Romain Dumas returns to Muscle Milk team
Dumas first raced for the team at Mosport International Raceway last season replacing an injured Greg Pickett.
The French and German combination of Dumas and Graf had dominated the race weekend by topping the time sheets in every test, practice and qualifying session and by leading all race laps to take what was the Muscle Milk team's second overall victory of the 2010 season.
This time around, the two-time LMP2 champion is filling in for Lucas Luhr who will be defending his FIA GT1 World Championship standings lead in China that same weekend.
"We truly enjoyed working with Romain last season so it was an easy decision to ask him to join us once again" said team owner Greg Pickett. "We will miss Lucas, but we knew coming into this that he had a conflicting GT1 race that weekend. Romain has become part of the Muscle Milk family and we're very excited to have him co-drive for us in Baltimore.
"I want to thank Porsche for allowing Romain to take part in this race with our Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team."
Like everyone else in the paddock, it will be the first time for Dumas at the 2.1-mile, 12-turn Baltimore street circuit at the Inner Harbor but the Porsche Factory driver will have the additional challenge of driving the team's Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1 coupe for the first time.
"I'm very happy to be able to join Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing for the Baltimore race," expressed Dumas. "We had a great time together last season at Mosport and I'm looking forward to returning with them once again. I felt very welcome and I enjoy the great atmosphere in the team.
"I'm honored that they've asked me to drive with Klaus. The team is fighting for a championship and coming in like this, not knowing the car, won't be easy so it's a big vote of confidence on their part and I want to give back to them in the best way possible."
The Frenchman brings with him an impressive background when it comes to racing on street circuits. In six starts on city streets, Dumas has picked up three wins (two overall and one class), a second place finish and a fourth.
In 58 starts in the American Le Mans Series, the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans winner has collected 24 wins and 43 top three finishes, not to mention 54 top 10s. Dumas also took top honors, along with Timo Bernhard, in the LMP2 Championship in both 2007 and 2008.
The American Le Mans Series race at the Baltimore Grand Prix takes place September 2 – 3, 2011.