Brazilian trio Hahn / Hahn / Khodair win the 200-mile race at Homestead to open the US season. Sprint victory for Catsburg / Völker.
The US racing season started for Reiter Engineering last weekend with the opening round of the FARA series at Homestead southwest of Miami. At the same time, it was also the first race to be masterminded from the new USA base in College Corner close to the motorsport mecca Indianapolis.
Three Gallardos competed on the 3.7 kilometre Homestead track featuring a combination of NASCAR oval and regular race track. Dutchman Nick Catsburg, the newcomer to the Reiter Engineering driver line-up, shared the cockpit of one Gallardo FL2 GT3 with Maximilian Völker, who also competed for Reiter in the Camaro GT3 last year. Also on the grid in Florida were the loyal Reiter Engineering customers Allam Khodair and the father/son duo Marcelo and:::
Christian Hahn. They drove their brand new Gallardo Extenso R-EX for the first time. Guilherme Gifueroa / Constantino Junior in a Gallardo LP600 GT3 completed the trio of cars.
The FARA Series endurance race over 200 miles was the highlight of the weekend. The Reiter Engineering Gallardo GT3 controlled the field of more than 50 cars after 91 laps. Both cars dominated the first third of the race, with Hahn / Hahn / Khodair in the lead ahead of their team mates Catsburg / Völker. After the first pit stop, Catsburg /Voelker took the lead, but dropped out of the race shortly afterwards due to a puncture. A near certain podium finish was lost. Marcelo and Christian Hahn as well as Allam Khodair were able to maintain their performance over the entire race distance and won the Homestead 200 by 17.1 seconds at the chequered flag. Guilherme Gifueroa / Constantino Junior finished 12th overall and seventh in class.
However, this would not be the only victory for Reiter Engineering on this weekend. The sprint race, which was also on the programme, was won convincingly by Nick Catsburg and Maximilian Völker in the Gallardo FL2 GT3. Hahn / Hahn / Khodair produced an excellent performance as they scythed their way through the field to finish fifth after starting from 23rd on the grid due to a yellow flag infringement in the qualifying race.
Reiter Engineering celebrates an extremely successful season opener in the USA with two wins. More about the comprehensive 2015 race programme in the States with the Gallardo GT3 and Camaro GT3 to follow shortly.