MOMO made a successful comeback at Daytona this weekend. The MOMO NGT Motorsport team had a great driver line-up with Porsche Super Cup and Porsche GT3 Cup Champions and Vice Champions Henrique Cisneros, Sean Edwards, Carlos Kauffmann and Nick Tandy. The MOMO team also had a very fast Porsche GT3 that really could have finished in the top five of the 50th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The team practiced well on Thursday and Friday and Sean Edwards was the qualifying driver. For his second participation in the Rolex 24 At Daytona Edwards was given the honor to qualify the No. 26 MOMO NGT Motorsport Porsche GT3 on Thursday afternoon. Sean qualified the MOMO car in 13th place and he started the race from the 7th row before an estimated 80,000 spectators.

Sean Edwards was able to show his muscles and the competitiveness of his MOMO NGT Motorsport Porsche. He went from 13th to leading the race after only 75 minutes of racing. Each of the drivers were able to run their stint without any major problems.

The MOMO NGT Motorsport team continued their problem free race and the drivers started to build top five finish expectations until 6:30 AM Sunday morning.

Following a routine pit stop and a brake change, a MOMO NGT Motorsport crew member discovered that the car had a damper problem and the car was immediately pushed back to the garage for repair. Sean Edwards was behind the wheel at the time and was 10th before the incident. Unfortunately the problem cost the team several positions and after a 20-minute repair job, the 26 MOMO car restarted in 17th place.

After that problem that put the car too many laps down, the MOMO NGT Motorsport drivers were never in contention to come back in the top ten. Another problem 51 minutes before the end of the race forced the 26 car driven at the time by Nick Tandy to visit the garage because of a battery problem. The problem was fixed by the crew and Carlos Kauffmann was able to return to the track and cross the finish line for the MOMO NGT Motorsport team.

Led by team owner Ramez Wahab, the NGT Motorsport team raced and finished its first Rolex 24 At Daytona. The next major rendez-vous for the MOMO NGT Motorsport team is the MOBIL 1 12 Hours of Sebring next March.

Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon with its drivers Sean Edwards, Khaled Al Qubaisi, Jeroen Bleekemolen, and Thomas Jager, beat strong competition from BMW, Ferrari, Audi, Mercedes and Porsche to win the seventh edition of the 24 hour race in Dubai. With a new distance record of 628 laps (3385 miles) Black Falcon scored the first 24 victory for Mercedes since 1989 at Le Mans and the first for the Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, only a year after its debut in the 24 hours of Dubai.

This year’s edition of the 24 hour race in the Arab emirate of Dubai was full of international teams and drivers at their best. From the start of the race, Black Falcon’s SLS was amongst the fastest and fought all the way from 15th up to 1st position in the first hour. Later in the race they lost their advantage, because it was too far away from the pit lane entry at the beginning of a code 60 and therefore could not take full advantage of a pitstop. The competition took advantage of the situation and drove past Black Falcon. Several tactical ploys by the drivers and team were able to regain the lost time and get the lead back eventually.

Sean Edwards was the one to regain the lead before midnight with a great move around the outside of another Mercedes SLS. Over the next few hours Khaled Al Qubaisi, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards and Thomas Jager built their lead up. Even so, after 18 hour of the race, the top three cars (Mercedes, BMW, Mercedes) were covered by only 7 seconds! Good tactics from the team, excellent pit stops from the crew and fast driving, combined with the high reliability of the SLS meant that after 24 hours, the first overall victory for Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon was achieved.

Sean Edwards:
“What an amazing race we had, it was such an amazing fight all the way to the end! I am so happy to win my first 24 hour race and to help Mercedes get the first for the SLS. Everyone performed flawlessly from the team and drivers, which is what you need in modern endurance racing, no mistakes. We spent the least time in the pits and won the race because of it.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi:
“To have won the 24 hours of Dubai is a great feeling. The victory was hard fought, the race was very tight and the competition very high. Therefore, the race for the whole team was incredibly demanding. Nevertheless, everybody in the team did a great job, and my dream team of drivers performed outstandingly. It was such a great feeling to cross the finish line after so much hard work to achieve the result we really deserved!”

NGT Motorsport has announced MOMO as primary sponsor for the team’s No. 26 GT class entry in the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona to be run Jan. 28-29 at Daytona International Speedway. The MOMO brand is closely associated with the great history of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, having achieved an overall win in the event back in 1998.

The No. 26 MOMO Porsche GT3 entry will be driven by Porsche Carrera Cup standouts Nick Tandy and Sean Edwards, 2011 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Champion Henrique Cisneros and multiple IMSA GT3 Cup race winner and pole award winner Carlos Kauffmann.
The car bears bears a striking resemblance to that of the MOMO Ferrari teams from past Rolex 24 events, including the 1998 race-winning Ferrari 333SP. Gianpiero Moretti, who had made it a personal goal to win the Rolex 24, finally won the event that year in his 15th attempt in a Kevin Doran-prepped machine. He was joined by drivers Mauro Baldi, Arie Luendyk, and Didier Theys.

NGT Motorsport was founded in 2003 by Ramez Wahab and has competed actively in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge ever since. The Miami, Fla.-based team won team and driver IMSA GT3 championships in 2010 and 2011 and has participated successfully in various other endurance races. The team will make its Rolex 24 debut in January.

Rolex 24 At Daytona takes place January 26 – 29, 2012
European viewers can catch the race Live on Motors TV.

NGT Motorsport came back from a weekend seemingly filled with adversity to earn a hard-fought third place in the Grand Touring Challenge (GTC) class in the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at Road America, Round Six of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron.

Porsche Carrera Cup point leader Sean Edwards shared driving duties during the four hour endurance event with IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama standouts Henrique Cisneros and Carlos Kauffmann, taking the #30 NGT Porsche from its last place starting position to first at the white flag, as the team gambled on fuel strategy in an attempt to earn their first ALMS victory. In the end, NGT duplicated their maiden effort at Sebring with a third place finish.

Qualifying
The NGT Porsche had its share of difficulties in the Thursday afternoon and Friday practice, including breakages to the damper and the drive shaft. Edwards put the car on the pole and posting a new track record, but lost the time due to a rule that requires all three drivers have stints in the car during official sessions. Instead of starting from the front of the GTC pack, NGT would start from the back, 9th in class and 35th overall.

Race
Carlos Kauffmann, who had only seen action in the car during the morning warm up, started the event and had his share of adventures on the race’s first lap.

“I had an awesome start and got up to fourth,” said Kauffmann, “but I got tapped by another car on the back straight, flat spotted the tire and went back to sixth – the third time this weekend that I’ve been hit on the back straight! I had a bad vibration in the car since the tire was damaged, but I got back up to third and spun by myself in 13, then got hit by the Ferrari in 13 late in the stint, which knocked my right mirror off.”

Kauffmann had the NGT Porsche back up to fifth position in class when he came in for tires and fuel on lap 35. Cisneros, the IMSA GT3 Platinum Cup class point leader, took over in fourth position, only to have stewards order him back into the pit lane to repair the mirror. The NGT crew did an outstanding job of replacing the mirror in do we have a time?, getting Cisneros back into the fray without going a lap down. Cisneros passed the Green Hornet car of fellow GT3 competitor Peter LeSaffre before handing off to Edwards on lap 58.

“I didn’t have any pressure out there, I was mostly by myself,” said Cisneros, “so I was able to stay relaxed and not use up that much energy. My only close call was a run off in the kink – the Aston Martin LMP came into the corner with me side by side and I didn’t have time to get back in.”

The team lost valuable seconds in the pit lane as the engine start problem that had dogged them at Sebring returned, as Edwards tried repeatedly to get the Porsche to refire after the stop. Once underway, Edwards made his way to the front of the field as one by one, the cars ahead peeled off for the pit lane.

Back in the pit box, an idea was forming; perilously close on fuel, the team made the decision to keep Edwards on the track instead of coming in for a splash and go late in the race, gambling on yellow flags assisting their efforts to keep the top spot. Knowing that only the second and third place cars were on the same lap, and that a pit stop would put them in third place anyway, the call was made to stay out.

Adding to the drama was the rapid approach of the two LMP leaders, running together in what would be the closest finish in ALMS history. The LMP leaders came through the GTC battle between turns 11 and 12 and allowed the #66 TRG of Spencer Pumpelly and the #54 Black Swan of Jeroen Bleekemolen to catch right up to the back of Edwards. Edwards took the white flag at the start of lap 96 in the lead, but with just four corners to go, the car began to sputter as the fuel ran low.

Trying to make his car as wide as possible, Edwards tagged Pumpelly exiting turn five, earning Edwards a 150-second penalty for avoidable contact. Bleekemolen and Edwards came together in 12 as the NGT Porsche ran out of fuel, with Bleekemolen going on for the victory, followed by Pumpelly. Edwards nursed the NGT Porsche home with a right rear puncture, but earn the team its second straight podium finish.

Edwards was understandably disappointed with the result, but happy to have helped earn the team its second podium finish in two races this season.

“We knew it would be tight on fuel and even though I was leading, I had to save fuel, so the other two cars caught up. I was on fuel override already and with three corners to go, it started cutting out. With two corners to go, it completely cut out. I tried to defend from Jeroen and we hit, it was a bit of a bad move from me, but I was trying to keep the win at all costs. We got a puncture, so we didn’t get the win and got the penalty besides. At least we got a podium but I’m gutted we didn’t get the victory, with only three corners to go.”

By the time the podium ceremony was complete, Cisneros was able to get past the disappointment to feel the satisfaction of the podium finish.

“It was an emotional roller coaster. We knew we could almost make it on fuel and decided to gamble just in case a yellow came out which would give us some breathing room. We thought the penalty put us back in fourth, but we got third, so we couldn’t be happier. The whole crew did a fantastic job, we had a great pace and I think it shows we’ll be a team to beat next year.”

NGT Motorsport team owner Ramez Wahab felt the gamble on fuel was the right call.

“It’s our second race in ALMS this season and we finished both on the podium.” Ramez said. “We are not in the championship hunt so we had two choices, either come in for a splash and hand the first place trophy away or gamble – stay out and fight for it. Worst case would be third place. Last lap, three turns to go we went from leading the race to getting a penalty for avoidable contact, a tire puncture and running out of fuel ending in a third place finish. I’ll take that, the drivers and crew did an awesome job and we can’t wait for the next one!”

SEBRING, Fl (March 20, 2011) – NGT Motorsport’s Sean Edwards, Henrique Cisneros and Carlos Kauffmann combined for 12 grueling hours of racing Saturday and when the day was done, the team had earned a third place finish in their first ALMS Presented by Tequila Patrón effort at the 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Cisneros and Kauffmann are entering their second year in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama, and the drivers and team owner Ramez Wahab decided to step up the program in 2011 to contest the highly competitive GTC division in ALMS. When British European Porsche Supercup veteran Edwards joined the team in time for February’s winter test, the pieces were in place.

NGT missed qualifying after Cisneros lost control of the #030 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in turn 17 during Friday morning practice. The team worked all night, replacing just about every part on the car to insure its survival for the entire 12 hour race. The car shook down well in the warmup Saturday morning, with Edwards setting the quickest time in GTC at 2:07.396.

The practice time set the tone for the early hours of the race, as the NGT Porsche stayed right with the leaders, swapping positions between first and fourth as teams came into the pit lane and changed drivers. Edwards started the race, then it was Cisneros’ turn – his first stint in an ALMS event. Both Cisneros and Kauffmann are used to the IMSA GT3 races, which are 45 minutes long, so 90 minutes in a race car on a hot and sticky Florida day made for a very tired, but exhilarated driver at the end of that initial stint.

“It was tough,” said Cisneros. “But it was a lot of fun out there. I passed a couple of cars, which for me was an achievement. I got up to third place and that’s all I could ask for. I have to say, I had a little too much adrenaline when I got in the car, so I knew I would to be calmer the next time. The adrenaline really hit me when I got out – I felt fine in the car, but when you get out, you realize how hard you’re pushing.”

The next stint went to Kauffmann, who had been suffering from a cold and was down on power. But there’s something about a race like this that can help you forget that you might not be feeling all that great.

“I was feeling really, really tired during the GT3 races, but today, with all the LMP cars out there, I just went on adrenaline,” said Kauffmann. “The car was great – I actually thought I was slow! I asked my team how my speed was and they told me I was fastest. I said, how can that be since I felt like I was so slow! At the end of that first stint I had one of the fastest laps, so I’m really happy.”

All three drivers settled into a groove as day became night. Each driver seemed to have a “moment” on the track, with Cisneros surviving a bumpy ride through the dirt in turn 13 and Kauffmann getting put off at 17, with the car somehow coming out relatively unscathed.Then, during a yellow, a wrongful pass around was made, with the resulting four minute penalty taking them out of contention for the title. Cisneros and Kauffmann each took their last stints and handed the wheel to Edwards to bring them home

“Unfortunately, I got bumped at 17 by one of the Corvettes and spun,” said Kauffmann. “I ended up with the nose against the tires, but there wasn’t any damage to the car. Then we had the penalty, which really hurt. But my last stint was quite an experience as the sun was in my eyes as it was going down, but even then I was able to keep the pace. I really enjoy the track and to be on the track with all the Peugeots and the Audis when they come here, it was great.”

Edwards drove the bulk of the night run and when the checkered flag fell, NGT Motorsport had taken third spot in the nine-car GTC field.

Ramez Wahab was proud of the team – not only of the drivers, but of the crew who put the car back together quickly and solidly after Friday’s crash. It’s one thing to fix a car to run for one hour – to run and run well for 12 hours is quite another. And given the number of pit lane violations handed out during the 12 hour event, the fact that NGT ran a clean race without a single penalty on pit lane in their first try is rather remarkable.

“It’s pretty exciting – the whole race was exciting. It’s really awesome to finish third in our first 12 hour race. At least we know we have the speed and I’m sure we can get it done next time“

The race came together pretty much as Edwards had predicted.

“The guys did a great job getting the car back together,” said Edwards. “We knew the car was quick – we were fastest this morning and should have been on the pole, since we had led most of the sessions. But we knew it was a 12 hour race. We worked our way through on the first stint then focused on being there at the end. The race went pretty much as we had planned, except for the penalty – we kept it together, mostly kept it on the black stuff and stayed out of the way of the LMP cars.”

Cisneros tried to sum up his feelings as the race came to an end, proud especially of the way the team bounced back from the penalty.

“What an unbelievable come back. We were down, but we were never out. Sean Edwards was amazing – he was the fastest GTC car out there. The car handled beautifully – we couldn’t ask for a better day.”

NGT Motorsport will again compete in the GTC class at the American Le Mans Series Monterey Presented by Tequila Patrón, September 15–17. To see all the results for NGT Motorsport or for more information on the team, visit www.ngtmotorsport.com.