OHIO'S INTERSPORT RACING LEADS AMERICAN LE MANS LMP2 CHAMPIONSHIP

 <http://www.midohio.com> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Ackford, (614) 793-4620, rackford@midohio.com

 

OHIO'S INTERSPORT RACING LEADS AMERICAN 

LE MANS LMP2 CHAMPIONSHIP

 

Dublin, Ohio (May 19, 2006) - Ohio's own Intersport Racing and native
Buckeye Clint Field, and co-driver Liz Halliday currently lead in points in
the highly competitive Le Mans Prototype 2 category in the American Le Mans
Series, competing against arguably the most famous racing team - Penske
Racing - in the United States.  The local privateer team continues to
dominate their class over the favored factory Porsche and Mazda teams after
an impressive win at last Friday night's Lone Star Grand Prix in Houston. 

 

Field steered the AER-powered Lola B05/40 to win for the 14th time in his
career, remaining atop the record books as the all-time winningest driver in
LMP2 despite his youth, having won 14 times since he began racing prototypes
at age 18 (2002).  He passed his father Jon (11) in 2005 as the younger
Field became the youngest prototype champion in International Motor Sports
Association history.

 

"(Late in the race) I came down the straight and the car made a wicked noise
and I lost power but I knew what the problem was - a cracked header -
because we had the same problem earlier in the week," Field said. "Then I
passed the yellow Porsche Spyder and I thought this is too good to be true!
We came in and they safety tied it back together and it held." 

 

Halliday picked up her fifth career Series win, which ties her with Milka
Duno for the most victories ever by a female driver in the American Le Mans
Series.

 

"It's fantastic standing alone at the top of the LMP2 point standings and
it's exactly where we want to be early in the season," said Halliday.  "The
Penske drivers, team, and cars are very strong and they are hard to beat
with just speed.  But endurance racing is also about reliability and great
team work and I think that we've shown that so far.  It's great to be a part
of such a strong, independent team and to know that we can hang in there and
win against the toughest competition."

 

As a team, Intersport Racing has won more LMP2 events than any other
competitor in the history of the Series (18), but will likely continue to
face a major challenge from Penske Racing, who will seek redemption in their
Porsche Spyders at the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio, May 19-21 at Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

 

Clint Field, Liz Halliday and Intersport Racing will attempt to keep their
reign of domination over the factory teams at the American Le Mans at
Mid-Ohio, set for noon EDT on Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.  It will
be broadcast live on CBS Sports at 1:00 p.m. EDT May 21, the second of five
straight races on the network.

 

Also featured throughout the weekend will be several support races including
the Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Championship Series, Formula BMW USA,
SCCA SPEED World Challenge presented by Trenton Forging, IMSA GT3 Cup
Challenge presented by Michelin, Star Mazda presented by Goodyear and the
newly formed IMSA Lites.

 

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a 2.4-mile, 15-turn permanent road racing
circuit in Lexington, Ohio.  Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles
south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most
competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally,
regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and
professional riders and drivers.  Mid-Ohio's 2006 schedule features a record
eight spectator events, including American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio (May 19-21),
EMCO Gears Classic presented by KeyBank (June 23-25), AMA Vintage Motorcycle
Days (July 28-30), Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire
(August 4-6), Vintage Grand-Prix at Mid-Ohio (August 18-20), National Auto
Sport Association Championships (September 15-17), AMA Road Race Grand
Championships & AMA Motocross Manufacturers Cup (September 22-24) and the
AMA Superbike Shootout (September 30-October 1).

 

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Incorporated
is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise.  The company owns
and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and
promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver instruction, corporate, and
family entertainment events throughout the year.  

 

-30-