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TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2008 |
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NIELSEN TAKES BACK TO BACK PODIUMS AT LE MANS
WITH FERRARI 430 GT2 |
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Lars
Erik Nielsen
propelled himself onto the podium at this years Le Mans 24 Hour
yesterday, for the third year in a row, in what was seen as his
toughest challenge yet, having swapped from Porsche to Ferrari for
the world's greatest car race.
Team mates Pierre Ehret (D) and Pierre Kaffer (D), who shared the
driving duties equally, also put in sensational performances, to
bring the their German run Farnbacher Racing Ferrari 430 GT2 back
up through the field after earlier setbacks cost them significant
time in the pits.
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Early in the race, the team had to pit to repair
the drivers side mirror. It was quickly evaluated that replacing the
door was the fastest solution.
As luck would have it (or not for others), the Krohn Ferarri 430 had
retired early and made the door available to the team. Despite the
door being green, upsetting the beautiful livery of the car, it did
the trick. However, in the 21st hour, Ehret was hit by a green
prototype in the same door, creating a large hole forcing them to
pit, whilst running 4th, to refit the old door.
Four laps were lost in the process.
Whilst the team had a 12 lap buffer to the car behind, they were
more importantly catching the 3rd place Virgo Motorsport Ferrari of
Rob Bell, Tim Mullen and Tim Sugden That delay impacted heavily on
their ability to bridge the gap.
It would end up not mattering, with the Virgo Ferrari's engine
expiring in the 22nd hour, allowing Nielsen and company to inherit
3rd place.
During the night, track debris caused a problem with the rear
undertray, once again forcing hasty repairs.
The Farnbacher crew, working like lightning, repaired the car
returning to the track in 5th place, with light rain falling. |
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The team was esctatic with the 3rd place
podium result.
Lars Erik: "Having only previosuly been here in a Porsche I was a
touch apprehensive about the Ferrari. I certainly knew the car was
up for the task but I had spent relatively little time in it (compared
to the Porsche). It was so good to drive though and I must say a
big thank you to Formula Automotive, the Danish Ferrari importer,
for the opportunity afforded me to drive one of their Challenge
cars in the domestic championship, before Le Mans. That gave me
enough seat time to feel comfortable. In fact I even had a chance
to race again the weekend before Le Mans but felt that the
schedule was too tight and my focus could be diluted."
"I will not come to the greatest race in the world unless I am
fully competitive and once again we have all proved that we can
deliver. It's a very satifying result.
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Pierre Ehret: "Well I have driven the Franbacher
Ferrari all year in the Le Mans Series with Kaffer and its a very
good piece of equipment.
"Yes, we had a few problems today and I think that is to be expected
but we all worked well as a team and Lars and Pierre fully delivered
the goods.
"The conditions were really tricky out there, especially early in
the morning with the rain and then again just after lunch. It
certainly is a sweet victory.
Pierre Kaffer: "To come here in only my second attempt and take home
the podium in 3rd is cool. The car was absolutely perfect and my
team mates drove very well.
"I feel I learnt a lot from them this week and how you never give up
in a race this long no matter what kind of setback you might have.
"Now I look forward to the next round of the Le Mans Series at
Nürburgring. This is the Farnbacher Racing teams local track and as
I German I have been there many times. and want to do well. I feel
really good today for everyone and for Ferrari." |
A huge thank you must go to all our sponsors –
Formula Automotive, One & Only Resorts, Maurice Lacroix, Louisa's
Place, Ehret Family Winery, SPark HOTLAP, Lindebjerg Car Parts,
Flamingo Resort, The Maldives, Hoffman Infocom AG, Pk Event and
Auto Motor und Sport.
An extra special thanks to everyone at Farnbacher Racing for
without them we would not have enjoyed the success.
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Ehret once again showed be can match the
pro drivers pace |
Ex-Audi works driver Kaffer put in a
stellar performance |
A dedicated
Le Mans website is available at
2008lemans24hour.com and more content will be
added during the week after the race.
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Just when
the #90 door thought it could relax it was sent back into the race.
So who is going to take the green door back to its owner? |
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2008 LE MANS 24 HOURS - FINAL GT2 RESULTS |
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POSITION |
TEAM | DRIVERS |
RACE CAR |
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1 |
Risi Competitione| J Melo / M Salo / G Bruni |
Ferrari 430 GT2 |
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2 |
BMS Scuderia Italia | M Malucelli / P Ruperti / F Bambini |
Ferrari 430 GT2 |
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3 |
FARNBACHER RACING | L E NEILSEN/ P KAFFER / P EHRET |
Ferrari 430 GT2 |
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a dedicated
Le Mans website is available at
2008lemans24hour.com
and more content will be
added during the week after the race |
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