Farnbacher Loles Racing hopes to carry the momentum of a strong rookie season and maybe some home-track advantage to the penultimate race in the 2008 American Le Mans Series. After crossing the continent to race in three countries this season, the young team will travel only one mile from its headquarters in Braselton, Ga., to chase GT2 class honors in the 1000-mile / 10-hour Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta on Saturday.
The team's No. 87 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR will carry the distinctive Farnbacher Loles livery for the first time this season, flashing across the line in Porsche factory silver, red and black. Dirk Werner of Kissenbrück, Germany, will qualify the car on Friday, then alternate race stints on Saturday with Jörg Hardt of Bonn, Germany, and Bryce Miller of Summit, N.J.
"I hope we can keep the momentum from the last races," Werner said. "We showed good speed on all the tracks and since we've tested already in Atlanta, I'm sure speed won't be an issue. But for this race, speed is obviously not the only thing to have. For 10 hours, the drivers have to be consistent and stay out of trouble and the car has to be reliable, which the Porsche RSR has been for us all year.
"As there are so many cars on track, the traffic will be hard to handle, and that can exhaust the driver pretty easily. Keeping the concentration high will be the key thing. I´m really excited and can't wait to drive, especially because winning the Petit would mean a lot to the Atlanta-based team. I'm sure everybody on the team will do his best; we have great guys working on the car who are enthusiastic about racing, and I have great teammates."
Miller joined Werner in the team's first ALMS win, at Road America in August. He would be happy to take the second victory this week.
"I really enjoy Road Atlanta as a circuit, and the momentum and energy inside the team at the moment is very exciting. Everyone has a lot of belief coming off our win at Road America – that was a powerful statement for a debut ALMS effort," Miller said.
"I always enjoy driving with Dirk, and Jörg brings a good attitude and considerable pace, as well. This will be my third race in the ALMS, so to be exposed to such a professional outfit at this rate is quite a privilege and it pushes me to adapt quickly to the Porsche RSR – which is really a lot of fun to drive."
Hardt has raced with Farnbacher Racing in Europe, competing in the 2005 and 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup series. The Petit Le Mans will be his second race with the North American team, Farnbacher Loles Racing. He drove the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit for the first time during private testing last weekend.
"It's really crazy! The first part 'til turn 7 is just like in Germany, the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It goes uphill, downhill, you can't see the corners, it's very technical. I like it, of course!" he said.
"The RSR is a nice car to drive. I drive it in Europe, too. I like the speed, but you don't feel the speed in the car. It's not as aggressive as the Cup car – it's really soft to drive, but it's much faster and the G-force is much higher than in the Carrera Cup. The downforce, too. It's really more fun."
The Petit Le Mans is scheduled to start at 11:15 am on Saturday.
