The Heart of Racing drivers Ian James (Phoenix), Mario Farnbacher (Germany) and Alex Riberas (Spain) are ready for 10-hours of racing in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season finale Petit Le Mans to run at Road Atlanta tomorrow.
Farnbacher took the No. 23 Heart of Racing Porsche onto the 2.5-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta circuit for qualifying under rainy conditions. As he began to get the blue Porsche up to speed, he noticed a slight brake issue and was immediately called to pit lane by the Alex Job Racing crew. Wanting to play it safe, the team took the car to the garage to get it prepared for 10-hours tomorrow. A lap time of 1:44.320 has them going away from the grid for the 11 a.m. start from the fifth row. The team is just 14 points out of the overall GTD points lead and looking forward to racing for a possible championship tomorrow.
“Road Atlanta is difficult in the dry,” Farnbacher said. “Add in the rain and that makes it even trickier. The Esses are tempting and some rivers tend run through that area. It is high risk to try and push the car through that section. The last turn can also be interesting the rain. It is a difficult situation for a driver, one small mistake, you get on the grass and your race is over. aFor the championship, I would rather race this GTD field in the rain. In qualifying, we still had a small brake issue and we did not want to risk anything with a 10-hour race tomorrow.”
Riberas knows the team will need a steady run tomorrow.
“Mario wasn’t able to get as good a result in qualifying as we hoped,” Riberas said. “I have done a few laps, but I am very familiar with the Porsche in the rain so I am ready. For the championship, having some rain is exactly what we wanted. We are going to go out, stay out of trouble and keep the car between the white lines for 10 hours. If we can do that, we definitely have the chance to win.”
James likes the rear-engine Porsche in the rain.
“We had an issue in this morning’s practice with the brakes that cut into my laps, but the team will get on top of that issue,” James said. “The Heart of Racing Porsche is good in the rain. Different cars in the field have different strengths. The Porsche is nice to drive in the rain. I am looking forward to the race.”
Team owner Alex Job likes his team’s chances.
“Mario did a good job in qualifying,” Job said. “We will get the small brake issue fixed and prove it out in the warm-up in the morning. Mario, Ian and Alex are all accomplished rain racers. We still have a chance at the GTD championship. The rain will only help us. I am looking forward to an interesting race.