The 2010 race season is rapidly approaching and now is the time when we start to find out what some of our favorite teams are doing this year. I just got word from Falken Tire that they’ve bought a brand new 2010 Porsche GT3 RSR as their new track weapon as well as two Porsche Works drivers (Wolf Henzler and Patrick Pilet) to wield it. The two new guys will join returning driver Bryan Sellers to take on the GT field at the ALMS races this year. I can’t wait to see how the team does at Sebring this year! Stay tuned for more updates.
Press Release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TEAM FALKEN TIRE PREPARES FOR DEBUT ASSAULT WITH NEW PORSCHE AND TEAM DRIVER FOR SEBRING IN GT2 CLASS
FONTANA, CA (Mar. 3, 2010) - Porsche Works Driver’s Wolf Henzler, Patrick Pilet and returning driver Bryan Sellers will lead the Team Falken Tire’s expanded race program, debuting the tire company’s brand new 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the American Le Mans Series GT2 class at Sebring.
This will be the third year for Team Falken in ALMS, and its most aggressive program to date. “We’re using the ALMS to compete against our competitors as well as utilize the highly organized race program as a formal testing ground for continued tire development,” said Mark Richter, Falken Senior Manager of Dealer Marketing. “As we compete throughout the season, we will build upon race and test data learned from our efforts with last year’s Porsche.”
“As we plan for Sebring, it’s great to have Wolf on our team, as well as have Bryan return, along with Rod Everett, our veteran team manager, who has overseen the development of Falken’s new race car, the only Porsche 911 GT3 RSR earmarked for racing delivered to North America this season,” said Falken’s Director of Marketing Andrew Hoit. “We remain convinced that ALMS is the perfect venue to profile Falken’s brand and demonstrate the company’s capabilities to our customers, retailers and media, and that’s why we have made the significant commitment to motorsports.”
The new GT3 RSR was hand-built in Porsche’s Weissach, Germany, Motorsports facility, and then air- freighted on a 747 cargo plane to LAX, close to Falken’s Corporate offices in Fontana. The car is the latest generation water-cooled 4.0-Liter Porsche Flat six boxer engine.
Henzler, a veteran of many ALMS races, and one of only eight Porsche factory drivers, along with Sellers, who drove Falken’s entry in 2009, have tested the new car prior to its debut next week at Sebring.
“We showed steady improvement throughout last year, and anticipate even stronger results in 2010,” Richter added. ”I’m confident Falken, our drivers and our car are ready for the challenge.” - 30 -
Falken Tire Corporation, based in Fontana, California, was introduced to the North American market in 1985. Falken focus on UHP (Ultra High Performance) products and utilizes pro drifting and American LeMans race programs to further develop, improve and market passenger vehicle products for worldwide distribution. For more information, visit Falken Tire’s new website at www.falkentire.com.
The subject of today’s “SPOTTED” is a Mazda but not just any Mazda, this is hands down one of the prettiest Mazdas I’ve ever laid my eyes upon! What you see on your computer screen just above this text is the Dyson Racing Lola B09/86 Mazda MZR-R. This closed-cockpit LMP2 class racer is easily one of the most striking cars you’ll see on track at any American LeMans Series weekend. It makes full use of title sponsor BP Fuel’s color scheme without being cheesy, its body lines are immaculate, and its Mazda MZR-R four-cylinder turbo charged engine is like Zeus’ trumpet! If you ever go to an ALMS series race this year do yourself a favor and stop by the Dyson Racing paddock. I got to hang out with them during the Long Beach Grand Prix back in April while the team was practicing their driver swap procedure. Check it out below.
Some might have told you that the big ticket for the second day of the Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach was the Toyota Pro Celebrity Race (AKA Scion pinball) but the real action was the American LeMans race. Four different classes of race cars lined up on the streets of Long Beach and it was my chance to see cars like the Mazda Lola Coupe, Falken Porsche RSR, and the Rahal Letterman Racing BMW M3’s up close and personal.
The race was absolutely nuts. There was everything from controversial penalties to a Corvette spontaneously combusting! Don’t worry about that last part though the driver (Boris Said) got out ok.
In the P2 class the Mazdas was taking it to the Acuras and were leading the class for a good portion of the race. This was a pretty impressive feat for Mazda considering that their Lola B09 coupe is so new that the paint is still drying. Although, despite an impressive run the Fernandez Racing P2 Acura was able to take the lead away from Mazda in pit lane. However Mazda was still able to keep the Acura’s in their sights and earned second and third on the podium.
The story in P1 was the battle between Gil De Ferran’s Acura team and the Tequila Patron Highcroft Acura’s. The Tequila Patron team is used to being on top but legendary Honda/Acura driver Gil De Ferrran wasn’t having it. Gil has raced on the streets of Long Beach many times in his legendary career but never managed to win. He was a runner up many times but couldn’t quite get his feet on the top spot of the podium…until this weekend. He and teammate Simon Pagenaud were able to hold off Scott Sharp and David Brabham to take the win. A controversial pit lane call against the Highcroft team didn’t hurt Gil’s efforts either. More on that below.
In the GT2 Class things got hot…literally. Things were going fine until one #28 Riley Corvette driven by Boris Said suddenly burst into flames. Boris must have saw it coming because during the replay you could see that he already had the door open and was ripping himself out of his harness before the car even came to a complete stop. Luckily Boris was ok and suffered only minor injuries.
The American Le Mans race is in my opinion the best part of the weekend short of the main event. If you didn’t make it out to Long Beach this year I highly suggest that you start planning for next year. I guarantee you’ll have a blast.
Now check out SPEED’s recap of the race and after that a few pictures taken by yours truly.
Check it out over the last week Falken’s website pulled an optimus prime and totally transformed. There is way more info about their motorsports and now they have a “Pro-Fit” application system that helps you find the perfect fitment for your setup. Check it out: falkentire.com
Press Release:
Falken Tire Launches New 2009 Consumer Website
Fontana, CA, April 10, 2009 - Falken Tire announces the release of their redesigned North American website encompassing a content driven interface with ease of navigation, and improved load times. Keeping with their corporate colors, the new website will comprise of blues, reds, and whites with teal motifs that spawn from Falken Tire’s motorsport program. Complete emphasis was placed on a thorough user experience through current events, visuals, and multimedia.
Returning, is the Pro-Fit guide, that allow visitors the unique opportunity to locate direct and upsized wheel and tire fitments for their vehicles, through Falken’s vast product offerings. Included is an improved Motorsports section, comprised of Falken’s inhouse efforts in the American Le Mans Series and the Formula Drift series. It will allow users to get to know their favorite drivers and spokesmodels through event photography, streaming videos, and personal biographies.
In all, visitors will find a broad website derived from Falken’s ever expansive product lines and indepth marketing efforts throughout North America. “Our goal was to enhance the web experience of our fans and customers through visuals and content that is current, informative, and entertaining.” Andrew Hoit, Director of Marketing, Falken Tire.
It was recently announced that Rays Engineering will be the official wheel provider for Rahal Letterman Racing’s (RLR) BMW American LeMans Series effort next year! RLR’s ALMS BMW M3 will sport RAYS wheels at each stop in the series starting with the debut of the new team at the 12 Hours of Sebring next March.
The fact that RLR going with RAYS for their wheel providers when they could have just as easily followed the pack and went with a German wheel manufacturer could possibly show some of the Euro guys that occasionally going JDM isn’t so bad after all.
Check out the press release:
RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING ANNOUNCES TECHNICAL PARTNERSHIP WITH RAYS WHEELS FOR NEW BMW AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES PROGRAM TO DEBUT IN 2009
HILLIARD, Ohio (October 22, 2008) - As Rahal Letterman Racing continues to prepare for its first year with its new BMW GT2 program in the American Le Mans Series, it today announces that it has partnered with RAYS Wheels in a technical agreement that will see the high-end wheels used on the new BMW M3 next season.”We are proud to become technical partners with Rahal Letterman Racing and BMW North America,” said RAYS Overseas Marketing Director for RAYS, KJ-Yamaguchi. “We pride ourselves with providing the best performing wheels on the highest of motorsport stages and the Rahal Letterman team provides the perfect match to our first entry into ALMS.”
The new BMW M3, with RAYS Wheels, is set to make its 2009 racing debut in the American Le Mans Series’ season kickoff event - the historic Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring - to be held March 18-21.
“When entering the top level of production car racing it is key to deploy a top level approach,” said BMW North America Motorsports Manager Martin Birkmann. “This holds true for the people involved but also for the competencies of the technical partners that make significant contributions to the success of the program. Rays is a great partner and its wheels represent the top echelon of race and performance car engineering.
“When undertaking a new project such as this, you want to align yourself with people that can perfect your program, and our partnership with RAYS Wheels will do that,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal. “RAYS and BMW both hold themselves to high standards and use all their resources to provide efficient, lightweight products that not only hold up to the rigorous competitive demands of the race track, but are eye-catching and draw attention from everyone that experiences them.”
Rays Co. Ltd, established in 1973, is a world-class manufacturer of high end forged and cast wheels for both high-level OEM and aftermarket. Most known for their patented mold forging technologies, RAYS has continually strived to bring meaningful wheel products that not only improve on the appearance of the vehicle, but provide an improved driving experience and safety through the highest technology. The application of the highest technology enables RAYS to offer wheels that have the most effective blend of lightness, durability, rigidity and safety. Their wheels are manufactured and tested 100% in house and verified on the racetrack. RAYS participates in the highest level of motorsport, which includes F1, ALMS, Lemans, Super GT, WTCC, BTCC, Touring car, and more.
What: Meet Mazda/BP racers Ben Devlin & Gerardo Bonilla. Learn about Bio-Butanol
Cars: BP Bio-Butanol fueled MAZDA6 pace car, BP liveried ALMS show car
Where: BP Helios House — The Southeast corner of Olympic & Robertson, Los Angeles. This building is AMAZING, and worth a visit for anyone who appreciates modern design and design for sustainability.
When: Tuesday, October 14th 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Why: Nice people, cool cars, and the traffic on your way home can wait (at least for those who work in LA).
Hosts: MAZDASPEED Motorsports & BP
Note: Parking in the neighborhood is very limited. We encourage carpooling.
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