MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN(SUOMI-FINLAND)

ALMS (ROAD ATLANTA) - VOICES OF PETIT: MIKA SALO

Risi Competizione's Mika Salo will make his Petit Le Mans this weekend with the GT2 championship at stake.

No driver in the American Le Mans Series has a higher profile than Mika Salo. With 111 Formula 1 starts to his credit, Salo has made an impressive jump to sports cars with 10 GT2 victories in the last two years for Risi Competizione. Salo and Jaime Melo are on the verge of sharing the class driver championship for the first time and giving Risi its second straight team crown as the duo prepares for its Petit Le Mans debut with Johnny Mowlem.

No rest: "It's flat-out from start to finish. Maybe after six or seven hours and if you're leading by two or three laps, you can back off a little bit. We've learned so much this year about GT2 racing. It's so close that you have to push to the end and see where you are."

First time for everything: "It's my first time. It's a long race so we will see. I have heard it is a nice track but it will be difficult. There will be plenty of practice so we can learn the circuit."

The 10th running of Petit Le Mans, the annual 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic at Road Atlanta, is set for 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 6. SPEED will provide live coverage from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 6:30 to 10 p.m. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing and Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.