Mario Farnbacher looks back on a successful maiden season with the Lexus RC F GT3. In 2015 the German could contribute an important part to the development of the new race car from Japan. The 23-year-old underlined the potential of the car with decent results in the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring.
The corner stone of the successful development of the race car was laid by Mario Farnbacher and his brother Dominik at the beginning of June. At the fourth round of the VLN both the brothers right away saw the chequered flag on tenth position and furthermore snatched the victory in the class for prototypes. “At that time we were really relived”, Farnbacher remembers. “Despite the hot weather we finished the race, what can’t be taken for granted at all at the debut of a race car.”
The big surprise followed up only one race later. Thanks to an outstanding performance of Mario and Dominik Farnbacher the Lexus RC F GT3 was in the lead of a race for the first time and finally finished second in the overall classification of the race. The joy after the first podium finish in the second race was boundless for Mario Farnbacher. “Nobody expected that. We learned a lot from the debut, made the right decisions and converted the knowledge into a podium success. That was really one of our highlights”, so the 23-year-old.
Only a few weeks later they followed up with the next highlight in the young history of the Lexus RC F GT3, claiming the maiden pole position in the VLN Endurance Championship. Mario and Dominik
Farnbacher together with Hiroki Yoshimoto at very difficult weather conditions snatched the best starting position.
A podium finish, important leading laps as well as the first pole position – the yield of Mario Farnbacher in the 2015 season was remarkable. With his successes on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, which is regarded to be the most difficult race track of the world, the German contributed an essential part in the development of the Lexus RC F GT3.
At the end of the season Farnbacher draws a positive balance. “We can be very satisfied. This success wouldn’t have been possible without the great support of Lexus, TMG, Yokohama, KW and a number of further partners. Of course I am also grateful to our crew and all the fans at the race track”, says the ambitious race driver from Germany.
