St. Petersburg, Fla.,  - The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) was a day of firsts for Tafel Racing. The No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC scored its first American Le Mans Series GT2 class victory here giving Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.) and sophomore driver Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) their first American Le Mans Series wins. It marked the Tony Dowe (Cumming, Ga.) managed operations first victory with partner Bell Microproducts and their first with the Ferrari F430 GTC and Michelin. It was the first victory lane celebration for several team members as well. The win also announced the return to the ALMS podium for 2000 American Le Mans Series GT2 Champion Dirk Müller (a native of Germany now living in Monaco). Müller earned his ninth career Series race win but his first since leaving the ALMS in 2001.

The Cumming, Ga.-based operation won the event in convincing style crossing under the checkered flag 13 seconds ahead of second-place. Farnbacher started the first street race of the season; second race overall, in fourth spot after a disappointing qualifying session. The young German moved to third at the start and then to second before handing the Bell Micro Racing machine over to Müller during the race's second full course caution, 56 minutes into the event. The ultra- quick pit stop by the Tafel Racing crew to fill the Ferrari with fuel and replace all four Michelin Pilot racing slicks allowed Müller to hold the No. 71's position as it waited for the restart.The defining moment of the race came with 24 minutes remaining in the one hour and 55-minute race. After shadowing the leading No. 45 entry, Müller made an impressive overtaking move to capture the lead. He wasted little time putting his mark on the race. He then pulled away from all challengers to take the Tafel team to victory lane in impressive style.Tafel Racing will contest the third round of the 11 race American Le Mans Series season in Long Beach, California on April 19. The 100-minute Grand Prix of Long Beach will be shown on ABC Sports on Sunday, April 20 at 3:30 PM (ET). Live timing and scoring of each on-track session and the American Le Mans Series Radio Web broadcast can be found at www.AmericanLeMans.com.

St. Petersburg, Fla. - Precision will be the key to tomorrow's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for Tafel Racing. Precision on the track by drivers Dominik Farnbacher (Ansbach, Germany) and Dirk Müller (a native of Germany now living in Monaco) and precision in pit lane by the Cumming, Ga.-based program. Müller qualified the No. 71 Tafel/Bell Micro Racing Ferrari F430 GTC fourth on the GT2 grid in today's 20-minute time trial. The narrow street course and shortened event will make overcoming that starting position a challenge for the Jim Tafel (Alpharetta, Ga.) owned team. However, a focused strategy and intense attention to detail have the team optimistic about their chances.

The 1.8-mile, 14-turn course, which runs along the Tampa Bay, is narrow and is lined with concrete retaining walls. The layout offers little margin for error and demands intense concentration by the drivers. With a single 'preferred' passing location, entering turn one following the long front straightaway, overtaking from the second row will challenge first Farnbacher and later Müller.

The lack of multiple preferred passing spots will put an even greater emphasis on the team's pit stop skills. Each position that the Tony Dowe (Cumming, Ga.) led team can make in the pits is one less risky pass required for Farnbacher and Müller to make on the track. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg marks the first time the teams will run on a temporary street course this season.

Round Two of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season will also play host to an abbreviated version of the typical Series "sprint" race. The condensed event, down from the traditional two hours and 45-minutes, will necessitate a different strategy pushing the teams and drivers to accomplish more in less time. Making the full race distance on a single pit stop is now easily done. Therefore, making that stop as quickly as possible is vital.

Müller, the 2000 American Le Mans Series GT2 class Champion, turned a time of one minute, 12.752 seconds on his fifth of eight hot laps in the No. 71 Ferrari. Farnbacher will start the Bell Micro Ferrari in the one hour and 55-minute race. Müller will finish the event. The quickest lap of the 20-minute qualifying session for the class was set by the No. 45 Porsche with a time of 1:11.745. That time bettered the existing track record of 1:12.025 set in 2007 by a Ferrari.

The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg can be seen live on ABC starting at 1:30 pm (ET), Saturday, April 5. Live timing and scoring of each on-track session and the American Le Mans Series Radio Web broadcast can be found at www.AmericanLeMans.com.