Marc Miller reaches podium in Detroit Grand Prix Sports Car Classic
DETROIT - Marc Miller raced to a podium finish at the Detroit Grand Prix Sports Car Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The Holland native and teammate Michael di Meo finished a sensational third aboard their Thaze Competition #78 Mercedes-AMG GT4, less than three seconds from victory, in what was the fourth round of the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC).
"It’s a hometown team, I’m a Michigan driver and this is the Detroit Grand Prix. Does it get any better?" Miller said. "Michael did a great job and the guys made a flawless pitstop – and we’ve only had one day together before Friday so we haven’t had much time to practice. We’ve had a quick car all event and I think I could have run with the winning car, but I just couldn’t pass the No. 28 car. I have along history with Stevan (McAleer) and we’re never going to give each other much room, but he never made a big enough mistake to let me really take it to him. I’m standing on the podium at the Detroit Grand Prix and I’m really going to savor every moment."
Having qualified fifth for his debut in North America’s premier series for GT4 race cars, di Meo was back into fifth place by the time he pitted to hand over driving duties to the vastly-experienced Miller, who exited the pits swiftly after a changeover that was flawlessly executed by Thaze pit crew.
Making the change at the earliest possible moment – with nearly 70 minutes still to run - proved a good stragey when the pits were closed just minutes later as the safety car was scrambled.
The effect was to elevate Miller to second place, which became third shortly after racing resumed.
Third place – just 2.8 seconds from victory – still represented a strong debut result for Faisal Ahmad and Brian Makse’s team.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Marc Miller reaches podium in Detroit Grand Prix Sports Car Classic
