During the VLN Endurance Championship’s fourth race of the season Mario Farnbacher celebrated a successful race-debut with the brand-new Lexus RC F GT3. For the first time he shared the vehicle with his brother Dominik. The Farnbacher Racing duo crossed the finish line as the winner of the prototype category. In the overall classification the two finished on the tenth position.
The atmosphere at Farnbacher Racing and the fans was great: „It was a fantastic race. We have achieved our goals,“ Farnbacher said happily after the four-hour-race which was held at high midsummer temperatures. “The conditions for this test could not have been more challenging. Air temperatures of more than 30°C and very hot asphalt temperatures are very hard. The heat does not only affect us drivers but is also an enormous challenge for the technology. But we have completed our testing program successfully and also finished on a strong position.” After a flawless drive Mario Farnbacher was able to bring the Lexus RC F GT3 into the top-ten positions after 27 laps on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. In their SPX-class the siblings secured the first position. “We enjoyed to drive the Lexus and only had very few problems during the weekend,” the 23-year-old summarized.
Together with his brother the Farnbacher-Driver hinted at the potential of the new Lexus RC F GT3 already in qualifying. But Farnbacher Racing’s focus was not on fast lap times. “I am very happy with the qualifying result. After my brother had driven the first part, I entered the track and clocked the eighth fastest time. But the only aim of the qualifying was to gain experience. The lap time was not that important,” said the pro-driver and added: “To start from the fifth row into the first race with the new car is a great achievement.”
The experience from the first race will directly influence the further development of the car until the next race of the VLN Endurance Championship. “We have found some details we can improve,” explains Mario Farnbacher and adds: “In this process we work closely together with Lexus. We are very confident that we will make further steps forward in the upcoming races.”
After the successful testing kilometers under race conditions at the Nürburgring, Mario Farnbacher will race again from July 24 to July 25 in the US-American sports car championship USCC. The sixth round of the series will be held in “Lime Rock Park” in Connecticut.
