The winners of this year´s Le Mans 24 Hour race come to Germany. At the
fourth round of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), held on the 9th of July
at the Nürburgring, the winners of the French classic, Frank Biela/Emanuele
Pirro and Allan McNish/Rinaldo Capello will drive two Audi R8s. After the
triumph at Le Mans, where the Audi Sport Team Joest secured the first three
places, the hunt for the leading BMW team now begins in the ALMS.
Team director Reinhold Joest shows optimism: "Of course we can't rest on our
laurels after Le Mans. Our preparation for the Nürburgring round was
successful, and on Friday before the race we will test there again to try out
several set-ups specifically for this circuit."
For the first time since the season-opening round of the American Le Mans
Series at Sebring in March where Audi celebrated a double victory, the pilots
tackle an ALMS race with the new generation R8. In the previous rounds at
Charlotte and Silverstone, modified vehicles from last year were raced in order
not to disrupt preparations for Le Mans.
Le Mans winner Frank Biela is looking forward to the race. The Rhinelander
regards the Nuerburgring as his home track. "Although I am totally familiar with
the `Ring from my many races there, this will be a premiere for me. I´ve never
competed here in a sportscar."
With the only guest appearance of the ALMS in Germany, the legendary 1000
kilometer race on the Nuerburgring celebrates a renaissance. In the seventies
it was one of Germany´s most important motorsport events.
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