Patrick Long and his teammates Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers, driving the #17 Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR, had an eventful Rolex 24, a race that was unfortunately punctuated by an early retirement due to a driveline issue. The #17, a privateer entry competing against the might not only of the Porsche factory team but also factory efforts from BMW, Corvette and Ferrari, was well on the pace, mixing it up with the lead pack and was to lead the race at two different stages.
Long, who will drive at Sebring and Petit Le Mans with the Falken Tire team, went on to finish 8th in the ultra-competitive GTLM class, gaining valuable championship points for Falken and Porsche in the first race of a long championship. Long will now turn his attention to vying for overall honors at the Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia, where he will drive with Icebreak Competition Motorsport. The 12 Hours of Bathurst runs from February 6-8.