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THE LEATHER CENTER GRAND
PRIX OF TEXAS
Sunday March 4, 2001 - PIT NOTES: Page 15
John Brzustowicz, Team Principle (GTS #44 & #45 American Viperacing,
Dodge Viper GTS-R) "We are a new team and this was our first time
out. Our goal was to finish the race and beat a Corvette. We got a
bit of a gift with the tire problem on one of the Corvettes (#4).
Overall we were very pleased with the results."
Joe Ellis (#44-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R) "I'm very pleased with the
run. It was slippery out there for my car. There was a lot of bumping
going on, but I didn't give in. This was my first ALMS race."
Christian Menzel (#22-GT Porsche 911 GT3-RS) "It was a good
experience. Today was the first time I got to run in dry conditions. It
was a good day for Porsche."
Dorsey Schroeder (#38-P Audi R8) "I haven't raced with someone for
a long time, so it was a lot of fun. I got into the side of the black
Panoz. We were having a pretty good scuffle. We bounced off of each
other. It's a kinda like Trans Am racing. I was havin' some fun. We ran
out of fuel toward the end. I ran the last four laps on reserve, which I
thought we could only go 2 laps on reserve. So, I started
short-shifting, then the radio went dead, couldn't talk to my guys. That
was awfully good for the first time in the car. We're real happy."
Hans Stuck (#6-GT BMW M3) "I am very thankful for 3rd place. Thanks
for the team doing a good job of informing me of what was going on,
putting Nick between me and (Bob) Wollek, keeping my back free. Those
points are very valuable for the beginning of the season, you
know."
Andy Pilgrim (#4-GTS Chevrolet Corvette C5-R) "My run was great.
The car was perfect. When we came in for the pitstop, we were in the
lead. I had no problems at all. The unfortunate thing is that Kelly
(Collins) had what looks like a tire failure, which ended the day for
us. He was having a good run up to that point too. My tires had 48 laps
on them when I came in, so I had no problem at all."
Terry Borcheller (#45-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R) "I was running with
the #4 (Corvette). We were passing and re-passing, having a great race.
I looked in my window and saw the car twitch to the right when that tire
let go (on the Corvette). I saw Kelly (Collins) trying to turn into it
in the classic road racer instinct, but it nosed him into the wall. That
shook me up for a couple of laps. I'm so glad he's all right."
Erik Messley (#45-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R) "The cars arrived on our
doorstep in a state of disrepair. They had run in the Petit Le Mans with
another team and had been heavily crashed. They had not been fully
repaired and when we got them. We weren't sure we could get them
running. We put in a lot of all-nighters to get them out there and
finish so well in our first race is pretty incredible. Most of us are
Chrysler engineers and we were really let down when Chrysler decided not
to run the Viper. So we're doing this on our own. This mostly an all
volunteer effort. We're doing it for the love of it."
JJ Lehto (#42-GT BMW M3) "The beginning of the race was okay,
but the Porsches have more power and straightaway speed, so it's
difficult to keep them behind. We were running strongly behind the
factory cars, but we still have a lot of work to do. Hopefully,
we'll get our new car soon, so we will be able to challenge the Porsches
a little bit better." |
