Derrick Walker and the team prepared the new RSR for its season debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring. The 2012 GT3 RSR was even wider than its predecessor by 48 millimeters with wider front and rear wheels to match, with an improved aerodynamic package and intake ducts at the rear quarters. It was powered again by the six-cylinder boxer 4.0-liter engine capable of 460 BHP with the mandatory intake restrictor plates, and paired to a six-speed gearbox with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters as a standard feature. The 2012 GT3 RSR featured extensive modifications, including flared front- and rear-wheel arches as well as new side intakes to improve airflow to the engine.
Drivers Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers returned after the veteran duo secured two wins for Team Falken last in 2011; at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and on the streets of Baltimore.
“The new chassis again makes us one of the few teams in the world to have one of these incredibly sophisticated race cars, and we fully intend to take advantage of what we learned last season,” stated Andrew Hoit from Falken.
“The car performed extremely well during the Winter Test,” declared Sellers, who began his fourth year as a Falken team driver. He partnered again with Porsche Works driver Wolf Henzler and Team Manager Derrick Walker, who started his second year as head of the race program. Updated Falken Azenis slick race tires were used once again on the Porsche, vastly improved through research and development during performed during the off-season.
Chassis WP0ZZZ99ZCS799914 had several top 10 finishes in 2012 and 2013 during its time in the American Le Mans series. In its last race at Baltimore, Falken driver Wolf Henzler was one of many drivers sucked into the multi-car pileup. With no room to avoid the carnage, the German hammered the back of fellow Porsche team CORE autosport. Porsche sent a brand new replacement chassis with the original production number as was the practice with teams, but it was never raced again after being repaired with the new tub.
In 2014, Arizona Porsche collector Jim Edwards bought chassis WP0ZZZ99ZCS799914 directly from Team Falken Tire. At the time, Walker had completely gone through the entire car mechanically and freshly restored the exterior cosmetics in a fresh iconic teal/blue Falken livery. Jim hired Nico Castellaccio (Migliore Motorwerks) to service and maintain the GT3 RSR during his ownership. Nico had worked as a team mechanic in ALMS and Grand-AM in-period and also prepared the RSR for RennSport Reunion VI in 2016, where it won the Flacht Cup with Jörg Bergmeister behind the wheel.
Porsche only built nine cars of the final 997 RSR production run and it is one of the rarest Porsche competition cars ever produced. Chassis WP0ZZZ99ZCS799914 comes with a freshly built 4.0 engine with zero hours on the engine from Porsche Motorsport North America and several sets of wheels. It is a highly eligible candidate for the next Rennsport Reunion and has already proven to be a strong contender for victory in its iconic Falken livery.