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LE MANS, France (June 10,
2004) - Team ADT Champion Racing has their sights set on being
the first American privateer team to win the greatest motorsports
race in the world, the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans. In only their
third attempt, Champion Racing has the opportunity to make history.
No American privateer team has won this race overall in the history
of this event which dates back to 1923.
The #2 Audi R8 will start
sixth on the grid. Marco Werner set the fastest qualifying time for
the team in the final stages of the fourth qualifying session. In
the dark, Werner posted a time of 3:34.927. That's two seconds
faster than last year's qualifying time for Team ADT Champion
Racing. Teaming up with Werner will be American Le Mans Series'
teammate JJ Lehto, and three-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro.
The field will consist of 49
cars representing four categories: LMP1, LMP2, GTS and GT. Because
of the diversity of cars and speed, traffic is always an issue on
the 8.46 mile Circuit de La Sarthe. Luck definitely plays a factor
in qualifying as it is very rare to get a clean lap.
The 72nd running of the 24
Hours of Le Mans begins at 4 p.m. (France time) on Saturday, June
12. In North America, race fans will be able to watch 20.5 hours of
live coverage of the event on the SPEED Channel, beginning at 9:30
a.m. (EDT) on Saturday and concluding at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Live
coverage of the entire race can be heard online at
www.radiolemans.com.
Don't forget to visit
www.rfmsports.com/LeMans/ChampionAudi/index.htm,
or the special section of
www.americanlemans.com,
for continuous, expanded coverage of ADT Champion Racing's quest for
glory.
Quotes:
JJ Lehto (Finland): "It's not
a surprise to start sixth. I was expecting a lot of fast cars,
especially the other Audi's. We didn't really go for the top
qualifying time tonight. We used the time to set up the car to go
the distance on Saturday and Sunday."
Marco Werner (Germany): "We
needed this time tonight to still set-up the car. We want it perfect
on race day so we used the time tonight to check out everything. I'm
happy with the car how and I feel confident about starting the race
on Saturday and finishing first on Sunday."
Emanuele Pirro (Italy): "I
have to say I am really happy. We started the practice on Wednesday
and we weren't really happy. At the end of today, after spending
much time, the car is really nice to drive. Sixth on the grid
doesn't mean anything. Being happy with the car means everything."
Brad Kettler (Technical
Director): "We had to change out some parts tonight which took some
of our qualifying time away. Fortunately we fixed some minor
problems and the result is a very good race car. The car is very
comfortable, very fast, and it's very good for race pace. I'm
pleased all though it was a little frustrating at times. At the end,
the car is running beautifully and we're very optimistic about the
race. The mechanics did a fantastic job-as always!! The end result
is that the car is ready and we are ready."
Final Qualifying Order:
1) Davies J./Herbert J./Smith
G. Audi R8 3:32.838
2) McNish A./Biela F./Kaffer
P. Audi R8 3:33.233
3) Wallace A./Brabham D./Shimoda
H. Zytek 3:33.923
4) Ara S./Capello
R./Kristensen T. Audi R8 3:34.038
5) Bourdais S./Minassian
N./Collard E. Pescarolo Judd 3:34.252
6) Lehto JJ./Werner M./Pirro
E. Audi R8 3:34.927 |
