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Braselton, October 18, 2003

For the fourth time in a row Audi has won the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta (USA). JJ Lehto and Johnny Herbert, driving Team ADT Champion Racing’s Audi R8, scored an unrivalled victory in the 2003 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) finale. Frank Biela and Marco Werner, driving Infineon Team Joest’s Audi R8, dropped to the back of the field early because of a crash. However, the two Germans fought their way back to third position clinching the ALMS title. Reinhold Joest’s team won the ALMS Teams’ Championship for the fourth consecutive time.

The race at a glance

Weather
dry, warm
Starting positions
1 #1 Werner; 3 #38 Lehto
Start
#1 Werner drops to second behind #16 Weaver
Lap 1
#38 Lehto passes #1 Werner and #16 Weaver
#1 Werner also passes #16 Weaver
Hour 1
A total of three caution periods, #38 Lehto ten seconds ahead of #1 Werner after one hour
Hour 2
#1 Biela has to avoid a GTS car, touching a wall. Front suspension, rear section, front splitter and bodywork parts are changed in 10 minutes 23 seconds. 10 laps lost. #1 Biela drops to the back of the field
Hour 3
#1 Biela pits during a caution period to bleed the brakes
Hour 4
New nose for #38 Herbert. After four hours #38 Herbert/Lehto have a 4-lap lead, #1 Biela/Werner 9 laps down back in the top 10
Hour 5
#1 Biela has nose changed. Engine of #38 Lehto does not restart after routine pit-stop, battery changed, one lap lost. After five hours #38 Herbert/Lehto are leading by four laps, #1 Biela/Werner eight laps down in 6th position
Hour 6
#38 Lehto has nose changed again, one lap lost. #1 Biela has an unscheduled pit-stop to remove grass from the coolers, but is able to move to third before end of 6th hour
Hour 7
Engine of #1 Werner does not restart after routine stop, battery and rear bodywork changed, one lap lost. #38 Herbert/Lehto enjoy a 5-lap lead after seven hours, #1 Biela/Werner third, 8 laps down
Hour 8
#1 Werner spins into the gravel, gets towed out and is able to continue, three laps lost, drops to fourth but retakes third position during 8th hour
Hour 9
Unscheduled pit-stop for #1 Werner because of a tyre pressure alert. #1 Biela loses the little windscreen on the cockpit
Finish
#38 Herbert/Lehto win, 3rd place for #1 Biela/Werner
- Fourth victory of the season for Team ADT Champion Racing
- Fourth consecutive Petit Le Mans victory for Audi
- First Petit Le Mans victory for Champion Racing, JJ Lehto and Johnny Herbert
- Frank Biela and Marco Werner clinch the Drivers’ title, Infineon Team Joest win the Teams’ Championship
- Audi had already won the Manufacturers’ title

Results

1

Herbert/Lehto Audi R8 394 laps

2

Beretta/Saelens/Papis Panoz - 8 laps

3

Biela/Werner Audi R8 - 9 laps

4

Jeannette/Leuenberger/Maxwell Panoz - 15 laps

5

Kox/Enge/Menu Ferrari - 19 laps

6

Magnussen/Brabham/Davidson Ferrari - 19 laps

7

Gavin/Collins/Pilgrim Chevrolet - 28 laps

8

Bernhard/Bergmeister/Dumas Porsche - 34 laps

9

Maassen/Luhr Porsche - 34 laps

10

Lewis/Drissi/Patterson R&S-Lincoln - 34 laps



2003 Final American Le Mans Series Points LMP900

Drivers

1

Frank Biela Audi 170

1

Marco Werner Audi 170

3

JJ Lehto Audi 163

4

Johnny Herbert Audi 160

5

Olivier Beretta Panoz 127

6

David Saelens Panoz 101

7

Gunnar Jeannette Panoz 82

8

Michael Lewis R&S 60

8

Tomy Drissi R&S 60

10

Scott Maxwell Panoz 57


Manufacturers

1

Audi 192

2

Panoz 130

3

Riley & Scott 64

4

Dallara 36

5

Lola 27

6

Bentley 19


Teams

1

Infineon Team Joest 170

2

Team ADT Champion Racing 163

3

JML Team Panoz 130

4

American Spirit Racing 60

5

Intersport Racing 46

6

Doran Lista Racing 36

7

Team Bentley 19

8

Audi Sport UK 12

9

Taurus Sports Racing 7
Quotes

Johnny Herbert (Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #38)
“Having missed out on victory at Sebring and at Le Mans this year, to win Petit Le Mans is very satisfying. I am also delighted for Dave Maraj whose team has shown this year that it can not only match but beat the hugely respected Joest team. I was able to relax and take no risks today, because after Frank’s accident there was no pressure.”

Frank Biela (Infineon Team Joest Audi R8 #1)
“Today we have seen how difficult it is to win a race or a championship. After 69.8 percent of the race we thought we had the title – just to see us standing in the gravel. I had a similar situation: I was pushed off, had to brake hard to avoid a collision. That’s why I spun off. The contact with the wall was heavy. I was sure that I would not make it back to the pits. Luckily I was able to bring the car back and the boys were able to repair it. It’s a shame for the team, because today more was possible. But I am so happy we won the title.“

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Sport)
“The Champion team drove a great race – fast and without mistakes from start to finish. The Joest team had a lot of bad luck today. Despite that the crew were able to achieve a good result of which they can be proud. Winning the Teams’ and Drivers’ titles for a fourth consecutive time is a very special achievement. Frank and Marco can also be proud of a great season. That Marco has won the title being a newcomer, is certainly something special.”


JJ Lehto and Johnny Herbert celebrate their win
The Infineon Team Joest Audi R8 at Road Atlanta
JJ Lehto ahead of Marco Werner
JJ Lehto in the Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8
The field gets the green flag to start the Petit Le Mans
Team ADT Champion Racing before the start