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ADT/Champion Racing Qualifies on Third
Row at Le Mans
 12
June (Le Mans, France - Final Qualifying Report) --
A
massive “stars & stripes” flag will be proudly draped over a 200mph Audi
R8 sportscar during the colorful ceremony at the start of the legendary
24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday (10am ET).
A
40-strong squad representing the American Team ADT Champion Racing
outfit is gunning for honors
in the annual French race - arguably the toughest motorsport event in
the world.
Emanuele Pirro, a winner at Le Mans for the past three years, will share
the driving duties with JJ Lehto and Stefan Johansson - both former Le
Mans victors themselves. Pirro set the fourth fastest time (3min
37.316secs) on Wednesday evening and while Lehto improved to a 3:36.857
in tonight’s concluding four hour time trial, the Florida-based team
lines-up sixth on the capacity 50-car grid.
 12
of the 150
drivers -
representing
22
different
nations - have previously won at Le Mans.
Given dry weather conditions, the
winning car will clock up in excess of 3,000-miles at an average speed
of over 130mph. The proud American outfit is determined that “Old
Glory” leads to a “new glory” come 10am (ET) on Sunday morning . . .
Emanuele Pirro
(41), of Italy: “We accomplished a lot in the pre-test last month so
arrived this week very well prepared. Qualifying on the third row is
not a problem to me - importantly the car is good in race trim and that
is all that matters.”
 JJ
Lehto (36),
of Finland: “We’ve worked on tactics and set-up specifically for the
race - we could not challenge for pole-position. There has been a
massive amount of preparation - it’s the biggest privateer operation
I’ve seen in my career.”
Stefan Johansson
(46), of Sweden: “The team has made a huge effort - quite
extraordinary. You can speculate and predict about the race but no one
knows how it’ll work out. We have done everything humanly possible in
terms of preparation.”
Brad Kettler,
Champion Racing’s Technical Director: “We’ve focused on maximizing our
race strategy in terms of tire wear and fuel economy during much of the
qualifying sessions. We’re perfectly happy with everything - we’re
ready to go!”
 Dave
Maraj,
Champion Racing’s Team Owner: “My team has been racing for just over 10
years but this is only our second race in Europe - the first being here
at Le Mans two years ago. My team is here to try to win - not make up
the numbers.”
Rod
Bymaster,
Audi Sport North America’s Motorsport Manager: “Champion has got itself
a good racecar, capable of consistently fast laps, for this weekend and
importantly all three drivers are happy with the set-up.”
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