LE MANS, France. (June
16, 2005) - The qualifying session for Team ADT Champion Racing
(Pompano Beach, FL) occurred exactly as predicted. Both Audi R8s,
saddled with 100 pounds more weight and 30 less horsepower,
qualified 3rd (car No. 2) and 8th (car No. 3) for the starting of
the 73rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Allan McNish
(Scotland), drivers of the No. 2 Audi R8 closed the gap on the
leading two Pescarolo cars from six seconds during the pre-test to
less than three seconds during tonight's final qualifying session.
Finland's JJ Lehto, Germany's Marco Werner and Denmark's Tom
Kristensen worked on set-up during most of tonight's qualifying
session and also reduced their time from the leaders from six
seconds during the pre-test to four seconds.
This may be Team ADT Champion Racing's best shot after four years of
fighting for the overall title. No American team has won at Le Mans
since Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt drove a Ford GT40 for Shelby American
Inc., in 1967.
Dave Maraj, owner of Team ADT Champion Racing, fielded an Audi R8 in
2001 and each of the past three years. A Champion entry finished
third overall in 2003 and 2004. The closest Maraj and his team came
to victory was in 2003, when Lehto, Pirro and Stefan Johansson
finished five laps behind the winning Bentley EXP Speed 8.
Dr. Martin Winterkorn, the Chairman of the Audi AG Board will be the
honorary starter. He will lower the French flag to unleash the
50-car field for the world's most prestigious sports car race, the
24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans can be seen live on the SPEED Channel,
beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and concluding on Sunday (6:00
a.m.-10:00 a.m.). SPEED will show 17.5 hours of competition. Live
coverage of the entire race can be heard online at
www.radiolemans.com.
DRIVER QUOTES:
TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING AUDI R8 #3
JJ Lehto (Fin). Age: 39. Born: Espoo, Finland. Lives: Monte Carlo,
Monaco:
"We didn't really get a good qualifying opportunity. Marco tried one
set of tires. Tom tried another. We mainly concentrated on race
set-up and all three of us are happy with the car so that will be
good for the race. The gap is now what we expected."
Marco Werner (D). Age: 38. Born: Dortmund, Germany. Lives:
Ermatingen, Switzerland:
"My compliments to the team. They did a very good job because we
made a very good step towards the set-up on the car. Our race
performance will be very good on Saturday. Traffic was a problem for
me today for qualifying but it is good to know we have a good car
for the race."
Tom Kristensen (Den). Age: 37. Born: Hobro, Denmark. Lives: Monte
Carlo, Monaco:
"Today was a good session, very competitive. We are closer in
general in speed than we did expected. Today we concentrated solely
on the race set-up and I know JJ and Marco are very happy with the
car so I have a good feeling and I am look forward to the race."
TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING AUDI R8 #2
Frank Biela (D). Age: 40. Born: Neuss, Germany. Lives: Monte Carlo,
Monaco:
"I think we are happy with 3rd place. It was the best that we could
get with the two others cars that are considerably faster. Mainly in
the second session we were concentrating on race set-up. The car
feels really good. So for the race we are more or less sorted out."
Emanuele Pirro (It). Age: 43. Born: Rome, Italy. Lives: Monte Carlo,
Monaco:
"The main target for us was to have a good set-up for the race and I
think we have that. Qualifying first was never that important to us
but to actually be the fastest Audi for both days and then to be
third on the grid, even if it means nothing for the race, is far
beyond my expectations. What also makes me happy is that the gap
between us and the Pescarolo cars is not as big as it was. The team
did a great job as did the three drivers. So far so good."
Allan McNish (GB). Age: 35. Born: Dumfries, Scotland. Lives: Monte
Carlo, Monaco:
"Today we got a better starting spot than we expected. We really
tried to be ahead of the pack of cars and I'm glad we accomplished
that. We also worked mainly on the balance of the car and we're
close, but we still don't have it finalized yet. We've got a little
bit of thinking to do before warm-up."
DRIVERS CAR TIME DIFF.
1) E.Collard/JC.Boullion/E.Comas Pescarolo Judd 3:34.715
2) S.Loeb/E.Helary/S.Ayari Pescarolo Judd 3:35.555 0.840
3) E.Pirro/F.Biela/A.McNish Audi R8 3:37.795 3.080
4) R.Michigami/S.Ara/K.Kaneishi Dome Mugen 3:38.094 3.379
5) F.Montagny/JM.Gounon/S.Oretelli Audi R8 3:38.281 3.566
6) J.Cochet/S.Nakano/B.Jouanny Courage Judd 3:38.735 4.020
7) N.Minassian/J.Campbell-Walter/A. DBA Judd 3:38.929 4.214
Wallace
8) JJ.Lehto/M.Werner/T.Kristensen Audi R8 3:38.988 4.273
9) M.Short/J.Barbosa/V.Ickx Dallara Judd 3:39.643 4.928
10) S.Hignett/J.Stack/H.kurosawa Zytek 3:41.177 6.462