Frank Biela
won the pole Saturday for Sunday’s American Le Mans Series inaugural
Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. The German driver then predicted a
race that may be more physically demanding than the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The two-hour, 45-minute race will be held on a 1.661-mile, seven turn
temporary racing circuit constructed in what had been a parking lot for RFK
Stadium. Temperatures on race day are expected to be above 90 degrees with
muggy conditions.
"It’s hard to compare this race to Le Mans, but this may be our most
difficult race of the season," said Biela, who will co-drive an Audi R8
Prototype with Emanuele Pirro of Italy. "At Le Mans, you have long straights
that you can relax for a moment, but you can never rest on this circuit
because it is so short. The heat will also be a factor. You will work very
hard in the car for your driving stint and then you will be ready to get
out."
Biela’s lap of 1:03.287 (94.484 mph) just edged the 1:03.312 turned by
Rinaldo Capello in the second Audi factory team car. Capello and co-driver
Tom Kristensen won the most recent American Le Mans Series event two weeks
ago at Elkhart Lake, Wis.
The track is surrounded by walls on both sides, as opposed to the
natural-terrain road courses the series normally runs on. "The race will
come down to a strategy of staying off the walls," said Biela.
Jon Field of Dublin, Ohio, led qualifying in the LMP 675 class for smaller
Prototypes for his third consecutive pole in the class. However, the bad
luck he has experienced since winning class in the 12 Hours of Sebring in
March continued when a broken suspension part sent him crashing into the
turn one wall and tire barrier during the qualifying session. "The car is
hurt pretty badly," he said of his Lola EX 257-AER MG. "The wreck got to the
tub and Lola doesn’t have any spares. Hopefully another team will help us
and we’ll be able to race." He is scheduled to co-drive with his won, Clint.
Ron Fellows of Canada led qualifying for the GTS class in a Chevrolet
Corvette C5-R, continuing his sweep of qualifying in all five ALMS races
held this year. He and co-driver Johnny O’Connell will seek their fourth win
of the season.
"This is not a typical street circuit," said Fellows. "It’s more of a road
course with turns that have longer radius. The setup we came here with that
we expected to work didn’t work at all, so we went to a more normal setup."
Sascha Maassen of Germany won his third pole of the season in the GT class
in a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. He and co-driver Lucas Luhr have won two of the
four ALMS races held this season.
"Some of my biggest success has been on street circuits (in Europe)," he
said. "For a street circuit, this is wide and very good. The braking for
turn one will be very exciting."
The Starting Lineup
1. Frank Biela, Germany; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Audi R8 (LMP 900),
1:03.287, 94.484.
2. Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Audi R8 (LMP 900),
1:03.312, 94.447.
3. Jan Magnussen, Denmark; David Brabham, Australia; Panoz LMP-1 (LMP 900),
1:03.739, 93.814.
4. Johnny Herbert, England; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Audi R8 (LMP 900),
1:03.858, 93.639.
5. Christophe Tinseau, France; Max Angelelli, Italy; Cadillac Northstar LMP-02 (LMP 900),
1:04.330, 92.952.
6. Bryan Herta, Valencia, Calif.; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, Calif.; Panoz LMP-1 (LMP 900),
1:04.442, 92.790.
7. Eric Bernard, France; Emmanuel Collard, France; Cadillac Northstar LMP-02 (LMP 900),
1:04.604, 92.558.
8. Jon Field, Dublin, Ohio; Clint Field, Dublin, Ohio; Lola EX257-AER MG (LMP 675),
1:05.985, 90.621.
9. James Weaver, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, N.Y.; Riley & Scott MkIIIA-Lincoln (LMP 900),
1:07.728, 88.288.
10. Steve Knight, Castle Rock, Col.; Chad Block, York, Penn.; Lola EX257-AER MG (LMP 675),
1:08.173, 87.712.
11. Milka Duno, Venezuela; Andy Lally, Northport, N.Y.; Lola B2K10-Judd (LMP 900),
1:08.504, 87.288.
12. Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga.; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS),
1:08.834, 86.870.
13. Andy Pilgrim, Aventura, Fla.; Kelly Collins, Corona del Mar, Calif.; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS),
1:09.379, 86.187.
14. Terry Borcheller, Phoenix; Franz Konrad, Germany; Saleen S7R (GTS),
1:09.721, 85.765.
15. Emanuele Naspetti, Italy; Mimmo Schiattarella, Italy; Ferrari 550 Maranello (GTS),
1:09.975, 85.453.
16. Ben Devlin, England; Will Langhorn, Washington, D.C.; Lola B2K40-Ford (LMP 675),
1:10.316, 85.039.
17. Chris McMurry, Phoenix; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, Wash.; Jeff Bucknum, Lake Havasu, Ariz.; Pilbeam MP84-Nissan (LMP 675),
1:10.318, 85.037.
18. Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, Wis.; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Dodge Viper GTS-R (GTS),
1:11.905, 83.160.
19. Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla.; Marc Bunting, Monkton, Md.; Dodge Viper GTS-R (GTS),
1:12.023, 83.023.
20. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:12.893, 82.033.
21. Timo Bernhard, Germany; Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:13.479, 81.378.
22. Kevin Buckler, Novato, Calif; Brian Cunningham, Danville, Ky.; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:13.836, 80.985.
23. Larry Schumacher, Cincinnati; David Murry, Atlanta; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:14.457, 80.309.
24. Michael Schrom, Ghent, N.Y.; Darren Law, Phoenix; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:14.508, 80.254.
25. Carlos de Queseda, Miami; Scooter Gabel, Tampa; BMW M3 (GT),
1:15.211, 79.504.
26. Justin Jackson, Buford, Ga.; Mike Fitzgerald, Phoenix; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:15.314, 79.396.
27. Leo Hindery, Hillsborough, Calif.; Peter Baron, San Mateo, Calif.; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:15.445, 79.258.
28. Gary Schultheis, Boca Raton, Fla.; Tony Kester, Michigan City, Ind.; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:15.624, 79.070.
29. Adam Merzon, Greenwich, Conn.; Robert Julien, Canada; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT),
1:16.291, 78.379.
30. Emil Assento, Locust Valley, N.Y.; Chris Gleason, Johnstown, Penn.; BMW M3 (GT),
1:16.301, 78.369.
31. Thomas Soriano, Mendon, Vt.; Cory Friedman, Charleston, S.C.; Danny Arkins, Ridgefield, Conn.; Porsche 911 GT3 R (GT),
1:17.451, 77.204.
32. Selby Wellman, Cary, N.C.; Paul Mears Jr., Orlando, Fla.; Sylvain Tremblay, Coral Springs, Fla.; Porsche 911 GT3 R (GT),
1:18.361, 76.308.
33. Peter Overing, Canada; Stephane Villeux, Canada; Porsche 911 GT3 R (GT),
no speed.
34. Jimmy Adams, Virginia Beach, Va.; Joe Blacker, Ellicott City, Md.; Pilbeam MP84-Nissan (LMP 675),
no speed.
Home
Email Comments
Created and Designed by John Favata
