Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 1
July 19, 2002

ALMS Combined practiced (1-hour session):
At 9:51, green flag. IMSA officials have measured the track at 1.66 miles.

At 9:52, Michelin reports the air temperature in the pits is 95 degrees, and the track temperature is 110 degrees at the start finish line.

At 9:57, car #7-P900 Cadillac LMP02 off and continued at turn 7.
At 9:58, Bill Auberlen (#51-P900 Panoz LMP01) off and continued at turn 7.
At 10:03, Ron Fellows (#3-GTS Corvette C5-R) and Kelly Collins (#4-GTS Corvette C5-R) off on the escape road at turn 5 and continued.
At 10:06, car #42-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS into the tire wall at turn 5 and continued.
At 10:08, Franz Konrad (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) spun and continued at turn 1.
At 10:10, Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257) spun and continued at turn 1.
At 10:11, car #43-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS spun and continued at turn 4.
At 10:13, car #13-P675 Lola B2K40/Millington is stopped off track near turn 5 in a safe place, trying to restart and rejoin the practice session, returns to the course after a brief delay.
At 10:17, Milka Duno (#30-P900 Lola B2K10/Judd) backed into the tire barriers between turns 3 and 4, car is stopped with heavy damage.
At 10:17, black flag all (the #30-P900 will be towed to the paddock after the session).

At 10:25, green flag.
At 10:31, car #67-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS pulled off course at turn 4 after dropping oil in turn 3, driver is out of the car.
At 10:37, car #44-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R off and on at the access road at turn 5.
At 10:41, car #99-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R spun and continued at turn 1.
At 10:43, car #44-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R off and on at the access road at turn 5.
At 10:48, car #45-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R off and onto the access road at turn 5 and continued.
At 10:51, checkered flag.

Top three unofficial times in class:
#1-P900 Audi R-8 - 1:04.838, #2-P900 Audi R-8 - 1:05.179, #38-P900 Audi R-8 - 1:05.551

#37-P675 MG Lola EX257 - 1:08.122, #56-P675 Pilbeam MP84/Nissan - 1:13.103, #77-P675 Pilbeam MP84/Nissan - 1:15.494

#4-GTS Corvette C5-R - 1:11.105, #3-GTS Corvette C5-R - 1:11.173, #0-GTS Ferrari 550 Maranello - 1:11.477

#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS - 1:14.781, #23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS - 1:15.460, #22-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS - 1:15.733

Looking over the notes from above, turns 7 and 5 seem to be the places to watch, with several incidents in those corners.

Motorsports Ministries, along with help from the Washington Redskins, will be bring a group of disadvantaged teens from the DC area to the racetrack.  The group, from "The House", will have an opportunity for pictures, autographs and souvenirs with many of the teams and drivers. Driver Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) will end the day with an encouraging message. Jennifer Anderson, president of the "Our Light Racing" program: "We have been able to reach hundreds of young people through this dynamic program with help from many drivers and sponsors involved in this series".

 

Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 2
July 19, 2002

Corrrection: the driver of car #30-P900 Lola B2K10/Judd in the black flag accident was Clint Field, not Milka Duno.

Clint Field (#30-P900 Lola B2K10/Judd) (about the accident) "I went out and the brakes were heat soaked. I was pumping them and they grabbed and sent me into the wall. There's not much damage and we should be out next session."

Max Angelelli (#8-P900 Cadillac LMP02) "I'm impressed with the track. It is flat and wide enough to race. The chicane (at turn 5) will be a challenge and a corner to watch during the race." Note to fans coming to the track: if you have seats in sections 46-64 you should have a good view of the turn 7, turn 6 and the chicane at turn 5.

David Brabham (#50-P900 Panoz LMP01) "I really like the course. Its nice and wide and relatively smooth. I wish it was a bit longer though, but that's the nature of a circuit like this. But the straight is long enough to showcase the power of our cars. I expect to have an action packed weekend."  (about the affect of heat and weather) "No doubt, our cars aren't used to running these temporary circuits and the heat will be an issue for braking.  We're doing all we can in that area as I'm sure the rest of the teams are."

Stefan Johansson (#38-P900 Audi R-8) "The practice was pretty good and the car felt nice. We need to pick up some time, but otherwise we are close at the moment." (about the track) "They've done a nice job compared to other temporary circuits". Teammate Johnny Herbert chimed in "Agreed".

Bryan Herta (#51-P900 Panoz LMP01) "I only go in a couple of laps at the finish (of the session), so I haven't got a good feel for the track yet. I am impressed with the facility though, and I can't wait to get back in the car this afternoon."

Kevin Buckler (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) (first impressions of the track) "The track is very wide and smooth and the asphalt feels nice. It's not a particularly difficult track, but it does take a lot of concentration. It's important to not overdrive the car. I like it, it feels pretty good, though it's really hot!"

Brian Cunningham (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "It's warm in there, to say the least. It's an interesting circuit, lots of turns and very short. I like this kind of driving, but the heat makes the last race at Road America feel like nothing."

Johnny O'Connell (#3-GTS Corvette C5-R) (comparing DC to other temporary circuits) "Its just beautiful. The surface is the best I've ever driven on.  The pavement is so smooth, it gives you so much grip. They've done a super job on the curbing too, you don't get the impression that this is a first time event for them. This circuit will lend itself to our kind of racing because it has lots of passing areas." (about the heat in the cars) "The Pratt-Miller team have gotten some new cooling systems for us so it will be better than we've had it."

Sascha Maassen (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "It's hot, but the track itself is quite interesting, especially the braking at the end of the front straight. Its not easy, but I think the race will be interesting."

Lucas Luhr (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "Its pretty much stop and go, and very busy. Because of the heat, its going to be physically hard for us."

 

Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 3
July 19, 2002

ALMS Combined practice session (1-hour, all classes):
At 3:04, green flag.
At 3:05, car Jan Magnussen (#50-P900 Panoz LMP01) made light contact with the tires at run 7 and continued.
At 3:10, Kevin Buckler (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) drove through the chicane at turn 5, and continued.
At 3:18, Cory Friedman (#07-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R) into the run-off at turn 1, and continued.
At 3:18, car #67-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS is reported to have a broken water hose and is going to the paddock for repairs.
At 3:19, Larry Schumacher (#99-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R) into the run-off at turn 1 and continued.

At 3:21, Tom Weickardt (#44-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R) is being observed for smoking from the right rear, returns to the pits.
At 3:25, Jan Magnussen (#50-P900 Panoz LMP01) into the run-off at turn 1 and continued.
At 3:26, Emanuelle Naspetti (#0-GTS Ferrari 550 Maranello) has light contact with the wall at turn 7 and continued.
At 3:30, car #43-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS backed into the tire barrier at turn 7, stopped then continued.

At 3:33, Pirelli tire engineers report the air temperature is 95 degrees and the track temperature is 124 degrees.
At 3:36, Joe Blacker (#77-P675 Pilbeam MP84/Nissan) reported slowing in turn 2.
At 3:36, Peter Baron (#43-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) spun and continued at turn 7.

At 3:38, Johnny Herbert (#38-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap overall with a 1:04.437.
At 3:39, Johnny Herbert (#38-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap overall with a 1:04.310.

At 3:40, Milka Duno (#30-P900 Lola B2K10/Judd) slowing in turn 2.
At 3:43, Jan Magnussen (#50-P900 Panoz LMP01) going slow in turn 7, but continues on course.
At 3:44, Brian Cunningham (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) has spun and stopped at turn 5, continued.
At 3:45, Chad Block (#11-P675 MG Lola EX257/AER) into the tires at run 7, damage to the car and tires, but the car continued on to the pits and the barrier should be all right for the rest of the session.

At 3:50, Jan Magnussen (#50-P900 Panoz LMP01) spun and continued at turn 5.
At 3:51, Selby Wellman (#70-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R) spun and continued at turn 1.
At 3:59, car #10-GT BMW M3 into the run-off at turn 1, stops and continues.
At 4:00, Gary Schultheis (#42-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) spun and continued at turn 1.
At 4:01, checkered flag.

Will Langhorn (#13-P675 Lola B2K40/Millington) (Washington DC resident) "For so many years I have been jealous of guys who had home town races - I can't thank them enough for having the race in DC. I am so excited to be part of it and to work with Archangel Racing. The car ran good and the team is great to work with." Note: Car #13-P675 Lola B2K40/Millington was the class winner at the last ALMS event at Road America two weeks ago.

Top three in class:
#38-P900 Johnny Herbert 1:04.310, #1-P900 Frank Biela 1:04.529, #2-P900 Rinaldo Capello 1:04.578
#37-P675 Clint Field 1:10.148, #11-P675 Chad Block 1:10.865, #13-P675 Ben Devlin 1:12.379
#26-GTS Terry Borcheller 1:10.460, #3-GTS Ron Fellows 1:10.613, #0-GTS Domenico Schiattarella 1:10.858
#23-GT Sascha Maassen 1:13.607, #66-GT Brian Cunningham 1:13.869, #22-GT Jorg Bergmeister 1:14.814

Note: Timing and scoring reports the last driver in the car for their final report, the times for the cars are accurate, but the driver may not be.  Herbert was confirmed as the fastest driver of the session. Only the #88-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R did not practice.

 

Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 4
July 19, 2002

Johnny Herbert (#38-P900 Audi R-8) (viewing this practice as a boost to the team) "It is, especially since they are going to cancel tomorrow (a joke).  But it's the best start we've had (to a weekend). We're very happy with the car we have today. It's not perfect, we tend to have a front end where it under steers, but the Champion team has worked on that and it made a nice difference to the car. We still have a ways to go, but at least we went sixty percent in the right direction. I'm looking forward to going back on the circuit tomorrow." (impressions of the circuit) "You try and guess about new circuits (before you get there). I'm impressed with what we have here.

There's a lot of hairpins, but its also wide, it's a very good circuit and the width of the track will make it easy to pass. (Being built on a parking lot) it's not designed (the lot) to what we do, but the surface they put down is very smooth, one of the smoothest I've driven on."

Joe Blacker (#77-P675 Pilbeam MP84/Nissan) (Ellicott City, MD) "It is wonderful to be this close to home. I'm proud to show the my family and friend the group from ALMS and hope they enjoy it as much as I do." (about practice) "We ran pretty good, I haven't run a temporary circuit in quite a while now, I'm getting used to it and developing a rhythm."

Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) "The track is really good, but we were developing some marbles so if you got off line it was slippery. We didn't have that in the first session. We're getting high brake temperatures and hot body (driver) temperatures."

Ron Fellows (#3-GTS Corvette C5-R) "We were better but the Saleen found something, for now. The circuit is good, good to race on."

Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257) (on being six seconds slower than the P900 cars) "We had a shift lift problem, but we will sort it out and get better, we have plenty of time to get faster. Clint got in for the first time in this session and went exceptionally fast."

 

Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 5
July 20, 2002

ALMS Combined Practice (1-hour session, all classes):
At 9:00, green flag.
At 9:00, the sky is overcast with slight sprinkles in the air.
At 9:03, car #07-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R is reported leaking fluids from turns 3 through 6. The car returned to the pits, the fluid is not oil, and all corners are green.
At 9:06, car #50-P900 Panoz LMP01 backed into the run off at turn 5, stalled, restarted and continued.
At 9:07, car #10-GT BMW M3 slow by turn 4, apparently missed a gear, but continued.
At 9:10, black flag all, debris in turn 2.

At 9:12, green flag.
At 9:12, car #16-P900 R/S MKIII/Lincoln leaking fluids, pulls into the pits.
At 9:13, car #13-P675 Lola B2K40/Millington reported smoking from the center rear of the car.
At 9:17, car #43-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS spun and continued at unspecified location.
At 9:21, car #45-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R spun and continued at turn 7.

At 9:25, Goodyear tire engineers report the air temperature is 82 degrees, with a track temperature of 91 degrees.
At 9:26, car #56-P675 Pilbeam MP84/Nissan into the run off at turn 5 and continued.
At 9:27, car #70-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R has a flat left rear tire, continuing on course.
At 9:29, car #70-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R has pulled off and stopped at turn 4 after tagging the wall, debris in the corner.
At 9:30, black flag all, for debris, #70-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R will remain at the corner until the end of the session.

At 9:34, green flag.
At 9:37, car #77-P675 Pilbeam MP84/Nissan leaking oil and pulled of past turn 2, there is no oil in the racing line, but the car is parked.
At 9:40, car #43-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS spun and continued at turn 4.
At 9:43, car #43-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS slow by turn 2.
At 9:45, car #11-P675 MG Lola EX257/AER spun and is stopped against the barrier at turn 4, backs out and re-enters the course.
At 9:45, car #4-GTS Corvette C5-R spun and stopped at turn 4 trying to avoid the #11 as it tried to leave, no damage and continued.
At 9:50, car #8-P900 Cadillac LMP02 spun and continued at turn 2.

At 9:57, checkered flag.

Top three in class:
#2-P900 Rinaldo Capello 1:03.694, #1-P900 Frank Biela 1:03.725, #50-P900 Jan Magnussen 1:04.044
#37-P675 Clint Field 1:06.096, #11-P675 Chad Block 1:07.995, #13-P675 Ben Devlin 1:10.419
#4-GTS Kelly Collins 1:09.135, #3-GTS Johnny O'Connell 1:09.745, #26-GTS Terry Borcheller 1:10.037
#23-GT Sascha Maassen 1:12.737, #66-GT Kevin Buckler 1:12.974, #22-GT Timo Bernhard 1:13.472

Sascha Maassen (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) (about the track) "This morning it was exceptionally a little bit cooler which helped the car, the tires and the driver. We are constantly improving and the track is constantly improving, so we're getting more grip and quicker and quicker lap times. You can't make a mistake, because every mistake will be punished hard. You have to be extremely precise; you need all the room you can get."

 

Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 6
July 20, 2002

From the morning practice:
Kevin Buckler (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "The car feels great. I really like street courses. I've been sliding into corners to gain extra time, it's kind of slick out there right now, it feels like a dirt track. We have taken care of the setup and gearbox, thanks to the crew who worked late last night."

Brian Cunningham (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "We've resolved yesterday's issues and it feels good. It has really helped me find a rhythm. As we run every session, the car has more grip and just feels better.  This session has really helped me with confidence, speed and comfort. We're going to come together for a good qualifying session and a great race."

Michael Schrom (#67-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "My first impression of the track is that it's really rhythmic. I felt like I got up to speed quickly. I'm learning the track and ready to go back out. The car is handling well. It feels strange to come directly from a huge week with my company and just jump in the car and drive. It's going to be a good race."

Darren Law (#67-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "I'm really happy to have the water leak resolved. We really needed to get some time in the car and this session it happened. I'm feeling very good."

ALMS Qualifying - GTS/GT classes only (20-minute session):
At 12:20, green flag.

At 12:20, Michelin tire engineers report the air temperature is 98 degrees and the track temperature is 112 degrees.
At 12:24, Kevin Buckler (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:13.836.
At 12:24, Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:12:500.
At 12:27, Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:10.434.
At 12:28, Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:10.126.
At 12:30, Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:09.721.
At 12:33, Sascha Maassen (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:12.893.
At 12:35, Andy Pilgrim (#4-GTS Corvette C5-R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:09.651.
At 12:36, Andy Pilgrim (#4-GTS Corvette C5-R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:09.379.
At 12:37, Ron Fellows (#3-GTS Corvette C5-R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:09.325.

At 12:37, Selby Wellman (#70-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R) spun and continued at turn 1.
At 12:38, Ron Fellows (#3-GTS Corvette C5-R) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:08.834.
At 12:39, Marino Franchitti (#44-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R) into the run off at turn 5.

At 12:40, checkered flag.

Ron Fellows earns his fifth pole in a row and twelfth career, the most in ALMS history. For driver Sascha Maassen, this is his seventh career pole and third of the season.

Unofficial top three in class:
#3-GTS Ron Fellows 1:08.834, #4-GTS Andy Pilgrim 1:09.379, #26-GTS Terry Borcheller 1:09.721
#23-GT Sascha Maassen 1:12.893, #22-GT Timo Bernhard 1:13.479, #66-GT Kevin Buckler 1:13.836

 

Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 7
July 20, 2002

ALMS Qualifying - P900/P675 classes only (20-minute session):
At 12:56, green flag.
At 12:59, Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:06.784.
At 1:01, Johnny Herbert (#38-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:04.343.
At 1:01, Emmanuel Collard (#7-P900 Cadillac LMP02) light contact with wall in turn 1.
At 1:01, Rinaldo Capello (#2-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:04.071.
At 1:02, Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:06.385.
At 1:02, Frank Biela (#1-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap overall with a 1:03.792.
At 1:03, Rinaldo Capello (#2-P900 Audi R-8) light contact with wall in turn 5, did not slow.
At 1:03, Frank Biela (#1-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap overall with a 1:03.396.
At 1:03, Rinaldo Capello (#2-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap overall with a 1:03.394 (2 one thousandths ahead of his teammate).
At 1:06, Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257) sets the fastest lap in class with a 1:05.985.
At 1:06, Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257) contacted the wall entering turn 1, damage to car, pulled off and stopped.
At 1:06: black flag all.

At 1:10, green flag.
At 1:13, Emmanuel Collard (#7-P900 Cadillac LMP02) with side to side contact with Jeff Bucknum (#56-P675 Pilbeam MP84/Nissan) at turn 3, both continued.
At 1:15, Frank Biela (#1-P900 Audi R-8) sets the fastest lap overall with a 1:03.287.
At 1:16, checkered flag.
At 1:17, Ben Devlin (#13-P675 Lola B2K40/Millington) has pulled off at turn 7 with flames under the car, crews are putting the fire out.

This is the third ALMS career and season pole for Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257). Driver Frank Biela earns his fifth career pole, third of the season.

Unofficial Top three in class:
#1-P900 Frank Biela 1:03.287, #2-P900 Rinaldo Capello 1:03.312, #50-P900 Jan Magnussen 1:03.739
#37-P675 Jon Field 1:05.985, #11-P675 Chad Block 1:08.173, #13-P675 Ben Devlin 1:10.316

Sascha Maassen (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "It was getting hot in the car so I decided to come in early (joking). Our car was really good. We had a little less grip than this morning - I think the track temperature came up.  In the first lap, I had some mistakes because I was pushing too hard and the grip was not there. So on the second lap, I didn't attack the entrance the turns] so much and I got very good exits, and that was a good lap time."

Timo Bernhard (#22-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "One-two is good for the team.  We'll see tomorrow for the race what will happen. I hope that we can finish the race and be on the podium. That would be great. It's big heat here, so just finishing will be great."

Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) "We had the pole for a while, then developed a front vibration. I came in and we change to sticker tires, but lost some of the setup with the change. (had we not made the change) We could have had second."

Andy Pilgrim (#4-GTS Corvette C5-R) "I had some bad luck in traffic, but (starting) one-two is good, considering. Its cooler today, not as humid, it's only ridiculously uncomfortable as opposed to unbearably uncomfortable."

 

Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington DC
ALMS Pit Notes Page 8
July 20, 2002

Rinaldo Capello (#2-P900 Audi R-8) "Qualifying was very, a very small gap - nasty! Unfortunately I ran out of fuel on the last lap, which was my quickest. But this was the best I could do - one, two is good."

Jan Magnussen (#50-P900 Panoz LMP01) "I was pushing hard. The black flag came out a bad time, I was just getting settled in. We've made some good improvements and starting third here is not bad."

Emanuelle Naspetti (#0-GTS Ferrari 550 Maranello) "The car is well-balanced, better than ever. We still need more downforce front & rear and we may have made a slightly wrong choice on the tires for qualifying, but I'm sure we will provide a good fight in the race."

Domenico Schiattarella (#0-GTS Ferrari 550 Maranello) "This will be a really exciting race. We have to be careful in the beginning, and we have to keep in mind on a circuit like this, you must have a clean race because it's easy to be knocked out if you're not careful. Even so, I'm confident we can be racing at the front of our class at the end."

Kevin Buckler (#66-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "The car is having gearbox problems like we experienced yesterday. The gear was stuck in fifth and I couldn't get it out. I know I could have turned another good lap. I'm disappointed, but we're still in the top three. We're going to get all this resolved today and have a good race tomorrow."

Darren Law (#67-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) "There was a flat spot on the front left tire, so I had to come in earlier than I wanted. It didn't feel as good out there. I'm going to rest up and work towards a better time tomorrow."

Sascha Maassen (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 RS) (at the press conference) "My biggest success has been on street circuits. We were confident but no sure we'd do well. I'm happy with the gap between the others (and myself).  Tomorrow will be special with close walls; we must stay on the road to keep position. I hope we have some yellows, but we never know. I don't get close to walls so I don't have a problem with walls around me. For a street circuit, it's wide and very good. There are slow corners, we would like to have more variety, but braking for turn one will be exciting. I am happy with the margin (to second place), we were not expecting such a margin with the pole. We tried a lot of things to get the quickest first lap. Maybe I got it right, and they didn't."

Frank Biela (#1-P900 Audi R-8) "The car was good and the tires were consistent, but I'm not worrying about the car, just the traffic. I thought we would have problems; (the) Panoz (car) was tough competition." (about tomorrow's race) "It will come down to strategy, staying off the walls. For the spectators, it will be an exciting race. A good driver in a bad car can not win. You need a good setup, and on a good day, you can win. The track is too short to relax, it will be one of the toughest races we've ever had. If you don't do it, the others will, and that makes it very risky. It will probably be tougher than Le Mans."

Ron Fellows (#3-GTS Corvette C5-R) (about getting the pole in two laps) "It was an adventure. I wanted to wait but went out trying to find a clear track and keep out of traffic. The tires were good for three laps, and fortunately the other guys got out of the way." (about traffic and the race) "The traffic is manageable if other stay out of your way. Its very wide and it possible to move off line. This is not a typical street circuit, the corners have a longer radius, its more of a road course." (about tire wear) "The tires have excellent grip for six or seven laps, then it starts to understeer. I concerned about rear grip late in run."

Jon Field (#37-P675 MG Lola EX257) (about the last lap accident) "We had an a-arm failure going down the front straight and went into the wall off line.  Hopefully we can fix it for the race, but Lola has no spares." (about the track) "They've done a beautiful job building the circuit, the asphalt is getting better and better." (about the race) "I hope we're in the race, it's all part of a new car that hasn't been sorted out. The temperatures (we've run in) in the United States are a consideration (high than planned). The brakes will be getting cooked tomorrow, and the race engine temps will be very high also. I love to drive aggressively, but you gotta be careful and not stick your nose in just anywhere."

Chad Block (#11-P675 MG Lola EX257/AER) "We had some engine