Laguna Seca: Orbit Racing qualifying report

Bryce Miller and Orbit will start the American Le Mans Series race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca from fifth on the GTC class grid. Miller, of Summit, N.J., qualified the team's No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in one minute 28.126 seconds at an average ...

Bryce Miller and Orbit will start the American Le Mans Series race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca from fifth on the GTC class grid. Miller, of Summit, N.J., qualified the team's No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in one minute 28.126 seconds at an average speed of 91.424 mph on the 2.238-mile road course in Monterey, Calif. He will drive the first stint in the six-hour race on Saturday, followed by Luke Hines of London, England, and John McMullen of Spring Lake, N.J.

"We're pretty excited about the improvements we're making as a team. Everything is moving forward and the team is taking shape," Miller said. "We missed the [car] setup for qualifying, so the result isn't as good as what we know that we're capable of, but it's okay because we're in the top five. That will be good enough to go ahead and race for six hours and compete for a result.

"The track has really low grip levels and it's very 'green' and dusty. The ambient temperature is really cold, as well, and there's just not a lot of rubber down because it's so early in the season. Everyone is dealing with the same grip and traction issues. But we should have a good car to race to a podium tomorrow."