2018 marks Falken Tyre’s 20th motorsport season contesting on the gruelling Nürburgring Nordschleife. Yet again, the Falken Motorsports team will battle it out on the notoriously challenging German circuit in the VLN Endurance Championship and world-famous ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race, competing with a new driver line-up for 2018 and two GT3 cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 and BMW M6 GT3.
“2017 was the most successful motorsports season for Falken yet,” says Markus Bögner, COO at Falken Tyre Europe GmbH. “Our victory at the fourth VLN race, as well as the achievement of additional podium positions, are the result of strong team performance and the continuous tyre development carried out by our engineers. We will again run our pair of GT3 cars in 2018.”
Falken has competed at the Nürburgring with various Porsche models since 2011, claiming a podium finish at the 2015 edition of the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race. Falken’s current Type 991 model from the Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer has a 4.0-litre flat-six engine, producing 500hp, and is shod with 300/660R18 Falken tyres on the front axle and 330/710R18 on the rear.
Behind the wheel this season will be Falken factory drivers Martin Ragginger (AUT) and Klaus Bachler (AUT), who will be joined by Porsche factor drivers Dirk Werner (GER) and Sven Müller (GER). New to the Falken Motosports line-up, Müller has been competing in motorsport since 2004 and was crowned champion of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany in 2016
Following its successful debut in 2017, where it secured ninth overall in the 24-hour race, the BMW M6 GT3 will again be piloted by Falken drivers Peter Dumbreck (UK) and Alexandre Imperatori (SUI). The Falken duo will be supported by Stef Dusseldorp (NED) and Jens Klingmann (GER). Team newcomer Klingmann is a BMW Motorsport works driver who has competed in the ADAC GT Masters and IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, claiming second at Petit Le Mans and fourth in the GTLM class at the Rolex 24 and Sebring in 2015.
The BMW M6 GT3 is powered by a 4.4-litre V8 twin-turbo engine with up to 585hp and will be equipped with 330/710R18 Falken tyres. Both the BMW M6 GT3 and the Porsche 911 GT3 will be swathed in Falken’s iconic teal and blue livery.
The team’s first outing is the opening round of the VLN, which takes place on 24 March 2018, with the season highlight ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race taking place on 10-13 May 2018.
