Tafel Racing finished fourth and seventh today in GT2 in round three of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The No. 71 of Wolf Henzler and Robin Liddell came home fourth and Jim Tafel and Dominik Farnbacher were seventh in the No. 73.
The race distance of 100-minutes is the shortest duration the ALMS series has ever run. This made strategy and pit stops a premium on the closed 1.9-mile, 11-turn street course. The race played out with only one caution period which came out on lap 14 and lasted six laps.
Henzler started the No. 71 Tafel Porsche from the third row of the GT2 grid. The German maintained a steady pace and took over the lead on lap 31. He then proceeded to turn fast laps and gap the second place GT2 car by eight seconds before handing over to Liddell.
“The car was a lot better than in qualifying, ” Henzler said. “I was able to move up through the field with the help of some the front cars pitting under the first caution. I passed the leading car into turn one when I got a good run off of the last turn. I had pretty clear laps and was able to put a lot of time to the second place car. Fourth place is a good result; we just needed a little luck at the end which did not come to get on the podium. ”
Robin Liddell had a frustrating stint, being held up by a P1 car and coming just feet short of putting the North South Machinery Tafel Porsche on the podium.
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