Nissan NISMO Athletes and Doran Racing hope to produce big results Saturday in short race on a short road course

LAKEVILLE, Conn. – Doran Racing and Nissan's NISMO Athletes will tackle the smallest track on the schedule and the shortest event of the season when the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series stages a two-hour race at the 1.53-mile road course at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.

Most of the series' races are 30 minutes longer, but Saturday's race – featuring the two Doran Racing Nissan 370Zs, 10 other Grand Sport cars and 28 cars in the Street Tuner class – will be just 120 minutes long. The seven-turn road course in Northwestern Connecticut is the only track less than two miles in length on the series' schedule. Last year the two classes had separate races here, but this year they're combined, as is the usual format. Forty cars on the track at once should make for a lot of action, and staying out of trouble and on the lead lap could be difficult. Last year when the classes were split, there was only one caution flag in the GS race and three caution flags in the ST race.

Doran Racing's Brad Jaeger of Charlottesville, Va., and B.J. Zacharias of Cincinnati were on the podium at the next-biggest track on the schedule, which is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, at 2.238 miles. They'd like nothing better than to record another podium finish on Saturday in a race that will be carried live on IMSA.com and also broadcast at noon Eastern time on Sunday, Aug. 2 on Fox Sports 1. They co-drive the team's #14 Nissan 370Z.

The 2014 Nissan GT Academy champion, Nicolas Hammann of Elkhart Lake, Wis., will make his debut in the CTSCC series and as a member of Doran Racing at Lime Rock. He'll share the team's #41 Nissan 370Z with the GT Academy's champion of 2012, Steven Doherty of Plainfield, Ill.

The schedule for Friday shows a 15-minute GS practice session at 10 a.m., a 30-minute combined practice session at 10:45 a.m., a 45-minute combined practice session at 1:45 p.m., and GS qualifying from 4:40 p.m. to 4:55 p.m.

After Lime Rock, the CTSCC series heads to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., for an event Aug. 8 and 9. Additional information is available on DoranRacing.com and the team's Facebook page.

Driver Quotes:

Brad Jaeger
"Lime Rock is a very interesting track. Because it is so short, the lap times are under a minute, making it very important to be on pace. One mistake in the pits and it means you could fall a lap down. The track seems to favor cars with a lot of torque, but I'm feeling confident that the Nissan 370Z and Doran Racing can be competitive there this year."

B.J. Zacharias
"After Mosport, we are looking to bounce back. Lime Rock has proven to be a tough race for us in the past for one reason or another, and now that it's a combined-class event it throws another whole element into the equation. We have very limited track time, so we will need to really hit the set-up right away."

Nicolas Hammann
"Lime Rock Park and my first race in the Doran Racing GT Academy NISMO 370Z can't come soon enough. Ever since hearing that I would be racing in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge with Doran Racing I was super excited. Growing up watching Continental Tire races on television or at tracks around the Midwest – I never imagined that I would be competing in the races a few years later, all thanks to Nissan and GT Academy. It's a true testament to Nissan and the GT Academy program that keeps giving individuals like myself great opportunities to develop our driving abilities and to keep living the dream. Lime Rock will be very challenging for my North America debut, but I feel more comfortable being able to have such talented drivers like B.J., Brad and Steve to ask questions and help."

Steven Doherty
"I have been to this bullring once before. It's a great little track with nice elevation changes. Lots of corners and shorter straights should mean that the Doran 370Z should be pretty competitive there. Coming off a third straight race with some bad luck, I am hoping the last three will be clean and clear. I really want to get the team a win."

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