|
PORTLAND, OR. (July 29, 2005) - Team ADT Champion Racing claimed the second row for tomorrow's Portland Grand Prix race on the 1.944-mile, 12 turn Portland International Raceway. Even though both cars practiced and qualified faster than last year's recorded times, it still wasn't enough to nudge the Dyson Team from the front row. Marco Werner (Audi R8 No. 1) pulled out all the stops during the twenty-minute session and qualified a respectable third. The sister car driven by Frank Biela (Audi R8 No. 2) was just three tenths behind Werner and will line up on the outside of row two.
With five races left in the ten race American Le Mans Series, Werner and his teammate JJ Lehto are a slim three points ahead of the second Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 piloted by Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro. Both teams realize the closeness of the competition not only between the two car Audi R8 squad, but also against their biggest rival, Dyson Racing.
The Portland Grand Prix is set for Saturday afternoon at Portland International Raceway. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel from 8 to 11 p.m. EDT Saturday, the first time an ALMS race has been broadcast in prime time. American Le Mans Radio and Live Timing and Scoring will be available at www.americanlemans.com.
DRIVER QUOTES:
TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING AUDI R8 #1
JJ Lehto (Fin). Age: 39. Born: Espoo, Finland. Lives: Monte Carlo, Monaco:
"It will be up to tires this weekend. We saw that Dyson is very strong especially since they tested here recently. So they have more information and more knowledge for this race than we do. Our car is as good as it can be. That was the maximum we could do for one lap. I think that we will be better during the race."
Marco Werner (D). Age: 38. Born: Dortmund, Germany. Lives: Ermatingen, Switzerland:
"I tried everything today. It's difficult here. The grip level is very low and therefore it is difficult for me to push and find a little bit more time. We are happy that we are third and I'm sure we can do better tomorrow."
TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING AUDI R8 #2
Frank Biela (D). Age: 40. Born: Neuss, Germany. Lives: Monte Carlo, Monaco:
"I think everybody expected the Dyson team to be the fastest here this weekend. There is not much we can do about that. The car does feel good though. We are well sorted out and we'll see how it works out tomorrow. I will think tonight how we can find three tenths by tomorrow!"
Emanuele Pirro (It). Age: 43. Born: Rome, Italy. Lives: Monte Carlo, Monaco:
"So far I am quite happy as we have had constant progress throughout the weekend. Frank did a very good job in qualifying. The car set-up is good and last race we won starting from fourth position as well. So I am optimistic but also cautious. This is a race where traffic, speed and incidents will count even more than normal. I reckon it will be a very tough and never ending competition."
DRIVERS CLASS TEAM TIME DIFF.
1) C.Dyson/A.Wallace LMP1 Dyson Racing 1:02.712*
2) J.Weaver/B.Leitzinger LMP1 Dyson Racing 1:02.836 0.124
3 J.Lehto/M.Werner LMP1 ADT Champion Racing 1:03.262 0.550
4) E.Pirro/F.Biela/ LMP1 ADT Champion Racing 1:03.579 0.867
5) C.Field/G.Fisken LMP2 Intersport Racing 1:05.744* 3.032
*New qualifying record
For more information on Audi motorsports visit www.audiusa.com. For more information on Champion Racing, visit www.championracing.net.
For "copyright free", hi-res images, please visit www.championracing.net/media.
-30-
MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa Grunnah, Audi Sport North America Public Relations
(678) 556-0611
Melissa Grunnah
Press Officer
Audi Sport North America/Champion Racing Tel. (678) 556-0611 Fax (678) 556-0785 Cell (678) 642-5795 mgrunnah@charter.net |