Frank Biela (Infineon Audi R8 #1)
“We had very little practice time, but our car was very good from the
beginning. Basically we just had to do some fine tuning. We were in front in
both practice sessions and Emanuele took the pole. We don´t know how
fast Tom could have been. But we know that our car is good and will also be
strong tomorrow.”
Emanuele Pirro (Infineon Audi R8 #1)
“I am very happy to start from the pole position. We were fastest in both
practice sessions, so we were confident for qualifying. It would have been
complete satisfaction if Tom also would have had the chance to do a fast
lap. We run a slightly different setup and I was curious to see the difference.
Now we´ll see it only in the race.”
Rinaldo Capello (Infineon Audi R8 #2)
“I enjoy the track which is nice and challenging. It is very important to keep
your concentration because it is even easier to make mistakes than in
Washington. Some corners have a very special character which make it
really interesting to drive. The only negative point is what happened in
qualifying. The rules should be more precise.”
Tom Kristensen (Infineon Audi R8 #2)
“I don´t know why race control made that decision. Normally when a
qualifying session is red flagged, they stop the time. I am disappointed
because the car is very good and we were running with a lot of fuel in the
morning to prepare us for the race. So tomorrow we have to roll up our
sleeves and race to the front.”
Johnny Herbert (ADT Champion Audi R8 #38)
“We are at the front and found a good setup for the warm weather we are
expecting for tomorrow. We are also anticipating more grip on the track with
the cars in the other series laying down more rubber. Passing the slower
cars will be the key to the race. You have to go by them as quickly and clean
as possible.”
Stefan Johansson (ADT Champion Audi R8 #38)
“It is a great bonus for us starting second. Johnny did a great job doing a
fast lap at the very beginning. It is good to start from the front row at this
circuit. You have to be aggressive and careful in traffic.”
Ralf Jüttner, Technical Director Team Audi Sport North America
”Emanuele in front, Tom in the back, so we sandwich the rest of the field
and see what happens. This qualifying session was unlucky, normally the
duration of the qualifying is extended, but today there was a different
decision. Only one minute was left for Tom, not enough for a fast lap time.
We learned that it is not worth it to wait to see if the track gets better
because of the risk. Only six cars are behind Tom, he would not loose much
if he would start from the very back of the grid and he’d have a free tire
choice. This decision will depend on tomorrows temperatures.”
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Sport
“You can call this qualifying crazy: Tom did not have the chance to do one
quick lap time, therefore tomorrow he will start from the back of the grid. The
decision of the race control not to extend the qualifying time after the break
was surprising for us, although we just have to accept it. Despite this it is
very positive that there are two Audi R8 sportscars in the front row of the
grid: Emanuele on pole and Johnny Herbert next to him. This makes me
happy even though I am convinced that Tom would have been in front as
well.”
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