Capello Wins Pole for ALMS Event at Laguna Seca

Capello, who is tied for the ALMS series point lead with teammate Tom Kristensen, will lead a 29-car field in the two-hour, 45-minute sports car endurance race on the 2.258-mile track.

"It took almost the entire session to get grip in the tires," said Capello, whose qualifying speed of 107.084 (1:15.238) mph fell short of his track record 107.384 from last year. "The 20 minutes went by quickly and it was at the end before we could run fast."

Capello looks forward to the race, when he and Kristensen will try to rebound from three races of bad luck. "We have to win again," he said. "We had a bad month of August, and we have to come back in a good way for the team and for the drivers."

Former Formula One star Stefan Johansson qualified second-fastest in an Audi he will share with Patrick Lemarie, while the third spot was taken by the Audi of Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro. Jan Magnussen and David Brabham, who have won two of the last three ALMS races, will start fourth in a Panoz LMP-1.

Didier de Radigues took the pole position for the LMP 675 class in a Reynard 01Q-Judd, beating the team car driven by Scott Maxwell by only 3/100ths second. De Radigues, who has already clinched the class championship for 2001, turned a lap of 101.081 mph (1:19.706) in a car he will co-drive with Milka Duno on Sunday. "I wasn't expecting him (Maxwell) to be so close," he said. "It's good to have two cars competitive. We run two different setups, and I was on a more conventional setup."

Terry Borcheller won his fourth pole in the last five races in the GTS class, driving a Saleen S7R he will share with Franz Konrad to a class-record lap of 97.086 mph (1:22.986) on his final lap of the session. That knocked the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R of series point leader Ron Fellows off of the pole.

"Ron put a great lap down," said Borcheller, who has won the pole every time he has qualified the car this season. "I knew I had more in the car, then when Ron went faster, I thought 'here we go.' Taking the pole on the last lap was unique and very exciting, almost like winning a race."

JJ Lehto, who has won three of the last four races with co-driver Jorg Muller, took the GT class pole in a BMW M3 GTR with a track record lap of 93.396 (1:26.265). "It was one of those laps and it worked out," said the Finnish driver. "I pushed a little and it was good enough. We struggled yesterday with the setup, but the crew did some hard work and it paid off."

The race, which starts at noon local time, will be televised live in the United States by NBC Sports beginning at 4 p.m. (EDT). Live coverage by the American Le Mans Series Radio Web can be heard online at www.americanlemans.com.

The starting lineup:
1. Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen; Audi R8, 107.084 (1:15.238).
2. Stefan Johansson, Patrick Lemarie; Audi R8, 106.076 (1:15.953).
3. Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro; Audi R8, 105.970 (1:16.029).
4. Jan Magnussen, David Brabham; Panoz LMP-1, 105.866 (1:16.104).
5. Franck Lagorce, Klaus Graf; Panoz LMP-1, 105.793 (1:16.156).
6. Johnny Herbert, Andy Wallace; Audi R8, 105.369 (1:16.463).
7. Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli; Cadillac LMP 01, 103.987 (1:17.479).
8. Emmanuel Collard, Christophe Tinseau; Cadillac LMP 01, 103.501 (1:17.843).
9. Jon Field, Rick Southerland; Lola B2K 10B-Judd, 102.079 (1:18.927).
10.  Didier de Radigues, Milka Duno; Reynard 01Q-Judd, 101.081 (1:19.706).
11.  John Graham, Scott Maxwell; Reynard 01Q-Judd, 101.043 (1:19.736).
12.  Steven Knight, Mel Hawkins, Claudia Huertgen; Lola B2K-Nissan, 97.562 (1:22.581).
13.  Terry Borcheller, Franz Konrad; Saleen S7R, 97.086 (1:22.986).
14.  Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 96.288 (1:23.674).
15.  Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 95.059 (1:24.756).
16.  JJ Lehto, Jorg Muller; BMW M3 GTR, 93.396 (1:26.265).
17.  Fredrik Ekblom, Dirk Muller; BMW M3 GTR, 93.248 (1:26.402).
18.  Lucas Luhr, Sascha Maassen; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 93.203 (1:26.444).
19.  Boris Said, Bill Auberlen; BMW M3 GTR, 92.922 (1:26.705).
20.  Hans Stuck, Niclas Jonsson; BMW M3 GTR, 92.659 (1:26.951).
21.  Randy Pobst, Christian Menzel; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 92.604 (1:27.003).
22.  Johnny Mowlem, Timo Bernhard, Michael Peterson; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 92.129 (1:27.451).
23.  Kevin Buckler, Tyler McQuarrie; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 90.819 (1:28.713).
24.  Kye Wankum, Joe Foster; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 89.131 (1:30.393).
25.  Robert Orcutt, Tony Colicchio; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 88.297 (1:31.247).
26.  Tom Weickardt, Mike Silcox; Dodge Viper GTS-R, 87.941 (1:31.616).
27.  Randy Wars, Mark Neuhaus; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 85.304 (1:34.448).
28.  Tony Burgess, Andrew Bagnall; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 75.649 (1:46.502).
29.  Shane Lewis, Darren Law; Dodge Viper GTS-R, no speed.

-30-

MEDIA CONTACT: Andy Hall, American Le Mans Series Director of Media & Communications (317) 295-3500, ext. 31.