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Race report
On the shoulders of Team Falken Tire’s second-consecutive Petit Le Mans victory,
The German marque added to its cadre of endurance accolades by earning the hard-fought Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Championship Manufacturer Trophy as well. Following victories in the first two endurance races of the season at the Daytona 24 Hours and the Twelve Hours of Sebring,
The race victory and championships were a fitting tribute to longtime
For the second-consecutive season, Team Falken Tire overcame the odds to win top GT class honors at the Petit Le Mans. The full-season driver pairing of Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Bryan Sellers (USA) were joined by German Marco Holzer for the finale of the inaugural season of the TUDOR Championship. Team Falken Tire, the only customer-run
The pole-position winning No. 911
Wolf Henzler (#17): “It was a great day for Team Falken Tire. The tires just worked awesome today. We came here and tested twice and I think it really paid off. We found a good combination with the Falken tires and the
Marco Holzer (#17): “I knew I was following some big footsteps because the team won here last year. It is just unbelievable that we won here again this year. The team won the last ALMS race here and now the first Tudor Championship Petit Le Mans.”
Patrick Long (#912): “The race started off eventful. My first two stints were probably the craziest I’ve had in pit lane. We maintained track position and pushed forward into the second half of the race. The balance of the car was spot on all day.”
Michael Christensen (#912): “It was a good race. Nobody made contact and the car was perfect in the last two hours, which is what we needed.
Earl Bamber (#912): “This has been absolutely amazing. I never expected to be on the podium at my first Petit Le Mans and my first time with the factory team. I have to thank my teammates Michael and Patrick. They did an excellent job. It made it easy for me to join the team and integrate. The car was awesome to drive. I didn’t want to get out.“
Patrick Pilet (#911): “After the pit lane incident we had many issues on the car. The balance was completely different. At the beginning it looked like we were one of the strongest cars. In the end, the most important thing is that we won the manufacturers’ championship. It’s a great result for the team.”
Nick Tandy (#911): “After the car got damaged it was really difficult to drive. We got back into a good position and into the lead of the race even. We made the decision to try and fix the car for the long run, but never got the lap back. The last few hours were probably the toughest driving I’ve done all year.”
Jörg Bergmeister (#911): “We had a good car and good pace, but the performance of the car went down after the pit lane contact and it took quite a while to make repairs. In the end, for the No. 911 it wasn’t meant to be.“
The eight
Race results
GTLM class
1. Henzler/Sellers/Holzer (D/USA/D),
2. Christensen/Long/Bamber (DK/USA/NZ),
3. Goosens/Wittmer/Hunter-Reay (B/CAN/USA), Dodge SRT Viper, 391
4. Gavin/Milner/Briscoe (GB/USA/AUS), Chevrolet Corvette, 391
5. Bergmeister/Tandy/Pilet (D/GB/F),
6. Bomarito/Farnbacher/Bell (USA/D/GB), Dodge SRT Viper, 389
GTD class
1. Haase/Miller/Bell (D/USA/GB), Audi R8 LMS, 376 laps
2. Snow/Heylen (USA/USA),
3. Lally/Potter/Seefried (USA/USA/D),
4. Cameron/Palttala/Dalla Lana (USA/SF/CAN), BMW Z4, 376
5. James/Farnbacher/Riberas (USA/D/E),
6. Rugolo/Griffith/Lathouras /I/IRL/xx), Ferrari 458 Italia, 375
The first race of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship 2015 will be the Daytona 24 Hours on January 24/25.
All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.