Pirro, Biela Win at Laguna Seca; Pirro Moves Into Point Lead

"You can never give up in racing or in life," said Pirro, who teamed with Biela and Kristensen to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans this past June for the second straight year. "It's hard to believe that we have a chance to win the championship."

The Panoz LMP-1 of Jan Magnussen led most of the first hour of the race, but was eliminated after tangling with the Audi of Johnny Herbert and crashing into the wall at the entrance to the pits. The Herbert car was penalized later in the race after officials had reviewed video of the incident.

Biela, who started the eventual winning car, swapped the lead with Magnussen in the early going before turning the car over to Pirro under a full-course yellow at the 1:20 mark of the two-hour, 45-minute race. Pirro restarted the race in second place behind Herbert and then took the lead when Herbert's car served its 20-second penalty for contact with Magnussen. He led the rest of the race.

Andy Wallace, who took over for Herbert after the penalty, managed to close on Pirro, but Pirro held on for a 1.6-second margin of victory.

Didier de Radigues, who has already clinched the LMP 675 class championship for 2001, won his fifth straight race despite having to spend time behind the wall for suspension repairs after taking over for starting driver Milka Duno. Duno was credited with winning the class for the third time this season.

Terry Borcheller and Franz Konrad drove a Saleen S7R to a one-lap win in the GTS class, snapping a four-race winning streak by Corvette drivers Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows, who finished second. The Saleen led the entire race except for during pit stop exchanges and was never really challenged.

"This feels great," said Borcheller. "The season has been a real struggle. It seems that a lot of little details have been hurting us and causing us to lose races. This victory is a big boost for the team and for Saleen."

JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller won the GT class in a BMW M3 GTR, their fourth win in the last five races. Muller passed fellow BMW driver Dirk Muller in the closing moments of the race to take the class win and pad his series point lead, though the title remains in doubt heading to the last race.

The finish, showing starting position in parentheses, drivers, type car, laps completed, reason out, if any, winning time and margin of victory:

1. (3) Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro; Audi R8, 120, 2:45:20.303, 1.602.
2. (6) Johnny Herbert, Andy Wallace; Audi R8, 120.
3. (2) Stefan Johansson, Patrick Lemarie; Audi R8, 119.
4. (7) Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli; Cadillac LMP 01, 117.
5. (8) Emmanuel Collard, Christophe Tinseau; Cadillac LMP 01, 116.
6. (13) Terry Borcheller, Franz Konrad; Saleen S7R, 112.
7. (14) Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 111.
8. (15) Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 111.
9. (16) JJ Lehto, Jorg Muller; BMW M3 GTR, 110.
10.  (17) Fredrik Ekblom, Dirk Muller; BMW M3 GTR, 110.
11.  (18) Lucas Luhr, Sascha Maassen; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 110.
12.  (19) Boris Said, Bill Auberlen; BMW M3 GTR, 109.
13.  (22) Johnny Mowlem, Timo Bernhard, Michael Petersen; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 109.
14.  (21) Randy Pobst, Christian Menzel; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 108.
15.  (23) Kevin Buckler, Tyler McQuarrie; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 105.
16.  (25) Robert Orcutt, Tony Colicchio; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 103.
17.  (24) Kye Wankum, Joe Foster; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 102.
18.  (27) Tom Weickardt, Mike Silcox; Dodge Viper GTS-R, 100.
19.  (26) Randy Wars, Mark Neuhaus; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 99.
20.  (28) Shane Lewis, Darren Law; Dodge Viper GTS-R, 83.
21.  (5) Franck Lagorce, Klaus Graf; Panoz LMP-1, 78, accident.
22.  (9) Jon Field, Rick Southerland; Lola B2K 10-Judd, 74, axle.
23.  (20) Hans Stuck, Niclas Jonsson; BMW M3 GTR, 74, accident.
24.  (1) Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen; Audi R8, 58, clutch.
25.  (4) Jan Magnussen, David Brabham; Panoz LMP-1, 57, accident.
26.  (10) Didier de Radigues, Milka Duno; Reynard 01Q-Judd, 48.
27.  (11) Scott Maxwell, John Graham; Reynard 01Q-Judd, 41, accident.
28.  (29) Tony Burgess, Andrew Bagnall; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 40, engine.
29.  (12) Claudia Huertgen, Mel Hawkins, Steven Knight; Lola B2K 40-Nissan, 20, engine.

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