Audi S4  2001  -  2002 

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Memorial Day 2001 at Lime Rock Park was very good to Champion Racing, as Michael Galati put a hole-shot on polesitter Peter Cunningham at the start and never looked back, taking a 9.098-second victory and regaining the GT Championship lead, averaging 72.685 mph in the 61.2-mile event. Galati's huge early lead was breifly lost by an early full-course caution period, when Phil McClure's car went off on lap two and ended on its roof. McClure was uninjured.

But again on the restart, Galati pulled out on the field - something Cunningham has been doing a lot of late - and widened his lead, running hard all the way to the hard-earned checkered flag. This is a sweet return to Victory Lane for Galati and crew, who have had a second at Sebring and third at Mosport, after winning the Speedvision World Challenge GT season opener at Texas Motor Speedway. "It was a fantastic race for us," said Galati. "We got a terrific start because of the Quattro system in the Audi. I was really concentrating on the restart this year, because it was bad for us last year. I was able to work to a sizeable lead. This was just a great weekend for us." Fast Qualifier Cunningham's Acura NSX had a rare mechanical DNF after the car sustained a broken left rear hub on lap 22. He finished 23rd to score only three race points. Jimmy Adams' Porsche came second, and Mike Fitzgerald's Porsche came third.

Derek Bell and crew had unwanted surprises on raceday, when Derek's S4 Competition lost two gears in the morning qualifying session (he qualified eighth nevertheless),
necessitating a hurried transmission change before the noon race start. Derek had to make a stop for clutch adjustment, but recovered to finish ninth. After the race, Derek sat outside while his crew explained his racecar to tech lovers, signing autographs for and greeting literally hundreds of racegoers. Every time Derek starts signing autographs and chatting with fans, a large crowd immediately forms and it stays that way till he has to leave.

The next stop, Round Five, for the Speedvision World Challenge GT Championship will be at the Grand Prix of Detroit, in conjunction with the CART FedEx Series and Trans-Am, held on June 15-17.