Muscle Milk Pickett Racing will be making a change to its driver lineup for the American Le Mans Series round at Laguna Seca next month with Archie Hamilton coming on board to co-drive the team’s #5 Muscle Milk / Molecule PC car.
Roger Wills was originally slated as the third driver for the May 12 race, but another commitment has him unable to attend the six-hour event. Hamilton will be teaming up with regular drivers Mike Guasch and Memo Gidley.
The London, England-born racer is the grandson of 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Duncan Hamilton. He started driving competitively at the age of 11 in karts and progressed to cars five years later. In 2007, he won on his Formula Ford debut at Silverstone.
The following four seasons saw Hamilton drive in Formula Renault and the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship as well as in a variety of other series which has allowed him to extend his experience in different formulas.
He finished on the podium at the famed Le Mans circuit in the Porsche Carrera Cup race in 2010, one of the supporting races for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The following year he was crowned BARC vice-champion in the Protyre Formula Renault Finals on the strength of five podiums, which included three wins, in six races.
For 2012, in addition to his one-off race with Muscle Milk Pickett Racing at Laguna Seca, Hamilton is competing in the International GT Open Championship.
In preparation for his PC debut with the Muscle Milk team, Hamilton will take part in a two-day private test at Buttonwillow Raceway Park at the beginning of May.
For more information on Archie Hamilton visit www.archiehamiltonracing.com.
Muscle Milk Quotes
Greg Pickett, Team owner, Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
“We’re looking forward to having Archie Hamilton join our PC team for the Laguna Seca round next month. He’s a talented, young, up and coming driver and I think he will fit in perfectly with Mike Guasch and Memo Gidley.
“At such a young age, he has quite a bit of experience in different forms of racing and I’m confident he’ll be able to help our PC team continue to build on its most recent success.”
Archie Hamilton
“My goal for this season was to have a good start in endurance racing, so having secured drives in the Le Mans Aston Martin support race, the International GT Open and now an ALMS drive with Muscle Milk Pickett Racing is fantastic!
“My main focus is first on a good result at Portimao. I then have the test and a little time to switch mentally to the Oreca and LMP driving style. Having tested a prototype car last year, it won’t be a completely new experience, which is an advantage. It will be great to experience being part of an American team and I’m really looking forward to tackling the ‘Corkscrew’.”