FALKEN TIRE ALMS TEAM TAKES FIFTH IN CLASS FOLLOWING DRAMATIC FINISH AT LIME ROCK

13 Jul, 2011

Earning the final podium spot in the hotly contested GT Class of the American LeMans Series race at Lime Rock Park seemed easily within grasp, but an unfortunate 90-second penalty assessed by ALMS IMSA officials on the last lap caused Team Falken’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, piloted by Porsche Works and team driver Wolf Henzler, and his partner, team driver Bryan Sellers, to wind up 5th out of 15 GT entrants. The car had run strong all afternoon on the historic road course.

“While Indy Cars don’t race at Lime Rock, I’m certainly familiar with this prestigious race track, and combined with our experienced drivers and crew, we were well-prepared,” declared Falken Team Manager Derrick Walker. “This is a very disappointing finish, but I know we are definitely moving in the right direction.”

Running on specially prepared Falken AZENIS RT Slicks, Sellers qualified the Falken factory Porsche 9th in GT with just two hours of practice owing to the considerable rainfall the area endured, and the team was unhappy with the position. However, once the race started, Sellers immediately advanced over several class entrants, moving the Porsche up the leader board. His strong performance, combined with competitor mistakes, moved Team Falken to P5 before the first pit stop. Both drivers spent a good portion of their stints negotiating traffic on the short, 1.5-mile track, whose narrow width created heavy congestion throughout the two-hour and 45-minute event.

Nevertheless, “lightning fast pit work got Wolf out and into fourth,” stated Kevin Jones, supervisor of Team Falken’s ALMS effort. “Henzler and Seller's performance and great race strategy by Derrick put Team Falken as high as second behind the race-winning BMW.”

Unfortunately, P2 was not to be, as a fuel pressure problem plagued the team during the final 45 minutes. “Wolf managed to keep the Team Falken Porsche in third until the final lap of the race when the team was assessed a 90-second penalty for ‘avoidable contact’ during a position battle, causing the Porsche to finish in 5th,” Jones added.

“Clearly, this was an important finish for us,” said Nick Fousekis, Falken’s Director of Motorsports Marketing and Events. “During the 11 weeks we were off due to the 24 Hours of LeMans break, Falken Tire engineers and Walker Racing worked diligently, conducted private tests and on Saturday, we demonstrated at Lime Rock that both our team and tires are on the right path. Receiving the events "Hardest Charger Award" is an honor and thank the series for the recognition. It’s just unfortunate that the penalty sets us back, but we’ll learn from it and move across the border and on to Mosport.”
To learn more about the American Le Mans Team, Visit www.wegetyougoing.com

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