American Le Mans Series

Farnbacher Loles ALMS UTAH Qualifying report

In 2008, at the Utah round of the American Le Mans Series, Wolf Henzler qualified on the pole with a new track record. He also won the race. This year, he is in a new car with a new co-driver, but he is just as determined.

In Saturday’s qualifying session for the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix, Henzler held p2 with a 1:47.319 on his second lap, only .199 behind the leader. But 17 minutes into the session, the #87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was edged out by .054 by the Ferrari of Jaime Melo, to push Henzler and co-driver Marc Lieb back to the third spot on the grid.

“Wolf put in a good effort as always, even in spite of battling a fever today,” said team principal Gregory Loles. “We are not too concerned with the qualifying position though, because we would rather be in front at the end of the race. Passing isn’t a problem here and both Wolf and Marc are sensational drivers. We¹ll give them a good car and let them do the rest.”

Henzler of Nürtingen, Germany is joined by fellow Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb of Ludwigsburg, Germany for this round. Lieb is filling in for Henzler’s regular teammate, Dirk Werner. The race is scheduled for 2.75-hours on the 4.5 mile road course.

Also racing this weekend is the PATRÓN GT3 Challenge by Yokohama series. Darrell Carlisle of McLean, VA is piloting the #40 Porsche GT3 Cup and qualified eighth for the first of two series races this weekend with a 1:57.699. In the 2008 UTAH first race, Carlisle started in ninth and finished fourth, so expectations are high for this year.

Sunday’s American Le Mans Series race start at 2:15pm (MDT) with a same day tape delay on SpeedTV.