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2005
AMERICAN LE MANS (ALM)
RACE
RESULT:
APR 17,
2005
- 1 JJ
Lehto, M.Werner - Audi R8 , 112 laps
"Marco started the race and did a really good first stint,"
Lehto added. "The No. 2 car had a problem and we were just
pushing all the time. Then there was a penalty and then a wave-by,
which was strange but the team kept saying 'keep on going, keep
pushing' and I did! In the end it "
- 2 C.Dyson,
A.Wallace - Lola EX257 AER
- 3 F.Biela,
E.Pirro - Audi R8 +1 lap
- 4 J.Field,
D.Dayton - Lola B05/40 AER
- 5
R.Fellows, J.O'Connell - Chevrolet Corvette C6- R *** GT1 winner
***
- 6 O.Gavin,
O.Beretta - Chevrolet Corvette C6- R
- 7 F.Babini,
F.De Simone , Maserati MC12
- 8 T.Borcheller,
J.Mowlem , Saleen S7R
- 9 A.Figge,
R.Dalziel , Corvette C5-R
- 10 J.Weaver,
B.Leitzinger - Lola EX257 AER
- 11
B.Auberlen, R.Liddell , Panoz Esperante GTLM *** GT2 WINNER ***
WINNER,
LEHTO: "There were so many things going on in this race.
Marco started the race and did a really good first stint. The No.
2 car had a problem and we were just pushing all the time. Then there
was a penalty and then a wave by which was strange but the team kept
saying 'keep on going, keep pushing' and I did. In the end it worked
out for us. It's always nice to win here at Road Atlanta."
WINNER,
WERNER: "I was trying everything in the beginning to
be close behind James Weaver in the Dyson car. Sometimes I lost a
little bit in the esses because I had slower cars in front of me and
Weaver was a little bit luckier as he was in front. It was important
to be close to him and then the yellows helped us as well as we were
always in the right position. The team did a great job and JJ did
great job too-as always!"
3RD,
BIELA: "We had some bad luck today which cost us two
laps. It first started early around lap 12. The vibrations were really
hard and continued for about 20 to 25 laps until the wheel broke.
So I guess that was the beginning of the end. Under the circumstances
we are very happy with third place."
QUALIFYING:
GRID,
APR 16, 2005
- 1 J.Weaver,
B.Leitzinger - Lola EX257 AER , 1m 11.241
- 2 JJ Lehto,
M.Werner - Audi R8 +0.42
- 3 F.Biela,
E.Pirro - Audi R8 +0.52
- 4 C.Dyson,
A.Wallace - Lola EX257 AER
- 5 J.Field,
D.Dayton - Lola B05/40 AER
- 6 J.Bucknum,
C.McMurry, J.Macaluso - Courage C-65 AER
- 7 R.Fellows,
J.O'Connell - Chevrolet Corvette C6- R
- 8 O.Gavin,
O.Beretta - Chevrolet Corvette C6- R
- 9 J.Bach, G.Cosmo
- Courage C65 Mazda
- 10 F.Babini,
F.De Simone - Maserati MC12
FRI, APR
15, 2005
- 1 AUDI,
Champion Racing 1m 11.786
- 2 Lola EX257
AER , Dyson Racing +0.26
- 3 Lola EX257
AER , Dyson Racing +0.95
- 4 AUDI, Champion
Racing +1.1
- 5 Lola B05/40
AER , Telessis Intersport Ra +2
- 6 Courage C-65
AER , Miracle Motorsports In +4.1
- 7 Chevrolet
Corvette C6-R
- 8 Chevrolet
Corvette C6-R
- 9 Courage C65
Mazda **** MAZDA DEBUT ****
- 10 Saleen S7R
BEFORE
RACE:
NEW
MAZDA ENGINE WILL BRING THE NOISE TO SPORTSBOOK.COM GRAND PRIX OF
ATLANTA
The roaring
sounds of the engines in the American Le Mans Series' prototype
classes vary from a low, loud rumble to a relatively quiet hum.
But the volume is about to pick up as the Sportsbook.com Grand Prix
of Atlanta nears. Round 2 of the ALMS' 2005 schedule features Mazda's
celebrated return to North American road racing in the No. 8 B-K
Motorsports Sportsbook.com Courage, powered by the Japanese giant's
famed Rotary engine. Guy Cosmo and Jamie Bach will drive the entry
at Road Atlanta and the rest of the ALMS' races in 2005. Both have
extensive road-racing experience in Mazdas.
The Rotary engine
technology is a unique technology that is known only to Mazda, said
John Doonan, director of marketing and public relations for the
No. 8 Sportsbook.com Mazda Courage. Mazda won the 24 Hours of Le
Mans in 1991, the only Japanese manufacturer to do so. "It's
the efficiency of the motor as it relates to endurance racing,"
Doonan said. "When Mazda won at Le Mans, it was because we
were efficient and lasted longer. That's the whole point."
The high-pitched
whine of the Rotary engine is unmistakable, the most obvious characteristic
that will set it apart from other motors at Road Atlanta. "It'll
be a pretty good sound to hear again," Bach said. "It's
a lot smaller version of a more powerful engine. You can mount it
a lot lower, there are lot less moving parts to go wrong and it's
a lot more superior, I think."
During the last
couple of weeks, Cosmo was involved in a shakedown of the car in
France. It hit the Road Atlanta surface for the first time in an
open test session Wednesday. Both Cosmo and Bach had turns in the
car, which exceeded Cosmo's imagination. "It was the first
chance I had to open it up. It is absolutely awesome," said
Cosmo, who said he turned laps in the low 1:20s. "It's hands
down the most fun I've ever had in a race car. I didn't really get
that much of an indication in France with the circumstances and
the time we had. This car is so well mannered and it really, really
inspires us. It just tells you, 'Hey drive me hard. This is fun.'
I was looking at this as being tentative. I've explored a lot of
its limits, and it responds to everything so well."
It may be hard
to temper expectations after such a session. After all, it's tough
for a new car to compete right off the bat. "If we can pull
together and finish the race, it would be a great accomplishment
for us," Bach said. "Because of attrition, finishing could
place us in the top two or three, I'd be happy with that. Placing
higher and in qualifying would be better yet." Cosmo
had higher aspirations, though. "Before today, I would have
said our goal was to just finish, not knowing how we would fare
today," he said. "We saw a competitive spirit from the
car right off the bat. I guarantee it has more. We're just creeping
up on our potential."
CHEVROLET
PREVIEW
The hills surrounding
Road Atlanta will be alive with the sound of small-block V-8s when
Corvette Racing comes to the 2.54- mile circuit for the second round
of the 10-race American Le Mans Series. After finishing second and
third in the season-opening race in Sebring, Fla., Corvette Racing
is aiming for the top step of the podium in the 2-hour, 45-minute
sprint race at Road Atlanta. The odds favor Corvette Racing in the
Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta. Chevrolet's factory team has
won five of the last six ALMS events contested at the Georgia track,
posting victories in four Petit Le Mans endurance races (2000, '01,
'02 and '04) and a sprint race in 2003.
Road
Atlanta Outlook: "While we were disappointed in the
outcome of the Sebring race, we were heartened by the performance
level of the new Corvette C6.R race cars while they were on the
track," said Doug Fehan, GM Racing program manager for Corvette
Racing. "They certainly lived up to our expectations and demonstrated
that our development and testing over the last two years has paid
off."
The new Compuware
Corvette C6.Rs made their racing debut in the 12- hour Sebring enduro
on March 19. Running first and second in the GT1 class and third
and fourth overall at the eight-hour mark, both Corvettes encountered
trouble on the track. A carbon brake rotor failed in the No. 3 car
at top speed; driver Johnny O'Connell avoided disaster by pitching
the car into a tire barrier. The No. 4 Corvette driven by Olivier
Beretta was punted off the course and sustained heavy damage to
its rear suspension. Both cars returned to battle after extensive
repairs and fought back to finish second and third in the GT1 division.
"Road Atlanta has a much smoother racing surface than Sebring,
which means the Maserati will be more competitive," Fehan predicted.
"The Saleen and Viper teams have a great deal of experience
at Road Atlanta, so I'm expecting a closely contested battle for
the pole and for the race."
Fellows'
First Time: Three-time ALMS champion Ron Fellows will return
to the scene of his first professional race in the U.S. at Road
Atlanta. The Canadian ace made his American debut in an SCCA Trans-Am
event in 1987, the first step in a journey that has taken him to
19 Trans Am victories, 21 ALMS wins, and three ALMS championships.
"That was my first race south of the border, and it was a last-minute
deal," Fellows recalled. "I met Gordie Oftedahl at a Trans-Am
race at Mosport when I was racing in the Player's/GM showroom stock
series. He had a Buick Somerset race car, and his driver didn't
show up for practice. I was standing around in my driver's suit.
After I told him who I was, he asked, 'Do you want to drive one
of these things?' "That was the first time I drove a Trans-Am
car," Fellows continued. "It was a bit of a handful, but
I didn't know any better. He tried to get me in the race that weekend
but it didn't work out, so we talked about going to Road Atlanta.
I managed to raise a piddly amount of sponsorship, and he took it!
"That was during Trans-Am's turbo era, and there were some
really fast turbocharged Porsches, Nissans and Merkurs. We used
the softest tire compound we could find because we thought that
was our best chance to do well. Sure enough, we finished fourth
and that got me a test with Roush Racing." Now Fellows relishes
his return to the track that launched his racing career. "Road
Atlanta is a throwback among race tracks," he explained. "It's
a natural road course with fast corners and elevation changes. They
don't build race tracks like that any more, which is a shame. "It's
the kind of track that you have to give respect because it's big-
time fast. I went out and watched my Corvette teammates going through
the esses once, and decided I didn't I want to watch any more. Do
we really go that fast? It was impressive, but a little scary."
Road
Atlanta Revenge: Oliver Gavin has enjoyed success at Road
Atlanta in both long and short events. He drove a Corvette C5-R
to victory in a sprint race in June 2003, and he won the season-ending
Petit Le Mans endurance race in September 2004 with co-drivers Olivier
Beretta and Jan Magnussen. Gavin and Beretta will share the No.
4 Compuware Corvette for this weekend's 2-hour, 45-minute dash.
"In a sprint race you don't have to think about a car that
you're going to be driving for hours and racing in the dark,"
Gavin explained. "You can really tune the car to be more like
a qualifying setup. It might be more uncomfortable to drive, but
as long as Olivier and I can work with that, it's fine." Asked
to recall his most memorable race at the Georgia track, Gavin singles
out his upset victory in 2003. "We had just come back from
Le Mans, where we'd been beaten up by the Ferraris," he remembered.
"We didn't know what to expect when we turned up at Road Atlanta,
but we were quite quick and the Ferrari was struggling. We simply
outdrove them in the race. I remember it being a very satisfying
victory because we exorcised our Le Mans demons." (GM)
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