Risi
Tafel
Farnbacher Loles
Flying Lizard
VICI
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Risi
Risi Competizione's two Ferrari 430 GTs finished in 2nd and 12th places in today's American Le Mans Series season finale -- a four hour race interrupted by no fewer than 12 safety car periods. Despite challenging for the lead, a third GT2 victory in four races wasn't to be for the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hour champions.
Mika Salo and Jaime Melo brought the #62 car home in a strong second place despite suffering from front suspension failure which severely compromised the handling of the car in the final hour. It was a disappointing result considering that the Risi Ferrari had been able to take the GT2 class lead (after starting from 5th place on the grid) through great track performance and good pit strategy.
Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson overcame rude and unwelcome contact from a prototype on lap 10 of the race which caused a left rear puncture and some bodywork damage. Further contact from another prototype left the Texan owner of Krohn Racing in the gravel trap on lap 98 but he fought back with a string of consistently quick laps to make up lost ground and overtook the Ford GT two laps before the end to place in 12th.
Giuseppe Risi summed up the day's events and the team's 2008 season. "We would rather have won but you can't discredit second place, especially considering the problem we had with the front suspension. It was very commendable of Jaime to have brought the car home only 4 second behind the winner -- we certainly had the legs on it.
"It was a little different from last season but this is motor racing. We've won the two biggest races of the year this year and I think Le Mans basically counts for a whole Championship so we have to be somewhat content."
Jaime Melo: "It's a little bit disappointing for me. At the re-start from one of the yellows Dirk hit me up the back and after that the car was strange - it had a lot of oversteer and was really difficult to drive. We then had another yellow and changed tires and the balance improved so I could push more. But suddenly we had the suspension problem and it was difficult, actually really scary; especially on this track where if you go off line you could go off the track altogether. We had a very good car but at the same time even with this problem we could keep a good pace. I had some traffic towards the end otherwise I could perhaps have closed the gap even more."
Mika Salo: "It was a weird race, and it always seems to be the same cars going off the track and causing safety cars. It's such a competitive field here and I don't think we need those cars any more. It looks bad on the TV and it's bad for the show. Our car was really good all the time I was in it and we were easily the quickest GT2 car, pulling away from everyone, and I had no problems at all."
Nic Jonsson: "The end result is nothing we can be proud of. I think we had a potential top six or seven car out there today. Tracy did a good job in the last stint. Unfortunately he got hit in his first stint and we went about 3 laps down. I was very pleased with my own stint. I was running right on pace with the top three or four cars. Again, the Risi Competizione/Krohn team did a great job at having good pit stops, preparing a good car for us. I think now that we are at the end of the year, it's not been too bad. We had a very good year this year with both the Ferrari and the DP so I'm very pleased and looking forward to 2009."
Tracy Krohn: "We started off the race getting hit coming into Turn 11 by an LMP car. That messed up the rear end left wheel and that caused us to lose three laps in the pits. We got back out on the track and ran a few laps before getting hit going up to the Corkscrew; I don't know where he came from. I was doing about 120 (miles per hour) and all of a sudden I was going sideways. Nic got in the car then and ran a really good stint. Then I was able to get back in the car and the last 20 laps I ran the car was really, really good and perfect at the end; as good as it's been any time I've ever driven it. Congratulations to the team. They did a great job getting this car set-up. We'll examine why it was so darn good at the end because it was really perfect! I just kept grinding and kept grinding and we finally passed the 40 car at the end and gained one position."
Tafel
MONTEREY, Calif., October 18, 2008 - Tafel Racing closed out the 2008 American Le Mans Series season with its fourth GT2 class victory tonight at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The four hour Monterey Sports Car Championships joins St. Petersburg, Fla., Long Beach, Calif. and Mid-Ohio as 2008 victories for Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) and Dirk Muller (a native of Germany living in Monaco). By virtue of the win here at the season finale, the No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC won more GT2 victories this year than any other entry. The No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC, driven this weekend by Alex Figge (Denver), Harrison Brix (San Jose, Calif.) and Pierre Ehret (Santa Rosa, Calif./Germany), finished 11th in the daylight into darkness race on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Monterey, Calif. track. Tonight's victory ensured that Tafel Racing finished second in the Team Championship and IMSA Cup for privateer entrants. Farnbacher and Muller clinched second-place in the GT2 Driver Championship at Petit Le Mans in Round 10. The team's seven podium finishes and 10 combined top- fives helped Michelin win the Tire Manufacturer Championship as well.
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 the fourth, and final, endurance race of the season from third on the grid. Farnbacher drove the opening stint of the four hour race staying in close contention in the caution- plagued race. Farnbacher entered into an exciting nose-to-tail battle of the Top Three before handing the Italian exotic over to Muller in third-place at the one hour, 30-minute mark. Muller was able to work his way to second-place as pit stops cycled the lead group. Through the hard driving of the two Germans and the pit strategy of Technical Director Tony Dowe (Cumming, Ga.), the Bell Micro machine and the No. 62 Ferrari put a lap lead over the remainder of the 15- car GT2 field. The battle for the top spot became heated between the two Ferraris as they eventually made nose-to-bumper contact just short of the race's midpoint. The damage to the Tafel entry's nose was substantial but did not hamper its performance. Muller took advantage of traffic to overtake for the lead at the two hour, eight minute mark. The 2000 GT2 class champion held the top position for 20-minutes before fresher tires allowed the No. 62 back around. Muller continued to stalk and, with one hour and 14 minutes remaining, again took first place. Dowe called for the final pit stop, the team's third, with one hour and six minutes remaining. The stop again dropped the Cumming, Ga.-based team to second until the No. 62 had to make its final stop for fuel. Now back in the lead, Muller would not relinquish it. The Bell Micro Ferrari took the checkered flag 14th overall, over four seconds ahead of its fellow Ferrari. Tonight's win was the first for both Farnbacher and Muller at the Monterey Bay-area circuit. It was Muller's 12th career American Le Mans Series victory and Farnbacher's fourth.
No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC
Drivers: Alex Figge (Denver, Col.), Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.), Pierre Ehret (Santa Rosa, Calif./Germany)
Ehret made his third start in the No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC from 13th in the field. Within the first ten minutes the German had worked into the Top 10 before being forced to stop to fix the alignment of the driver-side mirror which had been struck by a competitor. The stop dropped the No. 73 to 12th and it would struggle to work back into the Top 10. One hour and 33 minutes into the race, the No. 73 made its second pit stop replacing Ehret with Figge. Figge had a strong run keeping the car in the Top Eight but one lap down to the class leaders. On stop three, the open wheel standout would relinquish the ride to San Jose- native Brix. After a lengthy stop to again work on the mirror, Brix took to the track in 11th. He would make a final stop with less than one hour remaining again dropping out of the Top 10. Brix would take his first checkered flag with Tafel Racing 11th in class, 26th overall. In nine starts, the No. 73 Tafel Ferrari earned seven Top Ten finishes taking its best result, fourth, at the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring.
Quotes
Tony Dowe, Technical Director: "The championship was over so we came here to win. That was what it was all about. I guess for the first year with the Ferrari it is not so bad. The guys did a terrific job all year. When you look around the paddock and you look at what we did, clearly everyone here is doing the right things. Fundamentally, we lost the championship at Sebring when we had the radiator problem. I think that was partly inexperience with the car. However, we won four races and that was more than any other team. That makes the loss in the championship more difficult to accept. We know what we have got to do for next year. Porsche will be putting a lot of effort into its GT2 program, the BMW and the Corvette will be arriving. It will get harder and we have a few things to do over the winter."
Jim Tafel, Owner: "What a great way to finish the season. We just went out there with the 71 and ran as flawless as possible. We made no mistakes in the pits, ran the proper strategy and we got the result we came here to get. We just kept pushing and that was what I saw from everyone on this team. I am so happy with everyone's effort. The effort of Bell Micro, East Coast Jewelry, Ulysse Nardin. It was absolutely fabulous."
Dominik Farnbacher, Driver, No. 71: "The race was good. My start was good. I didn't gain any positions but I also didn't lose any positions. My goal was to give Dirk a good car. I stayed out of trouble. We didn't have any incidents and I was second when I gave the car to Dirk. It was the fourth victory for us. It shows how well the team works together as one unit. I can't wait for doing five victories or more next year. I set my goal for this race to win. Last year we were second and now first. That is how I wished it for me. I am totally satisfied now."
Dirk Muller, Driver, No. 71: "Winning the last race is sweet. I would say we had one hand on the championship trophy all year. I am proud of our team. Dom did a great job. The team, the Michelin tires, the Ferrari, we had the right package to win the chase. We didn't get the luck but we showed everyone how strong we are. To be the only guys with four victories is very sweet." About his battle for the lead: "I was two and a half hours in the car. I can't count the number of yellows that I had during my stint. The biggest challenge was keeping the tires warm enough. I was behind the [number] 62 and he was making it very complicated for me. He was really defending. I found the way by and then he pitted under another yellow. He got fresh tires and he was able to out-brake me. Then later I was on fresher rubber and I was able to overtake him again and we were able to stay ahead. It was really great."
Farnbacher Loles
Farnbacher Loles Racing capped its rookie American Le Mans Series season with a GT2 podium finish -- following a record class pole position -- at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. As in previous years, the season finale on the 2.238-mile road course was slowed by numerous caution periods, especially during the opening stint, with more than half of the four-hour race run under caution. Despite the slow pace, the Farnbacher Loles crew overcame bad luck on the caution timing to score the class podium. But a loose spring put the team's No. 87 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR outside the required technical specification and the car was excluded from race results.
Dirk Werner of Kissenbruck, Germany, started from the GT2 pole. He was passed at the start of the race, but regained the class lead during his first driving stint. Bryce Miller of Summit, N.J., took over at the one-hour mark, returning to the track fifth in class. He pitted for a driver change just past the halfway point, but the car's distance from the fuel rig caused the hose coupling to lock and the team incurred a penalty for fueling while working on the car. Werner fought back from fifth in class, two laps behind the class leader, to finish just one lap down, in third place.
However, the post-race technical inspection found the car to be lower than the required ride height and it was excluded from race results. The car's right-front spring perch had loosened during the first hour of the race, collapsing the spring and dropping the right front of the car below the required ride height.
Quotes:
Bryce Miller: "It's a good result, a podium result, but there is a little bit of disappointment that I reserve because I know we had the winning car today and the best car on the track. Dirk drove great in his last stint, but we fell out of sequence early with the timing of the yellow flags and it put us down a lap with the rest of the field behind us. But I think the team is here to stay, to run at the top and compete for championships. It's certainly been exciting to have been a part of it."
Dirk Werner: "A podium for the last race of the season is good for the team. Although we had the fastest car today, we got a little bit unlucky with a few caution situations that put us a lap down. But I think we can be really happy because we were the best Porsche today and we showed good speed and good teamwork. I'm very happy that we could help Porsche to win the manufacturers' championship. That makes us proud and Porsche happy."
Flying Lizard
October 18, 2008 -- Monterey, Calif. -- Today's Monterey Sports Car Championships at Laguna Seca proved to be a four-hour race of frustration for the field, with most of the race run under caution (of which there were twelve!) The Flying Lizard No. 46 finished 5th in class, the No. 44 was 6th and the No. 45 finished 10th, because of a lengthy repair in the pits after the car was hit on course early in the race.
Although it was a disappointing race for the team, who had hoped for their eleventh consecutive podium of the season, they end their fifth season with the GT2 drivers' championship for Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler, the GT2 team championship, and a third-place in the GT2 drivers' championship for teammates Johannes van Overbeek and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 Porsche. In the No. 44 Porsche, Seth Neiman finished sixth in the drivers' championship and Darren Law was seventh.
The Lizards were also proud to help Porsche clinch the manufacturers' GT2 championship this year.
Team principal Seth Neiman reflected on the season, "It's days like today that make me so happy we secured the championships at Petit Le Mans. Hats off to all three cars, drivers and crews for continuing the fight and completing the rest of our objectives, including the Porsche manufacturers' championship. The team can take great satisfaction in this result in what has been as competitive season as one can imagine. Of course, now we have to start focusing soon on next year, which promises to be even tougher. But not until a well-deserved celebration tonight."
VICI
Monterey, Calif. - There was real heartbreak for VICI Racing this afternoon at a hot, dry and dusty Laguna Seca as the team's #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, following a stunning start to the four-hour Sports Car Championships of Monterey, was punted out after just 17 laps following an avoidable incident that was entirely the fault of the other competitor. It was a bitter pill to swallow following an extremely tough fortnight that has seen the Miami- based team racing against the ticking clock to build up a new car since the dramas of Petit Le Mans. Coupled with the arrival of a new tire supplier this week and with no time to test with the new tires, the team had shown off its fastest pace of the year, all this week, as it demonstrated the tough, professional streak that VICI Racing is widely known for. The three drivers of the #18 car, Marc Basseng, Nicky and Francesco Pastorelli have had to learn the track as none of the trio has ever driven here before.
However, it had all started very brightly this morning for the team, pleased with the pace shown during yesterday's practice and qualifying sessions, and everyone was looking forward to building on this improvement in the race. Today's (Saturday 18th October) action would see the warm up session (9:55 - 10:20 AM) taking place before the Monterey Sports Car Championships, the final round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series would get underway. The four-hour race into darkness would go green at 2:45 PM, with the checkered flag scheduled to be waved at 6:45 PM.
For the first time this week, fog and dark clouds shrouded the paddock as the teams prepared for the 25 minute warm-up session, though by the time the session went green at 9:55 AM most of the cover had lifted and the sun was starting to peek through. Technical Director Roland Wall called for a short 5-lap session to confirm race set-up, and Marc was entrusted with driving the #18 car. Three minutes into the session, on the 2.238-mile circuit at Monterey located a two-hour drive south of San Francisco, the #48 Zytek dumped oil on the course
on the way up the hill to turn 7 quickly bringing out the red flags. Once the session got underway again, at 10:04 AM, Marc posted a 1:25.166 (10:07 AM, 12 mins) on his first flying lap to temporarily top the timesheets; he followed this up with a 1:24.353 (14) and a 1:26.685 (15) before coming into the pits with 16 minutes of the session completed. Marc's best lap, 1:24.353 (95.513 mph) was good enough for 7th fastest in class, a highly promising start to the day's proceedings.
Laguna Seca, with its superb viewing positions for spectators, not to mention its famous 'Corkscrew' turn, is one of the most popular dates on the ALMS calendar and a huge crowd of fans descended 'en masse' into the paddock all day, spilling out onto the grid as the cars were positioned for the traditional line up. Following the pre-race festivities that included the playing of the national anthem, as well as a low flypast by aerobatic aircraft, the command to 'start your engines' was given at 2:38 PM, and exactly on time at 2:45 PM, the safety car peeled off into the pitlane, the green flag was waved with a flourish, and the four-hour race got underway.
Nicky, who superbly qualified the #18 car yesterday, was tasked with starting the car, and the former Official Test Driver with the Jordan and Midland F1 teams was in scintillating form as he passed no less than three rival GT2 cars on the opening lap to move up from his grid starting slot of ninth place to complete the opening lap (time 1:29.174) in a very impressive sixth place, which quickly became fifth place. However it was soon to go for Nicky, who was now posting impressive lap times, as the #45 Porsche, which was on the outside going into turn 3, touched the rear wheel of the #18 car at 3:20 PM (35 minutes of running) in what was an entirely avoidable incident. There was no opportunity to pass at this point and the incident was completely the fault of the other car. It ended our promising race abruptly. For the record #18 car in the hands of Nicky posted a best lap of 1:25.225 (94.54 mph) on lap 5 of the 17 laps that the red, white and grey car completed this afternoon.
Roland Wall, Technical Director VICI Racing: "I'm not pleased at all; a real promising week of work has been ended after just half an hour by some poor driving by another competitor. There was just no need for the driver to make this attempt to pass. It is a bad end to a race that was going so well. We had a great car, I was pleased with our new tires and we had the fastest pace all year. It's been a really tough end to this year, everyone has worked so hard and it's a shame we have so little to show for it in the last few races. However the team has risen to the new challenge of ALMS this year so well and I'm really proud of all our crew. We now have to go away and build on this year, do a lot of work and prepare to challenge in 2009."
Nicky Pastorelli (The Netherlands): "This was a disappointing end to a good week. I got a clean start and made up three places on the first lap. The car felt really good, tires were ok and it felt the best this year for sure. I was able to set good times and we were going well. I was on the entry line of turn 3 and Bergmeister was on the outside and then at one point he touched me on my rear wheel that made my tire come off so I spun and ended in the gravel and could not continue the race. I'm sorry for the whole team; they worked so hard to get us here and it was clear that we would be on for a good result."