SONOMA, CA. (July 18, 2004)
- Team ADT Champion Racing celebrated their third
consecutive win in the American Le Mans Series today at the Grand
Prix of
Sonoma at Infineon Raceway. The #38 Audi R8 driven by teammates JJ
Lehto and
Marco Werner lead the 26 car field from green flag to checkered
flag.
Marco Werner, who set a new track qualifying record, took control
early in the
race and basically never looked back. "In the beginning of the race
I had a
little pressure from Butch Leitzinger in the Dyson car," commented
Werner.
"But then I got in a good rhythm and kept pushing and created a good
lead for
us."
JJ Lehto took full advantage of the lead as he drove the second
portion of the
2:45 minute race. "Marco and I stayed out of trouble, we had good
pit stops,
and we didn't have any mechanical problems," said Lehto. "The #16
car (Dyson)
had been pushing us pretty hard until they unfortunately had some
mechanical
problems. Once that happened we just kept control of the race."
Team ADT Champion Racing will compete exactly one week from today,
July 25, in
the Portland Grand Prix at Portland International Raceway. The race
will be
televised on SPEED Channel at 4:00 pm, EDT. Live coverage can also
be heard on
the American Le Mans Series Radio Web at www.americanlemans.com.
Driver quotes:
JJ Lehto (Finland): "Marco did a great job in the beginning so I
didn't have
to push as hard as I normally do. Towards the end I pushed a little
harder to
gain an advantage for a splash and dash but overall I never needed
to drive at
100 percent. I just stayed out of trouble and the result is another
win for
us."
Marco Werner (Germany): "It was a perfect weekend thanks to the ADT
Champion
guys and especially Michelin. The tires were very good this weekend.
I had a
really nice Sunday morning driving this great Audi on this beautiful
track."
Brad Kettler (Technical Director): "I think today we won because the
guys were
very, very fast. Both JJ and Marco drove close to our qualifying
times all
race long. They both did a fantastic job today."
DRIVERS TEAM
TIME/DIFFERENCE
1) J. Lehto/M. Werner ADT Champion Racing 2:45:36.109
2) C. Dyson/A. Wallace Dyson Racing 1:03.169
3) J. Weaver/B. Leitzinger Dyson Racing 3 laps
4) R. Fellows/J. O'Connell Corvette Racing 5 laps
5) C.Field/R.Liddell/J. Field Intersport Racing 1:21.167
Margin of victory: 1:03.169
Time of Race: 2:45:36.109
Fastest Race Lap: LMP 1: JJ Lehto
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