Muscle Milk Team CytoSport has made such an impression on Porsche that when a new driver was required to replace the injured Greg Pickett for the upcoming rounds of the American Le Mans Series, the German automobile manufacturer offered them two of its big guns.
Two-time LMP2 champions and current 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas will join Muscle Milk Team CytoSport for the upcoming rounds of the ALMS at Road America and Mosport International Raceway, respectively. The two Porsche factory drivers will step in for Muscle Milk's Greg Pickett who was injured in a testing crash recently at Mid-Ohio, suffering back and rib injuries, which have forced him out of the Muscle Milk car.
"It's great to come back to the ALMS, especially with the RS Spyder, the car that I had so much success with," said Bernhard. "It's especially nice to be making my return at one of my absolute favorite racetracks, not only in the U.S., but in the world. Road America has all you can ask for as a racecar driver. Quick corners, long and short, elevation changes, technical corners and flat-out ones. I have good memories of that track since I won there two times in the GT class and two times in LMP2. The best memory, though, was the overall victory against the LMP1 cars with the Porsche RS Spyder and Team Penske.
"At Road America, the setup is important since it is a challenging racetrack with all the elevations and heavy braking zones. But I'm very confident for the race. Klaus and the entire Muscle Milk Team CytoSport have had great performances this year. And with the Porsche RS Spyder, we have the right tool to be successful."
Both Bernhard and Dumas won the ALMS LMP2 championship aboard the Porsche RS Spyder in 2007 and 2008. Additionally, in 2007, both drivers finished all 12 races on the podium, capturing eight class victories including six overall victories over the faster LMP1 cars. While on loan to Audi for this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, the duo formed part of the winning team along with Mike Rockenfeller.
Entering the American Le Mans Series race at Road America sitting in second place in the points standings, Muscle Milk Team CytoSport will be counting on Bernhard's expertise aboard the Porsche RS Spyder to help them close the gap to Highcroft Racing, which has taken a 23-point lead following the team's absence at Mid-Ohio.
"We wish Greg a speedy recovery and can't wait to have him back in the car. Until then, we have been very fortunate for the amazing support from our partners at Porsche," said team manager Geoffrey Carter. "Not only have they been instrumental in helping us get back on track, they have given us access to Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas for the next two races. These guys have championship pedigrees in the Porsche and should make a stellar combination with Klaus. It is not every day you get to call on two guys who won this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans as your replacement drivers."