January
2002
Herbert
joins Wallace for Champion's 2002 ALMS races
Champion:
With the 2002 American Le Mans Series set to kickoff in
less than seven weeks at Sebring, Champion Racing is pleased
to confirm that Andy Wallace and Johnny Herbert will again contest
the full slate of ALMS events in Champion's customer Audi R8
prototype, with the exception of the 12 Hours of Sebring, where
Herbert will join the Audi Works team for the historic Florida
enduro.
Champion's
full Sebring lineup, anchored by sportscar veteran Wallace,
will be announced shortly.
"I
couldn't be more pleased to have Andy and Johnny aboard our
Audi R8 for another season," said Dave Maraj, Owner and President
of Champion Motors and Champion Racing.
Maraj
continued, "I feel that the Champion Racing team, with our
latest-specification Audi R8, can give our drivers all the
tools they require to contest for the top podium spot on a
regular basis in 2002. While we regret not having Johnny Herbert
on our driver strength at Sebring, we congratulate him on
being chosen to drive for the Audi Works team, and wish him
well as he returns to Le Mans, where he was so impressive
in Champion's Audi R8 in 2001."
Herbert
was the star of Champion's 2001 Le Mans 24 effort, where his
triple stint under atrocious conditions of dark and heavy rain
was the talk of the race's evening hours, as he pulled Champion's
R8 up the leaderboard, outpacing all other drivers on the track
by a wide margin.
Wallace
and Herbert formed the basis of Champion's 2001 ALMS effort
from Sears Point through the season-ending Petit Le Mans, taking
four podium finishes including a season-best second place at
Laguna Seca, where Wallace had race fans on the edge of their
seats as he reeled in the leading Joest Audi in the race's closing
stages, pulling to within less than two seconds of the leader
before the timed race expired.
Earlier
in the season at Mosport, Herbert put in one of the most exciting
drives of 2001. He hounded the Audi factory team relentlessly,
taking and holding the race lead until final pit stops, and
putting in one of the most thrilling catch-up drives in memory
as he vied for the win in the race's closing laps, shaving seconds
per lap off the leader's margin, only to see his day ended in
Mosport's notorious Turn Two tire barrier.
"We
learned a lot during the 2001 season," said Brad Kettler,
Champion Racing's Technical Director. "We learned a lot about
the Audi R8 and how to give our drivers the best chance against
the strong competition we face in the American Le Mans Series,
not only from other manufacturers but from the Audi Works
team. We believe we had their measure last year, and the Champion
Racing team looks forward to proving that again in 2002."
Herbert
to drive for factory Audi team at Le Mans
Audi
Sport Press Release: Britain's Johnny Herbert has been recruited
by Audi to drive one of its factory-entered sportscars in the
Le Mans 24 Hours - the legendary annual endurance motor race
which the German manufacturer is bidding to win for a third
consecutive year.
Herbert
(37) won the Le Mans race in 1991 and teams-up with Rinaldo
Capello and fellow Italian Christian Pescatori at Le Mans on
15-16 June with the similar Infineon Audi R8 of former British
Touring Car Champion Frank Biela (D), Tom Kristensen (Den) and
Emanuele Pirro (I) - the 2000 and 2001 Le Mans race winners
for Audi.
Herbert
said:
"I'm
delighted Audi has given me another realistic opportunity
to win what is arguably the world's toughest and most famous
motor race. The Infineon Audi R8 finished 1-2-3 at Le Mans
in 2000 and its two-car entry netted a 1-2 last year so the
Audi is without doubt the car to be driving in such a gruelling
marathon."
Audi
has dominated endurance sportscar racing over the past two years.
Its R8 sportscar has achieved 20 victories from 24 race starts
and only once retired due to a mechanical problem. In addition
to its double Le Mans race success, Britain's Allan McNish and
Pirro won the American Le Mans Series titles for Audi in 2000
and '01 respectively while Stefan Johansson, of Sweden, won
the 2001 European Le Mans Series in a British-based "customer"
Audi R8.
"The
Audi R8 is simply a wonderful car," added Essex-born Herbert.
"You can drive it on the limit from the first to the last
lap which is exactly what is required at Le Mans nowadays.
The race is essentially a round-the-clock sprint in which
the winning car, depending on the weather, clocks up more
miles than the winner of the Formula One World Championship
does in an entire season."
The
popular British driver will make his début for the two-car factory
Audi squad in the Sebring 12-Hours on 16 March, the opening
round of this year's ALMS championship in America.
Oxon-based
Herbert drove for the American Audi "customer" Champion Racing
team at Le Mans and in six ALMS races last year. Meanwhile a
further Le Mans victory for Biela/Kristensen/Pirro would add
another chapter in to motorsport history as never before has
an unchanged driver combination ever won the French endurance
classic three times in a row.
"Our
aim is very ambitious," added Audi Head of Sport Dr Wolfgang
Ullrich. "We want to win the Le Mans race for the third time
in a row in order to finally get the historic trophy back
to our factory in Ingolstadt."
Detailed
improvements are planned for the Audi R8.
"The
car and the new FSI engine still have potential that we want
to exploit," continued Dr Ullrich.
Herbert
replaces Laurent Aiello in the Audi "works" team because the
Frenchman will concentrate on the German touring car series
(DTM). After the Sebring season opener, Audi Sport North America
contests the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) with their proven
driver line-ups of Biela and Pirro plus Capello and Kristensen.
Furthermore
it is likely that Herbert will team-up with Andy Wallace in
a Champion Racing "customer" entered 2001-specification Audi
R8 for the remaining ALMS races.
Johnny
says he will be at the 2002 Indy 500
Autosport,
12th January: Former Grand Prix star Johnny Herbert says
he definitely will race in May's Indianapolis 500, despite the
fact he has yet to finalise a deal. Speaking at AUTOSPORT International
in Birmingham, the three-time GP winner, who tested an Indy
Racing League car impressively at Kentucky and Indianapolis
last year, says he will be on the grid at the Brickyard.
"I
will definitely be racing in the 500, come what may and anyway
I can," he said. "My aim is to try and win both the Indy 500
and the Le Mans 24 Hours in the same year, which hasn't been
done since AJ Foyt in 1967."
The
Essex ace believes the challenge of the Indy 500 could be more
demanding than Formula 1.
"The
concentration required for driving on an oval is, in some
respects, more demanding because the races are longer and
the speeds are so much higher," he said. "It's made more difficult
because you are passing a lot of cars consistently through
the race. From my experience in testing, I've no worries about
the proximity of the walls, but I haven't hit one yet. Maybe
then I'll change my mind!"
Herbert's
plans for 2002 remain fluid at present, although he is confident
his deals in the IRL, Le Mans and ALMS will fall into place
in due course:
"I've
got some nice options lined up, it's just a case of slotting
them all together," he added.
Johnny
Herbert launches search for a star driving talent
Rockingham,
10th January: British Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert has
launched his Search for Britain’s next motor racing star. The
initiative, backed by BBC Top Gear, was announced at the Autosport
International Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
The search will take place at the Johnny Herbert Rockingham
Experience, the UK's newest and fastest racing school, based
at Britain's only banked oval racing circuit near Corby in Northamptonshire.
He has pledged to discover tomorrows new driving talent and
to help the winner launch their motor sport career.
For
the ultimate winner there's a fantastic prize a £60,000 full
season's driving in the Avon Junior Formula Ford Championship.
The prize package also includes 18 test days, 12 races (eight
meetings with four double headers), accident damage for the
racing car, technical training, driver training, PR support
and training, marketing support and training, presentation skills
training, physical training and an engraved trophy which will
be a permanent memento for the first ever winner of the Johnny
Herbert Rockingham Experience Search for a Star.
All
competition entrants will take part in an initial assessment
which begins with a detailed 30-minute briefing before being
coached and then scored in a saloon car. Then its transfer to
the classroom for a written aptitude test. The highest scoring
drivers will then have the chance to return to Rockingham for
further assessment and driver training before the numbers are
reduced to 30 for the grand final.
The final will include multi-discipline driving activities ranging
from touring car saloon to single seater assessments under the
watchful eye of the JHRE instructor team led by Johnny. The
winner is announced on the day.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT PATRICK VERCOE AT JHRE ON 01536
271559 OR 07941 716635.
Autosport,
3rd January: Three-time Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert
looks set to contest this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with the factory
Audi team, according to this week's AUTOSPORT magazine. Herbert,
who drove for the privateer Champion Racing outfit at Le Mans
this year, is in the final stages of talks with the German manufacturer
which is seeking its third successive win in the round-the-clock
French sportscar classic.
"We
are in talks with Johnny about having him in one of our cars,"
said Audi motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich. "His performances
in the American Le Mans Series last season were excellent
and he would fit in well in our team. "Before contracts are
signed, all I can say is that I hope very much that a deal
will be done," he added.
Herbert,
36, would share his Joest-run Audi R8 with Rinaldo Capello and
Laurent Aiello, and would also contest the Sebring 12 Hours
in America with the team as a warm-up event. He could also continue
to race with Champion in the other rounds of the ALMS.
"I
want to work with Johnny again," said team boss David Maraj.
"He won't be able to do Sebring, but I'd like him to do the
other nine races."
The
works Audi team has yet to confirm its full-time presence in
this year's ALMS, although Ullrich told AUTOSPORT that the deal
was "getting closer".
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effort is made to ensure factual accuracy but no
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News and photos
from Audi Sport © used by kind permission.
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