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TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING ON POLE - Saturday, July 17, 2004
at 23:50
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SONOMA, CA. (July 17, 2004) - Marco Werner earned his fourth career pole and his first pole position for Team ADT Champion Racing (Pompano Beach, FL) during today's qualifying session at Infineon Raceway. Werner also set a new track record (1:22.320) that was previously set in 2002 by Tom Kristensen who also drove an Audi R8 for ADT Champion Racing.
The new "single car qualifying" format seemed to impress many of the drivers as they found themselves with a track clear of traffic. Werner's qualifying lap came on his first fast lap and he could have bettered his time on the second qualifying lap if not for a minor spin coming out of one of the corners.
Werner along with teammate JJ Lehto will lead the field of 25 American Le Mans Series cars for tomorrow's Grand Prix of Sonoma Presented by Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa at Infineon Raceway.
The Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma will get the green flag at 11:00 a.m. (PDT) on Sunday, July 18, and will be televised live in North America by CBS Sports from 3-5 (EDT). In Europe, MotorsTV will have live coverage as well. The American Le Mans Series Radio Web will have live coverage online at www.americanlemans.com.
Driver quotes:
JJ Lehto (Finland): "It's been a battle lately between us and the Dyson cars and this time we got the pole. I think our car still had more potential. I think Marco's second flying lap would have been better than his first but unfortunately he made a mistake and went wide. The most important thing though is that we have a good race car for the race. The new qualifying system seems to be good. Nobody has traffic and everyone has the same equal chance. It's a good system and it was fun to watch."
Marco Werner (Germany): "Close again but today we are in a better position. Thanks to the team, JJ and especially Michelin. JJ did a very good job in setting up the car and Michelin gave us great tires once again. Qualifying was good today. It's the same for everyone and therefore it is more fair."
Brad Kettler (Technical Director): "This is the second time getting pole position at Infineon Raceway. Marco did a very good job with the new qualifying system. He was very calm and collected. The car has been very quick since we got here. I think we saw the advantage of the Michelin tire here because it gets up to speed so quickly."
1) J. Lehto/M. Werner ADT Champion Racing 1:22.320
2) J. Weaver/B. Leitzinger Dyson Racing 1:22.399
3) C. Dyson/A. Wallace Dyson Racing 1:25.712
4) O. Gavin/O. Beretta Corvette Racing 1:28.042
5) R. Fellows/J. O'Connell Corvette Racing 1:28.234
For more information on Champion Racing, please visit www.championracing.net. For more information on Audi's motorsport program, please visit www.audiusa.com.
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