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Driver Profile |
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Pierre Ehret was born in Dusseldorf in 1956. He first came to the U.S. in 1980 and attended
Santa Rosa JC before getting his B.A. in economics from Columbia University in
New York City.
After getting his MBA and a stint on Wall Street, he eventually ended up back in Santa Rosa, where he worked at the Flamingo Resort Hotel, which he now
owns.
In 1994, he decided he wanted to learn automobile racing, so went to the Jim Russell School at Laguna
Seca. He found that there were “kids” who were faster than him, but he was determined to do well. For three years he raced in the Formula Russell
series, with steady improvement. From 1999 to 2002 he drove in the Star Mazda
Series. His first attempt at Daytona was as a member of the Bucknam LMP675 Pilbeam team in 2002. Pierre said that this was really more of a visit to Daytona than a race for
him, because the car was plagued with engine and chassis problems that could not be
resolved, so did not compete. In 2003 and 2004, he was back at Daytona with The Racer’s Group Porsche GT3 RS #67.
In 2003, Pierre met Horst Farnbacher at a PCA club race in Sebring. They got on
well, so after Wolf Henzler won victories for Farnbacher at Infineon/Sears Point and Laguna Seca in 2004, Pierre was invited to join the team for their first 24 hour race at
Daytona in 2005. Pierre had other commitments so missed the practice
session, but didn’t think there would be problem because of his experience with the RS from
previous years. However, this year the Grand Am sanctioning body, determined that the
Porsche GT3 Cup cars would be eligible, but not RSs. “There is a big difference
between them,” said Pierre. “The GT3 Cup car is essentially a street car and uses ABS
brakes, where the RS is a developed race car without ABS. The big problem is
learning to use the ABS so it does not kill your momentum and Wolf Henzler does it
perfectly.”
During the race, Pierre turned very competitive times in the 1:58
range, not far off Henzler’s 1:56 pole qualifying time. Pierre said that to become really good, a
driver cannot move between different classes because he must learn what each type of
car requires and use that information to get the most from the car. Wolf Henzler has
driven only GT3 Cup cars for the past two years (he was European Porsche SuperCup
champion in 2004). In addition, said Pierre, “Horst Farnbacher is a magician in the
set-up of the GT3 Cup car.” This year, Pierre hopes to race in the European American
Le Mans Series and is in negotiation with a German team.
Pierre’s first Porsche was a ’74 2.7 Carrera RS in Germany, where they were able to
get the real Carreras instead of the CIS versions that came to the U.S. He said it was
one of the best cars he ever owned. He now has a 996 Targa in Santa Rosa and a new
997 Carrera S in Munich. “There is a world of difference between the 997 and the
996,” Pierre said, “The 996 is a great car, but feels like an old car in comparison to the
997, which has more power and a better interior.” Particularly useful on the
autobahn, I’m sure. He also has a GT3 RS that he would like to sell this
year. Our “Escape to the Wine Country” in August will be headquartered at the Flamingo
Resort. Pierre said that he plans to be there with us if he does not have a conflicting
race. I look forward to meeting him in person.
Why did you get into racing in the first place?
I started racing at the tender age of 40, because it was something that I always wanted to do but didn’t want to pay
for. After a while, I realized that life is just too short to let things pass
by.
What is your favorite memory of racing? Where was it, and what was remarkable about
it?
I had a race once in a Porsche 996 Cup car, in the wet. I missed qualifying and had to start the race dead last, but I finished on the
podium. (Racing in) the wet levels the playing field and allows driving ability to be the biggest
factor. In the rain, anything and everything can happen. You’re in “full
pucker” when you’re speeding along with no grip.
What's your overarching philosophy in life?
Live and let live.
What sort of street car do you drive?
A few – all of them sporty and German or Italian.
What race, regardless of series, would you most like to win? Why?
For me, racing is about enjoying myself. I’m very happy in American Le
Mans, and would love to win a few races in this series.
What street car would you most like to own?
At the moment, the Porsche Carrera GT.
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Curriculum
Vitae & Victories |
| 2009 |
Start with Ferrari
F430 GTC:
Le Mans Series (Dominik Farnbacher and Anthony Beltoise) P4
Championsship in GT2
24h Le Mans with Modena Racing: P7 |
| 2008 |
24h Daytona: P8 Farnbacher Loles with T. Bernhard/D.
Farnbacher/D. Werner (Porsche GT3 Cup)
12h Sebring: P4 Tafel Racing with Allan Simonsen und Jim Tafel (Ferrari
F430 GTC)
ALMS: P10 (Lacuna Seca), P7 (Road Atlanta) Ferrari
F430 GTC
Le Mans Series: P5 in Championsship GT2 (Ferrari
F430 GTC)
24h Le Mans: P3 Farnbacher Racing with Pierre
Kaffer/Lars-Erik Nielsen (Ferrari F430 GT) |
| 2007 |
24 Hours Daytona
/ 12 Hours Sebring / ALMS
/ Le Mans Series / Porsche Sports Cup
24 Hours Le Mans: Team
Autolando Sport with Allan Simonsen (DK) and Lars-Erik
Nielsen (DK) |
| 2006 |
24 Hours Daytona
(P5) / 12 Hours Sebring (technical
dropout)
24 Hours Le Mans (P2) /
Guest start Radical at Donington (P4 + P5)
Porsche Sports Cup in Spa (P1 and 2 in Sprint) / Le Mans
Series (P14 overall) |
| 2005 |
FIA GT Championship, GT2-60.
(Sebah-Porsche, single race)
American
LeMans Series, GT2 (Sebah-Porsche)
American LeMans Series, GT2 (RacersGroup-Porsche)
Win GT-category 24 Hours of Daytona |
| 2004 |
American LeMans Series, GT, 22th
(RacersGroup-Porsche) |
| 2003 |
American LeMans Series, GT, 37th
(RacersGroup-Porsche)
GrandAm Series, GT, 42th |
| 2002 |
US Star Mazda Series, 28th
American LeMans Series LMP675, 22th (Bucknum-Pilbeam, einige Rennen) |
| 2001 |
US Star Mazda Series |
| 2000 |
US Star Mazda Series, West,
7th |
| 1999 |
US Star Mazda Series, West,
14th |
| 1998 |
US Formel Russell, 14th |
| 1997 |
US Formel Russell, 9th |
| 1996 |
US Formel Russell, 23th |
| 1994 |
Starting Motorsport with Jim Russell School (Laguna
Seca) |
| 1988 |
Take over of Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa |
| 1980 |
Living in USA (Santa Rosa JC),
BA (Economics) Columbia University (News York),
Wall Street Banker |
| 1962-1964 |
Children's home Dienersberg
(Germany) |
| 1956 |
Born in Düsseldorf (today
living in California and Munich) |
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