Looking forward to seeing the Team Falken Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 RSR on course! The livery and black wheels make it a great looking car.
The American Le Mans Series is arguably the most technological advanced sports car series in the world. As the playing ground for new racing technology that ultimately demonstrates the skill and intensity of each manufacturer that chooses this series to compete and showcase its products, ALMS attracts companies that wish to participate in a high profile event, where performance and capability are the measurements. Endurance racing, for which ALMS is known, is the perfect testbed.
Falken Tires served notice less than one year ago that it intended to capture the dynamism found within ALMS and use it to help build a higher profile of the engineering advances and depth of the company’s performance tires.
The executives at Falken know how critical it is to do well in this highly competitive series, but also realized the need to move forward gradually. Nevertheless, within a short period of time, Falken had hired a number of individuals who had significant motorsports backgrounds, and chose a privately financed team to compete in selected 2008 ALMS races. The purpose, Falken officials noted, was primarily fact-finding and to determine the technology needed to produce a capable, durable, winning tire compound.
That effort led to Falkens investment last fall in the 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, and with the acquisition of this incredible race car, the company committed to a factory-funded effort that includes race veteran Rod Everett as team manager, and two young road racers Bryan Sellers and Dominic Cicero who both boast significant accomplishments behind the wheel. Painted in Falkens traditional teal and blue livery, the Porsche racked up many pre-season miles testing at Sebring and other tracks, as the team worked hard together to develop a powerful combination of crew/driver/car/tire. The 911 GT3 RSR is now partnered with the specially fabricated Falken Azenis RT Slick.
With strong support from senior Falken management, the program intended a limited racing engagement in 2009 en-route to a full season of ALMS competition in 2010. The result is the expanded Team Falken Tire, with a strong mission to win and build a racing laboratory for the company. Naturally, the team wont compete unless its meaningful and that is why the company chose to race in GT2, which is now the most competitive tier in ALMS four-class series. This is the arena where Porsches run against Ferrari 430 GTs, BMW M3s, Dodge Vipers, Panoz and Ford, and now, Corvettes, which moved from GT1 to the much stronger and highly populated field in GT2.
Based in Southern California, Team Falken Tire chose to make its debut at its home track what many consider to be one of the most visible races of the season the demanding street course of Long Beach. This was an important event for the companys expanded marketing program, as well as the debut of its new sponsor, Cleveland Golf, of Huntington Beach, CA. Cleveland Golf, a force on the PGA tour, embraces many of the same product development ideologies that Falken applies to its tire technology.
The Porsche qualified in eighth position by Sellers, and while the team started strong, shifting problems proved to be the race cars undoing and it was eventually retired. Despite finishing 20th, Team Manager Everett cited how well the drivers, the GT3 RSR and Azenis RT Slicks worked together. Long Beach had served its purpose as a learning experience and with further testing throughout this past spring and summer, coupled with continued tire development, Team Falken is now well prepared for its next assault, the grueling 1,000-mile, 10-hour marathon known as Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
ALMS has respectfully referred to Falkens motorsports program this year as dipping a toe in the water. For Team Falken, preparation for both Petit Le Mans and for next season has been a full-year commitment, as the team sets its goals on a championship run in 2010. The learning curve has been steep, but with sufficient resources, strong corporate support and the engineering prowess that Falken possesses, along with a meaningful partnership with Porsche, the results will come in time, said Andrew Hoit, Falken Director of Marketing, and Falken is banking on the fact that the successes it earns on the track against tough competition among car and tire manufacturers will help influence consumers to consider our products for the toughest arena, the streets and freeways of the world. Racing provides a dedicated purpose a testbed of sorts but for Falken, every roadway is the ultimate proving ground.
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