Mario Farnbacher had to fight an unequal struggle in the third to last round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship season on the Virginia Raceway. As in previous races, the 24-year-old from Lichtenau and his Spanish teammate Alex Riberas were dealing with an enormous top speed disadvantage. Fourth place was the best the experienced duo could achieve.
The chase for points has rarely been more difficult for Mario Farnbacher and the Alex Job Racing team. “In comparison to other competitors, we were about 10 km/h too slow on the straights”, the Franconian explained. This deficit once more played an important role on the fast Virginia circuit and having started from a sixth on the grid, Farnbacher and Riberas found it very difficult to pick up more speed and improve during the 2:40-hour race.
“Fourth place was the best we could do. More wasn’t possible”, said Mario Farnbacher and added: “We’re easy targets for our opponents on the straight. We have to do our utmost in the bends to counterbalance this handicap and must take risks to stand a chance of keeping up with the other competitors.”
However, Mario Farnbacher’s fourth place slightly reduced the gap to the top of the rankings. With just two races to go, the Franconian’s odds of becoming champion in North America’s most popular sports car series are still favourable. “We’ll fight to the end. As long as there is a chance of winning the title, we’ll go for it”, confirmed the Porsche pilot, emphasizing his ambitions.
Austin, Texas (17th September) is next on the schedule, before the season ends on October 1st with Petit Le Mans. But Mario Farnbacher will first be travelling to the Nürburgring, where the next VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft race takes place this coming weekend.
