Another win for the #71 Tafel Ferrari in GT2
Tafel
Risi
Flying Lizards
VICI
Primetime
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Tafel
LEXINGTON, Ohio,July 19, 2008 - Tafel Racing collected its third American Le Mans Series GT2 class victory today in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. The No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC of Dirk Muller (a native of Germany living in Monaco) and Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) were rewarded with their third victory of the season - joining wins at St. Petersburg, Fla. and Long Beach, Calif. - after a brilliant pit strategy call jumped the car from fourth into a one lap lead with the team's first of two pit stops. The No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC co-driven by Alex Figge (Denver, Col.) and Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.) made a sizeable leap through the field gaining four positions from their starting spot to finish eighth on the 2.25-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The Bell Micro Ferrari brought home a victory after being at or near the top of the GT2 time sheets all weekend. Dominik Farnbacher, who qualified the car fourth, went on to set the fastest GT2 race time. Dirk Muller set the quickest GT2 time in the final morning warm-up before the race. From fourth on the grid, Farnbacher set to work in his typical quiet but quick fashion keeping on the tail of the three leading GT2 cars. Technical Director Tony Dowe (Cumming, Ga.) intuitively watched the calls from other teams on pit lane and played the strategy perfectly at the race's first of four caution periods. Farnbacher entered pit lane in fourth-place handing the Bell Micro Ferrari over to Muller approximately one hour into the two hour and 45-minute race. The pit crew returned the No. 71 back on track quickly with Muller taking advantage of Dowe's race strategy to springboard from fourth into the race lead. A misstep in the strategy of competitors, compounded by pit lane troubles, would further benefit Tafel/Bell Micro giving Muller a one lap lead he would never relinquish. The No. 71 finished ninth overall in the four-class event. It was the 11th career American Le Mans Series victory for Muller, the 2000 GT2 Champion, and the third for Farnbacher. It was the first Mid-Ohio win for either driver. With victories in 50 percent of the events this season, Farnbacher and Muller have moved to within four points of the lead in the GT2 Driver Championship chase with five races remaining.
No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC
Drivers: Alex Figge (Denver, Col.), Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.)
The No. 73 Tafel Ferrari F430 GTC started 12th in today's race - the car's fourth race of the season and the third with the Jim Tafel-Alex Figge combination. Tafel took the green flag and started his attack moving up to tenth before the first caution. Strategist David Fullerton called the No. 73 into the pits at the same time as the No. 71 sister car one hour into the event. Figge returned to the track in tenth and would be holding eighth-place 20 minutes later. An extended caution and unfortunate timing of another yellow flag - which dropped the car a second lap behind - kept Figge from gaining more spots in his third race since returning to the American Le Mans Series at Salt Lake City in May. The No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari would eventually have to settle for eighth-place in class, 18th overall, two laps behind their race winning teammates of Farnbacher and Muller.
Quotes
Jim Tafel, Driver, No. 73: "I didn't go out there and force it. I knew my position and every car in front of me that I saw I just reeled in. I just tried to bring back an awesome car for Alex. I am really happy with my stint. I wish I was a little quicker but that will come with time. I am glad that I made no mistakes and I was out there consistently hitting every lap. Alex did a great job for the rest of the race. I am thrilled for the [number] 71. What a great feeling. Dominik and Dirk both had great runs. The team was awesome. I'm really proud of the guys."
Tony Dowe, Technical Director: "It was a really good race. We knew from qualifying and warm-up this morning that we could win. When you have that mental edge it makes a big difference. We were very unfortunate at Lime Rock and we really dug-in after that. We had to go back to Atlanta [to the team shop to make repairs] with the 71 car and everyone, from the truckies that drove all night to the guys working on the car, did an awesome job. The people from Michelotto that were here helped and did a super job. Everyone did. You say that but this was special."
Dominik Farnbacher, Driver, No. 71: "My stint was good. I think I could have improved a position but I didn't want to risk anything. We are in the middle of the season and I was right behind Wolf [Henzler, No. 45]. I had a few chances to go by him but I didn't want to risk anything. I had problems with traffic at the beginning but I was able to catch back up to the pack every time. I think we have a pretty good strategy with our guys here on this team. It is incredible."
Dirk Muller, Driver, No. 71: "I want to congratulate Dominik and the whole Tafel team. The strategy was great. There were two teams that were making mistakes with their strategy and we were right on with our strategy. At the end I just controlled it. I had a lap lead and I never pushed the car towards the end. We knew that we could double stint the Michelin tires, so we didn't change them on the last stop. I am really, really happy. It makes me really proud to be with a team like Tafel. It was a different challenge than Long Beach. You don't need to have a Long Beach every time. There will be more races like that coming in the future but for now I am really happy with this result."
Alex Figge, Driver, No. 73: "It was hot, hot, hot. Two hours in the car seemed a bit long today. We got caught-out by the yellow in the beginning but we still got back in the top-10. I think if we hadn't gotten caught in the wrong spot and gone down that lap we would have had a pretty darn good finish. The team was awesome and the stops were awesome. Obviously, the Ferrari is good. I'm really looking forward to Road America."
Risi
Both Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT cars came home in point-scoring positions in today's sixth round of the American Le Mans Series, with the #62 in 5th and the #61 in 6th. The Houston-based team was, however, left disappointed by the result after a penalty for a pit infringement dropped the #62 Ferrari from what would surely have been a strong podium finishing position.
Team Principal, Giuseppe Risi, commented after the end of the 2 hour 45 minute race: "We entered the race at the head of the field and in the right frame of mind to challenge for a win. Unfortunately, the results did not fulfill the promise of the pole position. We still have lots of work ahead of us. On the positive side, the car ran beautifully, there were no mechanical issues; the new suspension was excellent, the Michelin tires superb and it was quite rewarding to see Patrick Friesacher turn some very competitive laps. As he becomes more comfortable with the car and the series, I am confident he will become more of a force with each race."
After starting from pole in the ultra-competitive GT2 class, Jaime Melo in the #62 led the field in their grid-starting positions for the first 15 laps before ceding to a competitor. He remained in close touch with the leader, however, having a good, clean track battle and closing the gap to as little as 0.3 seconds, but was unable to find an opportunity to re-pass for the lead. The Mid Ohio Sports Car Course is notoriously difficult for passing, and Melo was determined not to take any undue risks.
Both Risi cars elected to make their first pit stops under the first of the three caution periods, unfortunately going a lap down to the class leader in the process. Mika Salo drove the remainder of the race at a consistently quick pace to maintain contact, and was still in a position to challenge for second when the pit problem occurred at his second pit stop.
Harrison Brix and Patrick Friesacher both showed an assured turn of speed throughout the race in their #61 Ferrari, but had some very fast Porsches and the eventual race-winning Tafel Ferrari in front. They finished sixth, albeit frustrated not to have been able to move further up the field.
Risi were able to bring home more points
Flying Lizards
Lizard No. 46 Second, No. 45 Third in GT2 at Mid-Ohio
Fourth Double Podium of the Year
July 19, 2008--Lexington, OH-- The Flying Lizard No. 46 and No. 45 Porsches were nose to tail when they took the checkered to finish second and third, respectively, in GT2 at today's Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio. The No. 44 Porsche had a mechanical failure halfway through the race and was retired.
The first part of the race was fairly uneventful for the Lizards. 45 minutes into the race, in a very competitive 14-car GT2 field, the No. 45 (with Joerg Bergmeister starting) and No. 46 (with Patrick Pilet starting) had held their starting positions (third and fifth, respectively) for the first hour of the race. The No. 44 (with Seth Neiman starting) was in eleventh.
At the first yellow flag approximately 50 minutes into the race, the Lizard Porsches all pitted late in the yellow for driver change, tires and fuel. By the time the Lizards pitted in the yellow, most of the GT2 field had already pitted, and nearly every car in the lead group had issues in the pits. As a result, the No. 45 and the No. 71, which did not pit until late in the yellow, were now P1 and P2, both on the same lap. The No. 46, which had pitted before the No. 45, headed out quickly with Johannes van Overbeek at the wheel. The No. 45, which had battled clutch problems since race start, had trouble starting after its pit stop and lost some precious time out of the pits, pushing the No. 45 from second to fifth. Unfortunately, the No. 44, had a mechanical failure and did not leave the pits after its driver change from Seth Neiman to Lonnie Pechnik.
After the field reshuffled from the first pit stops, just past the 1 hour mark, the No. 46 was now fourth in GT2 and the No. 45 in fifth. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari was now P1, with a more than one lap lead over the next closest GT2 car. Over the next hour and 45 minutes, the two Lizard Porsches combined solid strategy and good luck to move through the GT2 field to finish second and third, with the No. 46 just edging out the No. 45. It is the fourth double podium for the Lizards this year. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, which elected not to change tires on its last pit stop, and kept its early one lap lead on the field for the rest of the race, took the win in GT2.
VICI
VICI Racing turned in a faultless performance at a very hot and dry Mid-Ohio this afternoon during the Acura Sports Car Challenge with the team satisfied have made another all-round step forward in the season-long tire development program. The #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was driven today by Nicky and Francesco Pastorelli, the two young Dutch brother turning in a very consistent race pace on their way to recording a second consecutive top-ten finish for the Hughes Telematics and Hughes Network Systems-supported car in a race that was dominated by three lengthy full course caution periods. The team’s Technical Director Roland Wall was pleased with the improvement in lap times recorded here over the last few days as the ambitious tire program being run with Kumho Tires edges its way steadily closer to the front running pace in GT2.
The checkered flag was waved this afternoon exactly on schedule at 4.45 PM; however race day got underway bright and early at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this morning with a 30 minute Warm Up session (8:00-8:30AM) as the build up to the 2 hour 45 minute race, scheduled to start at 2:10PM got underway in earnest. VICI Racing skipped the last ALMS round at Lime Rock a week ago to concentrate to tire and technical developments, and arrived here with just one car upgraded with Porsche’s new 4.0-litre GT2 engine. With a light cloud cover, temperatures were swiftly rising into the 70s and the race fans were streaming into the circuit as Warm Up got underway. For VICI Racing and development partner Kumho Tire it would be a brief session with Nicky, who qualified the #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR on the fifth row of the GT2 grid yesterday, running a couple of laps to bed the new brake pads in and complete system checks. After an out lap Nicky posted a 1:32.768 after 4 minutes of the session, followed by a 1:29.170, before returning to the pits. With the car in great shape the crew could turn their attentions to preparing for the 2 hour 45 minute race.
The ALMS series this week is visiting the 2.258-mile 13-turn classic sports car track at Mid-Ohio for the seventh time. Nestling in the gently rolling hills of Lexington, Ohio, 60 miles north of Columbus and 70 miles south of Cleveland, this is one of America’s traditional circuits. ALMS brings glamour wherever it goes and this weekend is no different: in the baking heat the traditional pre-race festivities took place before the green flag was waved on time at 2:10 PM. Nicky was entrusted with driving the opening stint this afternoon and he made up a place on the opening lap at the expense of the #44 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Posting his fastest lap of the race on lap 3 (1:23.962, 96.82 mph) the Dutch former F3000 Champion and ChampCar driver who has made the switch from single-seaters to sports cars this year maintained a steady 9th position through the first stint. Both drivers have in fact never driven here before and neither has a lot of cockpit time in the RSR. On 47 minutes the race saw its first full course caution as the #11 Dodge Viper became beached in the gravel, while the #25 Ford GT also ended up off the track on the same lap. The race went green again at 1 hr and 1 minute of racing before at 1 hr 15 mins the Viper repeated its earlier trick. Another full course yellow ensured, and with 1 hr and 19 mins (3:19 PM) and 53 laps, completed Nicky took the opportunity to pit, handing over to his brother Francesco who exited the pits with new tires and fuel. Francesco has had very little track time in the RSR this but was immediately into the groove and able to run consistent 1:25 laps.
After less than a quarter of an hour in the car for Francesco, at 1 hr 39 mins (3:49 PM) the third full course yellow occurred when the #66 Acura suffered a fire in the pits, and the ensuring caution period lasted for half an hour as a replacement medical helicopter needed to be in place before racing could resume. After 2 hr 5 mins (75 laps, 4:15 PM) Francesco pitted to change driver and tires and another slick stop helped Nicky to maintain the race momentum. At 4:55 PM the checkered flag was waved with Nicky crossing the line in ninth place in the #18 car which had completed 101 laps of the Mid-Ohio circuit.
Nicky Pastorelli (Holland): “The race went well, the pit crew worked really well and everything went smoothly for sure. I think we have made another step forward this weekend, we are moving in the right direction, and everyone is pushing together. The track was good to drive, just the odd bit of dirt where cars had gone off, although it was busy out there.”
Francesco Pastorelli (Holland): “I didn’t get much running at the pace in as my middle stint was affected by the long yellow flag period, but I was quite happy with my laps which were in the 1:25s before the yellows, and I think the team was pleased too. The RSR is an excellent race car which is very responsive to the driver and I’m steadily getting used to it, while the new bigger engine makes quite a difference with its extra power noticeable, and this is very useful at this track.”
Roland Wall, Technical Director & Chief Engineer VICI Racing: “I’m pleased with this weekend, we have made a decent step forward in every area of operations and have closed the gap to the class front runners by around 2 seconds a lap. For the tire program this is a significant result and we now have to maintain the momentum and push forward. Kumho are working hard and I expect them to keep pushing. I have no complaints at all really, the crew were very professional and the drivers fast and consistent, Francisco’s lack of knowledge of this track and very limited time in the car weren’t noticeable hindrances at all as he posted a quick and steady pace before the yellows came out. We got no help from any race circumstances today, the yellows didn’t help our strategy and no GT2 front runners went off at any point so we draw a lot of satisfaction that we ran a solid and consistent pace from start to finish.”
Tim Bumps, Team Manager VICI Racing: “I’m happy with how the crew worked all week. We have spent time during the two month break integrating all the new crew and practicing our race routines. Under the direction of Crew Chief Alex [Zaric] the guys managed two perfect pit stops and their professionalism has been superb throughout the event. The team has made big strides; we are really starting to work like clockwork, and I’m pleased to now load up an unmarked car and start looking forward to Road America. It was also great to see our guests from Hughes enjoying the three days.”
Primetime
July 19th, 2008 Mid Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio- After a successful weekend in Limerock Park where the Primetime Viper finished 10th in class, the Bad News Bears took their game to Lexington Ohio for the Acura Sport Car Challenge with high expectations. Unfortunately, with no previous set up data, the team would have to spend each practice tuning the car to an unfamiliar track.
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At the start of the weekend the lap times were well off the pace of the front runners, but after several adjustments to the dampeners, sway bars, and Hankook tires, the Viper became more compliant to the off camber turns and the time gap started to narrow. When it was time for qualifying, the Primetime duo of Feinberg and Hall had managed to see some competitive lap times against a strong GT2 field. Their final qualifying time of 1:24.9 would find the Viper only seconds off the pace, but at the back of a long line of fast cars.
On race day it was team owner and driver Joel Feinberg who would take the green flag. After a great start and keeping intact with the field ahead for the first 5 laps, the team began to see signs of hope for its privateer effort. Unfortunately once the anticipated LMP field came around, the GT pack would get separated corner by corner giving way to the faster and more nimble prototypes.
As the race started to settle into its flow, the #11 Viper found its rhythm and made its way into 10th position with just less than two hours remaining. As the track became greasy and dirty, the untamed attitude of the front engine beast had become a handful in the brake zones and corners. While approaching the off camber turn 9, Feinberg had lost grip in the brake zone trying to trail into the apex and ended up stuck in the gravel trap for two laps and drop back into the 11th position.
After a full course caution to get the car back on course Feinberg pulled into the pits where the team would take fuel, tires, and a driver change. Co-driver Chris Hall quickly caught back with the pace car and after a restart would begin his effort to get the Viper back into its slot prior to the spin. Within a few laps, Hall was back in position but it wouldn’t last, the Viper would sustain a broken half shaft in the left rear, (the hardest working corner on the car) due to the wheel spin and amount of torque created by the V10 motor. Hall would come to rest only four corners short of pit lane and be pulled into an off track access area where crew chief Brent O’Neill thought the car would remain for the race.
Due to miscommunication between IMSA officials and corner workers, there was a glimmer of hope that the car was being brought back to the paddock and that the team would have a chance on returning to the track. Having been in this position before, O’Neill knew the rules regarding working on the car outside of the pits but what he was hearing over the IMSA scanner as well as what the corner workers were telling Hall caused some uncertainty. Without hesitation he immediately rallied the team to once again repair the Viper in an effort to get back in the race.
While in their garage an IMSA official stood close by, watching while the dedicated crew led by car chief Frank Parzych stripped the broken parts. The men of Primetime were not going to take no for an answer, two bodies were plugged into the wheel well while impact guns, hammers, and other specific tools were used to replace the broken pieces. With less than five minutes from the cut off time of being able to complete at least 70% of the required time to be eligible for championship points, Feinberg suited up and strapped in while the team finished the job.
Once again the “never say die” team had done the unthinkable, the car was fixed and on its way back to pit lane hoping to have made it on time. As Feinberg pulled into his pit box he was stopped by their pit lane official and was told the car could not return to the race as it had already been retired once the driver log had been turned in earlier when the car was thought to be stranded. Due to the confusion and miscommunication while a race was still running, crew chief Brent O’Neill was misled by mixed messages over the radio. Without a clear answer at the time, the decision was made to use all means necessary to get back on track and hope for the best. Unfortunately the teams efforts would go to waste and the #11 car would sit in pit lane for the remainder of the race as drivers Feinberg and Hall sat in their pit watching from the TV.
“This is another disappointing race for the whole team, we work as hard as we can day in and day out to get here and for some reason our only luck is bad luck” said Feinberg. “I’ve been very patient for the first half of the season but now we’re running out of races and we can afford to not be there when the checkered is waved. I haven’t lost hope that this program will succeed and we will continue take our lickin’s until we do”.
The teams’ next stop is the Generac 500 at Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin on August 9th where they will attempt to take advantage of a better suited 4 mile track for their beastly Dodge Viper.