IMSA: Petit Le Mans notebook

Paul Miller Reflections

Paul Miller Racing team manager Mitchell Simmons had a special livery in mind for the team's No. 48 Audi R8 at Petit Le Mans. In place of the tasteful white, gray and black colors that dressed the V10-powered coupe through the last race at Circuit of The Americas, Simmons wanted to try something new – a black-on-black design that was subtle in the daylight, but striking under the lights at night.

Not only did he get what he wanted, but he also managed to surprise team owner Paul Miller in the process. Call it a surprise, or a roll of the dice that paid off, but it's fair to say the end result is hard to miss when flash bulbs pop and headlights strike the Audi's reflective graphics.

"I wasn't trying to keep it from him," said Simmons, who had a sold fallback position if Miller wasn't a fan of the No. 48's custom Petit Le Mans presentation. "What I was really trying to do was surprise him. Because it was unique, it made it on the internet far before I got to tell him. I did hedge my bet. Just in case he didn't like it this is body set number two. So I had body set number one completely as it left COTA, obviously redone and pretty. So there was always a backup game, contingency plan, just in case you didn't like it. But I was very lucky he did like it."

Complete with Batmobile-esque red pin striping, the PMR Audi has been a hit with fans since it rolled out of the trailer.

"And I think he did like the exposure because when we first got here, it was 10 deep, the people that were taking photos of the car," he added. "We actually had it completely blacked out just for some promo shots that Bob Chapman actually did. Now it's actually... it's legit. It passed tech as it is, but before it was completely murdered out. I like the reflective and it shows with the flash, it goes from either completely bright white, from every shade of gray all the way to black, just depending on how much light hits it. In the evening time it's bronze and gold. So it really does look amazing. It's going to look nice on track for the fans once we start the race."

Melo Returns

I was stopped in my tracks while walking past the Risi Ferrari transporter on Thursday. Jaime Melo (LEFT), one of the American Le Mans Series' fiercest competitors, was standing by himself behind the team's red F458 taking a photo of the car, and bearing in mind his acrimonious exit from the team in 2011 and personal troubles that followed, the Brazilian's presence in the IMSA paddock was a surprise.

As a guest of team owner Giuseppe Risi, it's obvious old wound have been mended, and Melo, who has a ready smile to share, appeared to be at home among the cars where he made his name in America.

"I've been good," he said. "It's a long time I was not here and I've done some racing in Brazilian stock car racing and racing also at the Nürburgring, but most of the time I was working with my family business as well. I've been learning something different than racing."

With his life headed in the right direction, Risi's invitation could be the catalyst for Melo to don his racing gear and get back to where he belongs.

"Yeah, I want to return," he admitted. "Most of the Risi crew guys I know already from the past so I feel like it's home. We have history together so I think if I'm here or if I'm not here it's going to stay on our minds. We won together many races and I'm a friend of Giuseppe, apart from the racing, I'm a friend, so that's important.

"I really want to come back; I've had enough rest. Now I've put something that wasn't together in my life – I put everything together again. So we'll see what's going to happen in the future."

Lost Nissan, Found Honda

With the majority of the 2014 season spent using Nissan power, the Oak Racing team has caused a fair amount of confusion for some who've yet to process a Honda engine powers its new Ligier JS P2 car. The Ligier was even mentioned as having a Nissan by the IMSA series itself in one report at COTA, and the issue has only been compounded with the team's paddock banner bearing Nissan's name.

While the good folks at Honda can't control what others put in print, they took action on rectifying the banner problem by printing and applying the correct logo for all to see at Petit Le Mans...

Bright Light BMWs

BMW is the latest manufacturer to bring its laser headlight technology to sports car racing. Both BMW Team RLL Z4s carry the units developed for its i8 model, and as BMW Motorsport boss Jens Marquardt told RACER, "We used them the first time at the Nurburgring 24-hour this year and the drivers reported they made a big difference; they were a big help in nighttime driving compared to normal headlights. We felt it would be the right choice to introduce them here in the TUDOR Championship at Petit Le Mans."

The thundering V8-powered Z4s are the only cars at the TUDOR Championship season finale using laser headlights (BELOW, image courtesy BMW Motorsport).

Not Cleary for Takeoff

One of sports car racing's most prominent PR men went from riding on a golf cart at Road Atlanta to sitting in a Georgia hospital on Wednesday when Matt Cleary fell and broke his arm. Cleary's team of Sunday Management Group employees have carried on in his absence, and RACER wishes him a speedy recovery.

Cooler Mazdas

A cracked intercooler caused significant boost issues for one of the two Mazda P2s at COTA, leading the team to solve the issue with bigger cores of a different design.

"We didn't have a lot of time to react, but the SpeedSource guys did an amazing job to come up with a fix that has worked great so far," said Mazda Motorsports Director John Doonan. "We had overboosting problems that cause the [intercooler] piping and hoses to separate, and we think this will solve the problem."

Gustavo Pinata

The funniest sight so far this week: No one at Wayne Taylor Racing would reveal its origins, but after the first-lap, first-corner hit up the backside at COTA from Oak Racing's Gustavo Yacaman – one that did damage to the team's No. 10 Corvette DP and caused a loss of downforce – everyone took delight in the piñata that sat under the tent that featured the Colombian's face (BELOW). Contact between Yacaman and the WTR team isn't a new theme, making the Gustavo-themed piñata a poignant representation of where their relationship stands.

Sports car racing is known for its colorful characters and good-natured humor, making WTR's nod to Yacaman a great addition to the Petit Le Mans lore.

WTR will celebrate its 100th race start on Saturday after team owner Wayne Taylor founded the program in 2007. Through 2006, Taylor worked with Riley Technologies to run his SunTrust-sponsored Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype effort, and since branching out on his own, the Florida-based outfit has become one of the top prototype teams in any paddock. Congrats, WTR.