Sunday, September 09, 2000 |
After a 1900 miles non-stop trucking trip from Texas to Portland, the first hurdle was taken, now it is the
drivers task, the qualifying is on. The skies are slightly overcast, after the forecasts were threatening with
rain. Due to the tight schedule of this back-to-back racing weekend there will be only one 20 minute
qualifying session. |
For the fifth time in a row Audi took pole position in the American Le Mans
Series (ALMS). This time it was Rinaldo Capello who set fastest time during
the 20 minutes of qualifying on Portland International Raceway and lowered the
old ALMS track record. Le Mans winner Frank Biela who was quickest during
the free practice sessions completed the great starting position for Audi with
second fastest time. After the gruelling heat of Texas which the Audi drivers
suffered from last weekend the weather turns out to be more comfortable in
Oregon. Despite dark clouds the entire qualifying took place under dry
conditions. |
Round eight of the American Le Mans Series starts on Sunday, 12 pm local
time and runs over a distance of 2:45 hours. Rinaldo Capello (#77) and
Emanuele Pirro (#78) will be the start drivers in the two Audi R8s. |
OA |
Car | Driver(s) | Lap | Best Time | Interval | Car Make/Engine |
77 | Capello/McNish | 4 | 1:04.312 | -- | Audi R8 | ||
2 |
78 | Biela/Pirro | 4 | 1:04.387 | 0:00.075 | Audi R8 | |
3 |
1 | Brabham/Magnussen | 6 | 1:04.503 | 0:00.191 | Panoz LMP-1 | |
4 |
2 | Katoh/O'Connell | 8 | 1:05.309 | 0:00.997 | Panoz LMP-1 | |
5 |
0 | Schiattarella/de Radigues | 5 | 1:05.394 | 0:01.007 | Lola B2K/10/Rafanelli V10 | |
6 |
42 | Lehto/Muller | 4 | 1:05.582 | 0:01.270 | BMW V12 LMR | |
7 |
36 | Johansson/Smith | 9 | 1:05.758 | 0:01.446 | Reynard 2KQ/Judd | |
8 |
43 | Auberlen/Gounon | 3 | 1:05.940 | 0:01.628 | BMW V12 LMR | |
9 |
19 | Angelelli/Taylor | 5 | 1:06.993 | 0:02.681 | Cadillac Northstar LMP | |
10 |
37 | Field/Sutherland | 11 | 1:07.273 | 0:02.961 | Lola B2K/10/Judd | |
11 |
39 | Matthews/Simo | 9 | 1:08.138 | 0:03.826 | Reynard 2KQ/Judd |
Rinaldo Capello (#77) |
„It was not an easy job to find the right setup for both cars, especially with car
no. 77. Which we finally copied from the #78 Audi. Panoz is getting faster and
closer so I expect the race to be very exciting. The second problem, after the
first chicane, is the low grip on the track which makes the tires lock up again
and again. The good thing is that both Audi R8s are in the first row . I hope
we'll manage to keep the Panoz behind so that our drivers can concentrate on
their own performance.” |