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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">14/07/2004</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">ALMS Heads West To Northern California</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">Pirrelli Looking Good</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><img border="1" src="Storage/lamborghini-5-midohio-p2-04(2).jpg"></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2"><B>ALMS Heads West To Northern California</B><BR> <BR> Fresh off its adrenalin-charged victory at the New England Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park two weeks ago, the Pirelli-sponsored Risi Competizione Ferrari 360 Modena GTC of Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro will be looking for more gold in them there hills of northern California. Their destination is Infineon Raceway, site of the Grand Prix of Sonoma Presented by the Napa Valley Marriott in California’s Napa and Sonoma wine country, July 16-18.<BR> <BR> Clint Field’s Pirelli-equipped Intersport P2 Lola-Judd, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mid-Ohio race one week prior to Lime Rock, will require more than the “wash and wax” job we alluded to following its win in Ohio. Heavily damaged following a crash into the Lime Rock barriers caused by a rear suspension failure, Field’s team will be burning the midnight oil repairing the car, but guarantees it will be ready for Sears Point in continuation of its pursuit of the P2 class championship. Joining Field for the Infineon drive will be Scotsman Robin Liddell who co-drove the Intersport Lola-Judd to victory at Mid-Ohio.<BR> <BR> For the Pirelli-shod ACEMCO Saleen S7R of Borcheller and Mowlem, Lime Rock proved to be a case of “closer, but still no first-place cigar.” The well prepared and well driven factory Corvettes still dominate the GTS class, but the Saleen drivers followed up their 3rd place finish at Mid-Ohio with another 3rd at Lime Rock, and were much closer to the top rungs of the podium than in previous 2004 ALMS events. For Infineon Raceway, Chevy is entering a third factory ’Vette to be piloted by NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Boris Said, and while Earnhardt spends most of his life turning left, he has proved to be no slouch on a road course.<BR> <BR> Needless to say, the S7R and the rest of the independent teams in GTS will have to be in top form if they hope to achieve a podium position at Sears Point. For the newcomer Krohn-Barbour Racing team, their hope is that third time out will prove to be a charm. One of their two Pirelli-sponsored Lamborghini Murcielago GT-Rs was a write-off at Mid-Ohio as a result of a tangle with a Porsche in the very first practice session. The remaining Lamborghini driven by David Brabham and Peter Kox battled to the wire with the ACEMCO Saleen for 3rd, but wound up 4th. At Lime Rock the Murcielago could have finished higher than 5th were it not for the time spent in the pits when the Lamborghini suffered rear suspension damage as the result of being rear ended about an hour into the race.<BR> <BR> ” The team will be up to full strength in California as the second Lamborghini for Tracy Krohn and Scott Maxwell will be back in action at Infineon Raceway.<BR> Incidentally, the Dick Barbour half of the Krohn-Barbour duo is the same Barbour whose long list of accomplishments in endurance racing include three consecutive overall or class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1978-1980). During the 1980 season Barbour co-drove Porsches to victory in 14 races, including Sebring, Le Mans, 1000 Kilometers of Nurburgring, Sears Point, Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta. In the process the Barbour team captured the overall IMSA Championship and was the first American team to be awarded the coveted Porsche Cup.<BR> <BR> The Pirelli-shod Panoz Motor Sports Esperante GT-LM of Gunnar Jeannette and David Saelens made its ALMS debut at Mid-Ohio and shocked the predominantly Porsche 911 GT class by qualifying second and running for the lead until an accident and a broken half shaft put an end to their day. But Lime Rock proved to be a dreary weekend for the Panoz team, which never fully came to grips with Lime Rock’s bumpy twists and turns and suffered an early exit from the race because of mechanical failure. Top-Gunner Jeannette promises a complete reversal of their Lime Rock misfortunes for Infineon Raceway so, Porsche teams, watch out!<BR> <BR> The Tom Weickardt/ Jean-Phillipe Belloc Dodge Viper team also struggled to find speed at Lime Rock. But a chassis setup change right before qualifying and a new set of Pirelli rubber gained them 4th on the grid in GTS and for the race. The Viper folks believe they can follow-up Lime Rock with an even stronger showing at Infineon.<BR> <BR> On race day at Lime Rock, Mike Pickup, owner of the Pirelli-shod No.60 PK Sport Porsche 911 GT3 RS celebrated the birth of his second baby. But the team was obviously less enthused about their mid-pack placing in GT as drivers Peter Boss and Hugh Plumb [Hugh Go Boss?] chased but never caught a mysterious front-end push (understeer) problem that plagued the Porsche all weekend. Pickup predicts sunnier skies and better results in California . . . but also plenty of nappies.<BR> <BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>