Grand American Rolex Series -Virgina International

                           Doran-Lkta DORAN JE4 Toyota #27
              Sets Faatest R a c e  Lap, Finishes Sixth Sunday at VIR

                 ALTON,  Va-, Qct- 5 -   The Doran-Lista  DORAN JE4 Toyota was the fastest
          car in the VIR 400 Grand American Rolex Series race Sunday at Virginia International
          Raceway, but unfortunately a rookie driver in a GT car hit it about 40 minutes into the
          event to destroy the team’s chance$ of viaory.
                 Still, t h e  Lebanon, Ohio-based team persevered and came back to finish sixth
          overall and fifth in the Daytona Prototype class.
                 Another  car  designed and  built by Doran  Enterprises, the  Bell Motorssports
          DORAN JE4 Chevy, won the race-  Although the Doran-Lista car ended up six laps
          down Sunday, both of  the DORAN JE4s took the checkered together, which hopeful-
          ly is a precursor of things to come at the season finale at  Daytona Beach, Fla. on
          Saturday, Nov. 1 . 
                 Sunday’s 400-kilorneter, 77-lap race was broadcast on a sameday, delayed
          basis on the SPEED network.
                 Dorm-Lista’s lead driver, Didier Theys of  Smttsdale, Ariz., ended up starting
          17th overall and sixth in class when another team changed its driver lineup M o r e 
          the start.
                 As S O O ~ as the green waved, Theys was flying.  By the end of lap one he was
          already in  tenth place overall, and by the end of   lap five he was fifth both overall and
          in class.  He was setting the fastest laps of the race, and was only surpassed in that
          category  by  his own  teammate,  Bill Auberlen of  Hermasa  Beach, Calif.,  after  the
          team’s  driver’s  change  about  two  hours  into  the  two-hour  and  &minute     event
          Auberlen’s fastest lap was  run in 1 :48.850, which  was -411 of a second faster than
          the eventual winner‘s fastest lap.
                 Before that, however, trouble struck in the form of the Scudsria of Washington
          Farrari #28 GT car, which had a rookie behind the wheel at the time.  Theys had mas-
          terfully blasted clear up to second place and was about 11  seoDnds behind only the
          Bell Motorsspom DORAN JE4      when the Ferrari came a c r m  the track and hit him.
                                                 
                At first Theys thought he just had a flat right-rear Goodyear, but after that was
          changed he repatted that something was still wrong, and the team  lost several laps
          to replace a bent rigt-r-rat upper A-arm.   When Theys returned to the fray his sec-
          ond place had dissolved into 19th and he was six laps down, so just salvaging a top-
          six finish at the end was quite commendable.
                “I  followed him for half a lap and I  even got off on the grass in order to give him
          more room,” Theys said afterwards about the accident.  “It happened on the back of
          the track, going up the hill.  He actually crossed the r3ce track in  order to hit me. He
          hit mebig-time with his left front into my right rear.  It gave us a puncture and the $us-
          pension was bent, and our chances were over.
                “I was being very careful around him because all weekend I  had problems with
          him. It  took mefive corners to pass him earlier because the guy is all  over the place.
                “The only positive thing I can say was before that the car was very, very good.
          Even this gurney flap today was  better than the one we had in  qualifying,” Theys
          added with a smile.
                “It was just bad luck,” Auberlen summarized. “The car is a lime  bent but even
         with that we did the fastest race lap, which shows you just how strong this team and
         this car is.  Our time is coming.  The car is great.  The team is great.  The mrnbina-
         tion is  great.  We just need some luck.”
                “I have mixed emotions,” team owner Kevin Doran said-  ‘I’m  tickled to death
         that the Bell Motorsport$ DORAN JE4 won the raoe and took the lead in  the champi-
         onship.   I think they’re  a very  motivated group that races hard and fairly and they
         desewed to win.
                ‘‘For our team, it’s very disappointing to h3ve the fastest car in the race and to
         be fastest in every practice session, sometimes by a little bit and sometimes by a fair
         amount, and then be taken out in the race by a rookie driver. Didier was driving quite
         conservatively and carefully because he’d had problems with that driver before, and
         then to get hit under these CircumStanixs, it was devastating. But in racing the fastest
         car doesn‘t always win.   Hopefully we’ll have bmer luck next time.”
                For     more     information    see www.lista.com,     www.doranracing.com,
         ww\rv.grandameriican.cam, www. virclu b.mrn, www. driversrmd.mm  and www. restart-
         cornmunications.comn.

                                  DORAN ENTERPRISES.  INC-
                            2050 McKinley Blvd., Lebanon, )H   45036 (513) 336-0819
                                             www.doranraclng.com