With nearly 250 cars participating in the annual 24 Hours of Nürburgring (officially the ADAC 24h Rennen Nürburgring), Falken Tire, an international force within the high performance tire category, took third place in its class and finished 12th overall.
The Nissan 350Z was entered by Falken Motorsports Japan, and was driven by the same quartet of drivers who have represented Falken for the last four years -- veterans Peter Dumbreck, Dirk Schoysma, Tetsuya Tanaka and Kazuki Hoshino.
The 24 Hours of Nürburgring is a touring car and GT endurance event on the Nürburgring Nordschleife (north loop). With a lap length of more than 15.5 miles, it is a grueling event, though it attracts multiple factory entries and more than 700 drivers. Falken competes in motorsports events throughout the world, running race versions of its street tires with factory and privateer entries to great success.
The 2010 Nürburgring race saw a return of defending four-time winner Team Manthey and its Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, but it was Team BMW Motorsports’ factory ALMS M3 GT2, run by Schnitzer Motorsport, which claimed the overall win after 154 laps.
The team of Falken drivers produced a strong performance, finishing further up the leader board than the 2009 race, while competing against an increased number of manufacturer entries, including a Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid, which outlasted many entries on fuel runs.
While cold weather plagued the teams throughout the event, Falken Motorsports’ spirited Nissan, running on Falken Azenis, withstood the elements and survived without serious mechanical gremlins, which plagued a number of other teams.
“We’re very pleased with the results our sister team earned against top competition in Europe,” said Andrew Hoit, Falken’s director of marketing for North America. “Motorsports runs deep within our company, as evidenced by the tremendous efforts our factory drifting campaign is doing in the U.S. as we lead the championship, along with significant improvements in our ALMS race program, and we utilize all Falken subsidiaries’ experiences in racing to improve our product and build our name around the globe.”
To learn more about the Falken Tire Motor Sports Team visit www.wegetyougoing.com and www.falkentire.com.
