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BRASELTON, GA. (April 17, 2005) - Team ADT Champion
Racing celebrated its second 2005 American Le Mans Series
victory and its fourth consecutive Road Atlanta win when the No.
1 Audi R8 took the checkered flag in today's Sportsbook.com
Grand Prix of Atlanta. Teammates JJ Lehto and Marco Werner
fought traffic, a stop and go penalty, and several caution
periods as they steered their Audi R8 around the 2.5-mile, 12
turn road course.
Coming in third place was the sister car of Frank Biela and
Emanuele Pirro. A positive finish for the No. 2 car despite a
broken wheel coming off during Biela's stint as he was steering
through the famous esses at Road Atlanta. Biela lost valuable
time limping back to the pits but the incredible crew of Team
ADT Champion Racing fixed the wheel and Emanuele Pirro left the
pits in record time. Pirro experienced a little delay in his
second pit-stop as the front nose had to be replaced due to
damaged louvers that were the exposing the front wheel wells.
The only other incident that occurred was during the first
pit-stop for Werner and Lehto. A loose tire rolled away during
the initial pit stop therefore forcing Lehto to serve a stop and
go penalty during his stint. That error had little effect on the
outcome as clever pit stop strategy and fast lap times helped
the team claim first on the podium.
Today's victory marks the seventh straight win at Road Atlanta
for the Audi R8 (2000-2005). Lehto also makes history as he has
now earned a record fourth straight Road Atlanta American Le
Mans Series win, an ALMS record for any track.
The next round for the American Le Mans Series takes place next
month at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course May 20-22 in Lexington,
Ohio. Live coverage will again by televised by CBS Sports.
DRIVER QUOTES:
TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING AUDI R8 #1
JJ Lehto (Fin). Age: 39. Born: Espoo, Finland. Lives: Monte
Carlo, Monaco:
"There were so many things going on in this race. Marco started
the race and did a really good first stint. The No. 2 car had a
problem and we were just pushing all the time. Then there was a
penalty and then a wave by which was strange but the team kept
saying 'keep on going, keep pushing' and I did. In the end it
worked out for us. It's always nice to win here at Road
Atlanta."
Marco Werner (D). Age: 38. Born: Dortmund, Germany. Lives:
Ermatingen, Switzerland:
"I was trying everything in the beginning to be close behind
James Weaver in the Dyson car. Sometimes I lost a little bit in
the esses because I had slower cars in front of me and Weaver
was a little bit luckier as he was in front. It was important to
be close to him and then the yellows helped us as well as we
were always in the right position. The team did a great job and
JJ did great job too-as always!"
TEAM ADT CHAMPION RACING AUDI R8 #2
Frank Biela (D). Age: 40. Born: Neuss, Germany. Lives: Monte
Carlo, Monaco:
"We had some bad luck today which cost us two laps. It first
started early around lap 12. The vibrations were really hard and
continued for about 20 to 25 laps until the wheel broke. So I
guess that was the beginning of the end. Under the circumstances
we are very happy with third place."
Emanuele Pirro (It). Age: 43. Born: Rome, Italy. Lives: Monte
Carlo, Monaco:
"To be honest, I was expecting more from today. We had an
improving weekend from a not very good set-up on Friday. We
ended up with a very good car. But during the race, things
turned around for us. I tried very hard to catch up but as you
know, this is a very short race. We have another few points in
the pocket. Another weekend is gone and now we must look forward
to the next race."
Brad Kettler (Technical Director): "It just goes to show, you
never give up, you always keep trying. It looked pretty grim
there for a little while but we kept evaluating the race and
looking at our fuel strategy to go to the end. The key to the
race was the two times we pitted under yellow and topped the
tank off on the No. 1 car. The second time gave us the lead. The
fight was really good. The competition with Dyson was great. I'm
very happy."
DRIVERS CLASS TEAM DIFF.
1) J.Lehto/M.Werner LMP1 ADT Champion Racing
2) C.Dyson/A.Wallace LMP1 Dyson Racing 44.785
3) E.Pirro/F.Biela LMP1 ADT Champion Racing 1 lap
4) C.Field/J. Field LMP2 Intersport Racing 4 laps
5) R.Fellows/J.O'Connel l GT1 Corvette Racing 9.551
Margin of victory: 44.785 seconds
Time of race: 2:45:27.420 |
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