Looks like another defection to Ferrari. I wonder when Porsche will realize teams prefer something other than the 911?

Tafel Racing to Campaign Ferrari F-430 GT2 Cars in 2008 ALMS



Cumming, Georgia, December 5, 2007 -- Tafel Racing announced today that it will campaign two Ferrari F-430 GTC cars in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) for 2008.



In the team’s freshman year in the ALMS GT2 series they amassed a record of six podium finishes resulting in third place in both the drivers and team championships.



“We spent the majority of the 2007 season in the rear-view mirror of the Ferrari teams,” Jim Tafel, team owner said. “We took a long hard look at what it would take to get back on a level playing field with teams like Risi Competizione and Petersen Motorsports and after much soul searching and a very informative visit to Ferrari and Micheletto, who build the cars for Ferrari, we saw that the only way forward was to make the change.



In 2007 the Ferrari F-430 won a staggering nine out of 12 races in the ALMS, which included 12 out of a possible12 pole positions on their way to the drivers and team championships.



“It’s very hard to change a manufacturer after the success we have had in both the ALMS and the Grand-Am series’,” Tony Dowe, team vice president and technical director said. “Our sophomore year in the ALMS will be critical to our future planning. After the enormous effort that we made in 2007, which included six podiums and third in both the driver and team championships, we felt we needed a different foundation from which to move forward. After looking at all of the options it was clear that the move to Ferrari was our best opportunity to win races in 2008. The open communication that we already have with Micheletto has helped to confirm that we have made the right decision to go to the Prancing Horse for 2008.”





The team will have at least one of their two cars on the track for the Sebring open test January 28-30.



The team will announce 2008 driver and sponsorship plans in the near future.



American Le Mans 2008 Schedule:

Sebring test January 28-30

Sebring 12 Hour March 15

St. Petersburg April 5

Long Beach April 19

Houston April 26

Salt Lake May 18

Lime Rock June 12

Mid-Ohio July 19

Road America August 9

Mosport August 24

Detroit August 30

Petit Le Mans October 4

Laguna Seca October 18

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K-Man S

Corvettes, at least the bad boy ZR ones are already in GT class.

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Wow, that's big news! Tafel did a pretty good job this year in an inferior car. Guess that just leaves the lizards and Rahal/Letterman.

This should be an interesting year for ALMS. Will they diverge from Europe and NOT add weight to the P2s? Will Peugot come to anything other than Sebring? Will Porsche be competitive or will it by Risi v. White Lightning v. Tafel in GT2?

I'm afraid Porsche fans will have most of their fun pulling for Penske again.

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I'm delighted that Ferrari has such a capable car because whether or not you're a 911 fan, racing is about competition. Porsche management has tried to get away from racing as much as possible, and the lack of serious competitors for the 911 has facilitated that shift. Having said that, I cannot really imagine Porsche motorsports division assembling an uber Cayman to do battle w/ the Ferraris.

According to an ALMS driver, the lizard guys look very happy with new upgrades during testing last month. The new "confidential" Michelins are also doing very well for both grip and tyre wear. It will be neck to neck next year at least for the lizards.

Does anyone here know how Ferrari makes its money? Are all parts of the company profitable? They have such a huge signature within the racing industry, I wonder if that too is profitable. Racing for most car companies is a considerable loss built around R&D and marketing for their retail.


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It looks like they may be in GT2 class also in 2008. This should make 2008 much more interesting than 2007.

http://www.theracesite.com/index.cfm...mag_id=14368_1

I'm going out on a limb here...or is it a torsion bar? I bet somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of Weissach Porsche is working on a mid-engine 911 to answer the challenge of Ferrari and anybody else for that matter. And although I call it a mid-engined 911, you and I know that all it really is, is an uber Cayman, to use DaveC's words. The Cayman was Porsche's way of judging the Porsche buyer's response to a mid-engine configuration. I hope we convinced 'em.


And yes, I know, it doesn't take a whole lot of insight or smarts to make a prediction like this...So, flame me!

Sponsors, merchandising/brand licensing, and high margin car sales. It costs a LOT to put your logo on a Ferrari F1 car, and fans buy a huge amount of Ferrari-branded stuff @ F1 races.

Also, I believe that F1 distributes a significant amount of money to the teams from the profit pool...and there are additional $$$ to be earned by winning championships.

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Porsche will endeavor to compete with F430GT2 on the track and NewGT_r on the road(especially the coming Vspec and N1 version),won't they?

ZR1's? Aren't they 13 years old?

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