Werks II Motorsport kicks off 2010 American Le Mans season with strong run at Sebring

March 24, 2010 (Burbank, Calif.) – The 12 Hours of Sebring, one of America’s premier endurance races, will test the absolute limits of anyone who dares to participate. After cutting his teeth in the Patrón GT3 Challenge by Yokohama, Robert Rodriguez along with teammate Galen Bieker, felt ready for the challenge. Cory Freidman joined Rodriguez and Bieker as a third driver and together they drove the Porsche Grand-Am Spec GT3 Cup car, to a notable fourth-place finish, in their first 12 Hours of Sebring.

As the hours passed, the drivers concentrated on staying out of trouble and preserving their car, as they negotiated Sebring’s notoriously rough and varied surfaces. By avoiding contact and running at a consistent pace, the number 69 machine was able to hold third place, for much of the race. At the eleventh hour, an unfortunate miss queue in the pits cost the team the podium, while unscathed, the car crossed the finish line in fourth position.

While Bieker and Rodriguez were no strangers to Sebring and its challenges, performing driver changes, low visibility night-driving and dealing with the much faster prototypes, presented exciting new challenges for both the drivers and the team.

“With this being our first 12 Hours of Sebring, we were cautious with our approach,” Bieker said following the race. “Our goal was to be conservative and stay out of trouble. The crew did a fine job and Cory and Robert put in good stints”.

“We chose to run a Grand-Am Spec GT3 because of its proven record in endurance racing, however I was particularly impressed by the durability and superior pace of the previously untested, 2010 Porsche GT3 Cup cars. We look forward to running the 2010 GT3 Cup car at the Long Beach grand Prix” Bieker later added.

The next race on the American Le Mans calendar is a little closer to home for Werks II Motorsport, with round two being a sprint race at the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 16-18. The hundred minute race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel on April 17, at 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST.

About Werks II Motorsports

Based in Burbank, California, Werks II Motorsports has over thirty years experience racing and preparing Porsches for competition, as well as tuning all makes of German cars for the street and track. Werks II is also a warehouse distributor for the highest quality of motorsports manufacturers, supplying equipment for professional teams, club racers and driving enthusiasts alike. For more information, visit www.werks2.com, or call (818) 845-2530.

Bieker strengthens championship position with third at Autobahn

July 28, 2009 (Burbank, Calif.) – Sitting third in points in the Patron GT3 Challenge presented by Yokohama, Galen Bieker, teammate Bob Rodriguez, and the Werks II / P7 Racing team traveled to the Harrah’s Grand Prix at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois for rounds five and six of the championship.

Bieker got off to a fast start by qualifying third in class and fourth overall. After a clean start, Bieker spent the first part of the race battling for the third spot before taking the position with a pass into turn three. With the two leaders far up the road by this point, Bieker saved his tires and waited for a chance to catch them with a full course yellow. However, the race would run incident-free to the checkered, and Bieker finished third overall and third in class, strengthening his third place in the championship standings.

With the sixth round starting based on lap times from round five, Bieker would start that race in sixth position. He made up one position quickly at the start and, with the Autobahn course lacking many passing zones, set to applying heavy pressure to the car directly ahead who was being held up by the car in third place.

“I could see that his tires were falling off, and knew that mine were in really good shape,” said Bieker. “Both cars were starting to make mistakes and I was just waiting for the right opportunity to get by.”

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get the opportunity as the caution flew for an incident on track, and as the course workers were unable to clear the track in time, the race would end under yellow with Bieker crossing the line in fifth.

“We got good points by finishing third and fifth, but it was kind of unfortunate because it was obvious we could have gotten to third in the second race,” said Bieker. “We learned more about the Porsche GT3 and it was reflected in the lap times between Saturday and Sunday, and we still left third in points so that is good for Werks II / P7 Racing.”

The next event for the Patron GT3 Challenge presented by Yokohama will be August 13-16 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

About Werks II Motorsports

Based in Burbank, California, Werks II Motorsports has over thirty years experience racing and preparing Porsches for competition, and tuning all makes of German car for the street and the track. Werks II is also a warehouse distributor for the highest quality of motorsports manufacturers, supplying equipment for professional teams, club racers and driving enthusiasts alike. For more information, visit www.werks2.com, or call (818) 845-2530.