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24 Hours of Le Mans
Autocon's Lewis on Le Mans: We're Going
CALIFORNIA
(November 27, 2007) —Six teams from the American Le Mans Series already
have received invitations to the next running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
None may be as ecstatic at the prospect of running in the world's most
prestigious auto race as Mike Lewis' Autocon Motorsports.
"We will be making the trip to Le Mans," Lewis confirmed this week. The
California-based independent team finished second in the American Le Mans
Series' LMP1 championship and was granted an automatic berth. "It's the
pinnacle of sports car racing. What more can you say. For a guy who grew up
on racing, idolizing drivers and tracks, Le Mans is the ultimate cathedral
of speed. It's practically holy ground! I will cherish every moment of the
experience."
Audi Sport North America gained two invitations for winning Le Mans last
year and also the Series' P1 championship and Petit Le Mans. Penske Racing
earned a pair of invites for winning the LMP2 championship and the class win
at Petit. Corvette Racing (first at Petit Le Mans and second at Le Mans in
GT1), Risi Competizione (Series GT2 champion and second in class at Le Mans)
and Flying Lizard Motorsports (Petit Le Mans GT2 winner) also gained
automatic invitations.
Lewis has never been to Le Mans although Autocon teammates
Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman drove a Pilbeam with Jeff Bucknum in the
2003 race. The trio retired a little more than six hours into the race with
an engine failure. What the team enters at Le Mans - and in the American Le
Mans Series - remains up in the air.
"We may end up using a Creation chassis that is already compliant and leave
ours as is," Lewis said. "Or we may upgrade ours. It all comes down to
timing and economics.
"We do intend to run the majority of the American Le Mans Series schedule as
well," he added. "We will be testing this off-season with our first run on
December 10-11 on the West Coast, and probably one other run prior to
Sebring Winter Test (January 28-30)."
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24 Hours of Le Mans
Tafel Racing Accepts Invitation to
2008 24 Hours of Le Mans
Jim Tafel Team to Field No. 81
Ferrari F430 GTC for First Time at La Sarthe
News from Tafel Racing
CUMMING, Ga., (February 20,
2008) - Tafel Racing will contend
for the LM GT2 class honors this June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The
Automobile Club De L'Ouest (ACO), official sanctioning body of the world's
most famous sports car race, announced the Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.) owned
team has been honored as one of only 13 cars invited to participate in the
road-based LM GT2 class at the June 14-15 24 hour event. The second-year
American Le Mans Series team will be making its first appearance at Le Mans.
Team regulars Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) and 2007 FIA GT Series
GT2 class Champion Dirk Müller (a native of Germany now living in Monaco)
will share the Italian supercar with Sebring teammate and 2007 Australian GT
Champion Allan Simonsen (Danish-born living in Melbourne, Australia). Tony
Dowe (Cumming, Ga.) will oversee preparations for the No. 81 Tafel Racing
Ferrari F430 GTC. "You do not go to Le Mans if you don't expect to win and
we have planned accordingly,” confirmed Dowe. "The driver lineup and the
team, the way we are approaching the race; I expect to win. Of course, there
are twelve other teams that are working to make sure that we don't win this
race. With the teams that are in the GT2 field it is going to be an awesome
race. I am really pumped to be involved in it. This is going to be a
spectacular battle in each class whether you are looking at Audi versus
Peugeot or Ferrari versus Porsche. It is going to be an absolute
barnburner."
Due to the high standards of the ACO, to be selected to one of only 34
non-automatic slots is a distinct honor for the program. Tafel Racing, which
will race on Michelin tires, was up against some of the most heated
competition in the 76 year history of the event. 88 requests for invitation
were sent to the ACO since the first of the year. Of the 55 cars invited to
compete across the four Le Mans classes, 21 were automatically invited as a
result of event and/or championship success in ACO-ruled classes around the
world, such as the American Le Mans Series. Tafel Racing showed itself
strong with solid finishes throughout its rookie season in the
American-based ACO series finishing third in the GT2 Team Championship
behind teams with much longer pedigrees in the division.
Eight Ferrari F430 GTCs have been asked to compete on the 8.476 miles-long
Circuit De La Sarthe in Le Mans, France. The LM GT2 class is the second
largest trailing the 20 cars in the LM P1 prototype field. 12 cars comprise
the LM P2 class while 10 LM GT1 entries round out the field. Eight
additional "reserve" cars have been invited to attend the Le Mans "Test Day"
on June 1; three of which are LM GT2 class cars. Tafel Racing is one of four
American Le Mans Series teams that have been invited to race in its class.
Overall, nine American Le Mans Series teams, seven from the United States,
will participate in the historic event.
In his only 24 Hours of Le Mans start, Farnbacher drove a Porsche to second
in LM GT2 class in 2006. His car was leading in the 23rd hour before a
transmission problem dropped them out of first-place. The second-year Tafel
Racing driver has one 24 hour race win, the 2005 24 At Daytona. Müller will
also be making his second 24 Hour of Le Mans start this June. As a Porsche
factory driver, Müller raced to second in class at La Sarthe in 1999. He has
24 hour race victories at Nürburgring and Spa- Francorchamps, both in 2004.
Simonsen made his Le Mans debut last season finishing third in the LM GT2
class. The 2007 Australian GT Champion has additional 24 hour starts at Spa
('06) and Bathurst ('03). "I am floating pretty high right now,” said Tafel.
"You hear rumors that you are going to get in but when Tony [Dowe] came into
my office and gave me the invitation, it blew me away. To me this says that
there is no silver bullet that got Tafel Racing into Le Mans. I believe they
look at your image, your attitude, your competitiveness, your acceptance of
responsibility; everything that it takes to be a part of a world class
event. To receive an invitation we must have fit those criteria. Last year
we didn't get into the race but I wasn't upset. That gave us more time to
focus on getting there with a good year of ALMS GT2 behind us. This is the
cherry on the sundae. I am going through a full range of emotion."
Despite making its Le Mans premiere this season, Tafel Racing has taken the
green flag three times in 24 hour races at Daytona. The Cumming, Ga-based
operation finished third in the Team Championship in their inaugural
American Le Mans Series campaign in 2007. They scored a podium finish at the
2007 season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring, their first American Le Mans Series
race, and two consecutive second place finishes to close the season at the
Petit Le Mans and Monterey Sports Car Championships.
Tafel Racing will compete in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the American Le Mans
Series season-opener, on March 15. They will follow that with Series starts
at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) on April 5, the Grand Prix of
Long Beach on April 19 and then one week later at the Lonestar Grand Prix of
Houston (April 26). The final GT2 race prior to departing for the 24 Hours
of Le Mans will be the May 18 event in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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