American Le Mans Series Notes of Interest

July 17, 2001

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES NOTES OF INTEREST

** SHANE LEWIS JOINS VIPER TEAM -- American Le Mans Series veteran driver Shane Lewis of Jupiter, Fla., will return to driving this weekend at Sears Point as a teammate to Jeff Altenburg in the #45 Dodge Viper GTS-R fielded by American Viperacing.

Lewis, a native of Lancaster, Calif., drove the first two races of the season in the Callaway C-12 of Aspen Knolls Racing, but that team has ceased operations, at least for the time being. "I am really looking forward to getting back into a car," said Lewis. "My last race was Sebring and that is just too long to be out of a car. I'm used to being behind the wheel, pushing the limits. This opportunity with American Viperacing is a great chance to get back out there and do what I do: drive."

Lewis will drive for the team at Sears Point and in the Aug. 5 ALMS event at Portland International Raceway. The team is seeking additional sponsorship for races after that.

** KRISTENSEN ON RPM2NIGHT -- Tom Kristensen, driver for Audi Sport North America in the American Le Mans Series, will be a guest on the popular American television program "rpm2night" on Thursday night, July 19. The program airs at 7 p.m. (U.S. Eastern time) on the ESPN2 cable network. Kristensen will talk with program host John Kernan about the upcoming event at Sears Point, as well as his victory with Audi teammates Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro last month in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

** ALMS CARS TO DRIVE ACROSS GOLDEN GATE -- Six cars from The X-Factor Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend will drive across San Francisco's famous landmark in the "Buckle-Up Drive Across the Golden Gate Bridge" on Wednesday, July 18.

The drive is intended to raise awareness of the importance of seat belt use while driving a motor vehicle and will occur a few days before the weekend of racing at nearby Sears Point Raceway.

Fans are encouraged to meet the drivers and view their exotic sports cars at Vista Point at the North Tower on the Marin County side of the Golden Gate Bridge beginning at 10 a.m. on July 18. The California Highway Patrol will be on hand to administer complimentary seat belt safety checks. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. from Vista Point and ten travel across the bridge and through the streets of San Francisco before winding up at Ghirardelli Square.

After a brief press conference, the drivers will head to the courtyard at Ghirardelli Square for another meet-and-greet and autograph session with the fans beginning at 1 p.m.

** BMW MOTORSPORT SETS UP SHOP IN AMERICA -- Team BMW Motorsport, which is based in Germany, has relocated to the United States for the next three months because of the upcoming American Le Mans Series schedule. The team will field a pair of BMW M3 GTR machines for drivers JJ Lehto, Jorg Muller, Dirk Muller and Fredrik Ekblom in the seven ALMS races remaining in North America. The races will be run in a three-month period, with four of them coming during one stretch of just five weeks.

"Between races, we have to travel long distances across the continent and carry out our normal race preparations," said Charly Lamm, team manager. "You can't afford to have any serious problems during that kind of phase. There just isn't enough time to respond."

Before departing Germany, the team was particularly diligent in its preparation, carrying out tests on two different circuits as well as BMW's own track in Ismaning near Munich. "Because the project was launched at a relatively late stage, work on getting the cars race-ready has run into the season," said Lamm. "In the meantime, we've ticked off a number of tasks and the most recent test has been very promising."

PANOZ TEAM SHAKES COBWEBS FROM ROADSTERS -- The Panoz Motor Sports team has been testing its 2000-spec LMP-1 Roadsters at its home track of Road Atlanta in preparation for its assault on the rest of the 2001 ALMS schedule. The team used the tests to re-familiarize itself with the older cars after deciding to temporarily park its LMP 07 machines. The roar and rumble of the
six-litre V8 engines in the LMP-1 cars, long a favorite of fans at road racing venues, will return to competition this weekend at Sears Point.

While Panoz drivers David Brabham and Jan Magnussen have extensive racing experience in the older machines, the same cannot be said for new team driver Franck Lagorce. Lagorce is teamed with Klaus Graf, who was a test driver for Panoz Motor Sports in the past and has many laps in the LMP-1.

Lagorce recently drove one of the machines for the first time. "It was like driving a great, big go-kart," said Lagorce. "The engine was fantastic, and there was so much torque. I found it easy to drive and Klaus and I are developing a really good working relationship. I feel very at ease with the car and the team."

"We are all looking forward to getting into a race car which should be quicker and more reliable than we have had so far this season," said Brabham. "This will lift the whole team and for us drivers it's a bit like the start of another season. We are determined to make the most of it."

SEARS POINT GAINS LOCAL ENTRANTS -- This weekend's The X-Factor Grand Prix of Sonoma gained some more local flavor Tuesday with the announcement of two drivers for a second Porsche to be fielded by The Racer's Group team. ALMS veteran Vic Rice, who lives only a few miles from Sears Point in San Rafael, Calif., and Santa Cruz, Calif., driver Robert Orcutt will co-drive the 911 GT3 RS in the GT class. The Racer's Group, which is based at Sears Point Raceway, is also running a car to be co-driven by Kevin Buckler of Sonoma, Calif., and Tyler McQuarrie of Walnut Creek, Calif.

** ALMS DRIVERS IN PETALUMA -- American Le Mans Series drivers and show cars will appear at Victory Auto World in Petaluma, Calif., on Friday, July 20, from 5-7 p.m. Petaluma is located only a short drive from Sears Point Raceway, where ALMS drivers will compete in The X-Factor Grand Prix of Sonoma on July 22. A Panoz LMP-1 show car will be present, along with a Panoz GT car from the Panoz Racing School.

QUICK NOTES: The Gulf Audi team of driver Stefan Johansson, which has been competing on the European Le Mans Series this season, will travel to America for the ALMS event on September 9 at California's Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca .. Several officials from Malaysia will visit the ALMS event this weekend at Sears Point in advance of the November 11 race at Sepang International Circuit .. Panoz Motor Sports driver Jan Magnussen recently enjoyed a scuba diving expedition to a shipwreck site near the Mediterranean isle of Cyprus ..

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MEDIA CONTACT: Andy Hall, American Le Mans Series Director of Media &
Communications (317) 295-3500, ext. 31.