June 1, 2012

At 12:00am local time, Hailfire Racing's Travis Johannes confirmed the team's plans to enter into the TORA MSA GT Championship Sponsored by GT Omega's ninth season, and with the change of the rulebook from production-based N24s to the race-bred GTs, Hailfire Racing was forced to abandon the RUF RGT-8 that had served them well in the final two rounds of the eighth season.

Hailfire Racing had previously confirmed their intent to enter in the ninth season, and with this announcement speculation had surfaced over what the team would be entering. Some sources claimed that their experiences with rear-engined cars would lead them to be one of the pioneer Porsche teams, possibly even receiving factory support. Others noted their Le Mans partnership with Team Oreca, suggesting that some of their existing Competition Coupes would be converted to MSA GT specifications.

Perhaps because of this, the latest announcement has shocked many.


Above: Hailfire Racing's entries into GT begin with a 5% penalty, as shown here.

At 08:00 GMT, confirmation to all questions were made. For the ninth season of the TORA MSA GT Championship powered by GT Omega, Hailfire Racing aims to bring the BMW M3 E92 GT2 to the fight. While Hailfire Racing was once notorious for their partnership with Turner Motorsports with fielding BMW M3s and M6s in various club races, the newest incarnation of the racing circuit has until-now shown this relationship to have fizzled-out.

The Motul-sponsored cars will debut at the season opener at the Silverstone International Circuit, and will be driven by a confirmed lineup of Hailfire97x, Red Dirt Bandit, and Maserati F1. A fourth-driver is currently being sought-out, and confirmation will be delivered as soon as possible.

Current Lineup is as follows.




Hailfire97x -- Car #9 -- Light Blue Accents

After making his TORA debut in round 7 of the GT Championship's eighth season, Hailfire97x has continued to show why he belongs in TORA. As team captain, his expectations are through the roof for the upcoming season in the new car.




Red Dirt Bandit -- Car #66 -- Red-Orange Accents

This young, up-and-coming talent made his debut for the ninth round of the TORA GT Season 8. After notching a few races under his belt, Red Dirt Bandit aims to bring all he can to the table for Hailfire Racing.




Maserati F1 -- Car #196 -- Fluorescent Green Accents

While he was scheduled to make multiple appearances for Hailfire Racing last season, Maserati F1 never took to the circuit in an actual event. As an avid BMW fanatic, Maserati F1 looks to take his team and his marque to the top of the charts on numerous occasions.

-T. Johannes, Hailfire Racing Captain -- June 1, 2012