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POMPANO BEACH, FL. (July 27,
2005) – The Portland
Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2005 American Le Mans Series, will
play host to a two-hour, 45-minute sprint race on Saturday
evening versus its usual Sunday afternoon racing format.
Fans of Audi Sport North America and Team ADT Champion Racing
will have the opportunity to view a primetime broadcast of The
Portland Grand Prix from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. EDT on SPEED
Channel.
"By placing the ALMS in prime time on a Saturday night in July we
are potentially exposing our truly world-class sports car racing to
a new audience while at the same time giving our existing fans
something many have asked about,” commented Scott Atherton,
President and CEO of the American Le Mans Series. “Other forms
of motorsports have had success racing under lights in prime time,"
Atherton added. "The American Le Mans Series cars are specifically
designed to race with just their headlights. It makes for very
dramatic imagery on television."
For Team ADT Champion Racing, this means an all new set-up and
strategy for both the No. 1 and No. 2 Audi R8 racecars. The
1.944-mile, 12-turn road course provided one of the most exciting
ALMS races last year. Defending race Champions JJ Lehto and
Marco Werner (Audi R8 No. 1) won last year’s Portland Grand Prix
under intense pressure from their biggest rival, Dyson Racing.
The battle will surely be resurrected this year but with an
additional player, the sister Audi R8 piloted by Frank Biela and
Emanuele Pirro (Audi R8 No. 2). While it’s been a few years
since these teammates have driven the circuit (2001) Biela and Pirro
come to Portland fresh from their win at Infineon Raceway and highly
motivated to continue their winning streak.
This marks the fourth visit to Portland International Raceway for
the ALMS in its seven-year history. The Rose City has been a
favorite among fans and drivers alike, and this year promises to be
no different.
The
Portland Grand Prix is set for Thursday through Saturday 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. Qualifying is scheduled for
2:55 to 3:40 p.m. PDT on Friday. 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:
“We had a good race here last year. It was full of action
although I doubt it will be like that this year. All the teams
are very well sorted right now, especially the LMP1 teams so all
cars on the track are going really fast. Tire selection will
again be very important here as the track is very slippery. We
learned from last year what not to do so this year we’ll be trying
some new things. It should be interesting.”
Marco Werner (D). Age: 38.
Born: Dortmund,
Germany. Lives: Ermatingen,
Switzerland:
“We
had a really nice battle here last year with the Dyson Team so I
expect it will be interesting again. The track is not one of
our most difficult tracks so that means the cars are fast and the
racing will be real close. I’m fortunate in that I am driving
an Audi because this will be a long race for us, (2:45 minutes) and
if we do have trouble like we did last year, the Audi is tough, real
tough. Hopefully we can do this race without any trouble.”
TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING AUDI R8 #2
Frank Biela (D). Age: 40. Born: Neuss, Germany.
Lives: Monte Carlo, Monaco:
“Racing at Portland was a long time ago for me, 2001. I
remember it being a nice circuit and I look forward to seeing it
again. The Championship is still open so we need to achieve a
good result. The last race went very well and Emanuele and I
hope to continue the trend. We hope to be competitive as we
were in the last few races. We still have five races to go,
including Portland, so it will be close.”
Emanuele Pirro (It). Age: 43. Born: Rome, Italy. Lives: Monte Carlo,
Monaco:
“I
am very much looking forward to this race. We are coming from
a positive period and now our Championship hopes are as alive as
ever so we need to confirm it with another good result.
Although Portland is not one of my favorite tracks (little grip and
very bumpy) I haven’t been here since 2001 so maybe it’s changed
some. This weekend will be a little more difficult for Frank
and myself because our race engineer will not be here. It will
be a new situation for us, which we hope we can compensate with our
experience. Frank and I are motivated though.”
LMP1 Drivers
1) Marco Werner
87
JJ Lehto
87
2) Emanuele Pirro 84
Frank Biela 84
3) Andy Wallace
77
4) Chris Dyson
74
5) James Weaver
72
Butch Leitzinger
72
LMP1 Chassis
Manufacturer
1) Audi
99
2) Lola
84
3) Zytek
10
LMP1 Engine
Manufacturer
1) Audi
99
2) AER
84
3) Zytek
10 |
