Sears
Point ALMS, 19th May 2002
Race
Johnny finishes second - sideways!
Audi
Sport UK, 19th May: Johnny Herbert’s last-minute decision
to contest an American Le Mans Series race for Audi in favour
of attempting to claim a place on the Indianapolis 500 grid
paid off when the Briton snatched the championship lead - going
sideways across the finishing line!
The
37-year-old former Grand Prix ace finished second, just 0.482secs
behind the winning Panoz of David Brabham/Jan Magnussen, at
Sears Point in California on Sunday driving an ADT Champion
Audi with co-driver Tom Kristensen after an action-packed 165-minute
race.
Pole-sitter
Kristensen shadowed the leading Panoz on the flooded 2.52-mile
circuit for 70 minutes before diving in to the lead as the track
surface dried. Twenty minutes later Herbert took over from Kristensen
and dropped to second place only for disaster to almost strike.
“The
tyres were very cold and I had no grip which cost me the lead
after I’d replaced Tom,” confirmed Herbert. “Soon afterwards,
a back-marker pulled straight across me as I came down the
hill at about 170mph and we touched.
“It
punctured my front right tyre but as I drove the car back
to the pits, the ‘factory’ Audi crashed off causing a full
course yellow which thankfully allowed me to resume back in
second place after my pit-stop but now a full lap down to
the leading Panoz.”
With
30minutes to run, Herbert trailed the leader by 77secs but a
blinding drive saw him begin the final lap just 5.9secs in arrears
with the track now bone dry. Johnny added:
“There
was a slow car in between us as we came out of the last corner.
It moved over on me and I was forced into the wall as we went
across the finish line - I spun and took the chequered flag
going sideways across the line.”
Herbert
had been scheduled to contest the final Indianapolis 500 qualifying
session and then fly to Sears north of San Francisco. But with
rain forecast at Indy, any delay would have thwarted the Briton’s
ambitious plans to “bridge” the near-3,000 mile venues so he
decided to head for Sears early.
“I’m tremendously disappointed to have missed out at Indy
but at least my day ultimately turned out okay - just about
- with me taking the series lead after two races. I’ll go
back to Indy tomorrow [Monday] as I didn’t have time to pack
my clothes. I may stay on to watch the race - it will be better
than going home to Monaco to watch the Grand Prix I’m sure!”
With
no Indy 500 race commitment on 26 May, Johnny will now focus
on attempting to win the Le Mans 24 Hours for a second time
on 15-16 June while the ALMS championship resumes at Mid-Ohio
on 30 June. Audi is bidding for a third consecutive Le Mans
triumph.
The
Audi Sport Team Joest-run Audi R8 of Frank Biela/Rinaldo Capello/Emanuele
Pirro ultimately finished 15th - eighth in class - after a 15mins
pit-stop to change the entire rear end of the 2000-spec Audi
loaned to them by Champion for this one race.
1.
David Brabham/Jan Magnussen, Panoz LMP-1, 83, 2 hours 47 minutes
11 seconds, .482 second.
2. Tom Kristensen/Johnny Herbert, Audi R8, 83.
3. Bill Auberlen/Bryan Herta, Panoz LMP-1, 82.
4. Chris Dyson/James Weaver, Riley & Scott MkIIIA-Lincoln, 81.
5. Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell, Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 81.
6. Lucas Luhr/Sascha Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 80.
7. Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins, Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 80.
8. Clint Field/Mark Neuhaus, Lola B2K40-Judd, 80.
9. Didier de Radigues/John Graham, Panoz LMP07-Mugen, 79.
10.Scott Maxwell/Milka Duno, Panoz LMP07-Mugen, 79.
Qualifying
Champion Audi takes pole
Champion
Racing, 18th May: Tom Kristensen waited for the right
opportunity and then nailed a flying lap in the ADT/Champion
Audi R8 to take the pole for Sunday’s American Le Mans Series
Grand Prix of Sonoma presented by Fosters at Sears Point Raceway.
Kristensen,
on loan from the factory Audi team for this event, turned a
lap of 1:22.615 (110.246 mph) on the 2.53-mile, 12-turn circuit,
establishing a track record on the recently reconfigured circuit.
His
fast lap came after he drove slowly on the track for a few moments,
waiting for traffic to clear during the 20-minute qualifying
session. Champion Motors Founder and President, Dave Maraj,
said:
"I
just want to thank Tom for his amazing effort, and for bringing
Champion our first ALMS Pole. We knew it would be tough to
beat the factory team in qualifying, because the 2000 model
R8 is particularly well suited to the Sears Point track."
Team
Joest are racing Champion's 2000-spec R8 at Sears Pt. this weekend,
while their 2002 cars are prepared for Le Mans. ADT/Champion
Technical Director, Brad Kettler, said:
"I'm
really pleased. The whole team has been working very hard,
and Tom came through when it counted. But I'm just glad qualifying
is over.
"We
had to do some regearing, making fifth a little taller since
sixth gear is not really required here. We had the usual understeer
problems during practice, and tried out some very large front
dive planes, but they proved to be too pitch sensitive on
the uphill-downhill Sears layout, so we've gone back to dual
smaller dive planes. Tire choice is also critical for this
race, because of the cool weather."
Kristensen,
though happy to win the pole, feels that his team and the factory
team will be at a disadvantage in Sunday’s two-hour, 45-minute
event because both teams are using three drivers.
"We
will have to make an extra driver change, and that will cost
us some time," he said. "If some of the other cars
with two drivers can stay close, they will have an advantage."
Kristensen
will co-drive with Andy Wallace and with Johnny Herbert, assuming
Herbert arrives at the track in time. The former Formula One
star is attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday
and will travel to Sears Point by private jet in hope of driving
the final stint in the race, thus protecting his drivers championship
points standing.
Herbert
is currently second in drivers points, behind factory pilot
Rinaldo Capello. Sunday’s race starts at 1 p.m. (PDT).
Practice
Champion 3rd fastest in first practice
Champion
Racing, 17th May: Friday was a testing day for the ALMS
teams, in preparation for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Sonoma presented
by Fosters at Sears Point Raceway, with a ninety minute session
just after midday. Audi factory team pilot Tom Kristensen, doing
a one-off at Sears with the ADT/Champion R8 team, turned the
third-fastest lap of the day at 1:24.842 in a car he will share
with Andy Wallace and Johnny Herbert, who also did stints in
Champion's 2001 R8 during the testing session.
Saturday
will be very busy for the ALMS teams, with one hour of practice
early in the morning, followed by a further one hour just prior
to the lunch break. A 20-minute Qualifying session for Sunday's
two-hour, 45-minute race is scheduled for mid-afternoon. There
will be Live timing and scoring on the Internet for all sessions.
See
the IMSA
website for the full live timing and scoring schedule.
Previews
Johnny at Sears and Indy 500 Bump Day on same
day
Audi
UK Sport Press Release, 17th May: Johnny Herbert faces an
amazing high-octane, high-pressure weekend in America. The 37-year-old
former Grand Prix winner will attempt to qualify for the legendary
Indianapolis 500 and then try to snatch the lead of the American
Le Mans Series.
Brentwood-born
Herbert today (Friday) tests his ADT Champion Racing Audi R8
sportscar at Sears Point in California along with co-drivers
Andy Wallace, from Oxford and triple Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen
having spent the past two days practicing at Indianapolis. He
will then make the 2,000-mile journey back to Indiana on Saturday
in time for Sunday’s final Indy 500 qualifying session around
the famous 2.5-mile oval at the wheel of a Western Union Dallara.
The
plan is then to immediately climb aboard the Learjet of Champion
Racing’s Dave Maraj to arrive at Sears, north of San Francisco,
in time to take the wheel of the Audi in the closing stages.
"I
lapped at over 227mph at Indy last Saturday but preferred
to bid for a place on the grid the following day but the day’s
session was washed out with continuous rain," confirmed
Johnny. "I want to do the Sears race because I can take
the championship lead but also need to get on to the Indy
grid - it’s a dream I want to fulfil.
"There
are nine places left on the 33-car Indy grid for the race
on 26 May and I’m confident I can claim one of them on Sunday.
If I achieve that and things go well for Andy and Tom in the
Sears race before I arrive to take over the Audi, I’ve a great
chance of taking the lead in the ALMS championship having
won the first round at Sebring in March. It’s going to be
an interesting few days."
British duo joined by multiple Le Mans winner
Audi
UK Sport Press Release, 10th May: British duo Johnny Herbert
and Andy Wallace are hoping to prove that “three is not a crowd”
when they welcome Tom Kristensen in to the ADT Champion Racing
Audi team for the Sears Point race on Sunday (19 May).
Logistical
problems prevent the German-based “works” Audi Sport team from
taking their two R8s over for the second round of the American
Le Mans Series. The recent Le Mans test (5 May) combined with
the 24 Hour race itself next month (15-16 Jun) make shipping
the cars to California impractical.
Audi
Sport has therefore come to an agreement with Florida-based
“customer” Audi team Champion for “Great Dane” Kristensen to
join its regular Herbert/Wallace “combo” in their 2001-specification
ADT Audi R8. Additionally, reigning ALMS champion Emanuele Pirro
and his regular ALMS co-driver Frank Biela will be joined by
current championship leader Rinaldo Capello in Champion’s 2000-spec
Audi R8 as driven by the British pair last year.
Herbert
starts the 165-minute race placed joint second in the series
- one-point behind Capello - in the middle of a hectic schedule.
The 37-year-old Essex ace flew from Paris to Indianapolis the
day after his car had clocked the fastest time in warm-up trials
at Le Mans so as to practice for his Indianapolis 500 debut
- a race staged on 26 May. He remains at Indy until Thursday
- having contested “Pole Day” last Saturday - before heading
to Sears and then returns to Indy straight after the race.
“It’s
hectic but I aim to enjoy it,” confirmed Herbert. “The Le
Mans test went exceptionally well and I hope that’s a good
omen for me concerning the coming weeks. I made my ALMS debut
at Sears last July - it’s an interesting track - but it’s
going to be tough to win with three sharing the car although
we’ll give our best shot.
“Normally
we would make one driver change at one of two scheduled pit-stops
but obviously for this race, we’ll change drivers in the other
stop too which will cost extra time. “Tom’s a great driver
- he’s won Le Mans three times - and it will be good having
him with us. Sears is a proven Audi track having won the past
two ALMS races so we should be strong - it’ll be good to race
again after a two month lay-off.”
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This page last updated Monday, 20-May-2002 08:00:27 BST
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