Audi, Corvette Ready to Tame Track at Infineon Raceway
Infineon Technologies Grand Prix of Sonoma, July 15-17 SONOMA, Calif. Some of the most famous names in sports-car racing will return to Infineon Raceway for the Infineon Technologies Grand Prix of Sonoma, presented by Ravenswood Winery, July 15-17. The names include Audi, Corvette, Porsche, Maserati, Saleen and Panoz as fans will have a chance to get an up-close look at the machines on-and-off the track. The American Le Mans Series, which features the fastest cars to power around the 12-turn, 2.53-mile Infineon Raceway circuit at up to 180 mph, returns to the wine country for the seventh year in 2005. The twisting circuit was repaved before the 2004 event, smoothing the way for drivers to set record lap times and speeds. Three of four track qualifying records were broken in 2004, including a lightning-quick lap by Marco Werner (Champion Racing Audi) in the LMP1 class (1 minute, 22.320 seconds, 110.64 mph). "I want to congratulate whoever paved the track. It is amazing," said Corvette driver Ron Fellows, who claimed his fourth Infineon Technologies Grand Prix of Sonoma victory in 2004 in the GT1 class with co-driver Johnny O'Connell. "It became smoother, but it didn't change the characteristics of the course." The ALMS features racing based on the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is held in France every year. The series features four different classes of cars (LMP1, LMP2, GT1 and GT2) all competing on track at the same time for overall and individual class victories. The Infineon Technologies Grand Prix of Sonoma will feature a 2-hour, 45-minute sprint race, which will include cars in different classes jockeying for position, as well as a driver change in the pits. The feature race will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 17. This is truly a taste of European sports car racing in the United States. Audi will look for its fifth Infineon Raceway victory in the LMP1 class, while Corvette (GT1) and Porsche (GT2) will each look for their fourth and fifth class victories, respectively. Teammates JJ Lehto and Werner (Champion Racing Audi) top the LMP1 standings with three victories through four ALMS events this season, including a win this past weekend at Lime Rock (Conn.). They also captured the overall victory at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in June and are the defending champions in Sonoma. Fellows and O'Connell will look for their fifth straight win in Sonoma in GT1, but they'll be tested by Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta, who also drive a Corvette C6-R. Gavin and Beretta took the class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also won in Lime Rock, their first ALMS win of the year. This will mark the first-ever race for the new Corvette C6-R at Infineon Raceway. "We will try (to keep it going)," Beretta said. "The team is strong and the car is strong. Our competition will be close. The C5 worked well at Infineon and I think the C6 will do well. At every track there is a learning curve but I think we will be OK." The Alex Job Racing Porsche team of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas will look for their third consecutive class victory of the season in GT1. The duo took the lead for good at Lime Rock with less than 45 minutes remaining in the event. Bernhard has claimed one GT2 victory at Infineon Raceway (2004). They'll be challenged by Flying Lizard Motorsports (Porsche), which is based at Infineon Raceway, as well as the Panoz Esperante piloted by Bill Auberlen and Robin Liddell and Petersen/White Lightning Racing (Porsche). "To claim a win in the GT2 class is always exciting, but winning at Infineon Raceway in front of our families, friends and sponsors would be extra special," said Flying Lizard driver Johannes van Overbeek. Infineon Technologies Grand Prix of Sonoma WHAT: Big O Tires Racing Season Presents: Infineon Technologies Grand Prix of Sonoma American Le Mans Series, presented by Ravenswood Winery WHEN: July 15-17 CIRCUIT: 12-turn, 2.53-mile road course QUALIFYING: Saturday, July 16, two sessions: 2:40-3 p.m. and 3:10-3:30 p.m. MAIN EVENT: Sunday, July 17, 11 a.m. (2 hours, 45 minutes) IN ADDITION: The SPEED World Challenge will stage main events in the GT and Touring Car divisions over the weekend. TICKETS: 800-870-RACE, www.infineonraceway.com <http://www.infineonraceway.com/> , www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/> NOTE: ALL TIMES PACIFIC