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THE LEATHER CENTER GRAND
PRIX OF TEXAS
Sunday March 4, 2001 - PIT NOTES: Page 13
Tom Kristensen (#1-P Audi R8) "It was really great to win,
especially if we can win on a day like today. We had no problems at all
with the car today. We only had 7 or 8 laps of practice on Friday. Our
qualifying was good, but because of the weather we didn't get many laps
on the circuit yesterday either. Our tires worked fine, our main concern
was with consistency. The car was understeering too much at the
beginning. On the pit stop we had a problem getting away from the stop.
(after losing ground) I tried to stay in touch with the Panoz (#50). I
couldn't follow Emanuele (Pirro) without destroying the tires. We got
lucky with our situation. When the pace car came out we moved the brake
balance to the rear. The last key to winning was consistency. "
(about the catching the #50 Panoz at the end) "They told me they
Panoz would have to pit with 20 minutes to go. I think around eight
minutes to go I called and asked them again if they were sure. They told
me the Panoz would HAVE to pit. With 10 minutes to go I would not have
been able to catch them if they didn't have to pit." (about racing
in America) "It's good to be a good car, in a great environment. So
far I'm not doing too much wrong." (about the new Panoz car getting
better in the future) "The car is a good car (now). I'm sure they
will improve. But we will respond to that. They have to stop more often
for fuel which will hurt them in endurance race. I'm impressed with what
they have done."
Rinaldo Capello (#1-P Audi R8) "It was a very tough week starting
with my trip here and going through practices. It was raining during our
first two practices so both of us got very few laps in the car. "
(about the Panoz) "At the beginning they were a little bit better
in slow corners. We were better otherwise. I could gain a little
overall, but we were quicker than the Panoz."
Ron Fellows (#3-GTS Chevrolet Corvette C5-R) "This was a lot more
of an adventure here this year, than last. The ambient temperature was a
lot more pleasant this year. We had the pit violation and our tire
problems. The caution was very timely to give us a position to attack
for the win. We got a pretty decent lead and we were able to hang on. I
have very fond memories of racing in Texas, the first Corvette win here
last year along with a couple of Trans Am wins."
Johnny O'Connell (#3-GTS Chevrolet Corvette C5-R) "I had a pretty
big moment during the race with the tire. I assumed I picked up a
puncture. The engineers couldn't determine for certain what caused it.
After that Ron and I pushed as hard as we could. It really feels great
to take the victory." (about track condtions) "The track was
extremely dirty. They were kicking up quite a bit of gravel and dirt.
Some higher curbs would solve that problem. The layout is great, it's
awesome for the fans. The only improvement needs to be to put in bigger
curbs."
Frank Biela (#2-P Audi R8) "I think we had a car good enough to
win, but Emanuele (Pirro) got caught up with some GT cars. I was able to
move easily from the back of the pack, the car was good and fast."
(compared to the September race here) "It's much nicer racing in
this weather. Very nice."
Emanuele Pirro (#2-P Audi R8) "One of the slower cars hit me in the
door. I think it was a red and white Viper. I thin he missed his
braking. After that, my car wasn't right. I was (not happy)."
Lucas Luhr (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3-RS) "Actually everything worked
out very well. My goal early was to make a gap between me and the
others. After that we went really, really easy. The yellow worked
perfectly for our strategy. Our team effort was great. The guys did
absolutely well in pit stops. Most importantly we want to bring the car
back (in one piece)." (about the infield) "The line is
really narrow. The track is equal (flat) to the curbs." |
