Flying Lizard Motorsports took a step closer to the GT2 title
Flying Lizard Motorsports
VICI Racing
Tafel Racing
Risi Competizione
Primetime
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Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard No. 45 Wins in GT2 at Detroit, No. 46 2nd, No. 44 4th: Fifth Double Podium this Season
August 30, 2008 -- Detroit, Michigan -- Starting from the pole in GT2, Wolf Henzler and Joerg Bergmeister brought the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche in for their fourth GT2 win so far this season in today's Detroit Sports Car Challenge. Teammates Johannes van Overbeek and Patrick Pilet fought back from a late-race spin and unplanned pit stop to finish second in GT2. This is the fifth double podium of the year for the Lizard squad. The No. 44 Porsche of Lonnie Pechnik and Martin Ragginger, finished fourth, its second highest finish of the year.
Wolf Henzler started from the pole in the No. 45, Patrick Pilet started from fourth in the No. 46, and Lonnie Pechnik started from seventh in the No. 44. The three Porsches had a near seamless race, with no mechanical issues and rock solid pit work. With 30 minutes left to go in the 2 hour and 45 minute race, the Lizard squad was first, second and third in GT2. With the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari far down in the field after a lengthy pit stop, the Lizards could see a way to their first possible triple podium for the squad. The No. 45 was in the lead (with Wolf Henzler again in the car, having taken over for Joerg Bergmeister with one hour left), the No. 44 with Martin Ragginger at the wheel was in in second, and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 46 was in third. (The No. 46 had made a quick recovery from unplanned pit stop to replace a tire punctured when the Porsche collided with another car with just 45 minutes left to go in the race, pushing the No. 46 from the lead to fourth place.)
With less than 15 minutes to go in the race, after the restart from the final caution, the No. 46 passed the No. 44 to take second. Unfortunately, the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, now in fourth, was able to get by the No. 44 to take third place, and the No. 44 had to settle for a fourth place finish.
VICI Racing
Detroit, Michigan - There was disappointment for VICI Racing at a hot and sunny Detroit this afternoon as the #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR suffered a broken driveshaft after 41 minutes of the race; however it wasn't before the team had been able to demonstrate a major step forward in competiveness and we can take away a lot of positives from this performance. The season- long tire development program carried out with Kumho Tires has made huge strides, and today Marc Basseng, who was the starting driver for the race was able to run consistently around 1 to 1.5 seconds off the front running pace in the GT2 class.
It's been a very long week for the Miami, Florida-based team who are in their inaugural season in the American Le Mans Series. Last weekend at the Mosport Interactional Raceway the #18 car suffered accident damage that left the crew with several very late nights in the temporary paddock here on Belle Isle once the transporter had made the 250 mile journey from the Canadian circuit to Detroit. However a bit push by the whole team plus speedy assistance in parts supply by Porsche and the black, white and red liveried car was ready for action when the track went live yesterday morning.
The ALMS series has returned to the streets of Belle Isle this week for the second consecutive year, and just like 2007, the sports cars are racing as part of a double-header, with the Indycars which race here tomorrow. Safely through the two weather-blighted practice and qualifying sessions yesterday the team had more work to do last night as data revealed concerns with the engine. Today was due to get underway with the 25 minute long morning warm- up session (9:50-10:15 AM). The Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch, round 9 of the 2008 American Le Mans Series, would get the green light at 2:35 (ET). The chequered flag was due to be waved on the 2 hour 45 minute duration race at 5:20PM. However fog clung moodily over downtown Detroit and out onto Belle Isle early this morning, slightly delaying the cramped timetable today, so the warm-up was rescheduled for 10:10-10:35 AM.
It was however clear blue skies and rising temperatures as the pre-race warm up session got underway with Nicky Pastorelli getting the chance to learn the 2.09-mile, 14-turn temporary course, which is a tricky mix of concrete and asphalt, in the dry after running just a couple of laps in the rain yesterday. The Dutchman's quickest lap of 1:28.573 (lap 7 of 8), run at an average speed 84.13 mph, was just 1.880 seconds away from the fastest GT2 class car (the #73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430GT); it is the closest gap we have had all season, and a clear demonstration that the year-long hard work put into the tire development program is race-by-race showing strides forward.
With the traditional pre race festivities over and the fans cleared off the grid, the command to start engines was given at 2:29 PM, and at 2:35 PM the lights went out on the pace car, the green flag fluttered, and the 2 hour 45 minute long race got underway. With track temperatures at 78 degrees and air temperature at 101 degrees this was going to be the hottest ALMS race of the year so far.
Marc Basseng was chosen to start the race and he made up one place up at the start, passing the #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT2 to move up to 8th place as the cars came round at the end of the first lap, which he ran in 1:30.971. His second lap was a 1:30.927 before, after just 4 minutes of racing, the Aston Martin hit the barriers. At 2:53 PM (18 mins of running) the race went back to green with 8 laps now completed. With the #21 Panoz Esperante Ford and the #44 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR both pitting under the caution, Marc was elevated to sixth place as the race went live again.
The experienced German sports car driver was setting a very good race pace now, on lap 9 he ran a 1:30.127 followed by a dip into the 1:29s with a 1:29.515. The next lap he was into the 1:28-bracket, with a 1:28.747, and his pace was consistently around 1 to 1.5 seconds off the GT2 leaders. Now dropping into the sub-1:29 times, Marc turned in a 1:28.679 (lap 12), 1:28.287 (13) and 1:28.295 (14) which he followed up with a 1:29.236 (15) as he came under pressure from the recovering Panoz. Sixth became seventh as the #21 Panoz squeezed past on lap 16 (1:34.011), followed by a 1:29.030 (17), 1:28.634 (18), 1:28.602 (19) and a 1:28.861 (20). Lap 21, as the clock ticked to 3:12 PM, saw the yellows being waved again as #2 Audi prototype ended up in the barriers.
Circulating around behind the pace car Marc reported an unexpected driveshaft problem over the radio, and at 3:16 PM (41 mins of running) the #18 car arrived in the pits where the problem was confirmed. It was a disappointing end to the proceedings, but keen to use the track time to continue testing tires, the driveshaft was replaced, and just under an hour later Nicky steered the car back onto the circuit at 4:09 PM (1 hr 34 mins running). The car ran successfully until 4:43 PM (2 hr 8 mins running) before the former Jordan and Midland F1 test driver brought the #18 machine into the pits and the team's participation in the 2008 Detroit Sports Car Challenge was wrapped up.
For the record the #18 car completed 38 laps (22 for Marc; 16 for Nicky) this afternoon in Detroit with the quickest of these being a time of 1:28.287 (on lap 13) posted by Marc, at an average speed of 84.39 mph.
It was a disappointing end to the intensive August schedule for VICI Racing, three races in four weeks, and made it a tough two weeks for the team. However there are big plus points to be drawn as the innovative and challenging tire development program continues to make tangible progress each time out and here in Detroit the #18 car was running closer to the pace than at any time this season. Now, after several weeks located at a temporary base provided by team partner LuxuryMotors.com in Chicago, the team makes the long journey back to Miami, Florida to begin preparing for the Petit Le Mans on October 4th.
Marc Basseng (Germany): "I'm really disappointed, the car was running well and we had been at a good race pace. The tires were ok and I was enjoying driving on this circuit. I felt the driveshaft go while we were under the pace car, it's a shame to have the race end this way and I think we could have had a nice finish without this problem. I'm now looking forward to Petit, the team has a lot of work to do in the meantime and I will hope we can get a good result there."
Tafel Racing
Tafel Racing Puts Two in Detroit Top-10; Holds 2nd in GT2 Points
DETROIT, August 30, 2008 - Tafel Racing entered today's Detroit Sports Car Challenge with high expectations for both its No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC and No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC. However, a starter motor failure as Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) handed the Bell Micro entry to Dirk Muller (a native of Germany living in Monaco) on the first pit stop would end the three-time American Le Mans Series GT2 class winners' pursuit of a fourth class victory this season. The No. 71 would finish ninth in class, 21st overall, at the end of the two hour and 45-minute race. Alex Figge (Denver, Col.) in the No. 73 he shares with Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.), would be on the receiving- end of a glancing blow under passing that would necessitate an additional pit stop. The stop to attach a new mirror cost the car several laps leaving them sixth in class, 17th overall on the 2.096-mile, 14-turn circuit that winds through Detroit's Belle Isle.
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 took the green flag from the third in the GT2 field with Dominik Farnbacher behind the wheel. The young German was involved in a four-deep, nose-to-tail battle for most of his 50-minute stint. The fight, which Farnbacher fought from third but within two car- lengths of the leader, carried through the second yellow flag at which time technical director Tony Dowe (Cumming, Ga.) called the Bell Micro Ferrari in for fuel, four Michelin tires and a driver change. All went well until Dirk Muller reached for the starter button to ignite the V8 engine just behind his head. The car failed to start. The crew immediately ascertained the problem as a failed starter motor and set to making repairs. A spare starter, donated by fellow Ferrari team Risi Competizione, arrived seven minutes after Farnbacher entered pit lane. 11 minutes later Muller pushed the button and the engine came to full song. The impressive repair of the hot starter - which includes the removal of the car's underbody - was completed in under 20-minutes total; a testimony to the Tafel Racing crew. As it became clear how fast the car was and that Muller could gain positions, the 2000 American Le Mans Series GT2 Champion set on the task of picking-off as many cars as possible. He made his final pass for position on the second to last turn of the last lap, moving from 10th to ninth at the checkered flag. In the process, he added his third fastest race lap of the season (one minute, 25.082 seconds) on lap 54 of 74. It was the team's fifth fastest race lap of the season and its fourth in a row.
The Bell Micro squad retains second in the American Le Mans Series GT2 Driver and Team Championship chase with two races remaining. The drivers currently sit 28 points out of the lead while the team is 35 markers back. 55 points remain available in the final two races of the season.
No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC
Drivers: Alex Figge (Denver, Col.), Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.)
Jim Tafel started the No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC from 11th position. Tafel held the position for most of his stint gaining two spots as he brought the No. 73 in for a driver change just short of the one hour mark. Alex Figge, making his sixth career GT2 start, his first on a street course, made impressive strides until a prototype made an inside move, up on the curb, passing the No. 73 and taking off the passenger-side mirror in the process. Race officials ordered Figge in for a repair. The stop would cost the car three laps in the final scoring and the chance to better its season- high best finish - a fourth earned at the season 12 Hours of Sebring.
Tony Dowe, Technical Director: "One day you're the windscreen the next day you're the fly. The starter motor is the first mechanical failure of the year but it came at a time that it was least welcome. However, one famous person once said: 'it ain't over, til it's over."
Dominik Farnbacher, Driver, No. 71: "I think my start was very good. My goal was to give Dirk a good car for the last stint. I tried to overtake Melo [No. 62] but it was impossible. I was already on the edge, he was already on the edge and Wolf [Henzler, No. 45] in front was on the edge. It was like a little train we made. There was a lot of action in there. I tried to stay out of trouble and let the other two become involved in an incident but it didn't happen. I came in and everything worked well. Dirk got in the car and 'boom' there it was; our bad luck. That happens but if that decides the championship it would be very sad. Now we have to take some risk to come back. You never know what will happen but I am excited for the next race."
Dirk Muller, Driver, No. 71: "I was just flying out there. The car was awesome. I had a lot of fun with that. I even gained positions in the second to last corner. So, it really paid off to push to the end. I am personally satisfied with the fastest race lap but disappointed for the team. We lost a little momentum. There is nobody to blame for it. I am thankful to the team for the nice race car at the end. Now we need to look-up, keep focused and keep pushing."
Alex Figge, Driver, No. 73: "That was a tough race for sure. Jim did a great job. I think it was one of the best performances I have seen him have. I was trying to be a little positive with the prototype and let him know I was in a fight but, he had already committed and took off our mirror. We had to fix that and that cost us a lot of time. I felt like I ran a good pace. We bounced off a curb pretty bad and I think we did something to the gearbox or something. We were struggling at the end but we stayed in there for a top- six. So, I was excited for that."
Jim Tafel, Driver, No. 73: "I am obviously happy with another top-10 for the No. 73. Personally, I didn't get my times where I wanted or needed them to be. It was hard to get the car to turn. I think I had a lot of pickup on the tires. I just had to keep it off the wall and hand it over to my co-driver. Alex drove another great race and I am looking forward to moving on to Atlanta and Laguna from here."
Tafel Racing now turns its full attention to the final two endurance races of the season. The Cumming, Ga.- based operation will use the month of September to prepare for their hometown event, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (October 4) and the Monterey Sports Car Challenge season-finale at Raceway Laguna Seca (October 18).
Risi Competizione
A Detroit double was not to be for the Risi Competizione team today, although the Houston-based GT2 Champions got very close to taking their second consecutive American Le Mans Series race victory. The team did, however, have both their red Ferrari 430s finish in the top five of the GT2 class, with the #62 car securing their third podium finish of the season. This result contributed valuable points for Ferrari in the Manufacturers' Championship. The race was won by the #45 Flying Lizard Porsche of Henzler and Bergmeister.
Bodywork damage to the left side door, after contact with the Panoz during an overtaking manoever by Jaime Melo, and an electrical issue affecting the pit lane speed limiter meant that the #62 Ferrari F430GT had to make two additional visits to the pits over those planned by the team, one of which was to serve a penalty for pit lane speeding. As they had just taken the lead in class, under the third of the four full course caution periods, it was particularly disappointing.
Some spirited and determined driving by Salo in the second half of the race did, including a great overtaking move on the #44 Porsche seven laps before the checkered flag, ensured that the podium was within reach. Salo completed the last few laps holding the damaged door closed with one hand, driving with the other.
The same electrical issue also struck the #61 Ferrari of Robert Bell and Harrison Brix and the duo -- who also struggled with no radio communication with the pits after the first hour and 45 minutes due to a broken radio antenna lead -- did extremely well to anticipate the team's strategy and come into the pits at exactly the right time. Bell turned some very quick laps during the second of his two stints (he started and closed the race) but the gap to the fourth-placed car was just too great to close for the amount of time remaining in the race.
Risi Competizione Team Principal Giuseppe Risi said afterwards: "The race was ours until we had the door and pit lane speed limiter problems which unfortunately prevented us from taking the win. I'm pleased though with the performance of all our drivers today, particularly those who had to battle against such challenging technical problems. We were able to secure some valuable points for Ferrari today in the Manufacturers' Championship with our podium finish so we are thankful for that."
Harrison Brix (#61 Ferrari 430 GT): "It was a very difficult race considering all the issues we have faced. When you have the pit lane speed limiter fail and no radio, you don't typically finish in the top five and it was really positive to come back to the series and overcome issues beyond our control. I think we could easily have been on the podium without these, and the team should be very proud of the end result."
Rob Bell (#61 Ferrari 430 GT): "It's a pity about the speed limiter not working because whatever we lost there was critical. I was also held up by the GT1 Aston Martin at the start which was frustrating, but apart from that the car was good and drove well. Better luck next time I guess!"
Jaime Melo (#62 Ferrari 430 GT): "I am disappointed. I got hit by the Panoz when I was overtaking it quite early in the race and after that the car didn't handle very well, oversteering badly. I could keep up a good pace until the second pit stop and then the door would not close. We lost time there, made worse by the penalty for the pit lane speeding. We could have won this race otherwise."
Mika Salo (#62 Ferrari 430 GT): "The car was damaged when I took over and we had to make an extra stop as the door would not stay closed. The car was a bit difficult to drive as a result of the damage. There was also an electrical problem with the pit lane speed limiter on both cars so not so much to celebrate -- it's a shame as it was looking very good at one point."
Primetime
In 2007 Primetime Race Group took their privateer program to the streets of Detroit for their American Le Mans debut. Now, a year later they are back and running better than ever and have defined their position amongst their competition.
Coming off of a prosperous week in Canada, the Primetime team had put their mid season woes behind them and had a clear view of the road ahead. Returning to the site of their American Le Mans debut one year ago, there was a level of confidence brewing in their paddock stemming from what had been accomplished over the past year. "We belong here" said team manager Brent O’Neill. "What we have done over the past year is take a FIA GT3 Viper and turn it into a race car that has crept its way towards the front the GT2 pack with the factory developed Ferrari’s and Porsches. Our tire partnership with Hankook has given us a great platform to continue to develop this program and as that program grows, the end result keeps getting better".
On hand with the team for the week was MBC-ESPN which is the #1 Sports Broadcast network in South Korea. The team of journalists and film crew would be covering the minute by minute action from behind the scenes of the race, highlighting Hankooks’ tire program with Primetime in the ALMS for a documentary which will be aired across Asia later this year.
As the week began to unfold teams were seeing very little, to in some cases, no good track time due to wet weather conditions and a busy schedule that included sharing the track with the IRL . With no real rain setup and never having tracked the car in the wet, Primetime was hesitant to spend much time in the rain during practice as this would not be the best venue to find out how the GT2 Viper would handle running on rain tires. Drivers Joel Feinberg and Chris Hall had gotten in for a few wet laps in the morning practice only to get familiar with the circuit not giving any thought to finding speed or the racing lines. The weather looked to be clear for the afternoon practice and Feinberg had hoped to get in some dry laps and be able to work on car setup. After only four hot laps it would start to rain again making it quit difficult to stop or steer on the grooveless racing slicks. As traffic began to bunch up in turn 10, Feinberg went to the brakes to avoid the #73 Tafel Ferrari but with no way of stopping the slick tires in time, the car had hydroplaned and found itself parked into the concrete ahead.
Limping back to pit lane the #11 Viper had sustained major damage that would sideline the team for qualifying and maybe even the race. Once back to their garage, car chief Frank Parzych would assess the damage and make a decision. It didn’t look good, the driver’s side front and rear suspension had been destroyed and the front frame rail along with the pickup points had been knocked into the headers and oil pan. With this amount of damage the team would need two days in a shop with all the right tools.
Unfortunately, time was not on their side. With less than 24 hours until the green flag the Primetime team would need to work through the night with borrowed tools to get the job done. The motor would need to be pulled, the frame needed to be cut and re-welded, and suspension on two corners needed complete replacement. Even if they could get the work done through the night, the car would never be perfect, but packing up wasn’t an option.
Ten hours later at 3am on race day, the motor was running and the car was on the ground. Team manager Brent O’Neill had led his dedicated team of mechanics through the night putting Primetime back in the race. With only a few hours of sleep, the team had to be back in time to do the final setup on the Viper before the 10:00am warm up where they would get instant driver feedback as to the reliability of the overhaul. After the 25 minute session, the verdict was in. The car was running as smooth as ever, as if nothing had even happened. Since they missed qualifying, the Viper would have to start dead last behind a field of 27 cars that included 11 other GT2 cars that they would be battling for position. Starting the race was team owner Joel Feinberg who was on a mission as soon as the green flag was waived. The first five hot laps were spent in the mirrors of the #54 GT40 and the #73 Ferrari as Feinberg would be turning faster laps times than the cars ahead, and was waiting for the right moment to pass. As expected, the LMP leaders would be around to shake things up for the GT cars at any moment thus creating gaps between the Viper and its competition.
After an hour and forty five minutes behind the wheel, Feinberg had advanced four positions and would turn the car over to his co-driver Chris Hall to finish the race. Hall immediately held the pace set by Feinberg and would continue pushing forward with the hopes of a strong finish for the Primetime team. Hall had done just that, the Viper had crossed the finish line five positions ahead of its starting place securing a 7th in class finish and 18th overall in the 28 car field.
"Racing on any street circuit can easily be compared to running with the bulls in the streets on Spain", said Team owner Joel Feinberg. "At any given moment, what you thought was the right move can actually be a very costly mistake leaving you trampled in the gutter. For us to come together as a team and get this car back on track was a feat in itself, to start dead last after a midnight rebuild and run as strong as we did, that just makes it even more unbelievable. I can’t thank my team enough for their persistence and dedication that they continue to show day in and day out. I wouldn’t want any other group of guys at my side, we are a racing family".
The teams’ next stop is the 2008 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on October 4th, where the two man team of Feinberg and Hall will battle for 1000 miles or 10 hours on the famous 2.5 mile circuit for round 10 of the American Le Mans Series.