Link: Live TimingLive Timing
Scoring Stats >
ALMS Radio >

sponsors

Don Pierce

best in class, every day

"Put me on a highway
And show me a sign,
And take it to the limit one more time..."

---Take It To The Limit One More Time, The Eagles.

Every year, a breathtakingly innovative group of companies step up to sponsor, power, and support Risi Competizione in our racing program. There is not a single company we are associated with that is not world-class, in terms of technology and people. The people who get things done, the companies that make a difference, the technologies that advance the game and the gear that makes world class performance possible is created and sold by these companies. We strongly encourage you to support them—they are best in class, every day.


SPONSORS

KROHN RACING

Krohn RacingRisi Competizione has an interesting relationship with Krohn Racing. They are our racing partners and two or three or five times a year, the Krohn Racing team pairs up with the Risi Competizione team to run one of our F430GTs. In 2007, we raced together at Sebring, Houston, Petit Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Laguna Seca. In 2008, Krohn's schedule changed (they run an active Grand Am Program—a circuit that Risi Competizione does not race on), and our guys in green ran at Sebring, Le Mans, Petit Le Mans, and Laguna Seca. Last year started off great for the partnership as Krohn Racing delivered a podium position (3rd) at Sebring. One of the reasons Tracy's team has had such great results with Risi Competizione is that they have found the 430GT groove in endurance racing: Tracy, Nic Jonsson, and Eric Van de Poele together are a very good mixture—the right combination of speed and consistency. They stay out of trouble in the big ones and deliver at the end, which is the deep, dark secret of success in endurance racing.

The partnership between Krohn Racing and Risi Competizione is, in many ways, a very natural one, given the geography of the principals. Krohn Racing's principal, Tracy Krohn is from Houston, Texas headquarters to Risi Competizione and Giuseppe Risi. It was only a matter of time before Giuseppe Risi and Tracy Krohn got together and started talking about racing .

For the last two years, the results have been rather spectacular for Krohn Racing—especially in the big events. In 2007's 24 Hours of Le Mans, Krohn Racing's team of Tracy Krohn, Colin Braun (since departed to race trucks in NASCAR? Would you give up running a Ferrari to run a truck? ) and Nic Jonsson drove a steady, minimal-time-in-the-pits race to take Second Place in GT2 in the world's biggest endurance race in their Risi Competizione prepared and operated 430GT.

Krohn Racing started 2008 with another podium finish, this one a Third at the 12 Hours of Sebring. The driving lineup was essentially the same, with Krohn and Jonsson joined by Eric van de Poele, an old hand at long distance racing who won Le Mans several years back and who is a Risi Competizione alum, handling the third-man piloting chores.

Krohn Racing comes complete with their own support team and a lot of laps on the ALMS circuit. We expect them to take their hot new 430GT to a very nice finishing positing at Sebring this year. You can learn more about Tracy Krohn, Krohn Racing, and the entire team at their website, www.krohnracing.net. If you're with the press and want some inside information or to arrange an interview, please contact Barbara Burns at press@burnsgrouppr.com

These guys drive the big, long distance races very well and they are proving to be extremely professional and effective in getting onto the podium at the Big Ones. It’s great to have them back with us for another year.

 

MOTOROLA

One of the greatest technology companies is the world is Motorola, a sponsor of Risi Competizione. Motorola created the technology behind the cell phone; builds the equipment that pilots and captains of nuclear submarines and Marines on the ground use to make decisions and stay in touch and command and control operations; produces the networks and in-car units used by the police and highway patrol all across America. This is, to be blunt, a great American technology company, a bit of a gem, so much a part of our lives today that sometimes we might take them for granted as just another "high tech" company.

MotorolaDon't do that.

Instead, look into what they can do for your company and business and project or application. Because the chances are, they've got a solution, from Cell Phones to Bar code scanners.

While working on this part of the website, I had the distinct honor of being pulled over to the side of the road for a personal conversation with a member of Texas' finest who wanted to know why I was doing triple the speed limit. He was less enamored of "because I could" than he was of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia I was working out. But he was kind enough to let me take a peek inside his ride, which was equipped from top to bottom with Motorola gear—no wonder he caught me!

Here are the areas in which Motorola produces technology for today's world:

Bar Code Scanning| Biometrics| Cable Broadband| Cellular Networks| Dispatch| Enterprise Voice| M2M Modules

 

ADSHIP

AdShipADSHIP is set to revolutionize the way marketing messages are delivered in the 21st Century. The innovative and tightly targeted ADSHIP technology provides up to 5 exposures across two types of media, for one price. For the first time, advertisers are able to deliver their message to targeted audiences in both print and digital formats.

The ADSHIP Pay-Per-Ship system is extremely focused, a necessity in today's niche market world. Using ADSHIP, you can target market segments in a variety of ways, selecting your market segment by interest groups, local, national, and regional industries, reaching each target with zip code accuracy.

ADSHIP works with the shipping systems you're already using, but raises their effectiveness from mere necessary utility to focused, cost-effective message delivery system.

You can use ADSHIP with Fedex, UPS, and even the U.S. Postal Service. The whole system is brilliantly conceived and detailed. You can learn all about the details and the applications and, even more importantly, how to get started, at the ADSHIP website: www.adship.com

ADSHIP provides tightly targeted, highly cost-effective marketing messages across multiple mediums through our new, highly innovative and focused marketing program.

Learn how to deliver the messages you want to deliver, to the people you want to talk to, by using ADSHIP. Highly recommended for those who must make every marketing dollar deliver and, we believe, that's all of us these days.

 

BOARDWALK AUTO GROUP / BOARDWALK FERRARI

North of our headquarters at Ferrari of Houston, in Dallas, lies Boardwalk Ferrari, a member of the Boardwalk Auto Group. Boardwalk Ferrari is located in Plano, Texas, on the outskirts of Dallas, in a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility. Boardwalk Ferrari believes in racing at every level, and so in addition to a Ferrari Challenge Team, they support the racing efforts of Risi Competizione at the world class level.

Boardwalk was with us when we won Sebring in the closest race in the history of that storied event. They were there when we clinched the 2006 ALMS championship. And the 2007 ALMS Championships. Boardwalk Ferrari is a factory authorized Ferrari (and Maserati) dealership; they have one of the most advanced service facilities in North America, in addition to a gorgeous display floor where you can see the most beautiful cars in the world, up close and personal, while they're standing still. Boardwalk is full of enthusiasts, and they keep the Ferrari clients and fans in Dallas busy with a full calendar of events, every year.

If you live in or around Dallas, Boardwalk should be your first stop for a new or pre-owned Ferrari. We thank them deeply for their continued support of Risi Competizione.

 

Ferrari Financial Services

One of the most recent initiatives at FNA (Ferrari of North America) is the introduction of Ferrari Financial Services. Ferrari Financial Services is the economic equivalent of a Ferrari automobile: exclusive, personal, dedicated, focused. FFS offers clients multiple options in buying or leasing a new or classic Ferrari. For example, you can obtain competitive rates on a new model Ferrari with terms of up to 84 months.

But there's more: you can finance your classic or vintage Ferrari through FFS. You can finance a Ferrari race car. You can even finance a Ferrari F1 car if you decide that the only way to sort out your friends at track day is to blow by them in an official ex-Scuderia F1 Ferrari. Ferrari Financial Services is a new sponsor of Risi Competizione because they're new to the marketplace and they figured we'd give them a fast start. Good move.

We're glad to have them on board and highly recommend you check out our how they can help you realize your next Ferrari purchase.

 

Ferrari of Houston


www.ferrariofhouston.com

Let's make this as simple as can be: the soul of Ferrari is racing. The soul of Ferrari of Houston is Risi Competizione. That's all you need to know.

 

OFFICIAL RACING TIRE

MICHELIN

Michelin is the tire of choice on the track or off, on the race car or on the race transporter. For the past eight years, Risi Competizione has been running on Michelins. All we've done in that time is rack up a string of championships and set records in ALMS and at places like Sebring. There is little dispute that Michelin is one of the world’s premier technology companies; the Michelin man is actually a man of steel (belted radials?). Few companies spend as much money on testing and innovation in their industry as Michelin does. Michelin has its own race tracks to test tires for both road and track and of course, they have the greatest fleet of race cars in history to test the limits of adhesion on the track. These race teams give Michelin access to a vast amount of data delivered direct from the race track by the world's premier racing teams. It is not easy to have Michelin on your list of sponsors and suppliers; take a look around the paddock at who's on Michelins and you will see the cream of the crop in racing. Every top team in ALMS runs on Michelin tires. Period.

Our experience with Michelin has been both rewarding and revealing—they are ultra supportive of our efforts and go the extra mile to insure that Risi Competizione is always perfectly prepared for any type of race conditions. And who do you think is going to come to your rescue with tires that increase mileage in today's energy constrained world? Michelin. Count on them. Risi Competizione does.

 

OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

MECHANIX

Let's take a look at what we asked MECHANIX to do for Risi Competizione: provide us with gloves and tool belts and gear that make it possible for our techs to work flat out on the car, removing this part, bolting that one on, changing the steaming hot brake pads on the fly; handling tires so hot they're sizzling when they roll across pit lane. Racing at the Risi Comp level is a contact sport: man vs. machine; man against hot metal and rubber and alloys. If the gear is not tough enough; if it doesn't fit properly; if it doesn't protect well enough—time is lost, our techs can get hurt or burned or worse.

So we don't compromise when it comes to team gear; we go for MECHANIX.

You might be new to MECHANIX but the best in MOTOCROSS, NASCAR, F1, ALMS, NHRA, SUPERCROSS, are not.

MECHANIX made their reputation by making the best motor sports gloves in the business, starting almost a decade and a half ago now. Look at it like this: you're a tire changer on the Risi Comp No. 62 Ferrari 430GT. The race is tight as the car comes in for it's last stop: a set of tires and some fuel.

You're carrying a thirty pound airgun in your gloved hands and as you fly over the wall with that gun in your hand, everything your team has worked for the last six months is on the line. Your gloves are just as much a part of your tool kit as the airgun: they have to be able to withstand the shock of the airgun yet maintain the sensitivity to feel the wheelnuts when you put them back on; they have to protect you against heat and burning rubber but be pliable enough for you to do the job.

You can't think about whether or not they're going to do their job when you go over the wall and you work for a team with a no-excuses management attitude that flows from the top down.

Are you going to bet your career—your spot on the team!—on anything less than MECHANIX. I don't think so. That's why we equip everyone on Risi Comp with Mechanix gloves and gear. Give your people the best so they can be the best.

Take a tip from the best in the business and do the same. You can learn all about how to turn fate into fortune with MECHANIX gear at www.mechanix.com

Highly Recommended for those on their way to the winner's circle.

 

STÄUBLI

StaubliHere's how it works at Risi Competizione. We use STÄUBLI fittings on our 430GT.

Maybe you haven't heard of Stäubli before—they're a Swiss company with an American facility in South Carolina—but they make what is known in the trade as "aircraft quality fittings". Aircraft quality pretty much says it all: tough enough to withstand landing after landing in mission critical applications where lives are lost if there is a failure. We love these guys and their gear, because they work in a no-compromise world, just like Risi Competizione.

STÄUBLI makes quick connect (and disconnect) connectors for hydraulics, fluids, air, fuel, cooling and electrical systems. We use these connectors all throughout our Ferrari 430GT. We simply cannot afford a failure because our class is so competitive, one problem can cost us a big race or a little one. STÄUBLI also makes the fittings for the airjacks that enable our pitstops, so the STÄUBLII gear gets hammered in races long and short.

If you're building—or rebuilding or re-assembling—a vehicle, a boat, an airplane, an F16 or a P1 car—do yourself a big favor and switch to STÄUBLI connectors. You can read all about STÄUBLI at their website www.staubli.com/connectorsTheir products are not only extremely tough and reliable, but beautifully made (and if you're reading this, we know you're the type of person that totally respects this type of equipment!).

STÄUBLI: connect with the future.

 

VOLTPHREAKS

You can't possibly imagine the strain on a racecar's electrical system that comes about as a result of running a race like the 12 Hours of Sebring or the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But we can, and as a result this year Risi Competizione has switched to VOLTPHREAKS as the supplier of our batteries.

Voltphreaks designs and builds lightweight battery systems for motorsport racing teams (American LeMans, NASCAR, etc), dragster applications, motorcycles, and high performance street enthusiasts—you know who you are!.

Instead of looking backwards, VOLTPHREAKS looked into the future to design their batteries. They use lightweight nano-lithium in place of your standard, 20th Century lead-acid battery, thus saving significant weight, while gaining advantages, such as longer service life and higher voltage during discharge. All of the VOLTPHREAKS lightweight batteries are designed and manufactured in Los Angeles, California, where else. By switching to VOLTPHREAKS, Risi Competizione has dropped a lot of unnecessary weight while achieving greatly improved performance characteristics—the perfect deal for a world-class team like Risi Comp.

You want to shock the world with the performance of your car? Switch to VOLTPHREAKS batteries. You can learn more about VOLTPHREAKS batteries with a simple click here: www.voltphreaks.com

 

ENDLESS

Since 1987, Endless has developed high performance brake solutions for the most demanding competition use. Born in F3000, Endless quickly developed new technologies which in turn have been used in their advanced street applications, thereby encompassing all categories of end users. Using their race experience, they expanded their offering to include brake fluid, calipers, rotors and lines.

EndlessThese advanced racing brake technologies were embraced in all arenas of motorsport including, but not limited to, WRC, 24 hour endurance races, WTCC, Super GT, and the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1. In addition to Endless' extensive library of brake pad compounds, which exceeds triple digit figures, they constantly develop new compounds to suit specific customer specifications. Their high level of quality and superb attention to detail have garnered them the reputation of being the definitive racing brake solution.


HJC MOTORSPORTS

HJC MotorsportsLook into the Risi Competizione pits and you will see a virtual crowd of techs and drivers wearing HJC Motorsports helmets www.hjc-motorsports.com Why HJC? Glad you asked. Risi Competizione prides itself on being on the cutting edge of the motorsport world and one way we stay ahead of the competition is to keep our head in the game—neatly encased in superlight, HJC motorsport helmets.

Since 1971, HJC has specialized in producing the world's finest motorcycle helmets. HJC helmets combine new ideas, advanced technology, superb craftsmanship, and the finest materials to create helmets that offer superb aerodynamics, excellent fit, and exceptional comfort. Let's face it—if the helmet isn't comfortable and doesn't fit, all the technology in the world isn't going to make it a choice for techs who have to have the best when they go over the wall to tend to a car or to a driver who is turning lap after lap against world class competition and must have the very best protection available. That's HJC.

For example, the snappy HJC SI 12 Superlight Auto Racing Helmet used by Jaime Melo has an advanced superlight composite weave shell. Less weight means less driver fatique, especially when the G's load up in the corners. The Advanced Channeling System ("ACS") is a third generation ventilation system that provides full front to back airflow, to get heat and humidity out of the helmet. The shield is composed of polycarbonate anti-fog material, which provides 95% UV protection and features an anti-scratch coating. The fire resistant carbon fiber interior also provides moisture wicking and increases comfort. The SI 12 is HANS® compatible and pre-drilled for posts. These guys think about everything in terms of weight and performance: there's even a titanium top front vent and a deluxe Helmet Storage Bag included.

Motor racing has enough risks that you should use only the best gear, in the pits or on the track, so Risi Competizione provides you with this very solid piece of advice: protect yourself with HJC helmets and keep your head in the game

 

SIGNATURE FLOORING & FENCING

The art of presentation is one of the more subtle keys behind the professionalism of a racing team. Presentation is defined as the image a team presents when its both on and off the track. On the track you can see it in the preparation of the car and the detailing of its appearance; off the track, presentation is visible in the uniforms, pit organization, transporter and transporter garage/operations. A neat, orderly, and professional presentation in the pits and at the transporter/race shop is the sign that a team is paying attention to all the details involved in racing.

When you visit Risi Competizione at an ALMS race this year or at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, you will see that the team is using flooring from Signature Flooring and Fencing's EVENT DECK series for the race team. This portable flooring—easy to put down, easy to take up, easy to maintain—keeps the transporter area looking very sharp and also maintains the type of professional image so important to Risi Competizione.

Signature Flooring and Fencing Systems LLC is the world's largest manufacturer and renter of fencing and flooring systems. The company, headquartered in New York, manufactures and markets a wide range of fencing and flooring systems for any type of event or situation.

Event Deck www.eventdeck.comsystems have been used for everything from Presidential Inaugurations to creating temporary pathways to flooring for racing teams setting up temporary garages at race track. The EventDeck module is an injection molded 4" x 12" unit that can be combined in a virtually unlimited number of configurations to meet your particular requirements. It's installed quickly and easily and is available in a wide variety of colors, which can be mixed and matched as per your own design.

Make the best possible presentation of your event or product by using EventDeck portable flooring. It's the ultimately portable flooring system.