Longtime Engineer Greg Fordahl Passes Away

Photo: Porsche

Renowned race engineer Greg Fordahl, who had worked for some of the top sports car racing teams in North America, passed away suddenly on Monday.

Fordahl, who was a founding member at Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by The Cayman Islands squad 311RS Motorsport, held a long and storied past engineering Porsche and Porsche-powered race cars, most notably with Alex Job Racing and Brumos Racing.

More recently, he had worked with the likes of 311RS, Magnus Racing and others, having engineered cars to victories in all of the major endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

“Today we woke up to the terrible news of Greg Fordahl’s passing,” a statement from 311RS Motorsport read.

“He was our team engineer, but was so much more than that. Greg was an absolute legend in the sport having won just about everything in sports car racing. He was a class act and always had a great story to tell and wisdom to share.

“Greg was a founding member of our team and we’ll be forever grateful to him for the mark he left on all of us.

“Our final memory with Greg was at Road Atlanta where he orchestrated an amazing comeback to win the last race of the season, our first as a team.”

311RS driver Leh Keen added: “I first worked with Greg Fordahl at the 2010 Twelve of Sebring when I had the opportunity to drive with Alex Job. In this race I was on pole and we won our class by three laps. It was the most hooked up amazing car I had ever driven.

“Greg of course was the engineer and doing strategy as always for AJR. After that weekend all I wanted was to drive for Alex and have Greg the engineer.

“I worked with Greg for the next 12 years with multiple teams. Most recently when he came on 311RS Motorsport and we hit the ground running the very first weekend last year.

“He was humble and confident. He had a special ability to talk with a driver and know what the car wanted and make the car better. He was also incredibly gifted with race strategy which sometimes can be the most difficult thing.

“Greg was just great to have under your tent. Conversations, stories and jokes. His last race he won [in the Porsche] Carrera Cup NA at Road Atlanta just one month ago. I will mis him dearly. He was a Legend. It was a honor to work with him.”

Magnus Racing has also paid tribute to Fordahl, who helped turn around the team’s fortunes.

“We brought Greg in during a difficult 2018 season, and he was a very welcome addition to the group,” said team owner/driver John Potter. “He had a great penchant for recognizing a team’s strengths and weaknesses and using his experience he was very helpful in identifying key areas for improvement.

“Most importantly, he was a very straightforward and honest character, and I always respected his no BS way of working with us.

“Greg was so instrumental in my 2020 driver season, too. He deserves huge credit for 2020 successes and, most importantly, me keeping my sanity on a drama filled year! For that, I will always be grateful. He’ll be missed and we wish his family and friends our sympathies.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John