Bryan Sellers to Return for Sixth Season as Falken Tire Factory Driver

American Only Non-Works Porsche Driver Named to Race 911 RSR

BRASELTON, Ga., November 6, 2013 – Since 2009, Bryan Sellers has become synonymous with the Team Falken Tire professional sports car racing organization in the United States. Earlier today, Falken Tire announced the Braselton, Ga.-resident will return to the North American-based effort for a sixth consecutive year as a factory driver. Sellers was named with Porsche works racer Wolf Henzler (Germany) as primary drivers of the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR for the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Team Falken Tire is the only customer program announced to race the GT Le Mans class car. Sellers himself is the only non-Porsche factory pilot named to drive the German marque's premier GT competitor.

As was announced this morning by Falken Tires at the Specialty Equipment and Manufacturers Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Sellers has been integral in the development of the team and Falken’s Azenis race tire. The Ohio-native has been the only driver to compete in every event entered with a Falken-shod Porsche in North America’s premier sports car racing division. In that time, he and Henzler combined for four GT class victories in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Included in the tally is a dramatic breakthrough “rain” win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2011 followed by the first of two consecutive street course wins at the Grand Prix of Baltimore in 2011 and 2012. The fourth victory came in surprising style using a 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR chassis in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans endurance race, the season and series’ finale, at Road Atlanta last month.

Team Falken Tire will open its 2014 season with the 62nd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida on March 15. Due to construction and delivery restraints of the Porsche 911 RSR, the team will miss the opening round of the new 11-race championship. The 2014 911 RSR is based on the current, seventh-generation road-going Porsche 911 and is the same design which finished first and second in the GTE-Pro class at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans. 2014 marks the first time the car will compete regularly in North America. Sellers will return to tracks he has been victorious on before including Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (May 4), Watkins Glen International (June 29), the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 25) and Road Atlanta (October 4) among other elite tracks in North America.

To-date, only the Porsche factory, based in Weissach, Germany, has entered the 911 RSR in competition. For 2014, Porsche Cars North America and Porsche Motorsports North America announced their intentions to enter a two-car factory program in the TUDOR Championship. Team Falken Tire is currently the only customer team worldwide to be given the opportunity to race the car.

Falken Tire Corporation, based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was introduced to the North American market in 1985. Falken focuses on many tire market segments including HP (High Performance) & UHP (Ultra High Performance) products and utilizes Formula Drift Pro series and United SportsCar Championship GT race programs to further develop, improve and market passenger vehicle products for worldwide distribution. For more information about Falken Tires, visit falkentire.com or follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/falkentire or twitter.com/falkenalms .

Quotes

Bryan Sellers:

On his six-year relationship with Falken Tire: “I am looking forward to my sixth year with Team Falken Tire. What we have had is a very rare and long lasting relationship and it revolves around trust. We have learned to trust each other and from that has come success. We both have the same goals and realize that we can reach them together. Racing the Porsche 911 RSR in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship puts us where we want to be moving forward.”

On Team Falken Tire being chosen as a privateer entrant of the Porsche 911 RSR: “To be chosen as a privateer team to operate a new Porsche 911 RSR is an amazing honor. I think it shows the strength of Falken Tire and the strength in their relationship with Porsche. It is a huge feather in Falken’s cap and I am happy to be a part of this opportunity.”

On racing the Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR: “I am very excited to get my hands on Porsche’s newest GT Le Mans car. Porsche, per usual, has built a phenomenal race car and I can't wait to drive it.”

On the importance of maintaining the core elements of Team Falken Tire: “Continuity is a huge part of having a successful team. Wolf is one of my greatest friends and a fantastic co-driver. We have a lot of fun together and really enjoy the grind of improving our program. Derrick [Walker, team manager] is the rock in our program. He is there on our side when we need him and he organizes the program to operate at the highest level. He has turned the team into something special by placing great people around us. Falken has been working hard on the tires and with the 911 RSR we will have a great platform to showcase them. It has all come together giving us a chance to move into the new TUDOR Championship as challengers in the GT Le Mans class.”

On the 2014 schedule: “I am excited for the schedule. It will be the greatest group of sports car races ever organized in the United States. There will be challenges all through the year, including car and tire development to adjusting to the new driving style of the 911 RSR. These are all the things that will make the new series exciting. It is a great time to be a sports car racer.”

For more on Bryan Sellers, please visit him on the web at "> www.BryanSellersRacing.com . Follow Bryan on Twitter ("> www.Twitter.com/BryanSellers ) and LIKE him on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/BryanSellersRacing . Tune-in to Bryan’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/BryanSellersRacing .

Visit www.FalkenTire.com for more on Team Falken Tire.

Learn more about the TUDOR SportsCar Championship, please visit www.IMSA.com .

Go R/C racing with Bryan at www.HPIRACING.com .

Stayed charged with Batter Tender at www.BatteryTender.com .

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