Michelin-Shod Panoz Scores Another Win

* Michelin-shod Panoz Scores Another Win - For the second time in three races, Panoz Motor Sports out-raced the dominant Audi team in American Le Mans Series competition, this time at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course earlier today.  Jan Magnussen took over driving duties from teammate David Brabham with 90 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 45-minute race.  When the leading Michelin-shod Audi driven by Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen was penalized for passing the pace car on a re-start with just 45 minutes remaining, Magnussen was vaulted to the top position.  He never gave it up and went on to score the win.

Magnussen, running on durable hot-weather Michelin tires, was able to double stint his tires without a drop-off in performance.  "Our Michelin tires were faster at the end of the stint than they were at the beginning of the stint," said Brabham, referring to the performance and reliability of his tires.  "We definitely had a great tire strategy today...we had the tires and the car dialed in very well.  This is a great win for our team."

Capello, racing on slightly harder Michelin tires, also double-stinted his tires and finished the race in the second position.  The Goodyear-shod Riley and Scott driven by James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger finished third.

* Michelin Sweeps Podium in GT Category - After starting second, the Michelin-shod BMW driven by JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller, who changed tires only once during the race, led every lap in the GT category today to score their second consecutive victory.  Teammates Dirk Muller and Fredrik Ekblom finished second, ahead of the Porsche driven by Randy Pobst and Christian Menzel.

* Busy Day For Tire Engineers - Tire selection and pressure adjustments were a hot topic along pit road throughout the day.  "We did not have a chance to practice during the heat of the day all weekend," said Herb Johnson, Director of Motorsports, Michelin North America.  "Then, when the track temperatures soared higher than one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit at the start of the race, our engineers had to adjust the cold pressures in order to compensate for the increased hot pressures (as the tires heat up, the air pressure inside increases, causing the performance of the tire and car to change).  So, they earned their pay today."

* Fastest Qualifier - In qualifying action yesterday, the Michelin-shod Audi driven by Tom Kristensen recorded the fastest lap of 109.057 mph.  The feat marked Michelin's 24th consecutive pole in ALMS competition dating back to the Mosport event in June, 1999.  In the GT category, Sascha Maassen  recorded the fastest time in a Michelin-shod McKenna Porsche.

* Michelin Continues to Lead ALMS Tire Championship - Though Michelin secured the ALMS Tire Championship for the LMP900 category last week in Mosport, the French company, with its victory today, unofficially has 155 points compared to Goodyear's 67.  Michelin has 151 points in the GT category, ahead of Yokohama (123), Dunlop (62) and Goodyear (11).  Michelin won the 2001 ALMS Tire Championship in the LMP900, GTS and GT categories.

For more information, contact:
Bob Andrew
Event Management Corp.
Tel: 313-449-0108
Cell: 313-510-8454
E-mail: bob@emcpr.com