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| Pit Notes | ||
| Saturday, March 17, 2001 -- Page 30 | ||
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SUPERFLO 12 HOURS AT SEBRING PIT NOTES: Page 30 PRESENTED BY DODGE SATURDAY MARCH 17, 2001 With two laps to go, comments from the Audi pit: Frank Biela (#2-P Audi R8) "The race was up and down. Three different times we were unlucky during the race. Two major things went wrong with the engine. It was hard, but interesting. Finally, Audi finished 1 and 2 (at Sebring)." Emanuele Pirro (#2-P Audi R8) "We were very unlucky (coming in second). I'm 50 percent disappointed and 50 percent happy." Rinaldo Capello (#1-P Audi R8) "We decided to change drivers after Laurent's stint, because we flat spotted a tire. Unfortunately we had a flat tire after a couple of laps. Then we changed to a new driver and tires. I got a new set of tires and in the last few laps I could really push. From the moment I put on new tires I knew I could push very hard. The grip from the tires is really good, and at night the car was very good." Michele Alboreto (#1-P Audi R8) (about his first Sebring win) "I've tried hard to win this race. It's a very important race to put in my pocket. It has been a dream of mine and I'm very happy." Laurent Aiello (#1-P Audi R8) "It was my first time racing in America and my first time at Sebring. When I won Le Mans, it was my first participation. It was the first time here, and I'm not really used to driving these cars. I like circuits like this." Oliver Gavin (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) "I was extremely surprised. The car had done no endurance work at all. To beat the Corvettes is brilliant." (about race strategy) "We never revved the car to the redline and never went into the corners as hard as we could. " Steve Saleen (owner) "It unbelievable. The team and drivers didn't miss a beat. This is very historic. To win last week and now this week in another car, it's a great feeling" (about the team)" We were a little late in delivering the car. It was David vs Goliath - Saleen isn't quite the same size as General Motors. We're working hard on getting ready for Le Mans, and we plan on entering two cars." Terry Borcheller (#26-GTS Saleen S7R) "We really had to push the whole race,because early on we had some bodywork damage." Sascha Maassen (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3-RS) "The first ten and half hours were difficult ones. But the last one and one half hours were pretty easy. We were flat out. We didn't expect BMW to last that long, but it did. At one point we were a little bit confused, we really pushed as hard as we could, we also had teammates who were pretty close. We could gain a little advantage as time went by. After the 10 ½ hours we were leading by one or two laps and I finished the race. It was an honor for me. The team did a great job and I have to thank my teammates, they made it easy for me. I could cruise home." (was it a difficult day today, losing a friend) "It was a difficult situation for all of us, not only was Bob (Wollek) a teammate last year, but a very close friend. We dedicated this victory to him. He was a winner." Lucas Luhr (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3-RS) "Last year when I was here the race was easy. This race, as Sascha said, we were flat out for ten hours. You're doing qualifying laps. BMW was so strong. The prototypes (in traffic) were no problem, it was the slower GT cars. For sure, you risk a lot or you lose time. At the end, we had the advantage and didn't have to change brake pads." Emmanuel Collard (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3-RS) "My first stint was difficult. It was very hot. We pushed hard every lap for sure, you're always watching your mirrors." |
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