FONTANA, CA – Coming off a herculean effort at Miller Motorsports Park just 10 days ago, Falken Tire, a leader in high performance technology, will race for the first time this weekend at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT in the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. The manufacturer-supported team suffered a devastating fire to the rear of its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR during Friday practice at Miller, but was able to rebuild the car overnight and finish 9th in GT class, due to both the strong results of its crew and Porsche works and Falken team driver Wolf Henzler, and his partner, team driver Bryan Sellers.
At Lime Rock, the Porsche will compete on specially prepared Falken AZENIS RT slicks and race on the scenic 1.5-mile, 10-turn circuit in the two-hour, 45-minute American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron event on Saturday, July 24.
"We're hoping Round 5 will be more successful for us than the last round," admitted Rod Everett, Falken team manager. "However, I was never more proud of a crew than I was at Miller Motorsports Park. After we suffered the fire, the team simply went back to work and rebuilt this amazing Porsche 911 in time to shake it down the morning of the race. As I've said all along, we are consistent and remain extremely competitive during both qualifying and in the race itself, so it is just a matter of time before we hit the right combination. We've been testing different tire compounds, and I know we'll be ready for Lime Rock."
"Falken Tire has a strong presence in the Northeast, and it's important to our company to be in this part of the country, waving our corporate colors," stated Andrew Hoit, Director of Marketing, Falken Tire. "We are looking forward to a great weekend, enjoying the hospitality of a wonderful track and moving up the results ladder."
Lime Rock Park also will see the Falken Spokesmodels in the paddock who will handle giveaways of Falken-branded items and sign posters. The race will be televised live on Speed Channel on July 24, starting at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Falken Tire Corporation, based in Fontana, California, was introduced to the North American market in 1985. Falken focuses 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 revised website at www.falkentire.com, as well as its new enthusiast site at www.wegetyougoing.com.
