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POMPANO BEACH, Fl. (January
24, 2005) –Audi Sport North America, five-time American Le Mans
Series Manufacturer Champion, and Florida-based Champion Racing,
last year’s American Le Mans Series LMP1 Champion, return to the
American Le Mans Series with not one but two Audi R8 LMP1 cars.
Reigning ALMS Driver Champion’s JJ Lehto and Marco Werner will pilot
the #1 Audi R8. Past ALMS Driver Champion’s Frank Biela (2003)
and Emanuele Pirro (2001) return as teammates for the #2 car.
Assisting Team ADT Champion
Racing in their quest for victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring and
the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans will be six-time Le Mans Champion
Tom Kristensen (ALMS Driver Champion in 2002) and 1998 Le Mans
Champion Allan McNish (ALMS Driver Champion in 2000). All
drivers apart from JJ Lehto are members of the 2005 Audi works
driver’s squad, a fact that underlines the importance of the
American Le Mans Series for Audi of America. Lehto
meanwhile is no stranger to the company and to Team ADT Champion
Racing as 2005 marks Lehto’s 3rd year competing for Audi of
America and Team ADT Champion Racing.
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JJ Lehto (38), born in
Espoo, Finland but now resides in Monaco, spent a number
of years contesting the Formula One Series before coming
to the United States to compete in sports car racing.
Since 1999, Lehto has been competing in the American Le
Mans Series driving for BMW, Cadillac, and most recently
Audi. In last year’s American Le Mans nine-race
season, Lehto earned nine podium finishes, six first
place finishes, one pole position and a third place
podium finish at Le Mans. Lehto also earned his
first American Le Mans Series Driver’s Championship. |
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Marco Werner (38), born
in Dortmund, Germany but now resides in Kreuzlingen,
Switzerland, started racing in 1984 and his career has
included success in Formula 3000, touring cars, and GT
racing. Werner has two third place podium finishes
at Le Mans, the first with the factory Audi team in 2002
and his second with Champion Racing in 2004. Last
year in the American Le Mans Series, Werner earned his
second consecutive ALMS Driver Championship by achieving
one pole position, nine podium finishes, and six first
place finishes. |
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Emanuele
Pirro (42), born in Rome, Italy currently residing in
Monaco, returns to the American Le Mans Series after a
two-year hiatus. Pirro, ALMS Driver Champion in
2001, was the winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2000
and has three consecutive Le Mans victories: 2000,
2001 and 2002. Pirro has teamed up with Champion
Racing the last two years for both the 12 Hours of
Sebring (two, 2nd place finishes) and Le Mans
(two, 3rd place finishes) and spent last year
competing for Audi in DTM, the German Touring Car
Masters series. This year marks his first season
driving for Team ADT Champion Racing in the American Le
Mans Series. |
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Frank Biela (40), born in
Neuss, Germany currently residing in Monaco, also
returns to the American Le Mans Series after a year in
Europe competing for Audi in DTM series. Biela,
earned his ALMS Driver Championship in 2003. Past
successes include three victories at the 12 Hours of
Sebring (2000, 2003, 2004) and three consecutive wins at
Le Mans in 2000, 2001 and 2002. |
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Allan McNish (36), born in Dumfries, Great Britain now
residing in Monaco, most recently drove for Audi Sport
UK in the Le Mans Endurance Series achieving first place
finishes at the 1000 km race at Silverstone and at the
1000 km race at Nurburgring. McNish also scored a
victory for Audi UK at last year’s 12 Hours of Sebring
Race. In McNish’s first and only year of competing
in the American Le Mans Series, McNish won the Driver’s
Championship in 2000 and also helped Audi to win its
first Manufacturer’s Championship. McNish’s
illustrious career also includes eight years as an F1
test driver, an F1 driver for Toyota in their inaugural
year (2002), and a first place finish at Le Mans in
1998. |
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Tom
Kristensen (37), born in Hobro, Denmark currently residing in Monaco, is a
six-time Le Mans winner. His first victory came in 1997 and from 2000 to
2004 Kristensen earned another five wins,
four
with Audi driving the Audi R8 and one with Bentley in 2003. Kristensen was
the American Le Mans Series Driver’s Champion in 2002 and scored a first place
finish twice at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1999 and 2000. Last year,
Kristensen finished 4th in the DTM Championship. |
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“Audi of America is very proud
to be working again with Champion Racing in 2005,” commented Rod
Bymaster, Manager, Audi Sport North America. “The Champion
Racing Team has developed into one of the best teams in the
world and this year running two Audi R8 cars, they will be even
more competitive. We are also fortunate to have a
great driver lineup for the ALMS, all are present or past ALMS
Champions and they have seven Le Mans wins combined. As
for Le Mans, Champion has proven to be very competitive with two
third place finishes. However, there is unfinished
business and this year we are hoping for a win. The Le
Mans trophy has been out of the US for too long."
Founded in 1994 by Dave Maraj,
Champion Racing (Pompano Beach, FL) has become a formidable
opponent for teams competing in sports car racing.
Supported by Audi Sport North America, Team ADT Champion Racing
will seek to defend their 2004 American Le Mans Championship
title after winning eight times in nine starts (seven by the
Lehto/Werner combination). Since scoring its first overall
victory in June of 2003, the Florida-based team has recorded 12
overall ALMS race wins from 17 starts.
Audi will achieve another
milestone this year as 2005 marks the sixth and final season for
the Audi R8, the most successful Le Mans Prototype of all time.
Since its debut in Sebring in 2000, the Audi R8 has scored 52
victories from 62 races. In the American Le Mans Series,
the prototype has posted 40 LMP900/LMP1 victories, 37 pole
positions, the most of any race car in the ALMS history.
Team ADT Champion
Racing will compete in North America’s most prestigious and
longest running sports car race, the 53rd Annual
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring March 16-19 in Sebring, Florida.
This inaugural American Le Mans Series race continues to attract
the finest and most competitive sports car teams from around the
world, 2nd only to the renowned 24 Hours of
Le Mans race in Le
Sarthe, France.
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