After a solid qualifying effort that placed Team Falken’s new Porsche 911 RSR GT3 in second place, Falken Tire, well-regarded for its high performance tires, went on to finish sixth in the highly competitive GT2 class of the 2010 American Le Mans Series at Long Beach.
Porsche Works and Falken Team Driver Wolf Henzler qualified the Team Falken Porsche at 1:20.179, in 2nd place, after only a short amount of practice time based on modifying the chassis set-up and tire combination. The effort paid off and at the start of the race, Henzler led almost the entire first stint as he battled the Risi Ferrari. He entered the pits as in first position, when the yellow flag occurred at hour one. Regrettably, traffic in the pits caused the Porsche to drop to 7th position when second Team Falken Driver Bryan Sellers took over. Bryan later moved up one position, and began battling with the #90 BMW to no avail, eventually finishing the race in 6th position.
“Things were good all around,” added Henzler. “Street races are characteristically tight, and when you’re contending with multiple classes, it’s always difficult to initiate a pass. Our Porsche, however, is superb and getting even better, along with our Azenis RT slicks. The season will continue to heat up and I have great expectations.”
Strong crowds on Saturday saw an exciting ALMS race on the historic Long Beach track that resulted in a win for Patron Highcroft Racing’s Honda. Patrick Long, driving a similar Porsche 911 RSR GT3 for Flying Lizard Motorsports, took the win in the GT2 class. Team Falken was 6th in class and 14th overall. Long Beach race fans also visited Falken Tire’s marketing display, supported by its Falken Spokesmodels who signed autographs and gave away Falken “SWAG.”
“Being at Long Beach is very important to Falken as the crowds are always huge,” stated Andrew Hoit, Director of Marketing, Falken Tire. “ALMS is an excellent series and not only are we delighted to participate, but we are reaping the benefits of our aggressive marketing efforts surrounding this race program. For example, we have initiated a special QR Code on virtually all Falken advertising, including print ads, stickers and other promotional material. The code was on the hood of our Porsche all weekend and we’re anxious to see the results of this new strategy designed to drive traffic to Falken’s new mobile website m.falkentire.com.
Team Falken will continue to contest the GT2 class throughout the season and will next compete at ALMS race #3, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California on May 20-22.
To learn more about the 2010 Falken Tire American Le Mans Team visit wegetyougoing.com
