California based Team CytoSport Muscle Milk will contest the full American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season, returning with their LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder having finished on the class podium in every race it contested last year
“We’re really excited to be taking on our first full season of American Le Mans Series competition,” said team owner and driver Greg Pickett. “I'm so proud of what we’ve accomplished with our team so far and it’s very encouraging for us heading into 2010. We know that it will be a new challenge for us in the combined LMP class but it's one we can’t wait to face.”
The season will see, under the new rules, LMP1 and 2 class cars combined into a single class, though the flag ship endurance events of Sebring and Petit Le Mans will continue to see the more traditional class structure.
Re-joining Pickett in the driving line-up for the car will be German Klaus Graf.
I'm really looking forward to the 2010 season to compete with the Porsche RS Spyder and Team Cytosport,” said Graf, an experienced road racer having previously driven in the ALMS' GT2 class and won the 2005 Trans-Am title. “After our successful start in 2009 with four podium finishes in four races you would think this would be a natural progression to compete again in 2010. But I know that a program like ours requires a big commitment from all parties involved.
Pickett and Graf first competed together in the series during 2007 and have developed, aboard the RS Spyder, into a class challenging team with their 2009 season including breaking the class race lap record at Road Atlanta in a Petit Le Mans that also saw the team battling with the more powerful LMP1 diesels in damp conditions. The team will try to emulate such feats this year, once more benefiting from support from Porsche Motorsport.
“We are very excited that Team CytoSport will be back for a full season in 2010 in the Porsche RS Spyder LMP car,” said Paul Ritchie, president of Porsche Motorsport North America. “Last year, Greg Pickett and his crew surprised most of the LMP2 competitors with their success right out of the box, and Pickett and co-driver Klaus Graf were comfortable in the Porsche prototype from the first test.”
The first step for the team will be the Winter Test at Sebring on February 22-23, with live timing and scoring available in americanlemans.com, before the 12 Hours of Sebring itself on March 17-20.
Photo credit: James Boone
