Lucas Luhr, No. 6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America

This weekend, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team principal and driver Greg Pickett has stepped out of the cockpit to make way for Lucas Luhr, the 2008 LMP1 class champion and a former Audi factory driver. Luhr has raced the last two events for Muscle Milk AMR as the third driver in two separate machines (the old Porsche RS Spyder and now Lola Aston Martin).

His return to the streets of Long Beach is for the first time since his championship-winning season, when coincidentally, he added a win to his results sheet that season.

Luhr nearly stepped into the cockpit almost as soon as getting off his airplane at Los Angeles International Airport. A late Thursday night arrival led right into the first on-track session of the weekend Friday morning — so it was straight to work for the German ace.

“It’s going to be tight and close on fuel (for one stop),” Luhr said about preparation for Saturday’s race. “One stop might be pushing it.”

Luhr will start and hand over to Klaus Graf at the team’s first pit stop.