DANBURY, Conn. - Fresh off its second Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 GT championship, Farnbacher Loles Racing will be expanding its Grand-Am participation by fielding entries in the ultra-competitive KONI Sports Car Challenge in 2010.
It will be an all-new venture for the team, which has competed in Grand-Am since winning its first race in the series in 2005, the Rolex 24 At Daytona. That improbable victory was followed up by Team and Driver Championships in 2007 and again this season, cementing Farnbacher Loles' reputation as one of North America's premier sports car racing teams.
For the entire five-year history of the team, only Porsches have flown the Farnbacher Loles colors, but beginning in January, the team will campaign BMWs for their first foray into the KONI Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class. Utilizing BMW's customer racing program, Farnbacher Loles effort will be based upon the BMW M3 GT4 race cars that have been competing successfully in Europe. The first car is due to arrive in late 2009.
After preparation and modifications to fully comply with Grand-Am regulations, the M3s will be given a thorough shake-down run at Road Atlanta, Farnbacher Loles Racing's home track near the team's Braselton, Ga., racing operations. Specially prepared engines by Farnbacher Loles' new technical partner, Dinan Engineering of Morgan Hill, Calif., will be powering the all-new BMWs. Both Dinan and Farnbacher Loles are known as premiere European car tuning experts and will be collaborating extensively throughout the 2010 season.
Already signed to drive the first of the new Farnbacher Loles Racing BMW M3 entries are team driver, Eric Lux of Jacksonville, Fla., and Michael Marsal of Bedford, N.Y. Marsal entered his first KONI Challenge race in 2009 and has been honing his race craft with Farnbacher Loles for the past year. While well-known for his success in the Rolex Series, Lux is looking to add GS podiums to his winning Grand-Am resume. Both drivers will be fully supported by a dedicated GS technical and engineering staff. Farnbacher Loles is currently speaking with several other drivers to complete the team's anticipated three-car driver lineup.
Lux won his first KONI Sports Car Challenge race at Daytona when he was only 17, which to this date stands as the record for youngest-ever KONI Challenge winning driver. He is excited to be racing in the GS category with Farnbacher Loles.
"I am looking forward to returning to the Grand-Am KONI series," Lux said. "Even more, I'm thrilled to be running a Farnbacher Loles prepped GS car! Michael Marsal and I have co-driven together at club racing events in the past and he is very talented. I am confident that he will adjust very well to the GS car. I'm very excited to be with the team for another season!"
Farnbacher Loles team principal Gregory Loles, discussed the genesis of the program.
"We've been considering the KONI series for a couple of years now, but we've been waiting for the right time," Loles said. "BMW has developed this car internally and raced it successfully in Europe. We've done our homework and feel the platform can be very competitive in the KONI GS class. This effort is a logical step for us as we expand our customer racing program. Sharing development with Dinan is also a big plus for us. Their engine expertise is well-known and will be an excellent complement to our own chassis engineering competency."
Farnbacher Loles is also putting the finishing touches on their Grand-Am Rolex Series GT effort for 2010. The team expects to announce the program during the 2009 SEMA Show Nov. 3-6 at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Convention Center.
The 2010 KONI Sports Car Challenge season begins on Jan. 29, 2010 at Daytona International Speedway in support of the Rolex 24.