Krohn announces 2007 Ferrari ALMS and LMES programs
Tracy’s co-drivers in the No. 61 Risi/Krohn Ferrari 430 GT in the races will be his Grand-Am Road Racing series’ teammate Nic Jönsson and Krohn Racing young hotshoe driver Colin Braun.
The schedule includes the first ALMS race of the season, the 55th Annual 12 Hours of Sebring on March 17, 2007, with both co-drivers Jönsson and Braun. The second ALMS race will be in Krohn’s hometown of Houston, Texas. The Lone Star Grand Prix is the third annual ALMS race on the streets of Houston for a two hours and forty-five minute race. Krohn and Jönsson will co-drive the venue together.
The 75th annual 24 Heures du Mans/24 Hours of Le Mans will be held on June 16-17 in Le Mans, France. Both Jönsson and Braun will share driving duties with Krohn in the historic twice-around-the-clock enduro. Krohn and Jönsson paired with Jörg Bergmeister in 2006 to compete in Le Mans GT2 class last season in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to an 11th-place finish. This year will be 18-year-old Braun’s first time to compete in the famous French event.
The other two ALMS races in which the No. 61 Risi/Krohn Ferrari will compete include the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on October 6, 2007. The 10th annual race is 1,000 miles/10 hours and will combine the talents of all three drivers (Krohn, Jönsson and Braun). The finale will be the Sports Car Championships, held at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California on October 18th. The four-hour race will pair just Krohn and Jönsson again.
“I am obviously looking forward to the challenge of driving a Ferrari, particularly in the ALMS. I have two very talented drivers with me in Nic and Colin," said Tracy Krohn. “Giuseppe Risi runs a first-class program, which is one of reasons we decided to go with them."
Risi Competizione, who captured the 2006 GT2 Team Championship, will campaign two cars, including a single car for the entire ALMS series and Le Mans with its regular drivers, Mika Sala and Jaime Melo. They will be joined in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430GT by Johnny Mowlem for Sebring and Le Mans.
“We are delighted to have Tracy and his team race with us in 2007," said Giuseppe Risi, Risi Competizione Team Managing Director. “This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us and the logistics are excellent since Tracy is based in Houston, Texas. Anyone who knows Tracy Krohn knows he’s a good driver and operates in a first-class manner at every level. We are delighted to campaign a Ferrari 430GT with him."
“I am definitely looking forward to the Houston event in front of my hometown," added Krohn. “I’m also looking forward to Le Mans. At the first race at Sebring, it will be interesting to see how the car drives compared to all the Porsches I’ve driven. We haven’t been in the car yet, but we will do testing on Sunday, March 4th."
Krohn, who only started racing five years ago at age 48, got his start in the Panoz Racing series. Jönsson, from Sweden, and Krohn first paired in 2004 and have been teammates since. They had 12 Top 20 finishes last season, including a fifth-place finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Nic was a Touring Car and F3 champion before going sports car racing in 2001.
Colin Braun collected two victories, one pole position, five podiums and finished in the Top 10 in all 11 Grand-Am appearances in 2006. The young American driver missed being Grand-Am Daytona Prototype co-champion with teammate Jörg Bergmeister because of being prohibited from driving in three races due to his age of 17.
The pairing of the two teams is a first and 2007 will mark Krohn Racing’s first year of competition with a Ferrari. For more information, please go to www.krohnracing.net.