Rinaldo Capello (#1)
“After my pit stop I followed Magnussen. I thought we lost all our advantage
because of the yellows and did not realise that he was one lap behind. When
he was waved by the pace car, I followed him because I thought I was third
behind him and Frank. But this was not the case. In the end I tried hard to pass
Lagorce, but after seven laps my front tyres were completely finished.”
Tom Kristensen (#1)
“We did everything right at the beginning. We were even a lap in front of the
Panoz. Not to change tyres, was a very good decision. Even with old tyres I did
the quickest lap times. Obviously we were very unfortunate in the end. To lose
like that is very tough.”
Frank Biela (#2)
“Actually, everything looked fine. Our pit stop strategy worked out perfect. After
one stint we did a full service with driver change, refuelling and tyre change in
order to have a shorter refuelling during the next stop under yellow. After that I
was in the lead but then we had the problem with the spark plugs. The extra pit
stop cost too much time, maybe even the victory.”
Emanuele Pirro (#2)
“The way the race turned out we had a good chance to win it. We played a good
strategy, but it did not work out because of this electrical problem. I am happy
with my performance, I did all I could.”
Johnny Herbert (#38)
“Passing the number one car at the end of the race shows what we are capable
of. We just need things to go our way. We had some bad luck. The new set of
tyres helped the handling a lot, but then the engine lost some power. We pitted,
changed the black box and had to come in again to change the plug rail. After
that the car was very competitive.”
Andy Wallace (#38)
“During my stint I had no grip. The conditions were changing this weekend. We
started with very high tyre pressure, but this did not work. When we changed,
we reduced tyre pressure. This seemed to work better.”
Reinhold Joest, Team Director Audi Sport North America
“The overtaking of the safety car cost us the victory. Apart from that, Dindo and
Tom drove a good race. I am sorry for Frank and Emanuele, who got in the lead
with a clever pit stop strategy, but the electronics of the car were not a
supporting player until the end. Too bad, but now we look forward to the next
race at Laguna Seca.”
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Sport
“Our team did a fantastic job after the problem we had in Mosport. This earns a
big compliment. They built up two cars which were up to two seconds faster
than the ones of our competitors. We had not much luck with the timing of the
cautions, and of course you may not overtake the safety car. But in the hectic
state of a race it can happen. We gave away possible victory.”
Race results
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