good for the race trim and that's important. We're making another change tonight for tomorrow and we're very confident that it will help even more. Also, once the Indy cars run, the track will change again so I think we are absolutely heading in the right direction. We have to be careful here that we don't shoot ourselves in the foot, as it's easy at this place at the moment to do that with the changing track conditions."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

"I like this track, I think it's very technical for the drivers and also for the set up of the car because you have very long slow speed corners with a big radius and then also some quick corners like Turn 1 and 11 so you need to find a good balance between high speed corners and slow speed corners.
"I think we're doing pretty good so far. As far as the qualifying run, we were still working on our race set up so we didn't really go for pure qualifying speed. We still have a few things to try in the warm up tomorrow morning and I'm pretty confident that they are the right things.
"Klaus did a great job in qualifying, and considering that we didn't really go for a qualifying set up that's pretty good so I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing are coming off a win at the previous American Le Mans Series round in Canada that has given them plenty of momentum heading into the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge this weekend.

Armed with better knowledge of its Aston Martin LMP1, the Benicia, California-based team is set to take on the remainder of the season and keep eating away at the 26-point deficit in the championship standings.

There’s no better place for the team to take that momentum to than the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course was the scene of the team’s return to the ALMS in 2009, where they registered a second place LMP2 class finish.

Additionally, the Pickett Racing group has a little extra motivation behind their desire to do well this weekend.

The Muscle Milk squad missed out on last season’s race on account of a Thursday testing crash that destroyed its Porsche RS Spyder, forcing them to withdraw from the event.

While the team came back for the following race, missing out on the Mid-Ohio round last year remains a footnote in the 2010 Championship standings.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing can’t change the past but a victory at ‘the track that owes them one’ this weekend would have that much more meaning for everyone on the team, starting with team owner Greg Pickett, who was aboard the Spyder at that time.

Pickett, who welcomed his 11th grandchild last week, would have loved to get back on track at Mid-Ohio, but once again obligations to his company, CytoSport, have taken priority and he has opted to step out of the car for the upcoming rounds. The Trans-Am legend will however be onsite with his team owner hat on.

Replacing Pickett will be Lucas Luhr who has been doing a phenomenal job alongside Klaus Graf aboard the Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1, taking victory at the last race at Mosport.

In addition to taking part in the Mid-Ohio round of the American Le Mans Series, Luhr, who won at Mid-Ohio in 2008, will also be replacing Pickett at Road America and will be in the driver lineup at Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans as had been announced prior to the start of the season.

Due to his GT1 World Championship commitments, where he currently leads the driver point standings, Luhr will not be at Baltimore. Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will announce the co-driver for the inaugural race at the Inner Harbor at a later date.

Luhr and Graf will be on track at Mid-Ohio Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET for the start of the first official practice session. Qualifying will take place later that day at 3:15 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com starting at 2:20 p.m. ET with GT qualifying.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge will go green at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 6 and will also be streamed live on ESPN3.com from 3:15 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on ESPN2 on tape delay, Sunday, August 7 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Muscle Milk Quotes

Greg Pickett, Team owner

“As much as I would love to get back in the Aston Martin, I’ve decided to step out of the seat for the upcoming rounds. With my commitments at CytoSport and a race every two weeks it makes it difficult for me to fully prepare, to my liking, for a race weekend and if I can’t be 100% prepared I’d rather give up my seat as I owe that much to the Muscle Milk team.

“Plus, Lucas has been doing such a great job as my replacement that it’s kind of hard to take him out of the car right now! He and Klaus make for one blindingly fast driver lineup. I’m enjoying watching them from my position as team owner.

“Unfortunately, but understandably, Lucas can’t be in Baltimore due to his other racing commitments, but we will announce a replacement in the coming weeks.”


Klaus Graf, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1

“We want to take the momentum we gained at Mosport and carry it over to Mid-Ohio. The track layout is obviously completely different but it should suit our Muscle Milk Aston Martin as well. “The team has a very good handle now from a set up and reliability point of view and we should have a strong package again.

“I like the layout of the track a lot as it’s technically very challenging and requires a good set up combination with the prototype cars.

“I always enjoy shared weekends between the ALMS and IndyCar as it creates a special atmosphere at the racetrack and with this being a combined weekend, I look forward to a huge crowd on the grassy hills around Mid-Ohio.”


Lucas Luhr, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1

“Heading to Mid-Ohio, our goal is very simple. We want to win the same way we did at Mosport but by making it a little easier on ourselves! I like the track at Mid-Ohio. It’s a very challenging track and I think our Aston Martin should do well there.

“Our race at Mosport was not an easy one but in the end we made some good progress with the car that will serve us well. That, plus the confidence I have in the Muscle Milk crew should make for another good weekend.

“I’m glad that Greg will be back with us at Mid-Ohio after missing our last race. Hopefully we will have something to celebrate with him and that we can give him a nice gift to celebrate the arrival of his newest grandchild.”

(About adding Mid-Ohio and Road America rounds to his schedule which already included Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans) “I’m really happy that Greg has decided to let me complete the season with Klaus. I enjoy working with him a lot. We are very similar when it comes to set-ups and that’s always an important part of a driver combination. I also like Klaus a lot as a person, he’s a good friend and it’s great to have him as a teammate.

“Also, it’s always nice to race in America as there is no stress. I always look forward to going to the US. There is no better racing, I love the atmosphere and the fans. Sometimes it can be hard with all the travelling but I always look forward to it.”

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing celebrated a week of birthdays with a perfect weekend at Mosport International Raceway by taking the win after having led all test and practice sessions as well as qualifying.

While the team’s performance resembled last year’s dominating effort at the Canadian track, it didn’t come as easily as in 2010.

At the start of the race Lucas Luhr did manage to build a lead of over 50 seconds before a caution flag came out about 35 minutes into the two hour and 45 minute event. But that’s when things turned around a little for the Muscle Milk team.

The team was preparing for the pits to open to do its first stop but they opened at the last second, a fraction too late as Luhr was already past the entry point. Having missed the designated prototype pit lap, the team then had to wait to pit two laps later, after the GT cars had come in for their stops.

The delayed pit stop caused the team to lose the lead and fall 30 seconds behind the first place car. Not one to give up, Luhr muscled his way back up, constantly closing the gap to the leader. By lap 62, he had made his way around Chris Dyson and had built a lead of over three seconds.

On lap 72, the German entered pit lane to hand the car over to his countryman and co-driver Klaus Graf. Once the pit stops had cycled through, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing was in the lead by over 14 seconds.

From that point on the team never looked back and took its second consecutive win at Mosport International Raceway and second of the season by crossing the finish line nearly 30 seconds ahead of their closest competitor.


With today’s win, the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team now sits 26 points behind Dyson Racing in the championship standings.

Next up for the Benicia, CA-based team will be the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge August 5 – 7, 2011


Klaus Graf, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1

“We certainly didn't make it easy on ourselves this weekend but it’s the end result that counts. Lucas did a good job at the beginning and then he pushed once we lost the lead to get back to the front.

“At the end of the day it came down to experience from both drivers and our team. We've both won here and we like the track and the team performed excellent.

“It was a bit of a roller coaster this weekend, even during the race. So it's very nice to finish with a win for the Muscle Milk team.”



Lucas Luhr, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1

“I had a good start and a really clean run up until we hit traffic. I had a little bit of a lead until we caught traffic the first time. After the second lap of traffic the gap got rather big. We were up to 50 seconds before the safety car came out but then we lost our lead because the pits opened when I was already past the pit entry, which was frustrating. As the leader you should have first choice.

“After that, we said on the radio let’s just put our heads down and do our job. We knew we had the speed in the Muscle Milk Aston Martin and that’s what we did. Things go wrong so easily and you have to make it up at the right spot. It takes a lot to get back to the front.

“Compared to Lime Rock two weeks ago, today, everything worked well for the Muscle Milk team, we still need to keep improving the car, step by step. Now we're looking forward to the next race. We want to win every race, basically, if you do that you end up with the championship, it’s as simple as that.”

The Muscle Milk team came back from a practice crash to capture its second Mosport International Raceway pole position today ahead of Sunday's Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport.

Klaus Graf, who scored his first American Le Mans Series pole position at Mosport in 2010, repeated the feat after crashing in the morning practice session and causing damage to his Aston Martin LMP1 car.

While the damage to the right side bodywork and right rear suspension wasn't too serious, the crew still had a lot of work ahead of them to get the car back together and on track in time to take part in Practice 2 that afternoon.

The Muscle Milk team once again did an amazing job getting the Aston Martin back on track with 14 minutes to go in practice. Graf initially rewarded them by posting the fastest time in practice and again by grabbing pole position over an hour later.

The German immediately jumped to provisional pole with his first flying lap and stayed there for the entire session. Graf went on to improve his lap time on his second lap and registered his fastest time on his third with a lap of one minute 8.679 seconds.

While it was a belated birthday gift to himself and teammate Lucas Luhr, today's pole position by Graf was one of the best gifts crewman Travis Lewis could ask for, especially after spending part of his birthday repairing the car. Lewis, along with Graf, Lucas Luhr and crewman Bill Rader are all celebrating birthdays this week while at Mosport International Raceway.

The Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team will be back on track Sunday morning for a final 20-minute warm-up at 10:00 a.m. ET. Round 4 of the American Le Mans Series' 2011 season will go green at 3:05 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on www.espn3.com starting at 2:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24. The race will be broadcast on tape delay that same day on ESPN2 from 10:00 p.m. to midnight ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"Well, my day was very exciting. (About the crash) I came out of Turn 9 and I slid across the concrete a little bit too much. You always slide there a bit but this time it was too much. I corrected and the car gripped right away and at that moment I ended up having overcorrected because the car got crooked again and it shot me off to the right side and in that area there's very little run off and I couldn't avoid crashing into the tire wall.
"Luckily there was no structural damage to the Aston Martin, just bodywork and the right rear suspension. It wasn't actually too bad. The Muscle Milk crew did an awesome job putting the car back together for the second session and qualifying.
"I like Mosport a lot and you have to obviously stay within your lines here to be successful and have a good set up because this place is daunting. It can bite you very quickly as we saw so to get the pole after this morning, it's very rewarding for the entire team.
"And to top it all off, Mark (Bullitt) came in third in the GT3 race which we were all very proud and happy about and then to get the pole position for the Muscle Milk Aston Martin it makes for a lot of excitement in one day."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"I always said Mosport is one of the tracks which separates the men from the boys because it is so quick here. What happened to Klaus this morning, he didn't really make a mistake he just slightly slid and because it's so quick here with little runoff he hit the barrier. On every other racetrack he would get away with it and end up in the gravel or run wide but there's just not enough room for that here.
"We have to say a big, big thank you to the Muscle Milk boys because they did a great job to put the car back together for Practice 2 and Klaus drove really well in qualifying.
"It's the first time for us this year on pole. Finally, we beat the others for the pole position so I'm really happy and I really look forward to the race tomorrow."

The last time the Muscle Milk squad went to Mosport International Raceway, it had its best overall weekend yet in the American Le Mans Series and the team is hoping for more of that Canadian luck as it returns to the historic track next weekend.

The Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team would like nothing more than to add to its list of things to celebrate north of the border.

Already on the list of celebrations are the birthdays of drivers Klaus Graf (July 21) and Lucas Luhr (July 22) as well as the birthdays of two crew members (July 23 and 24).

After a disappointing race at Lime Rock Park last week, a Mosport International Raceway repeat victory is on the birthday wish list.

The 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course was the scene of a Muscle Milk domination last season. The team led every on-track session, started from pole and lapped all but one car in the field on its way to a second overall win that year.

While the team is aware that a repeat of its 2010 dominance is unlikely, it remains confident it can come back strong from its trying second place finish at Lime Rock with its Aston Martin better suited for a circuit like Mosport.

The Muscle Milk drivers also enjoy racing at Mosport, having known success at the track that is said to separate the men from the boys with both scoring wins the last time they were there.

Graf took the win last year aboard the Porsche RS Spyder and Luhr’s last visit to the Canadian track came in 2008, when he won with Audi on his way to his fourth ALMS Drivers’ Championship.

Graf and Luhr will have a one hour and 30 minute test session on Friday, July 22 before official practice begins on Saturday, July 23.

LMP1 qualifying for the Grand Prix of Mosport will go green at 4:25 p.m. ET on Saturday July 23 and will be streamed live on www.espn3.com starting at 3:30 p.m. ET with GT qualifying.

Round 4 of the American Le Mans Series’ 2011 season will also be streamed live on www.espn3.com starting at 2:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24. The race will be broadcast on tape delay that same day on ESPN2 from 10:00 p.m. to midnight ET.


Klaus Graf, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1

“We’re heading to another track where the team and I both have good memories. We had quite a weekend there last year with Romain (Dumas).

“I think we have a very good chance again this year. It’s a track that should suit our Muscle Milk Aston Martin. Plus aerodynamically we’ve done some good testing and I think that we have a good package for that track.

“It’s always hard to know exactly what to expect when you’ve never been to a certain track with a race car but I’m confident the Aston Martin will perform the way we are expecting it to.

“I really like the track and it’s a fun, fast place to go to so I’m looking forward to it.”

Lucas Luhr, co-driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1

“I’m looking forward to the race at Mosport. We need to come back strong after the weekend we had at Lime Rock Park where we didn’t make up any points in the championship and I know the Muscle Milk team is focused on exactly that. The Aston Martin should do well at that type of circuit as well so I think it should be a good weekend.

“I absolutely love the track at Mosport and the whole area, I think it’s one of the best tracks the Series goes to. It separates the men from the boys.”

It was a trying day for the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team at the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on Saturday.

The team did cross the finish line in second place but as driver Klaus Graf said “it was a tough day at the office” for the defending race winners.

Lucas Luhr, who was starting the race second on the grid for the Muscle Milk squad, had an exciting battle for the lead with Chris Dyson. Luhr constantly stayed within a couple of tenths of the leader and even crossed the timing line first at one point but Dyson fought back hard to keep his position.

It was with about 30 minutes gone by in the two hour and 45 minute race that Luhr took the lead on lap 35, but unfortunately his lead would be short lived.

Five laps later, after building an 11 second lead, the German was hit by a GT car, slightly damaging the Aston Martin and forcing him to enter pit lane with a flat tire.

Luhr returned to the track with a fresh set of Michelin tires 43 seconds behind the Dyson car and still on the lead lap.

Shortly thereafter, a full course caution came out under which the team decided to pit for a driver change as well as fuel and tires.

Thanks to an excellent pit stop the Muscle Milk squad sent Graf, who was now aboard the #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1, out in first place ahead of the Dyson car who had pitted from the lead at the same time.

However, once again, a GT car hit the Aston Martin from behind. The impact sent Graf spinning off track, allowing Guy Smith in the Dyson Lola to go by and take a nine second lead.

From that point on there was not much Graf could do to catch up to Smith. Both drivers were putting in similar lap times, with Graf driving a slightly damaged car due to the contacts it had suffered earlier on.

The Pickett Racing team did go on to win for the second race in a row the Michelin Green X Challenge for the best overall performance and fuel efficiency with the least environmental impact.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be back on track in two weeks, July 22 - 24, at Mosport International Raceway, where the team took its second overall win last season.


Klaus Graf
“I’d say it was a tough day at the office. Both Lucas and I had issues. A GT car hit me and spun me around, which is quite rare when you are in a prototype. I gave him enough room to stay on his line but he didn’t. It was very unfortunate. I didn’t lose too much time luckily but it did break my rhythm.

“It was difficult today in the traffic and we didn’t have the best car, we had slight damage to the fact that Lucas and I both got hit and that didn’t help with the performance of the Muscle Milk Aston Martin but in the end we still pushed and finished second.

“Congrats to the Dyson guys. I have to say they ran a strong race today. We’ll come back at Mosport.”


Lucas Luhr
“It was a tough day for the Muscle Milk team. We had the speed and we were well prepared but we were not very fortunate in traffic with a Ford GT car hitting me. I made a really clear move by him and when I was by he turned in on me. It damaged the car a bit and caused a flat tire forcing me to pit early. Then Klaus had the same with a GT car that spun him. It definitely wasn’t the day we wanted.”


Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

After leading both practice sessions throughout the day, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing was looking for something other than a third place on the grid for Saturday's American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix.

The defending race winners sat atop the charts in the dry morning practice and again during the afternoon practice which took place in wet but drying conditions.

However, the team did find themselves at somewhat of a disadvantage heading into qualifying. Klaus Graf who was entered as the qualifying driver had only one lap in dry conditions on Michelin slicks heading into the 15-minute qualifying session.

Lucas Luhr had spent most of the morning practice session in the car, with Graf getting in near the end. However a red flag ended the practice prematurely and practice 2 took place in wet conditions thus only allowing Graf one-lap in the dry.

Despite the drawback, Graf still managed to put in the team's fastest lap times of the day during qualifying and stayed close to championship rivals Dyson Racing. While Klaus did make it to second at one point in the session, his fastest lap of 46.040 seconds placed him third for the start of tomorrow's race.

The Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team will be back on track Saturday morning at 9:55 a.m. for a 20-minute warm up before taking the green flag at 2:05 p.m. for Round 3 of the American Le Mans Series.

The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix will be streamed live on ESPN3.com starting at 1:50 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on tape delay on ESPN2 Sunday, July 10 starting at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Klaus Graf,

“It wasn’t quite what we were looking for today. At the end of the day, I didn’t really get any running in the dry so the weather did play its part today. But obviously the weather is the same for everybody.

“We’ll have a good look at the data tonight and make some changes. We have a warm up in the morning to fine-tune the car. I’m confident the guys will get it right. It’s just that we usually unload with a pretty good package, but this time it was a little harder. But then it’s also when you have to pull together as a team and try to get the best out of it.

“I’m actually a little surprised that we were that close to the other cars so it gives me a lot of confidence for the race because I know we will get the car better and we should be in good shape.”



Lucas Luhr,

“It’s a different challenge coming here after racing at Le Mans and the Nürburgring. It’s a small circuit with lots of traffic, but it’s still a lot of fun. I always enjoy coming back with the Muscle Milk team and driving with Klaus, it’s good fun. With the whole team you really feel at home when you come back here to race with these guys.

“Regarding the qualifying, I think Klaus got the maximum possible out of the car. He didn’t get a lot of running in this morning because of a red flag so we were unfortunate there and he struggled with front grip. But I know the car has a lot potential and that the boys will get it right for tomorrow. We still have the warm up in the morning to tune the car.

“For me, it’s not that important how good the car is, the most important thing is how you get through the traffic here. If you see how many cars are on the track, every two seconds you will be overtaking a GT car so you will make up most of the time if you manage traffic easily. In the morning practice the car was really good in traffic, we still can improve a bit on that and that’s what we’re going to do.”

With the long break in racing now behind them, the Muscle Milk team is more than ready to take on the remainder of what will be a very busy season with a race every two weeks up until October.

For the team, there's no better place to return to action than at the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park July 8-9, 2011 where both Pickett Racing teams will be taking to the track.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be returning to the scene of its most cherished victory in its short American Le Mans Series history next week.

Lime Rock Park is where the prototype team scored its first overall win in the ALMS and where it hopes to now put in a repeat performance.

For the event, as well as the next round at Mosport, the Benicia, CA-based outfit, along with co-driver Klaus Graf, will be welcoming back Lucas Luhr who will be replacing team owner and regular co-driver Greg Pickett, who jokingly said he offered Luhr the ride as a prize to reward him for his great win at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring last weekend.

In all seriousness, while Pickett wanted to return to the cockpit of his Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1 car at the track he scored his first overall ALMS win at, a number of time priorities for his rapidly growing and ever-expanding business - CytoSport - will be keeping him out of the drivers seat for the upcoming races.

Luhr is no stranger to the team as this will be his fourth race with the Muscle Milk squad. His last one was at the previous ALMS round in Long Beach where the team scored its third overall victory.

That win closed the gap by four points to the Championship leading Dyson Racing but the Greg Pickett led team still remains 26 points behind in the standings with seven races to go.

Once again the objective at Lime Rock Park will be to score maximum points and to keep closing the gap to first place. To do so, Graf and Luhr will have to be near perfect in dealing with the traffic.

The Connecticut track is the shortest one on the schedule and every year its toughest challenge is traffic. With just over 30 cars entered for next weekend's race, Lime Rock will once again offer quite the show.

Last season at the 1.5-mile, eight-turn road course, the Muscle Milk squad started second after a hard fought qualifying session and went on to win an action-packed race that will forever be engraved in their memories.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be on track Friday, July 8 with two one-hour practices as well as a 15-minute qualifying session (streamed live on ESPN3.com).

Round 3 of the 2011 American Le Mans Series season goes green on Saturday, July 9 at 2:05 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com starting at 1:50 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on tape-delay on ESPN2 Sunday, July 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET.

Greg Pickett, owner/driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1
"Lucas had such a great weekend at the Nürburgring with the overall win that we wanted to reward his great performance by inviting him to drive our Aston Martin once again for the next couple of rounds!
"Honestly, I have certain business priorities at CytoSport/Muscle Milk that I need to see to and in order for me to focus on those right now it's better that I step out of the car for the next couple of rounds.
"Having Lucas back in the car puts my mind at ease because we know that with him and Klaus we have an outstanding driver lineup. And they proved that in Long Beach the best way possible. I look forward to cheering them on again next week."

Klaus Graf, driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1
"We're coming out of a long break in the ALMS season and I can't wait to get back to the race track. Lime Rock will straight away ask for a lot from us because with the track being so short and with over 30 cars entered, it will definitely hold some huge challenges, not just for us but for all competitors.
"For the Muscle Milk team, Lime Rock is a very special place. We captured our first overall victory there last year and we have some great memories about the race in 2010.
"We had some very positive test days during our break after Long Beach and we feel ready to face the challenge again of managing the brutal traffic of Lime Rock for two hours and 45 minutes."

Lucas Luhr, driver #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1
"Heading into Lime Rock after racing at Le Mans and the Nürburgring over the last few weeks will definitely make for quite a change for me! With such a short track the most important thing and the biggest challenge will be to manage the traffic.
"Driving at Lime Rock in a LMP1 car like the Aston Martin will make it feel like there are 100 cars on track instead of 30!
"I'm looking forward to returning with the Muscle Milk team especially after the win at Long Beach. The team won at Lime Rock last year and there will be high expectations this year. I also have high expectations for myself as I want to do as well as possible and help Klaus make up some ground in the Championship.
"As happy as I am to be back with the Muscle Milk team, I know that it's not easy for Greg to give up his seat even if he has good reasons to, so I will try as hard as I can to make him proud."

The Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team took the streets of Long Beach by storm on Saturday and scored its fourth victory - third overall - in the American Le Mans Series, on its home turf.

The team which is based in Benicia, California was looking to bounce back from a difficult season opening race in Sebring a few weeks ago and they did it in the best possible way. Not only did they win but they also nearly lapped the entire field.

Lucas Luhr, who was starting the race in second place aboard the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1 car, took over first place from Chris Dyson in Turn 5 on the opening lap.

From that point on, the team never looked back.

Even with a full course caution that slowed the race for 10 laps and a scare with a Flying Lizard car, Luhr was able to build a gap of over 30 seconds before heading down pit lane to hand off the Aston Martin to Klaus Graf on lap 44, about one hour in to the two-hour event.

The only lap the team didn't lead of the 83 completed was the one on which they stopped for fuel, a driver change and a set of new Michelin tires, but the Muscle Milk squad quickly took over the top of the charts once again when it was Dyson's turn to pit.

Following the pit stops by the LMP1 cars, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing had extended its lead to 44.5 seconds on their class rivals.

As the race wound down, Graf continued to increase the gap and was only seconds away from lapping the field at one point. However, the lead crossing the finish line was reduced due to a full course caution that came out with just under eight minutes to go and which forced the race to finish under yellow.

The win was a fifth one for Graf, a 32nd for Luhr and the team's first with its Aston Martin LMP1 coupe.

Additionally, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing took home the honors in the prototype category of the Michelin Green X Challenge, an award given to the team that demonstrates the best overall performance and fuel efficiency with the least environmental impact.

With today's win, the Muscle Milk team closes the gap to 26 points in the LMP1 championship race to the first place team.

You can catch all the action from Long Beach Sunday, April 17 at 5:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

The Muscle Milk crew will be back in action in two weeks time with its IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge car and driver Mark Bullitt at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah from April 29 to May 1. The ALMS group will return to competition at Lime Rock Park in July.

Muscle Milk Quotes:

Klaus Graf, driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"It was a perfect day for Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing and a great performance all around. Lucas laid the groundwork getting by the Dyson car early and then the race unfolded well for us. The guys did an awesome job on the pit stop as well, which allowed us to gain even more time.
"After a few laps in my stint they asked me to start saving fuel and that's what I tried to do. It's not always easy, you're managing traffic, trying to do a decent lap time and saving fuel all at the same time. It can be a little nerve-wracking because it's easy to lose your attention. But it all worked out and in the end we just brought it home.
"I'm very happy for the guys, the team, especially for John Ogden from Aston Martin as well as our partners Michelin and Aston Martin. Sebring didn't go quite the way we wanted to so to win the Long Beach Grand Prix, and for me it's the first time, I'm quite happy."

Lucas Luhr, driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

"I'm really thankful that Greg and Penny Pickett let me do this race in Long Beach and I'm happy that I could give something back to the team with a win. I had a good stint, in the beginning I was able to overtake Dyson in Turn 5 and then start building a gap. You never know what can happen on a street circuit so to have a nice gap is always good.
"I'm also happy for the crew. They worked so hard at Sebring and we just had tough luck with the fire and a DNF, so it's great to give the guys something back, they really deserve it. Big thanks to them for preparing the car so well. Also, thank you to Klaus who did a good job at the end. It's always very easy to lose focus when you have such a big lead and he had to save fuel. It might have looked easy from the outside but for sure it was not. Overall I'm just very pleased with the weekend.
"(About the close call with the #45 Flying Lizard car) That was a moment! I think Patrick Long was in the Lizard car, I'm not sure what happened but he hit the wall in Turn 9 and he had a broken suspension, so I tried to get around him but I saw him coming towards me because he wasn't in control of his own car anymore because of the suspension damage. As I wanted to go around him, I saw him coming and I had to brake and he went in front of me and slowed down so I nearly hit him. It was a bit of a late afternoon wake up call!"