Emanuele Pirro (#2)
“This is the first pole position for me in this championship. Putting the car on pole is satisfying. It does not mean
a lot for the race, but we have been the fastest car so far. To keep the pole gives us the confidence to get some
clear laps at the beginning of the race. I am happy to have delivered the car in first place to Frank, who will start
the race on Saturday.”
Frank Biela (#2)
“We expected to be in a strong position here, because we had a good setup from last year. We played a little bit
with the shock absorbers and were able to cure the understeer we had on Monday. The car runs very well, it is
reliable and we are on top of the field - you can’t expect more. Of course we will get a lot of pressure from the
customer teams which makes it not easy for us.”
Tom Kristensen (#2)
“I am ready to race. The car is good and Emanuele proved the speed of the car in qualifying. However, I am a little
bit disappointed about the Panoz. They seem to have problems on this bumpy circuit and have gone a step back
from Texas where they have been much closer to us. But with four Audi sportscars on top the race will be very
exciting.”
Rinaldo Capello (#1)
“We improved the car compared to yesterday and solved all the problems we had. Now we are very close to the
other car. I just could not improve my time because the track was slower than yesterday. I think it will be a very
tough race, especially if it stays so hot.”
Laurent Aiello (#1)
“I like these kind of circuits very much because they have very little grip and therefore you get to the limit of the car
quickly. This is a big challenge and I find that very interesting. The Sebring circuit reminds me of the air field
tracks in Germany during my time in the Super Touring Car Championship. For me it’s the first time that I race in
the States. The atmosphere here at Sebring is very special and apart from that it is nice to be in warm weather
after the long winter months in Europe.”
Michele Alboreto (#1)
“We are first and second with our team, but the competition is now between four Audi sportscars. So life for the
Joest team is a little bit more complicated. It is a long race, you have to be focussed not to make any mistakes.
Especially in the beginning, when there are many GT cars on the track, you can lose or gain a lot of time.”
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Sport
“Today the track was slower than yesterday, because of dirt. Emanuele and Dindo drove very close times and
also our customer teams are really quick. Four Audi sportscars in front of course makes me happy. It looks like
Panoz has some problems with their cars, but until the race they still have one and a half days to work.”
Reinhold Joest, Team Director Audi Sport North America
“There are still a few differences between the setup of our two cars, but I’m confident that we will work out the
best for both cars. Both of the Audi customer teams are close on our heels. We know what we are able to do and
if nothing unpredictable happens in the race, I believe that we will stay in front.”
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