Monterey, CA. - October 15, 2005
New entries in the American Le Mans Series have proven to be a
challenge for Team ADT Champion Racing as they contest their 10th and
final ALMS race at Laguna Seca Raceway. Frank Biela qualified the No.2
Audi R8 in 4th position while Marco Werner driving the No. 1 Audi
qualified in 6th position.
The Zytek car from England, which first appeared at Petit Le Mans,
returned and once again took the pole position. As expected the very
strong Dyson Team claimed the 2nd and 3rd spots on the grid. The
unknown this weekend was the factory Porsche car, which split the two
Audis. The Porsche RS Spyder is an LMP2 car and is the first car to be
purpose built and developed by an automobile manufacturer to suit the
new 2006 Sports Prototype regulations. Because it competes in the LMP2
class it is allowed to weigh 150 kilograms less than the multiple winning
Audi R8 (class LMP1), which has won 61 of its 74 races to date.
The Audi R8 remains unbeaten at Laguna Seca (since 2000) and it is
now up to the experience of the drivers coupled with the reliability and
consistency of the Audi R8 to continue this important winning streak.
Two other important facts are 1) Lehto/Werner are three points behind
Lola driver Chris Dyson going into the finale and have a great chance of
taking the runner-up spot in the championship and 2) Audi only needs a
single point to take the Manufacturers' crown.
The final round of the 2005 American Le Mans Series is the Monterey
Sports Car Championships on October 15 at Mazda Raceway Laguna
Seca in Monterey, California. The race is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. PDT
October 15, with SPEED TV broadcasting the race from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
EDT October 16. Qualifying scheduled for 2:10 p.m. PDT October 14.
Driver Quotes
Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #1
JJ Lehto (Fin)
"I wasn't really expecting we could go much faster. Marco has been
struggling today with the understeering and I guess we had the same
problem just now during qualifying. Being 4th and 6th on the grid makes it
very interesting. Everybody has been saying they need to penalize the
Audi because of the speed but if you look at the other cars and how fast
they are during qualifying, it really it should be the other way around. It will
be another race where consistency is a major factor in winning."
Marco Werner (D)
"I'm very disappointed with this position. I've been struggling with the
understeering all day today but hopefully we can figure it out before
tomorrow's race. It's not been the easiest year for JJ and me this year so
a win at Laguna Seca would help redeem our spirits."
Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #2
Frank Biela (D)
"We did some good set-up work today which really paid off for us. The
time gap to the front is of course a little big but we knew the Zytek car
would be fast again. It's a long race and I think it looks good for us
tomorrow."
Emanuele Pirro (It)
"Frank did a really good job today. The Audi R8 has been performing well
all weekend. Again we are not the fastest car but I'm very confident to be
good at the end. The R8 has always proven to be a very solid car, which
gives us really good hopes for another possible win. We will race with the
minds clearer and not under pressure for the Championship so I am
looking forward to an enjoyable but tough competition and race."
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