ALMS Notebook
De Ferran and Devlin will share their respective stories to domestic and international media as well as the public through an autograph session and question-and-answer portion in Cobo Hall between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. – de Ferran as the newest competitor in the LMP1 field and Devlin as an ambassador of the new Dyson Racing-Mazda partnership.
Following their announcements at the Detroit Auto Show, de Ferran and Devlin will travel to Sebring, Fla., for the American Le Mans Series' annual Winter Test from January 26-28 at Sebring International Raceway. Devlin will drive Dyson Racing's Mazda-powered Lola coupe (LMP2) while de Ferran will test his speed behind the wheel of his Acura ARX-02a.
NEW CARS FOR FLYING LIZARD: Flying Lizard Motorsports, the 2008 American Le Mans Series GT2 team champions, will run its new 2009 Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs at the Sebring Winter Test on January 26-28 in Sebring.
The Sonoma, Calif.,-based Lizard squad expected to receive their two new Porsches Monday from the Porsche factory in Weissach, Germany. Because there is only one week before the first test day, the Porsches are being flown to a partner shop in Atlanta where the Lizard crew will prepare them for their first track outing in the U.S. The No. 44 and No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsches will be run in factory white at the test. Both cars will appear in their familiar red and silver livery for the Sebring race in March.
FARNBACHER, JAMES TO TEST PTG PANOZ: Dominik Farnbacher and Ian James will reunite at the Winter Test as drivers for Panoz Team PTG's Panoz Esperante GTLM in GT2.
Farnbacher and James have a history together at Sebring. They teamed with Jim Tafel for a fifth-place GT2 finish in one of Tafel Racing's Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs. Neither have driven the Panoz Esperante in race competition.
James, however, does have experience with Tom Milner's PTG organization. He drove at Sebring and Petit Le Mans in PTG BMW M3s. His best result was a ninth-place finish in GT2 with Bryan Sellers and Justin Marks at Petit Le Mans. The 34-year-old James won the 2004 LMP2 championship with Miracle Motorsports. He is a two-time Sebring P2 class champion, both coming with Miracle Motorsports in 2004 and 2005.
Farnbacher has been a constant presence in the American Le Mans Series since 2007. The 24-year-old German won four times in GT2 with Tafel Racing and co-driver Dirk Mueller – St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Mid-Ohio and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – as the pairing finished second in the class championship. Farnbacher debuted in the Series in 2006, the same year he finished second in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The American Le Mans Series Winter Test is scheduled for January 26-28 at Sebring International Raceway. Daily passes will be available for $10 with paddock access and overnight camping prohibited.
The American Le Mans Series will open its 11th season with the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 21. SPEED will televise the race live from 10 a.m. to noon and 2-11 p.m. ET. Live Timing & Scoring and American Le Mans Radio will be available at americanlemans.com.