Champion Racing at Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans
Team ADT Champion Racing – Audi R8 POMPANO BEACH, Fl. (September 20, 2004) – Team ADT Champion Racing will continue their quest for the Team and Manufacturers’ Championships in the American Le Mans Series this Saturday at Road Atlanta as part of the 6th annual Petit Le Mans sports car endurance race. The unique format of this race calls for 1,000 miles (394 laps) or 10 hours, whichever comes first. For the first time, Team ADT Champion Racing will compete in the American Le Mans Series with two Audi R8 sports cars. JJ Lehto and Marco Werner, who already have clinched the Drivers’ championship, will be supported in the fight for the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles by Johnny Herbert and Pierre Kaffer, current Audi R8 drivers for Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx in the Le Mans Endurance Series in Europe. Lehto and Werner will pilot the #38 Audi R8 while the “sister” car with Herbert and Kaffer will feature the #2 on the hood. Audi has a four-year winning streak in the Petit Le Mans, having won for the first time in 2000 when the Audi R8 Prototype was in its first year of competition. Team ADT Champion Racing has produced nine overall victories in the last two years – four times in 2003 and five (of seven times) in 2004, finishing second at Sebring behind Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx and second at Mosport behind the Dyson Lola. Chevy presents Petit Le Mans will get the green flag at 12 noon (Eastern) on Saturday, September 25. The race will cover 1,000 miles, or 10 hours, which ever comes first on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta circuit. Qualifying will be held on Friday, Sept. 24. The race will be televised live in North America by the SPEED Channel and in Europe by MotorsTV. American Le Mans Series Radio will have live coverage of qualifying and the race that can be heard online at www.americanlemans.com. Driver Quotes: Marco Werner (Germany). “This is a special event for us. It’s one of the longest distances that we race, and we will have a lot of good competition not only from the Dyson cars and the Zytek,, but also from our own sister car. It’s a great track, I like it and it’s one that I think suits JJ very well”. JJ Lehto (Finland). “I really like the Road Atlanta track – we won there last year and I want to try and do it again this year. The circuit is really challenging and there are always so many fans which makes the atmosphere very special.” Johnny Herbert (England). “I’m very much looking forward to rejoining the ALMS and delighted it’s with Champion. It’ll be fun ‘re-igniting’ the relationships and at one of the best ALMS races on the calendar. I’m itching to get back in the seat.” Pierre Kaffer (Germany). “I am really looking forward to Atlanta. I tested there prior to Sebring and it’s one of the best race tracks, a bit like the Nurburgring. And to drive with Johnny is a big pleasure for me. I hope we can enjoy the race and have a good result.”
Audi Certified Pre-Owned Champion RS 6 Team The Audi Certified Champion RS 6 team will face its greatest challenge in the team’s five year history competing in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT series when Champion Racing drivers Randy Pobst and Michael Galati compete in the next to the last round of the 10 race series as part of this weekend’s Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta, September 22-25. The SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. organization recently issued additional adjustments to the Audi RS 6 “Competition” cars. These adjustments include: a 49.4 percent restrictor prior to each turbocharger (the car carried no restrictor previously); a maximum rear weight distribution of 42 percent (previously 42.5 percent); a combined limit of intercooler and brake cooling water capacity of 3.5 gallons (previously not limited); a freeze on the air intake system; a freeze on the cooling system and the removal of the standard intercoolers and air intake listed on the current Vehicle Technical Specifications (VTS), which were used only at Sebring due to parts availability. The SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT race at Road Atlanta, Round nine of the 2004 Championship, is scheduled for Saturday, September 24, at 3:55 p.m. (EDT). The race will be broadcast the following Sunday, September 26 on SPEED Channel at 1 p.m. (EDT). Randy Pobst (Gainesville, GA). “Due to the hard work from Champion Racing and the ingenuity and inherent capabilities of the Audi RS 6, Michael and I have managed to have a good season. We hope to continue that at Road Atlanta this weekend. It will no doubt be more difficult that it has ever been before for this team.” Michael Galati (Olmsted, OH). “I love racing at Road Atlanta. It’s my favorite track. However this weekend will be really tough for us. The recent adjustments will be hard to overcome but like always, we’ll give it our 100% best effort and try to make the best of it.” |
