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The #45 was involved in a race long battle with the #71 Tafel Ferrari

Risi
Tafel
Flying Lizards
Farnbacher Loles
VICI
Primetime
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Risi
Risi race to victory at Mosport - first ALMS win of the season

The promise, speed and performance demonstrated by the Risi Competizione team all week held good until the last lap of today's Grand Prix of Mosport and Jaime Melo and Mika Salo took their first GT2 victory of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season.

It was Salo's 12th career win in the series, Melo's 11th, and the victory was the third in a row for the Houston-based team at the Canadian track. The result capped a race meeting which has seen the #62 car at the head of the time sheets every single time they took to the track.

Although winners of the biggest sportscar race of the year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the climb to the top step of the ALMS podium has frustratingly proved to be a few paces too far. Today, though, Risi and its GT2 Championship drivers returned to their very best winning form.

Risi Team Principal, Giuseppe Risi, said after the race: "I am very happy. We have finally broken the run of bad luck we've been having in the American Le Mans Series this season. And what a race! I never gave up hope, even when we weren't at the head of the field, because we had the pace to win. We've been strong all week, so even when we were behind another car, having lost the lead through yellows, we were able to come back again."

Melo led the race from pole position -- a place he held on to until Risi's first pit stop which took place 55 minutes into the race under the first full caution period. He handed the wheel to team mate Salo who left the pits inches ahead of eventual second place finishers, the Farnbacher Loles Porsche, but not ahead of the #45 Flying Lizard Porsche which snatched the class lead.

It only took Salo two laps to make his move and the experienced Finn took full advantage of a prototype passing Bergmeister to make a clean move back into the lead. He held station until the next round of stops which were carried out under the second caution period, one hour and 25 minutes into the race. The team also, somewhat unusually took the opportunity to change drivers again, as Salo explains.

"Our plan was originally to change drivers only once but we went where the race went. I'd been pushing hard all stint and Jaime was fresh in the pits, so we decided to put fresh meat into the car. I don't know why it took him ten laps to get back into the lead though when it only took me one!!

"We were quickest every session we were out there and we really deserved this one," continued a smiling Salo. The car was working fine all weekend, with absolutely no problems at all so we didn't really change anything on it because it was so good from the beginning. The Michelin tires were also so consistent and were as good on lap one as they were at the end. We just had to keep it on the track and keep looking in the mirrors so we didn't hit anything.

"There weren't many incidents today, with prototypes for example, and I thought there would be a lot more. We kept waiting for something to happen to us -- like it has at all the other races -- it was all going too well!"

Melo's second stint behind the wheel produced some of the highlights of the race. After the pit stop he returned to the action third in class, but used the Ferrari's greater speed to pick up second from the #45 after some fourteen laps. From that moment on, he took set about closing the gap to the leader, edging closer and closer every lap. He regained the lead on lap 96, out-pacing the Farnbacher Loles car into Turn One and through to the checkered flag.

"I knew we had a good car, right from early this week and everything worked really well for us today. I had a great battle with both the #45 and the #87 so I'm really happy to be here on the top of the podium today. We fought for the win, and got it in a great way -- with no trouble and no accidents.

"It's an amazing result, after what's happened to us this year," added Melo. "We have shown we are very competitive at every race, but could not finish at the top. Finally we have done it. We knew we had a very balanced car and we just waited for things to come to us. I can't tell you how happy I am that it did."

Risi finally returned to the winners circle in the ALMS
Tafel
No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Ferrari Finishes 4th in Grand Prix of Mosport; No. 73 Races to 6th

BOWMANVILLE, ONT., Canada, August 24, 2008 - Tafel Racing leaves the Grand Prix of Mosport with two top-sixth finishes in the American Le Mans Series GT2 class. The Cumming, Ga.-based operation will also leave Mosport International Raceway with a bitter taste in their mouth. Following a dramatic battle for third, which carried into the final lap, the No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC of Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) and Dirk Muller (a native of Germany living in Monaco) crossed under the checkered flag in third position but was later given a 30-second penalty and dropped to fourth in the final standings. The No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC co-driven by Alex Figge (Denver, Col.) and Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.) earned its second-highest finish of the season taking sixth in a race that was equally strong on strategy and race performance. The Bell Micro Racing Ferrari now sits ten points behind in the GT2 Driver Championship with three events remaining in the 11-race American Le Mans Series season. There will be little rest for Tafel Racing as the team heads south to Michigan for the Sports Car Challenge of Detroit. The race, being run for its second season on the streets of Belle Isle, is schedule for next Saturday, August 30. The final two endurance races of the season; Petit Le Mans (October 4) and Laguna Seca (October 18), follow the Detroit event.

No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC
Drivers: Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany), Dirk Muller (a native of Germany now living in Monaco)

The No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Ferrari started today's race from third on the GT2 grid with Dominik Farnbacher behind the wheel. Farnbacher drove a strong stint for the first 55 minutes of the two hour and 45-minute event. The young German had a trouble- free drive running as high as second before handing the Bell Micro Ferrari over to Dirk Muller. Muller quickly became embroiled in a three-way, nose-to-tail battle being waged between positions second and fourth. The battle raged for the final two hours of the event eventually becoming an all-out war for the final step of the podium. Muller trailed the championship points leading No. 45 by as little as 0.096 seconds and was rarely more than half-a-second back even in traffic. Muller attempted multiple passes, drawing side-by- side on more than one occasion. The two cars rubbed twice with International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) officials warning both drivers about contact. On the final lap, Muller, seeing a gap opened by the No. 45, made his final move to get the sixth podium of the season for the No. 71 but the two cars came together as the No. 45 slide sideways. IMSA officials deemed the contact avoidable and, based on the previous warnings, sent-down a 30-second penalty to be added to the No. 71's total race time. The penalty, which cannot be protested, dropped the car from the podium to fourth and widened the point gap which now stands 135 to 125 points. In the process of the race, Muller set his second fastest race lap (one minute, 18.082 seconds) of the season matching Farnbacher's tally of two.

No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC
Drivers: Alex Figge (Denver, Col.), Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.)

The No. 73 used the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit to earn their second-highest finish of the season, sixth - the season-opening result from the 12 Hours of Sebring was fourth. Jim Tafel opened the race eighth in class and ran consistently strong laps moving into seventh before handing the Ferrari over to Alex Figge. Figge, making his first Mosport start since an open wheel event in 1999, drove the final two hours of the race taking an additional position in a drama-less event. Figge took the checkered flag sixth in class, 20th overall. While being the No. 73's second-best finish of the year, it was the best result for the Figge-Tafel combination which is now in its fifth event. Tafel earned his second Founders Cup - given for the best 'drive' by a racer who does not make motorsports his fulltime profession - of the season in the process.

Tony Dowe, Technical Director: "I am incredibly disappointed for the team, the drivers and the fans for such a fantastic race being ended by the stewards in such a manner. Clearly for many, many laps the 45 Porsche blocked us continuously. There were many incidents where we had been taken off the course and I was really proud of the patience that Dirk showed and the racecraft he used at the end to force the 45 into a mistake. The penalty is non-protestable. Clearly it leaves a very bad taste in everybody's mouth. We are racing those guys for a championship and it does seem that following the Elkhart Lake [Road America] incident nothing was done and now there is a decision made against us. Clearly, the obvious thing is to go home and fight again another day."

Dominik Farnbacher, Driver, No. 71: "My stint was good. I could overtake the Porsche in front of me and I took second position. But, by that time, the 62 was already gone so I took the pace of the leading car. My goal was to keep the 45 car behind me. I did that. I was very, very happy with my stint. I was quite happy to take the podium with Dirk but I am very frustrated in the decision of the officials."

Dirk Muller, Driver, No. 71: "From the second stop everything was under control. I was in the pack the whole time and I knew I could not press like the No. 62 [race-winning Ferrari]. It was like 55 minutes of studying where I could pass the 45 car. I thought five times I was ahead but he just went wide. The last lap he made a mistake, he covered the inside of [turn] 5A and I positioned myself on the outside. He came sideways between 5A and 5B. I jumped inside nice and clean. We had contact but the contact was because he was closing the door. It was a nice and clear move. I had many chances to make a dirty move and I did not take them. The last contact was avoidable on his side. I am very disappointed in this decision by the officials."

Jim Tafel, Driver, No. 73: "I would have felt more comfortable and confident with one more second a lap but I had to play the hand I was dealt. I just tried to do the best job that I could to drive it into the window and give it to Alex to finish-up. He went out there and just peeled them off. I improved by one position and he improved by one position. I was really happy to finish with a great result. Alex did a phenomenal job bringing it home."

Alex Figge, Driver, No. 73: "It was a great result. The guys were great but I think I lost a little time on the pit stops. I need to get the rhythm right on cranking the ignition as the car is dropping. Jim did a great job. He made huge strides here. I just can't say enough about that. That was probably our biggest gain of the weekend. I knew he was a little bit heartbroken to go down that lap in the end but with all that prototype traffic there isn't much you can do about it. I am really looking forward to Detroit."
Flying Lizards
Flying Lizard No. 45 3rd, No. 44 7th and No. 46 9th at Mosport

August 24, 2008 -- Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada -- It was a tough race for the Lizard squad at Mosport this afternoon. After a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday, the No. 45, No. 46 and No. 44 Porsches started fourth, fifth and ninth, on the grid, respectively for the 2 hour and 45 minute race. By the first yellow, 45 minutes into the race, the No. 45 (with Wolf Henzler), and the No. 46 (with Johannes van Overbeek) had moved into third and fourth. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 had moved to eighth. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari was in the lead and the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari in second.

Nearing the one-hour mark, and the end of the first yellow, a lightning-fast first pit stop helped the No. 45 beat every other GT2 car out of the pits to take the lead, and the No. 46 was out in fourth. Over the next 30 minutes, with the No. 62 Risi Ferrari again retaking the lead, the No. 45 (with Joerg Bergmeister now in the car), battled to hold onto second place and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 worked to hold fifth.

A second yellow flag sent most GT2 cars back to the pits for tires and short fuel but no driver changes. The No. 45 was out again quickly back into second, as was the No. 44, now in sixth. But bad luck struck the No. 46 when the car would not restart in the pits after fuel and tires. A fifteen-minute pit stop to replace a broken starter sent the No. 46 from fifth to the tenth at the back of the pack, ending their hopes for a top finish.

Over the final 30 minutes of the race, all three Lizard Porsches struggled to hold positions. The No. 62 was solidly in the lead, and the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche in second. It was now shaping up to be a battle for third place between GT2 championship contenders Bergmeister in the No. 45 in third and the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, which had threaded its way back up through the field after its last pit stop to fourth.

With the No. 45 and the No. 71 nose-to-tail for the last 25 minutes of the race, Bergmeister defended his position and the No. 71 looked for every opportunity to pass, with the two cars making contact at nearly every attempt. On the last lap, the No. 71 passed Joerg on the inside, making contact. The No. 45 finished fourth behind the No. 71, but the No. 71 was penalized for avoidable contact, giving the No. 45 the podium spot. The No. 44, which had struggled over the race with a rapidly destabilizing car and a broken shock, finished seventh. The No. 46, which was not able to regain the lost time in the pits, finished ninth.

With this result, the No. 45 with Bergmeister and Henzler, increases its lead in the driver championship over the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, and the team retains its lead in the team championships.
Farnbacher Loles
Farnbacher Loles Racing earned its fourth American Le Mans Series GT2 podium on Sunday, after a strong class-leading performance on the challenging 2.459-mile Mosport International Raceway road course in Bowmanville, Ont. The rookie ALMS team's result was bolstered by fast work on track and in pit lane.

Pierre Kaffer of Salenstein, Switzerland, drove the first stint in the No. 87 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, starting second on the 11-car GT2 grid. He slipped back to fourth behind three veteran cars, then stopped for a driver change after 55 minutes of the two-hour 45-minute race.

Dirk Werner of Kissenbruck, Germany, drove the rest of the race, stopping out of sequence for fuel during a mid-race caution period. The strategy and Werner's careful management gave him enough fuel to finish the race. He took the class lead with an hour remaining and held it until a stronger Ferrari passed for the class win just 20 minutes from the checkered flag. With no previous experience at Mosport, the team was elated with second place.

Gregory Loles, team owner: "Strategy, strategy, strategy. We were the only car that got it right today and we couldn't be happier. All the pieces of the puzzle are now in place and we're looking forward to a very good Petit Le Mans [the team's next ALMS race]."

Pierre Kaffer: "It was quite an exciting race day for me, especially this morning when there was a little accident in the warmup. I'm really proud of the team -- they did a really good job between the warmup and the race. I could hold my position and at the end of my stint, the team was really fast in the pitstop. They called a brilliant strategy today and Dirk did an amazing job. We finished second; we're happy with this result. And I'm happy to be back in the ALMS and on the podium."

Dirk Werner: "I'm very happy that we got another podium in our first ALMS season. I think it shows how amazingly the team works together and how good a package we have. With a little bit more luck in finding the right race setup, we could have had a chance to win the race, but today the Ferrari was just a little bit stronger. I had to fight very hard to go the speed I went; I couldn't do it over the whole stint. But we can be happy with the result because everything went right for us. Thanks to the team for a great race!"

IMSA Challenge

Ben McCrackin of Corpus Christi, Texas, notched a good finish for Farnbacher Loles Racing in the IMSA Challenge by Michelin race at Mosport on Sunday. He started 12th, was slowed in the first part of the 23-minute race, but gained momentum as it continued. He moved up to finish eighth in his No. 81 Magnus Energy Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

"I got held up a little longer than I wanted to in the pack, made a couple of passes, had a few more coming, but I just ran out of race," he said. "But the car was great; it's been excellent all weekend."

VICI
VICI Racing’s interest in this afternoon’s ALMS Grand Prix of Mosport ended rather abruptly after less than three quarters of an hour after the #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR hit the tire barriers in Turn 2 following a right hand rear suspension component failure. It was a disappointing end to a race that had promised so much, and Marc Basseng, who was in the cockpit for the first and second stint, had been running a very fast, smooth race pace right from the start.

Race day had dawned warm in Bowmanville, Ontario, with patchy clouds overhead and mild humidity. With the 25- minute morning warm-up safely completed the pre-race festivities got underway after lunch, ending with the traditional ‘Gentleman start your engines’ being called here by Canadian movie star Dan Aykroyd. There were a few spots of rain before the start and a very brief shower which sent the teams up and down the pitlane scurrying to prepare rain tires for an eventuality that the race might turn wet. However, a few minutes after the scheduled start time of 3:05 PM the cars took the green flag for the beginning of the 2 hour 45 minute race in dry and sunny conditions, although a few dark clouds still lurked on the horizon.

Marc made a very good start and retained his seventh place on the grid position in GT2; he was able to maintain a quick pace that saw the #73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GT and the #44 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR dropping back in his wake. As Marc lapped in the 1:21 and 1:22 bracket the 29-year-old German opened up his advantage over these two Michelin-shod cars to 10 seconds by lap 6, to 15 seconds by lap 10, and to 20 seconds by lap 13 (with 18 mins of racing completed). The #73 and #44 were locked in battle together; meanwhile Marc’s cushion in front of them grew to 25 seconds by lap 17.

On lap 22 (3:35 PM, 30 minute of racing) Marc came in for the first planned routine pit stop of the afternoon, changing all four tires and adding fuel, but remaining in the car. He exited the pits after a smooth, fast stop, dropping down behind the #73, #44 cars in the running order, as well as the #007 Drayson-Barwell Aston Martin Vantage GT2.

Immediately Marc was able to up the pace, posting his quickest lap of the afternoon on his first flying lap (lap 24) in 1:20.877; his first sub-1:21 lap of the race. Next time around he was past the #007 car and on lap 28 he posted a 1:20.697 as he closed in on the still battling #73 and #44 cars.

However just one tour of the 2.246-mile, 10-turn Mosport International Raceway later (3:46 PM; 41 minutes of racing) and an unexpected right hand rear suspension failure just as Marc dropped through the long, high speed Clayton Corner (turn 2) saw the wheel and hub detached together and the car wound up firmly in the tire barriers. Marc emerged from unhurt, but the accident put a swift end to VICI Racing’s involvement in the 2008 Grand Prix of Mosport, and with it the end of the most promising race of our inaugural year so far.

Roland Wall, Technical Director VICI Racing: "It is a very unfortunate end to what was turning out to be an excellent race, our best so far this year, but the component failure was outside our control. Up to that point the car had run really well, we had called a strategy that saw us pit early and Marc was running consistent 1:21 and 1:22 laps on the first stint, although we were running slightly conservatively. After the first stop Marc was immediately down into the 1:20s with a compound we had chosen to run in our planned longer middle stint. I’m pleased with the progress Kumho have made, the continuing improvement is demonstrated in that we were able to run our race pace immediately from the start and the tires didn’t drop off at all. The crew have worked really hard this week and I can have no complaints about anyone’s performance, the pitstop was quick and the car was set up very well. Now we have to assess the damage and start working on a plan to get to Detroit."

Marc Basseng (Germany): "I’m disappointed we couldn’t finish this race as the car felt good and the tires were holding up well. The tires were the best I have felt them after my first stop when the second set of tires were really good for the few laps before the incident, and I was running quicker than my first stint although I was caught in traffic. I felt the suspension giving way in the fast left hander [Turn 2] and then the wheel detached and I could only land in the tire wall."
Primetime
August 24th, 2008 Grand Prix Of Mosport, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada- Whether it be a broken drive shaft, a sheared axle, electrical failure, or an unfortunate shunt, Primetime has been snake bit since March. After a six race string of bad luck, Primetime Race Group takes their first official checkered since their 5th place, GT2 finish at Sebring earlier this year.

The privateer GT2 team owned and driven by Joel Feinberg showed up with a full schedule ahead of them when they crossed the border into Canada. The week started with a successful two day test with their tire partner, Hankook Tire USA, where they would narrow down a batch of experimental tires in search of a few extra seconds. The remainder of the week would be a game of ping pong as they would bounce back and forth between testing and qualifying in the GT2 Viper and their three support series IMSA Lites cars. Feinberg even squeezed in a charity game of ice hockey with fellow GT driver Mika Salo in the Ron Fellows-Mosport Hockey Challenge, in support of the Canada Hemophilia Society.

Back on the pavement, Chris Hall, co-driving the Viper had logged most of the laps on Thursday and Friday and would end up being the guinea pig in qualifying with an experimental tire developed by Hankook. After clicking off consistent times in the 1:20's, Hall began to dig a little deeper and see what the car could do in qualifying trim. Hall was on pace for a low 19 when his right rear suspension bottomed out sending him for a ride on the Dodge "Tilt-A-Whirl". By the time he stopped spinning, the tires had flat spotted so bad that he would have to scratch their 8th place qualifying position and start from the back with fresh tires.

Feinberg, racing two series simultaneously, was facing a difficult transition between the high down force of the Elan DP-02, and the bulky but powerful Dodge Viper. With races on Saturday and Sunday, Feinberg would find himself literally getting out of one car and into another. Regardless of the circumstances, he was able to juggle the different driving styles between the two and bring home back to back second place podium finishes in rounds 7 and 8 of the IMSA Lites Championship.

As the clouds rolled in Sunday afternoon the team had anticipated their first wet race in the Viper, and would have to make a last minute judgment call on starting tires. Luckily, after a light sprinkle, the clouds had cleared and it looked to be a dry race. After a clean start, Feinberg quickly began closing in on the two cars ahead, and looking to move into 8th. As usual, when the front running prototypes came around, the GT field would get split up and teams would have to compromise their line to cope with the lap traffic from behind.

Forty one minutes into the race, the first full course caution came out for a car in the wall at the bottom of turn two. Once the pits had opened, the #11 Viper had come in for fuel, tires, and a driver change. Co-pilot Chris Hall would take over the driver duties with hopes of getting the team back into the GT2 point's championship after a string of DFN's. He would manage to hold a "9th in class" position for over an hour and a half on the demanding slopes of the 2.5 mile course. With only 35 minutes remaining, the team would hope for another caution in order to put Feinberg back in the car to log his necessary thirty percent drive time.

As luck would NOT have it, the caution never came and crew chief Brent O'Neill made the decision to bring Hall back to the pits for a splash of fuel and a quick driver change. Feinberg would have to manage on double stinted tires for the last 30 minutes and hope to keep a hold of their position. At ten minutes to go in the race, the team was just six laps away from breaking out of a six month draught, and anxious to have a car in one piece for Detroit the following week. As Feinberg was clicking off consistent times in the 1.22's just trying to finish the race, he would give his teammates in the pits a scare that would give car chief Frank Parzych a few extra grey hairs.

While navigating a slick transition from pavement to concrete and back to pavement on the "twice crashed" turn two, Feinberg lost the rear end in a bout of over steer causing the car to snap back and send the Viper circling towards the inside wall. All the team could see of their car was the SPEED TV view on their pit monitors showing the car up against the wall unable to tell what kind of damage had been done. As luck WOULD have it, Feinberg managed to stop the car just inches from a hefty crash bill and pulled away with four flat spotted tires. Unable to safely finish the race on square tires he made it back to the pits for a tire change but would ultimately lose the 9th slot to the #46 Flying Lizard Porsche and cross the finish line a 10th place, points earning position.

"This is great day for Primetime, we have been under some kinda race-god, voo doo spell where we either got wrecked or broke some mysterious part. I'm really excited for my guys on the team who have never given up on the car and show up race after race to support me. I think this will be a turning point for Primetime and a great confidence builder going into the last three races. We have a few more development plans left in the bag for the Viper that we can hopefully bring into competition next week and maybe bring home a podium finish" said team owner Joel Feinberg.