Daytona 24: Farnbacher Loles preview

Farnbacher Loles heads to Daytona Rolex 24 with 4-car effort

After reaching the Rolex 24 at Daytona podium for two consecutive years, including winning the GT Class in 2005, Farnbacher Loles Racing showed up at the 2007 Daytona January test days with an impressive four-car GT Class effort. Featuring a dramatic new paint scheme and new team sponsor RECARO on its Porsche 997 GT3 Cups, the team was quick in every session. On Saturday, team driver Dirk Werner set the weekend's fastest time.

Werner, who finished in third place with the team at the 2006 Rolex 24, will be joined in the #85 Shoes For Crews/Flamingo Resort/RECARO Porsche 997 GT3 Cup by 2005 Rolex 24 GT Class Champion Pierre Ehret, Rolex GT series ace Leh Keen and German Carrera Cup star Jorg Hardt.

The #86 Bowman Racing/Bell Micro Porsche 997 GT3 Cup will be piloted by four talented sportscar racers: Californian's Larry Bowman and Don Bell, Massachusetts resident Lance Willsey and 2005 Rolex 24 GT Class Champion Shawn Price from California. Their 997 is sponsored by Bowman Racing, Bell Micro, Falko Partners, Savvion, and PopCap Games.

Driving the #87 RECARO Porsche 997 GT3 Cup are New Jersey natives Christian Zugel and John Burke, both with a long history of sportscar racing excellence. Joining them are two successful young guns with extensive endurance racing experience: Florida's Gunnar Jeannette and Ryan Eversley from Winder, GA.

The #88 Baysaver/Marquis Jet/Quicken Loans Porsche 997 GT3 Cup will be driven by 2005 Rolex GT Series Champion and sportscar star Craig Stanton. Joining Stanton is regular podium finisher and race-winning New Jersey native Bryce Miller, making his Rolex Series debut at Daytona. Coming from success in Formula 3000 and the A1GP series is 19 year-old Jan Charouz of the Czech Republic. Two Porsche racing podium winners, Georgia's Justin Jackson and Maryland's Tom Pank round out the five-man effort.

The 88 Porsche carries more than the drivers though. The team is joining up with The Children's Tumor Foundation in a unique effort entitled "Racing4Research." Through this high-profile program, corporate and private sponsors have been pledging donations per lap for the Rolex 24. Farnbacher Loles will be providing year-long support to the Manhattan-based non-profit which focuses its efforts on funding much-needed research to cure Neurofibromatosis. To learn more, go to: "Racing4Research.org"

Farnbacher Loles Racing has committed to run at least two GT Class Porsche 997 GT3 Cups for the entire 2007 Rolex GT Series. The team will soon announce its driver line-up and team sponsors.

Having experienced the intense competition of the Rolex sports car series, the team made the decision to commit to the entire season with a first class effort. Said Gregory Loles, "For us, this is a logical next step. Over the past two years, we have achieved significant success as we continue to expand our racing programs. The Rolex series will give us an opportunity to compete for a championship on North America's best tracks against the best teams. Our driver line-up will feature our top team drivers along with some extremely talented pros. We are also pleased to have corporate partners who will be able to gain significant exposure and marketing value from team sponsorship. The team will be run under the guidance and technical direction of Horst Farnbacher, whose accomplishments on both sides of the Atlantic are well know.

Horst Farnbacher is optimistic about 2007. "The Rolex series is very competitive and very professional. After our back-to-back Daytona performances, we are looking forward to running the entire series and going for the championship. With the team we have put together, we feel very confident in our ability to challenge for the series title."

In past years, the GT cars have run with the DP cars. In a significant change for 2007, six of the 13 nationally televised GT Class races will be run alone. The races vary in length from 2.5 to 24 hours with drivers ranging from 2-4 individuals. The team has already begun preparations for the season opener January 27-28 at Daytona.

-credit: flr