Farnbacher replaces injured Miller for Virginia International Raceway

Till Bechtolsheimer will partner with Mario Farnbacher for Round 8 of the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup at Virginia International Raceway next week. Farnbacher will make a one-off substitute appearance in the Gradient Racing #66 Unit Nutrition NSX GT3 Evo replacing the British driver’s regular co-driver, Marc Miller, who is recovering from a training accident which left him with a ruptured achilles tendon.

Marc Miller, watches his teammate, Till Bechtolsheimer in practice at the recent Acura GP of Long Beach

Miller suffered the injury earlier this week, during his regular work out routine. At this time it is unclear how long he will be out of action but he is hoping to be fit and ready to go by the start of the 2022 IMSA season.

“We have made continual improvements this season and I have worked hard to be physically and mentally strong in the car so this injury is beyond frustrating,” Miller explained. “I will continue to help the team prepare for VIR. Till and I will do our usual pre-event track analysis and simulator work ahead of next week’s race.”

The Holland, Michigan native knows he has a battle to be fit and ready for the start of the 2022 IMSA season. “I will be putting every ounce of effort into a speedy recovery with the support of my doctors, family and friends. I look forward to the rehabilitation process and am up for the challenge.”

29 year-old German, Mario Farnbacher will make his debut for Gradient Racing next week at VIR

The 29 year-old Farnbacher, will be reunited with the chassis in which he clinched last season’s IMSA WeatherTech Series Championship in GTD alongside co-driver, Matt McMurray. Running under the Meyer Shank Racing banner, Farnbacher finished on the podium six times with two Class victories in 2020.

“First of all I am glad and thankful that Andris thought about me and I hope that Marc gets well quickly,” the Bavarian driver explained. “I hope we can put on a really good performance at VIR and close out the Sprint cup season with a great result.”

Farnbacher has in-depth knowledge of the the former #86 chassis and Gradient Team Manager, Andris Laivins expects the German to keep the team on its steady upward trend.

Team Manager, Andris Laivins, is confident that Farnbacher will help the 2021 race program progress.

“Marc has put a ton of effort into making our whole program more competitive this year, and I'm positive with Mario getting back into his championship chassis we can pick right up where we left off last week in Long Beach. Marc is a core part of the team, so I'm really sad he won't be in the car, but we couldn't ask for a better sub in these circumstances.”

The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is the eighth and final round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The race weekend kicks off with opening practice at 8am on Friday, October 8th.

Coverage of the event is available via the NBC Sports Network, IMSA Trackpass and IMSA.TV for International viewers without a TV broadcaster, IMSA Radio and via Satellite Radio on Sirius 216 and XM 210 in the USA. For full event coverage please follow Gradient Racing on Twitter at @GradientRacing, on Instagram at @gradientracing and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GradientRacing/.