Press Releases
Lynx Racing graduate Bryan Sellers moves up
to Auto Racing's major league
LYNX RACING GRADUATE BRYAN SELLERS MOVES UP TO AUTO RACING'S
MAJOR LEAGUES WILL COMPETE IN 2005 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES
DRIVING FOR PANOZ FACTORY TEAM
Fast Facts:
- Sellers, 22, of Centerville, Ohio, is a graduate of the
famed Lynx Racing driver development program owned by Peggy
Haas and Jackie Doty. He will race for the Panoz Motorsports
factory team in the 10-race, 2005 American LeMans Series of
sports car endurance races.
- Sellers #51Panoz Esperante GTLM sports car is sponsored
by 3Dimensional Services, a high-tech prototyping company,
as well as Pirelli and Muiltimatic.
- Sellers dominated the fiercely competitive Formula Ford
Zetec Championship in 2002, winning the championship with
8 victories and 7 pole positions. He was a standout in the
2004 Toyota Atlantic series driving for Lynx Racing, and in
his first-ever drive in a car with fenders, he put the TRG
East Porsche on the GT3 class pole for the Rolex Sports Car
series opener in Homestead, Florida.
______________________________
Bryan Sellers, 22, of Centerville, Ohio, stepped up to auto
racing's major leagues when he signed to co-drive the No.
51 Esperante GTLM for the Panoz factory racing team in the
10-race, 2005 American Le Mans series of sports car endurance
races.
Sellers, who won the 2002 championship in the fiercely competitive
Formula Ford Zetec series with 8 victories and 7 pole positions,
and was a standout in the 2004 Toyota Atlantic Championship,
actually made his debut with the Panoz Motorsports team at
the 53rd annual 12 Hours of Sebring on March 19.
Co-driving with Canadian racer Scott Maxwell and fellow American
Gunnar Jeanette, the team qualified the No. 51 Panoz fifth
on the grid and were running very competitively until mechanical
problems forced a lengthy visit to the pits for repairs and
dropped them out of contention.
"The opportunity to drive for the Panoz team came as
a bit of a surprise since all my experience has been in open-wheel
racing, but I'm feeling very comfortable with both the team
and the car", says Sellers. "This is a very professional
team, and an extremely competitive series full of the world's
top sports car drivers, and to be able to run with the big
dogs here is a genuine accomplishment. I'd like to thank the
Panoz team, and 3Dimensional Services for giving me this chance;
they can rest assured I'll make the most of it."
American Le Mans series races range from 2 hours and 45 minutes
to 12 hours in length. The next event on the schedule is the
Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta, held at the Road Atlanta
racetrack April 15-17. The 2 hour 45 minute event will be
televised live on CBS-TV starting at 12 noon on Sunday, April
17. Sellers will be co-driving with Scott Maxwell; Jeanette
joins the team for longer races.
"The entire team is very pleased with Bryan as a driver,
and pleasantly surprised at how fast he adapted from open-wheel
sprint racing to endurance racing in a production-based sports
car," says Ed Triolo, manager of the Panoz Motorsports
team. "He has been deeply involved in the preparation
and setup of the car, and considering his lack of seat time
in this kind of car, his lap times are very competitive. He
gets an A+ from us."
The other big news for Sellers and Panoz is that the team
has received two invitations from France's Automobile Club
de l'Ouest (ACO) to participate in the 73rd annual 24 Hours
of Le Mans, June 18 and 19. With help from team sponsors Pirelli,
Multimatic and Diablo Grande Award Winning Wines, the Panoz
Motor Sports team is working with Sellers and his sponsors
to put together funding for a Le Mans effort.
"Le Mans is one of the "Big 3" auto races
in the world, along with the Indy 500 and Daytona 500, and
to be able to represent my home state in this famous race
would be a dream come true for me, and a great opportunity
for a sponsor," says Sellers. "Panoz has a lot of
experience at Le Mans, and if we're able to go there and beat
the Porsches, it will make news around the world. I'm working
hard to make it happen, and I'm confident it will."
Bryan Sellers is a graduate of the uniquely successful Lynx
Racing driver development program, created and owned by two
women, Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty. Competing in the Toyota
Atlantic Series, Lynx twice won the championship and graduated
a number of driver to the top ranks of auto racing, including
2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice, 2002 Indy 500 Rookie of the
Year Alex Barron and Champ Car veterans Patrick Carpentier
and Memo Gidley.
The American Le Mans Series was founded in 1999 by entrepreneur
Don Panoz, who also owns automaker Panoz and the Panoz Motor
Sports team. The American Le Mans Series is a series of sports
car endurance racing events patterned after the world-famous
24 Hours of Le Mans.
American Le Mans Series events feature multi-class racing
among the top sports car racing drivers and teams in the world.
The ALMS is holding 10 North American events in 2005, all
which will be televised by either CBS-TV or Speed Channel,
both of which have entered into multi-year agreements to televise
ALMS races.
No racing series anywhere has a more comprehensive fan program.
Fans get a taste of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at all ALMS events,
including downtown promotional events complete with race cars.
In addition, all events feature a paddock area open to all
ticket holding fans, autograph sessions with all drivers,
tech talks and fan forums throughout race weekend.
For further information on Lynx Racing, please visit the
team's web site at www.lynxracing.com, or telephone team P.R.
Manager Peter Frey at (818) 906-6997. The Toyota Atlantic
series has a web site at www.toyotaatlantic.com.
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