Falken Confirms Adjusted Driver Lineup

Porsche outfit Falken Motorsports has announced an adjusted squad of drivers for this year’s Nürburgring 24 and NLS campaigns.

The Schnabl Engineering-run team has signed reigning European Le Mans Series GTE champion Alessio Picariello and Lance David Arnold to its 2021 season roster.

Picariello, who primarily raced in Asia until his breakthrough GTE title win last year, is set for his maiden drive in the Nürburgring Nordschleife endurance competitions.

Arnold, meanwhile, has extensive N24 and NLS experience including his most recent role driving for Porsche GT3 entrant Frikadelli Racing Team in 2020.

Porsche specialists Martin Ragginger, Klaus Bachler, Sven Mueller, Dirk Werner and Thomas Preining are all continuing with the team.

Changes had been expected after Falken announced earlier this month that its longest-serving driver, Peter Dumbreck, would be transferring to a new off-track advisory role.

Matteo Cairoli, Christian Engelhart and Dennis Olsen also drove for Falken at the Nordschleife last season but have not been named in the updated lineup.

Falken has yet to confirm the driver combinations for its entries. The odd number of team members suggests that a crossover driver could work between the two cars at the N24, while Bachler and Mueller both performed this role this during the 2020 edition.