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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">19/07/2004</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">Elusive ALMS Championship On Lehto's Mind </FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">Third Straight Win For Team</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><img border="1" src="Storage/audi-38-infineon-q-04(3).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>Elusive American Le Mans Championship On Lehto's Mind After Third Straight Win</B><BR> <BR> His third straight overall race win in the books, and a lead in the point standings in his grasp, JJ Lehto can be forgiven if he is beginning to think that 2004 might be the year for him to finally win a driving championship in the American Le Mans Series.<BR> <BR> Part of the American Le Mans Series since it was founded in 1999, and one of the most consistent winners and performers in series history, Finland's Lehto has come close but has never been able to wear the ring of a driving champion in the professional sports car racing series. But that could be changing.<BR> <BR> Lehto and co-driver Marco Werner drove the ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 to victory in Sunday's Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma at California's Infineon Raceway, giving them their third consecutive ALMS win this season. Three wins and a runner-up finish in the first four races of the nine-race ALMS season have given Lehto and Werner a 23-point lead over nearest rival Andy Wallace in the race for the LMP1 driving title.<BR> <BR> Werner and Lehto are in their first season as teammates and Werner could become the first driver ever to win two titles in the top Prototype class of the ALMS, having won the 2003 championship with co-driver Frank Biela for Infineon Team Joest. The German driver won last year's title in his first full season of ALMS competition.<BR> <BR> "There is still a long season to go," said the 38-year-old Lehto, a veteran of both Formula One and CART competition. "I have been racing here a long time, since 1999, and have been ahead in the points at this point and not won the championship. Hopefully, Marco (Werner) can help me win it this year. <BR> <BR> "It's always good to win three in a row," he said. "Can it be any better? It's good for the championship. We got the maximum points again (at Infineon) and you know we had a really good race."<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>