Falken ready Nordschleife circuit

With over a decade of endurance racing under their belts, the Falken Motorsports team will once again be on the starting grid for its 14th race at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. With an experienced team and an upgraded Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken will be aiming to finish in the top ten out a field of over 200 entrants.

The 24 hour race on the Nürburgring circuit is the most challenging motorsport event in the world, and we’re very proud to be part of it”, announces Yukio Yoshida, Corporate Planning Director at Falken Tyre Europe GmbH. “We promise a fantastic programme for all the fans at the track, and we assure our rivals on the Nordschleife that we’ll deliver a hard but fair fight for the top places.”

Falken will also be celebrating its 30thanniversary this year, adopting the motto: “30 Years of Performance” to commemorate a history of producing reliable, high performance tyres.

Since the late 1990s, Falken has been part of the starting line up at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, where the race team has delivered surprising and impressive results for over a decade. Starting in 1999 with a Nissan Skyline GT-R R33, Falken wowed spectators by achieving a sixth overall ranking. Two years later, Falken joined the race as a main sponsor, entering a Toyota Supra GT. From 2001 to 2005 Falken returned to the now iconic Skyline GT-R, finishing twice in fifth overall position.

After a year’s break Falken returned to the Nordschleife in 2007, this time with a Nissan Z. From 2007 to 2010 Falken demonstrated the quality of its high-performance tyres by achieving strong rankings, despite facing rivals with superior horsepower. In 2011 Falken Motorsports debuted its Porsche 911 GT3 R at the 24 hour race.

For 2013, Falken has honed the Porsche with upgrades – including a new aero kit with superior aerodynamics – to compliment the renowned 520 bhp, naturally aspirated flat six engine. The race team has been going through a series of tests in preparation for competing in the upgraded car; cumulating with the third VLN Endurance Race in April.

“We’re all at fever pitch in anticipation of the legendary 24 hour race on the Ring,” says Sebastian Asch, one of Falken quartet of drivers. “The fans are the most enthusiastic we’ve ever seen anywhere and we’re looking forward to some exciting battles.”

Asch is joined by Peter Dumbreck, Wolf Henzler and Martin Ragginger, all experienced race drivers and veterans of the Nordschleife circuit. The race starts on May 17thand finishes on the 20th.