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American Le Mans
Series Grand Prix of Portland |
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THE AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES
The Grand Prix of Portland
PIT NOTES: Page 1 SATURDAY AUGUST 4, 2001
The Grand Prix of Portland
PIT NOTES: Page 1 SATURDAY AUGUST 4, 2001
Welcome to round 4 of 9 of the American Le
Mans Series. This is the series’ third trip to the Portland
International Raceway, where the weather always threatens to become the
major factor in the race. As of 9:00 am the temperature was 64°F,
humidity 70%, visibility unlimited. Today's forecast calls for scattered
showers, high of 72° F with a low of 56° F. On tap for today are two
combined practice sessions and two spit qualification sessions.
Approximately 20 drivers from the American
Le Mans Series, Trans-Am Series, Speedvision World Challenge and Star
Mazda Series participated in a charity promotion Thursday night at
Malibu Grand Prix in Portland. The event was held to raise money for the
American Diabetes Association. More than 300 fans showed up to prove
their racing skills against the professionals. During the night's
events, the professional drivers were rotated in and out of the cars,
and the fans were rotated after every 2 laps. The media covered the
entire night with live radio interviews and television cut-ins. Some
children who were on hand were given the chance to ride in a car with a
professional driver and feel the excitement of real racing. Several
American Le Mans Series drivers enjoyed themselves so much that they
remained at the facility long past the scheduled closing time of the
promotion. Overall, the event raised a total of $525 for the
Association.
Corvette Racing driver Johnny O'Connell
participated in a special teleconference Friday night with media in
Malaysia in advance of the Nov. 11 Le Mans Series Race of Champions at
the Sepang International Circuit. Tickets for the event went on sale
Friday in Malaysia. BMW Motorsport driver JJ Lehto attempted to
participate in the teleconference but was the victim of a faulty cell
phone.
Some special race procedures have been
instituted for this weekend's ALMS activities at Portland, and all
involve the Festival Curves. Drivers who overshoot the turn-in point are
required to stop at the Stop sign and then proceed at the marshal's
direction. During practice and qualifying, laps achieved via the
short-cut will be discarded. During the race, the marshal will hold the
car at the stop sign for 10 seconds and then release it. Drivers who do
not obey the marshal will be further penalized. During the race, if an
incident occurs in the Festival Curves, that portion of the circuit may
be closed under caution and cars directed past the entrance.
Combined ALMS practice:
At 11:00, current temperature 67 degrees, partly cloudy skies, light breeze, track temperature is 88 degrees (from Goodyear engineers).
At 11:00, green flag.
At 11:22, #51-P Panoz LMP1 Roadster S (Lagorce) sets the fast lap of practice at 1:04.951.
At 11:24, the track temperature has climbed to 93 degrees (the sun has broken through the clouds).
At 11:27, car #6-GT BMW M3 GTR (Said) into the pits with a broken axle. Boris Said “I don’t know what happened, it just broke.”
At 11:28, car #57-P675 Reynard 01Q/Judd (Duno) off and on at turn 7.
At 11:39, car #51-P Panoz LMP1 Roadster S (Lagorce), did a 180 and stopped, then continued at turn 7.
At 11:49, car #1-P Audi R8 (Capello) sets the fast lap of practice at 1:04.684.
At 11:54, car #3-GTS Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, black flag for exceeding the decibel (noise) limit. The team adjusted the exhaust system and returned to the flag.
At 12:00, checkered flag.
At 11:00, current temperature 67 degrees, partly cloudy skies, light breeze, track temperature is 88 degrees (from Goodyear engineers).
At 11:00, green flag.
At 11:22, #51-P Panoz LMP1 Roadster S (Lagorce) sets the fast lap of practice at 1:04.951.
At 11:24, the track temperature has climbed to 93 degrees (the sun has broken through the clouds).
At 11:27, car #6-GT BMW M3 GTR (Said) into the pits with a broken axle. Boris Said “I don’t know what happened, it just broke.”
At 11:28, car #57-P675 Reynard 01Q/Judd (Duno) off and on at turn 7.
At 11:39, car #51-P Panoz LMP1 Roadster S (Lagorce), did a 180 and stopped, then continued at turn 7.
At 11:49, car #1-P Audi R8 (Capello) sets the fast lap of practice at 1:04.684.
At 11:54, car #3-GTS Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, black flag for exceeding the decibel (noise) limit. The team adjusted the exhaust system and returned to the flag.
At 12:00, checkered flag.
Top three in class: 1-P900 Rinaldo Capello
1:04.684, 51-P900 Frank Lagorce 1:04.951, 50-P900 Jan Magnussen
1:05.430; 57-P675 John Graham 1:09.291, 11-P675 Steven Knight 1:12.792;
3-GTS Johnny O'Connell 1:12.404, 4-GTS Andy Pilgrim 1:13.388 20, 26-GTS
Franz Konrad 1:13.433 32; 10-GT Bill Auberlen 1:13.674 30, 42-GT Jorg
Muller 1:13.820, 23-GT Sascha Maassen 1:13.864.
Car #45-GTS Dodge Viper GTS-R only turned
one practice lap, spending the session fixing a brake problem.