Farnbacher Loles Racing set the fastest GT race lap en route to a
top-five finish during the Rolex 24 At Daytona, after leading the class
through most of the 24-hour endurance race. The No. 86 Porsche 911 GT3
Cup car topped the team cars, finishing fifth with drivers Dominik
Farnbacher, Eric Lux, Matthew Marsh and Kevin Roush. Farnbacher drove the
fast lap -- one minute 50.241 seconds on the 3.56-mile Daytona
International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Fla. Roush
was the GT leader when he lost traction during the 19th hour of the race.
He was towed back to the garage, where the crew quickly replaced the
car's driveshaft, but still lost five class positions and 10
laps.
The No. 88 Porsche drivers also had a strong weekend, finishing seventh
in class, just ahead of the No. 87 in eighth. Steve Johnson, Dave Lacey,
Robert Nearn, James Sofronas and Richard Westbrook were behind the wheel
of the 88. Wolf Henzler, Leh Keen, Dirk Werner and Westbrook shared
driving duty in the No. 87.
The No. 89 Farnbacher Loles European car, driven by Pierre Kaffer,
Giacomo Petrobelli, Gabrio Rosa, Giorgio Rosa and Alan Simonsen, finished
15th in class. The No. 85 Children's Tumor Foundation Porsche finished
16th for Richard Campollo, Michael Gomez, Daniel Graeff, Henzler and Ron
Yarab, despite a non-functioning clutch and other mechanical issues.
Daniel Graeff, No. 85: "It's the most unbelievable challenge I've ever
experienced -- emotionally, physically and mentally. I love it! We
brought the car home, but we left a little bit on the table this year.
I'm headed back here next year and we're going to get it as a team."
Matthew Marsh, No. 86: "To finish a 24-hour race is brilliant. Only 50
per cent of the field finished here this weekend and we were the class of
the field. We got the fastest lap, we led most of the way, we had the
best-looking car, with the nicest drivers, the most fun mechanics, just
everything was brilliant. For most of us, the doing is more important
than the result. And the doing was special. It's not the watch --
I've already got a Rolex -- it's the driving that's important."
Wolf Henzler, No. 87: "Our car was running good and everything worked
very well until we got a problem in the rear of the car. We had to bring
it back to the garage and we lost 20 laps. We couldn't win any more, so
we just tried to get some positions and get some points for the season.
Our car was running great -- there are some parts missing, but the
car still had good handling. Thanks to Farnbacher Loles and everybody. We
didn't get the result we wanted, but we finished and we scored some
points."
Steve Johnson, No. 88: "It was a great run -- seventh GT and 15th
overall. I don't think we could have asked for much more than that. We
were, however, one broken steering wheel away from fifth. I've never seen
anything like that, but I'm glad to know I could drive [the car back to
the pits] by those little prongs. It was a great effort by Farnbacher
Loles and all the guys on the team. I'm just really proud of this finish
and I can't wait to come back and do it again."
Giacomo Petrobelli, No. 89: "I'm happy to have finished this year. The
car was fast and we were running well, but unfortunately, we had two
mechanical issues -- one initially with the clutch and then with the
driveshaft -- which made us lose something like 70 laps. If you look
at where we ended up, 73 laps behind the GT leaders, we could have been
on the podium if we didn't have issues. But that's 24-hour racing."
-credit: flr
