Dan Harper relishes the roar of 150,000 raucous spectators at Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic
The city's streets are the venue for the fourth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the resumption of Harper's GTD Pro title hunt with Paul Miller Racing.
After the Laguna Seca meeting at Long Beach at the beginning of May, Detroit marks the second consecutive 100-minute sprint for Harper and German team-mate Max Hesse.
Both are vying for a solid result at the iconic 1.65-mile track, which has two of its 18 corners named after the automotive factories of Ford and Chrysler that are based nearby.
For Harper, this will be the first time he has competed there, with approximately 150,000 people comprising die-hard fans and casual spectators set to watch from the grandstands.
Interest levels have been heightened further as downtown Detroit is welcoming teams, cars and drivers from IndyCar — one of the country's most followed motorsport series.
'I am looking forward to Detroit,' admitted Harper. 'This is going to be my first time on a proper street circuit, so that is going to be an exciting new challenge to tackle. It will be a steep learning curve at the beginning, but I am confident I will adapt to the circuit quickly.
'Detroit is a big event in US motorsport with IMSA racing alongside IndyCar, so there is going to be a big buzz around the event, with lots of spectators attending — and I am really excited to be a part of it.
'The weather is looking hit or miss, so that could certainly make things interesting and add another layer to the challenge that awaits us.'
A total of 11 GTD Pro cars are set to line up on the grid for the sprint contest and, despite rounds one and three not going to plan for Harper and Hesse due to a no-fault accident at Daytona and an early drive-through penalty at Laguna Seca, a second-place finish at Sebring in April has given a glimpse of their race-winning potential.
'I'm looking forward to getting back to work with the Paul Miller Racing crew,' added the 24-year-old Hillsborough man, who is in action from 7.30pm UK time.
'We have consistently been amongst the fastest cars on the GTD Pro grid so far this season, and we showed at Sebring that we are capable of getting on the podium.
'It is just a shame that we have had issues — incidents and penalties — to contend with in the other two rounds, but everyone in the team is determined to continue clawing back points in the Championship so fingers crossed we have a strong weekend.'
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