2004 AMERICAN LE MANS : PETIT LE MANS

PETIT LE MANS, USA, SEP 26: 2004 SEASON

RACE

• ALM Round 8 of 9:
• 7th Petit Le Mans Race
• 1000 mile or 10 hour endurance race
• Race start: noon Saturday, Sept 25
• Johnny Herbert and Pierre Kaffer to drive for Champion Racing this weekend.

CIRCUIT: ROAD ATLANTA

• Road Atlanta road course, Braselton, Georgia
• 2.54 mile circuit
• 12 turns
• Qualifying record: Allan McNish, Audi R8 1m 10.379, 2000

GT CHAMPIONSHIP STILL TO BE DECIDED

STANDING BEFORE RACE:

• 1. Timo Bernhard AJR Porsche 113 points
  2. Van Overbeek/Law Porsche 110 points
  3. Bergmeister AJR Porsche 87
  4. Stanton/Murry Porsche 86
  5. Lieb/Dumas AJR Porsche 72
  6. Wagner/Long Porsche 59

RACE RESULT: 35 starters; 24 finished

OVERALL WINNER: AUDI, CHANMPION RACING, LEHTO/WERNER
LEHTO: "...It was a really hard day ... the #2 team car (Herbert, Kaffer) and Dyson gave us a really hard time, until they had their problems. If they had not, it would have been a very tough day. It was close fighting, a lot more competition."
WERNER: "... Great race for us ... A race with more competition than any other (ALMS) races. I had strong stint in the beginning, I came through the traffic very good. The car was perfect."

GTS WINNER, GAVIN/BERETTA/MAGNUSSEN, CHEVROLET
BERETTA: "... We are a very good team and we work very well together. Everything went very well, everything was like in Le Mans - perfect. I am very happy to win Le Mans and Petit."

GT WINNER, Bernhard/Bergmeister/Maassen, PORSCHE
BERNHARD: "... The car was good all day. It is nice when your closest competition is your companion car. We ran a nice consistent race and didn't have any incidents in traffic. This makes the championship look better going to Laguna Seca"

FINAL RESULT, 1000 miles

1. JJ Lehto, M.Werner Audi R8, Champion Racing 394 LAPS
2 J.Herbert, P.Kaffer Audi R8, Champion Racing +3 laps
3 C.Dyson, A.Wallace Lola EX257 AER + 8 laps
4 O.Gavin, O.Beretta, J.Magnussen , Chevrolet Corvette C5-R ** GTS WINNER **
5 R.Fellows, J.O'Connell, M.Papis , Chevrolet Corvette C5-R
6 C.Field, R.Liddell, M.Duno , Lola B2K/40 Judd
7 T.Bernhard, J.Bergmeister, S.Maassen , Porsche ** GT WINNER **
8 R.Dumas, M.Lieb, W.Hentzler , Porsche
9 J.Weaver, A.Wallace, B.Leitzinger , Lola EX257 AER
10 D.Murry, C.Stanton, M.Petersen , Porsche

QUALIFYING

GRID

• 1 J.Weaver, A.Wallace, B.Leitzinge, Lola EX257/AER 1m 12.136s
  WEAVER: "... I remember being a schoolboy watching of Villeneuve and the like qualifying at Silverstone going back and forth changing positions lap after lap ... That's the way I was raised with qualifying. Like today, I found a hole in traffic and got two clear laps in and at the end, had the pole."
• 2 N.Minassian, J.Campbell-Walter , Reynard DBA 035 +0.28s
  MINASSIAN: "... It was a pretty good lap ... This track takes a lot out of the car but I think it would have been possible to go quicker ... I'm a little bit disappointed because pole position is always sweet, you know, but the front row is a great job. We are not far at all from the people who have been doing this forever and we are going to give them our best shot tomorrow."
• 3 J.Herbert, P.Kaffer Audi R8, Champion Racing
  KAFFER: "... I enjoyed qualifying and although it is a little frustrating to have been pushed back to the second row right at the end we are in good shape ... We've got a good setup on the Champion Audi which allows us to make consistent times. I love the circuit - it's like a little Nordschleife, the original Nurburgring circuit in my native Germany."
• 4 JJ Lehto, M.Werner Audi R8, Champion Racing
• GTS POLE: O.Gavin, O.Beretta, J.Magnussen , Chevrolet Corvette C5-R
• GT POLE: Romain Dumas, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

PRACTICE, SESSION 2

• 1 JJ Lehto, M.Werner Audi R8, Champion Racing 1m 13.417
• 2 J.Herbert, P.Kaffer Audi R8, Champion Racing +0.28s
• 3 J.Weaver, A.Wallace, B.Leitzinge, Lola EX257/AER +0.63
• 4 N.Minassian, J.Campbell-Walter , Reynard DBA 035 +0.86
• 5 J.Field, D.Dayton, M.Durand , Lola B162/Judd
• 6 C.Dyson, J.Lammers , Lola EX257/AER
• 7 C.Field, R.Liddell, M.Duno , Lola B2K/40/Judd
• 8 O.Gavin, O.Beretta, J.Magnussen , Chevrolet Corvette C5-R *** GTS ***
• 17 T.Bernhard, J.Bergmeister, S.Maa , Porsche 911 GT3 RSR *** GT ***

PRE RACE QUOTES

• LEHTO (AUDI) 2004 champion: "... I really like the Road Atlanta track - we won there last year and I want to try and do it again this year. The circuit is really challenging and there are always so many fans which makes the atmosphere very special."

• WERNER (AUDI) 2004 champion: "... This is a special event for us. It's one of the longest distances that we race, and we will have a lot of good competition not only from the Dyson cars and the Zytek, but also from our own sister car. It's a great track, I like it and it's one that I think suits JJ very well".

• HERBERT (AUDI) guest driver for Champion: ".... I'm very much looking forward to rejoining the ALMS and delighted it's with Champion. It'll be fun 're-igniting' the relationships and at one of the best ALMS races on the calendar. I'm itching to get back in the seat."

• KAFFER (AUDI) guest driver for Champion: ".... I am really looking forward to Atlanta. I tested there prior to Sebring and it's one of the best race tracks, a bit like the Nurburgring. And to drive with Johnny is a big pleasure for me. I hope we can enjoy the race and have a good result."

• DYSON (LOLA): "... The longer the race, the better, as far as I'm concerned ... I like to drive, and the more time I have in the car, the better. The thing about the Petit Le Mans is that it's short enough that you have to running about as fast as you can all the time. But it's long enough that it really is an endurance race. I really wish that all of our races were at least six hours."What's been frustrating about this season so far is that we clearly have the speed to dominate the series ... But we've been lacking in both reliability and just plain racing luck. The Champion team that's won the other races is a great one, and their Audi R8 is a strong, well-developed and reliable car. Hats off to them on a great season. But our team's made a lot of progress as the season has progressed, and I think we're going to have a great race this weekend"

• BERNHARD (PORSCHE) GT championship leader: "... Theoretically, I could win the championship if the number 45 Flying Lizard car does not finish. But they have run so consistently over the year that I honestly think it'll go to a show down at Laguna. My goal is to win the championship and we are well prepared."

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