LONG BEACH, Calif., April 19, 2008 - The question posed was if an East Coast strategy that won Tafel Racing its first American Le Mans Series victory could be as successful on the West Coast? The No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC answered with a resounding 'yes!' taking its second consecutive GT2 class victory today in a dramatic battle at the American Le Mans Series at Long Beach (Calif.). 2000 American Le Mans Series GT2 Champion Dirk Müller (a native of Germany living in Monaco) crossed the finish line a narrow 0.317 seconds in front of the No. 45 Porsche in a battle that was at times was even closer. A daring strategy call by Team Technical Director Tony Dowe (Cumming, Ga.) not to change Michelin tires during the race's only pit stop positioned Tafel Racing at the front of the pack with approximately 30 minutes remaining in the 100 minute race. Taking a pristine car from opening driver Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany), Müller was able to hold-off two Porsches with fresher tires to claim the Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.) owned team's second-straight, and second career, American Le Mans Series victory.

 Starting fourth, Farnbacher had the challenging task of keeping the leaders close while simultaneously protecting his Michelin Pilot racing slicks on the 1.968- mile, 11-turn, temporary street course. Farnbacher, in just his second season of American Le Mans Series competition, did a veteran-like job with both tasks. The test was then on the Cumming, Ga.-based team. The task before them was to perform a perfect pit stop on Lap 46, of the 68 covered by the GT2 class, refueling the Italian exotic while Farnbacher handed the driving duties over to Müller. Müller sped out of pit lane first in class with a four second lead. With 20 minutes to go the lead had slipped to 3.3 seconds as the competitors' fresher tires allowed them to close on Müller, the 2007 FIA GT GT2 class champion. The gap fell to less than half that with 12 minutes to go. The five minute mark showed just 0.551 seconds between the Bell Micro Ferrari and second-place at the start- finish line; a gap that was much closer on other portions of the track.

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 18, 2008 - Tafel Racing will start fourth in the GT2 class for Saturday's American Le Mans Series at Long Beach (Calif.). The Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.) owned program has excelled this weekend on the 1.968- mile, 11-turn course with drivers Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) and Dirk Müller (a native of Germany living in Monaco) placing the No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC at the top of the time charts in each session. However, the Ferrari effort fell just short in today's 25-minute qualifying session. While a narrow street course and a shorter- than-normal 100 minute feature event, the team is secure in its prospects from the second-row of the GT2 class grid.

The Cumming, Ga.-based program is confident that tire strategy was the determining factor in today's qualifying times. American Le Mans Series rules dictate that a car must start the race using the tires on which it qualified. Therefore, finding a setup that will allow the sticky Michelin Pilot racing slicks to turn quick times in qualifying and still be in top condition for the race is critical. While a softer compound of rubber might allow the car a quicker lap time, the softer rubber loses its performance peak more quickly giving an edge to a harder compound after multiple laps. Team Technical Director Tony Dowe (Cumming, Ga.) opted for what the team believes is a more conservative tire choice in qualifying than what the front-row starters chose. The more conservative strategy will pay off late in the race's first stint. At that time, the Michelins on the Bell Micro Ferrari should be quicker than those on the two Porsches giving vital speed prior to the race's first pit stop.Müller's fast lap time of one minute, 20.410 seconds bettered the previous track qualifying record for the GT2 class. However, the German's time, his quickest of the weekend, fell short of the pole position-winning lap of 1:19.705. Müller put all he had into the qualifying attempt; and then some. When he returned to pit lane damage was found on the side-view mirror from where, in full speed mode, Müller made slight contact with one of the concrete walls lining the Southern California temporary circuit. The damage was cosmetic and did nothing to harm his performance but showed the effort he put into the run.