ALMS: Michelin Seeking Milestone At Mazda Raceway

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

August 31, 2001

* Thirteen Cars To Ride On Michelin Tires - Michelin tires will be fitted on a variety of Audis, BMWs, Cadillacs, Panozs and Porsches at Mazda Raceway for round seven of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). In fact, the Michelin line-up will be the same as it has been at the two most recent ALMS races at Mosport and Mid-Ohio, with the addition of Stephan Johansson's privateer Audi R8. The balance of the field will race on Goodyear, Dunlop, Yokohama and Avon tires.

In the LMP900 category, the Le Mans-winning factory Audi team, which has won all but two ALMS races this season, will enter a pair of Audi R8s; Panoz Motorsports, upset winner of the Portland and Mid-Ohio races, will have two Panoz LMP1 Roadster S entries; Team Cadillac will race a pair of Northstar LMPs; and Champion Racing will field an Audi R8.

In the GT category, a trio of Porsches from Alex Job Racing and Peterson Racing as well as a pair of BMWs from BMW Motorsport will race on Michelin tires.

* Michelin Seeking Milestone - With a victory in the LMP900 category at Mazda Raceway, Michelin will have won 25 consecutive ALMS races, dating back to June, 1999, at Mosport. In fact, Michelin has won all but one ALMS race in the series three-year history. The winning streak includes victories at Mazda Raceway in 1999 and 2000. No other driver, team or manufacturer has amassed more wins in ALMS competition.

* A Tire Engineer's Dream - "Mazda Raceway is a track that rewards rhythm," said Michelin's Director of Motorsports Herb Johnson of the 2.238-mile, 11-turn natural terrain road course. "Because the track features several fast, sweeping corners, it is a tire engineer's dream because the temperature in the tires is much more consistent than when the track has several tight corners. The tires give very good and consistent feedback to the drivers and allow them to know exactly where their limit is. However, when a car puts a wheel off, a lot of sand tends to be thrown onto the track, and that makes it very slippery."

* Last Year At Laguna Seca -Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello drove their Michelin-shod Audi to a .352-second win over teammates Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro. McNish and Capello, who started on the pole, had several "close calls" on the track, including contact with BMW driver Jean-Marc Gounon that sent the Audi spinning. Driving a Michelin-shod Panoz, Jan Magnussen led most of the opening 45 minutes of the race but eventually fell out due to mechanical problems. JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller drove their Michelin-shod BMW V12 LMR to a third-place finish. Olivier Beretta and Karl Wendlinger scored the GTS category win in a Michelin-shod Dodge Viper. Hans Stuck and Boris Said won the GT category in a Yokohama-shod BMW.

* ALMS Tire Championship Update - By virtue of winning every ALMS race so far this season, Michelin has already secured its second consecutive ALMS Tire Championship for the LMP900 category. Currently, Michelin holds an 87-point advantage over Goodyear (Michelin has 155 points compared to Goodyear's 68). Michelin has 151 points in the GT category, ahead of Yokohama (123), Dunlop (58) and Goodyear (11). Michelin won ALMS Tire Championships for the LMP900, GTS and GT categories in 2000.

* On The Air - The ALMS race from Mazda Raceway will be televised live on NBC Sports at 4:00 p.m. (EDT) on Sept. 9.

Text provided by Bob Andrew

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