Lehto, Werner Drive To Victory In Record-breaking Day At Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta
Written by Josh Katinger · April 17, 2005
Braselton, Ga. - JJ Lehto and Marco Werner methodically went about their business Sunday and drove their No. 1 Champion Racing Audi R8 to victory in the Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta in another history-making day in the American Le Mans Series.
Motorsport.com: Lehto, Werner take Road Atlanta win
TheRaceSite.com: Lehto and Werner Win P1, Heartbreak for Dyson
Lehto posted his 22nd career class victory, which tied Sascha Maassen for the ALMS’ all-time record. Lehto and Werner turned a close race at the two-hour mark into a comfortable victory: 44.7 seconds over the No. 20 Dyson Racing Lola of Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson.
The two Audi drivers won in the series’ first race of 2005, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Audi now has won seven straight races at Road Atlanta, site of Round 2 of the ALMS.
The No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger appeared to have a strong grip on the race at the halfway point. But Leitzinger spun twice in the final 25 minutes, including one with less than 10 minutes left near Turn 3 caused by a broken halfshaft that left it stuck on the side of the track.
“It was really tough,” said Lehto, who won his fourth straight race at Road Atlanta, also an ALMS record. “There were so many things going on in the race. I thought it was going to be really tough catching (the No. 16). But the yellows played mostly in our favor. Without the yellows, we never could have made up that 45-second or so gap. It was a race of tactics, and we really took advantage of the pit stop strategy.”
In LMP2, the No. 37 Telesis Intersport Racing Lola of Clint Field and Jon Field posted a six-lap victory over the No. 8 Mazda-powered B-K Motorsports Courage, making its race debut.
“We had a loose alternator belt that cost us a few laps,” Clint Field said. “Other than that, the Lola ran smoothly.”
Johnny O’Connell and Ron Fellows joined Lehto and Maassen by earning their 22nd career class victories as they teamed to win the GT1 title in their No. 3 Corvette Racing C6-R. The duo posted a one-lap victory over their sister car, the No. 4 of Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin.
“It’s just a great car,” O’Connell said. “This C6 suits me so well. In qualifying, it was the best car I’ve ever driven for this team. Ron did a great first stint in the race, and we easily kept a gap on the No. 4 car. We always felt in control with this car.”
In GT2, the No. 50 Panoz Esperante GTLM of Bill Auberlen and Robin Liddell posted the Road Atlanta-based team’s first victory in GT2. It was a see-saw of emotions for Liddell, who had to hold off Timo Bernhard in the No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche in the waning minutes.
Bernhard took the lead when he bumped Liddell at Turn 7 with less than five minutes left. But IMSA officials forced Bernhard into the pits for a stop-and-go penalty that handed the lead back to Liddell. It was similar to another incident Liddell was involved in earlier in the day in a Speed World Challenge event.
“I thought it was all over in Turn 7 and my heart was up in the air,” Liddell said. “I have no problem with the guy that tried to pass me. He took advantage when he saw the opportunity, and I would have done the same.”
Race Results
Pos Car Cls CP Drivers Team Car Laps Gap Status
1. 1 P1 1. JJ Lehto, M.Werner ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 112 0.000 Fin
2. 20 P1 2. C.Dyson, A.Wallace Dyson Racing Lola EX257 AER 112 44.785 Fin
3. 2 P1 3. F.Biela, E.Pirro ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 111 1 Lap Fin
4. 37 P2 1. J.Field, D.Dayton Intersport Racing Lola B05/40 AER 108 3 Laps Fin
5. 3 GT1 1. R.Fellows, J.O’Connell Corvette Racing Corvette C6-R 108 9.551 Fin
6. 4 GT1 2. O.Gavin, O.Beretta Corvette Racing Corvette C6-R 107 1 Lap Fin
7. 35 GT1 3. F.Babini, F.De Simone Maserati Corse Maserati MC12 107 11.075 Fin
8. 63 GT1 4. T.Borcheller, J.Mowlem ACEMCO Motorsports Saleen S7R 107 23.252 Fin
9. 5 GT1 5. A.Figge, R.Dalziel Pacific Coast Racing Corvette C5-R 106 1 Lap Fin
10. 16 P1 4. J.Weaver, B.Leitzinger Dyson Racing Lola EX257 AER 105 1 Lap NRun
11. 50 GT2 1. B.Auberlen, R.Liddell Panoz Motor Sports Panoz Esperante GTLM 105 9:08.295 Fin
12. 23 GT2 2. T.Bernhard, R.Dumas Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 105 27.550 Fin
13. 31 GT2 3. P.Long, J.Bergmeister Petersen/White Lightin Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 104 1 Lap Fin
14. 71 GT1 6. T.Weickardt, J.-P.Belloc Carsport America Dodge Viper 103 1 Lap Fin
15. 45 GT2 4. J.Van Overbeek, J.Fogarty Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 103 26.773 Fin
16. 24 GT2 5. R.Pobst, I.Baas Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 102 1 Lap Fin
17. 8 P2 2. J.Bach, G.Cosmo B-K Motorsports Courage Mazda 102 1.114 Fin
18. 79 GT2 6. J.Jackson, T.Sugden J3 Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 102 50.030 NPit
19. 43 GT2 7. T.Burgess, S.Maassen BAM! Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 102 1.746 NPit
20. 44 GT2 8. L.Pechnik, S.Neiman Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 101 1 Lap Fin
21. 51 GT2 9. S.Maxwell, B.Sellers Panoz Motor Sports Panoz Esperante GTLM 92 9 Laps Fin
22. 78 GT2 10. M.Cawley, R.Skelton J3 Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 90 2 Laps Fin
23. 19 P2 3. G.vd.Steur, E.vd.Steur, B.Devlin Van der Steur Racing Lola B2K/40 AER 85 5 Laps Fin
24. 10 P2 4. J.Bucknum, C.McMurry, J.Macaluso Miracle Motorsports Courage C-65 AER 50 35 Laps Retired
Points Standing Thru Round 2
LMP1
JJ Lehto 46
Marco Werner 46
Andy Wallace 35
Chris Dyson 32
LMP2
Jeff Bucknum 26
Chris McMurry 26
Ian James 26
Jon Field 20
Clint Field 20
GT1
Ron Fellows 42
Johnny O’Connell 42
Olivier Beretta 35
Oliver Gavin 35
GT2
Patrick Long 39
Jorg Bergmeister 39
Jon Fogarty 29
J. Van Overbeek 29
Nic Johnson 28
Lucas Luhr 26
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