Bryan Sellers Looks to VIR to Put Sports Car Challenge Program On Track

BRYAN SELLERS LOOKS TO VIR TO PUT SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE PROGRAM ON TRACK

Young Gun Targets Virginia International Raceway to Duplicate Other Successes

ALTON, VA, May 6, 2011 – 2011 has gotten off to an excellent start for Bryan Sellers in almost every category in which he competes. However, after nearly a month hiatus from the Grand-Am-sanctioned Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC), the Braselton, GA-resident is eager to return to the cockpit of the No. 33 Sail on Travel Inc./Vion-Hitachi Data Systems BMW M3 Coupe to put that program on track with his other rides. Sellers will have his chance to duplicate the success of the Rolex Series and American Le Mans Series in the CTSCC during the Bosch Engineering 200 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on May 13. He will share the Kinetic Motorsports-prepared entry for the fourth time this season with Jade Buford (Brentwood, TN) when the pair arrives at the south-central Virginia facility.

Sellers, a mainstay on nearly any list of quick, young, American, road racing talent, has enjoyed an impressive beginning to his season. Competing in three major divisions of GT racing this year, the former open-wheel star has racked-up an enviable cache of races. A second-place finish at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona proved his strength in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series’ GT class. Notable performances in the Team Falken Tire Porsche on the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón circuit further solidified Sellers’ place in professional sports car racing. Even within the CTSCC, the No.33 has shown its might but has been unable to capitalize at the checkered flag. In the most recent Grand-Am support series race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, Sellers ran competitively in the top-five before a late race pit stop dropped the Atlanta-based team in the final rankings. After four events, Sellers and Buford are tied for 19th in the CTSCC Grand Sport (GS) driver point standings with a season-best finish of 11th at Daytona. Sellers has led two laps thus far in CTSCC competition – both at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The 3.27-mile, 17-turn Virginia race course is popular among drivers. The track, which dates back to 1957, has a classic road course flow and layout. Set within the beautiful countryside of Southern Virginia, the tree-lined track enjoys one of the most picturesque hairpin turns in the sport, launching the cars onto a long back-straightaway. The competition is always hard-fought at VIR leading to some of the most memorable sports car finishes of any track on the calendar. The traditional design should provide a good platform for the BMW M3 and give Sellers an excellent opportunity to put the CTSCC inline with his other successes.

Thursday, May 12, will give Sellers his first chance to begin fine-tuning the No.33 for the VIR circuit with a promoter’s test day. Official track activity begins on Friday, May 13 with practice and qualifying. The two-hour, 30-minute race will take the green flag at 11:15am (ET), Saturday, May 14.

The tape-delayed broadcast of the Bosch Engineering 200 will air on SPEED Channel, May 22, at 1pm (ET). Live timing and scoring of the event can be found at www.Grand-Am.com.

Quotes

Bryan Sellers:

About using VIR as the launching point for the remainder of the season: “VIR is a great place to begin to have success. The team has worked so hard to get all of the equipment as good as it can possibly be. I think we have all the makings for a good result; now hopefully we can produce! VIR should be a great track for the BMW. It has long straightaways and that gives us a chance to stretch our legs. I am really hoping for a good weekend!”

About the historical significance of winning at VIR: “Winning at VIR is always a special thing. It is always such a difficult race and winning here is rewarding. With all the history that VIR possesses it makes it even a little more special.”

About the challenges of VIR: “VIR is such a difficult track because it has so many different types of corners. The layout makes it difficult to get a car right. It really puts a premium on making the most out of testing.”

For more on Bryan Sellers, please visit him on the web at www.BryanSellersRacing.com. Follow Bryan on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/BryanSellers) and Facebook.

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