JOHANSSON AUDI LEADS OPENING PRACTICE AT LAGUNA SECA
Stefan Johansson posted the fastest speed of the day Friday as practice opened for
Sunday's American Le Mans Series Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca.
Johansson, driving the Gulf Audi R8, turned the 2.238-mile circuit in
1:15.967, fastest of the 27 cars that practiced on Friday. Official
qualifying will be held on Saturday, with Sunday's two-hour, 45-minute race
to start at 12 noon (PDT).
"It's encouraging to have topped the times," said Johansson, who will
co-drive with Frenchman Patrick LeMarie on Sunday. "But it's the qualifying
session when we must perform, and ultimately in Sunday's race."
Johansson has been racing in Europe most of the season and won the
inaugural championship of the European Le Mans Series, sister series to the
ALMS. The Swedish driver raced on the ALMS last year.
Second-fastest on Friday was the Panoz LMP-1 of Jan Magnussen and David
Brabham, winner of two of the last three ALMS races. The car was clocked at
1:16.193 on its best lap, with Magnussen and Johansson exchanging the top
spot several times in the last 30 minutes of the session.
The two factory Audis of Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro and Tom
Kristensen/Rinaldo Capello were third and fourth, followed by the second
Panoz of Franck Lagorce and Klaus Graf.
"I'm sure the factory Audis had something in reserve today, but so do we,"
said Johansson. "But it bodes well for us."
Didier de Radigues, who has clinched the LMP 675 class title for 2001, was
the fastest on the day in that class at 1:21.559 in a Reynard 01Q-Judd. He
will partner with female driver Milka Duno on Sunday. Claudia Huertgen, the
other female driver in the field, posted the second-fastest LMP 675 time at
1:23.754 in a Lola B2K-Nissan. She will share the car with Steven Knight and
Mel Hawkins.
The GTS class was led by the Saleen S7R of Terry Borcheller and Franz
Konrad with a lap of 1:24.273, followed by the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R of
Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim at 1:25.183.
The new driving combination of Boris Said and Bill Auberlen led GT class
practice at 1:26.849 in a BMW M3 GTR. Auberlen missed the last two ALMS
races because of a concussion suffered in a practice crash. Their car was
just ahead of another BMW driven by JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller, which posted a
fast lap of 1:26.964.
Friday's speeds:
1. Stefan Johansson/Patrick LeMarie, Audi R8,
106.057 mph (1:15.967).
2. Jan Magnussen/David Brabham, Panoz LMP-1,
105.742 (1:16.193).
3. Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro, Audi R8,
104.986 (1:16.750).
4. Rinaldo Capello/Tom Kristensen, Audi R8,
104.415 (1:17.161).
5. Klaus Graf/Franck Lagorce, Panoz LMP-1,
104.341 (1:17.216).
6. Johnny Herbert/Andy Wallace, Audi R8,
103.668 (1:17.717).
7. Wayne Taylor/Max Angelelli, Cadillac LMP 01,
103.412 (1:17.910).
8. Emmanuel Collard/Christophe Tinseau, Cadillac LMP 01,
103.128 (1:18.124).
9. Jon Field/Rick Southerland, Lola B2K 10B-Judd,
99.164 (1:21.247).
10. Didier de Radigues/Milka Duno, Reynard 01Q-Judd,
98.785 (1:21.559).
11. Claudia Huertgen/Steven Knight/Mel Hawkins, Lola B2K-Nissan,
96.196 (1:23.754).
12. Franz Konrad/Terry Borcheller, Saleen S7R,
95.604 (1:24.273).
13. John Graham/Scott Maxwell, Reynard 01Q-Judd,
95.497 (1:24.367).
14. Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins, Chevrolet Corvette C5-R,
94.582 (1:25.183).
15. Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell, Chevrolet Corvette C5-R,
92.920 (1:26.707).
16. Boris Said/Bill Auberlen, BMW M3 GTR,
92.768 (1:26.849).
17. JJ Lehto/Jorg Muller, BMW M3 GTR,
92.645 (1:26.964).
18. Fredrik Ekblom/Dirk Muller, BMW M3 GTR,
92.534 (1:27.069).
19. Timo Bernhard/Johnny Mowlem/Michael Peterson, Porsche 911 GT3 RS,
92.118 (1:27.462).
20. Lucas Luhr/Sascha Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RS,
92.092 (1:27.486).
21. Hans Stuck/Niclas Jonsson, BMW M3 GTR,
92.036 (1:27.540).
22. Randy Pobst/Christian Menzel, Porsche 911 GT3 RS,
91.743 (1:27.819).
23. Kevin Buckler/Tyler McQuarrie, Porsche 911 GT3 RS,
90.213 (1:29.309).
24. Tony Burgess/Andrew Bagnall, Porsche 911 GT3 R,
87.398 (1:32.185).
25. Kye Wankum/Joe Foster, Porsche 911 GT3 R,
87.190 (1:32.405).
26. Robert Orcutt/Tony Colicchio, Porsche 911 GT3 R,
85.925 (1:33.765).
27. Randy Wars/Mark Neuhaus, Porsche 911 GT3 R,
82.811 (1:37.292).
28. Shane Lewis/Darren Law, Dodge Viper GTS-R,
did not practice.
29. Tom Weickardt/Mike Silcox, Dodge Viper GTS-R,
did not practice.
Created and Designed by John Favata
