Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From The Race Site:
Le Mans 24 Hours Race Review: Champion and Kristensen Prevail
6/19/2005 - The Audi R8, which some thought might have seen better days before the start of this race, prevailed at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year. Champion Racing campaigned the car but most remarkable is that Tom Kristensen was at the wheel of the car that took victory. For Kristensen it marked the seventh overall victory of his career at the famous French circuit, breaking his previous tie with Jacky Ickx.
"It's fantastic what we took from Sebring as a crew and made this one possible," commented Kristensen. "Without the strong desire from Mr. Maraj to come here, I would never have had the chance to win my seventh victory. I drive full-time for DTM so I thank Audi AG for allowing me the privilege to drive for Champion Racing. This year was an extreme pleasure because of winning with these penalties. I also want to thank the Danish sponsor on our cars, Jyske Bank. It makes me extra motivated to do well."
Kristensen shared the Champion Audi R8 with J.J. Lehto and Marco Werner.
"Ten years ago when I won it the first time, I didn't really understand what it takes and what it means but now all the work we have been doing in the last years with Champion Racing, it just now is paying us back," added Lehto.
Second in the LM1 class went to the #16 Pescarolo Judd, only two laps behind the winning machine. Third in class and overall went to Champion Racing's teammate car with Frank Biela, Allan McNish, and Emanuele Pirro. The second Champion Audi wrecked out of second place when a tire delaminated while Allan McNish was driving.
"I 'locked-up' under braking for an earlier corner, the tyres were getting old and I'd been pushing very hard," commented a crestfallen Allan who won Le Mans in 1998. "The tread came off at Indianapolis and I was helpless - it's even more upsetting because I was actually making a scheduled pit-stop at the end of that lap.
"It took four minutes to get dragged out of the gravel trap and back to the pits and a further 18 minutes to repair the front suspension which dropped us to third, six laps behind the lead Audi."
In LM2 RML took the win in a Lola MG. Tommy Erdos, Mike Newton and Warren Hughes drove the car to the win in a trouble plagued race. The winning car finished 66 laps behind the overall winner and finished behind the GT1 and GT2 race winner. Reliability has always been an issue with the LM2 class and the race winner this year had trouble on the opening lap. Paul Belmondo Racing took second and third in the LM2 class finishing only four and ten laps down to the class winner.
In GT1 Corvette Racing surprised no one with a 1-2 finish in the class with their almighty Corvette C6-R. Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Jan Magnussen took the win by two laps over their team car. Third in the class went to Aston Martin Racing, sixteen laps arrears of the race winning Corvette.
After trailing its rivals through the night, the 19th hour proved to be the turning point for Corvette Racing. The No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Gavin, Beretta and Magnussen took the point when the leading Aston Martin pitted for repairs. The Corvette kept relentless pressure on its pursuers, running 3-minute, 55-second laps in withering 97-degree heat. The Corvette victory was sealed when both Aston Martins encountered problems in the 23rd hour,
"I pushed hard, it was like qualifying every lap," said Magnussen, who drove a stunning double stint at the crucial time. "I was trying to stay out of trouble, be consistent and work the traffic. It paid off and we wore out the competition. I enjoyed every minute of it because I could see that we could open up the gap. It's the best we could hope for."
In GT2 it was Alex Job Racing that took the win with Leo Hindrey, Mike Rockenfeller, and Marc Lieb at the wheel. The trio finished just one lap ahead of the White Lightning Porsche.
The trio swapped the class lead with two challengers during the first part of the race, but regained it in the sixth hour and stayed ahead to win by a one-lap margin. They led the class for about 20 hours of the 24-hour race. Rockenfeller also set the fastest GT2 race lap, with a time of four minutes 7.164 seconds. "I didn't think we would win like that. It was performance. It was not lucky; it was because we were quicker all the time. We had the better car and we were doing better lap times. It was hard work, that's for sure, because of the temperature [32 C] and the long driving time," Rockenfeller said. "The car was running really good, the tires were extremely good, we had no problems at all. We changed the radio in the car once and we changed the brakes. The rest we didn't touch."
Le Mans 24 Hours Race Review: Champion and Kristensen Prevail
6/19/2005 - The Audi R8, which some thought might have seen better days before the start of this race, prevailed at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year. Champion Racing campaigned the car but most remarkable is that Tom Kristensen was at the wheel of the car that took victory. For Kristensen it marked the seventh overall victory of his career at the famous French circuit, breaking his previous tie with Jacky Ickx.
"It's fantastic what we took from Sebring as a crew and made this one possible," commented Kristensen. "Without the strong desire from Mr. Maraj to come here, I would never have had the chance to win my seventh victory. I drive full-time for DTM so I thank Audi AG for allowing me the privilege to drive for Champion Racing. This year was an extreme pleasure because of winning with these penalties. I also want to thank the Danish sponsor on our cars, Jyske Bank. It makes me extra motivated to do well."
Kristensen shared the Champion Audi R8 with J.J. Lehto and Marco Werner.
"Ten years ago when I won it the first time, I didn't really understand what it takes and what it means but now all the work we have been doing in the last years with Champion Racing, it just now is paying us back," added Lehto.
Second in the LM1 class went to the #16 Pescarolo Judd, only two laps behind the winning machine. Third in class and overall went to Champion Racing's teammate car with Frank Biela, Allan McNish, and Emanuele Pirro. The second Champion Audi wrecked out of second place when a tire delaminated while Allan McNish was driving.
"I 'locked-up' under braking for an earlier corner, the tyres were getting old and I'd been pushing very hard," commented a crestfallen Allan who won Le Mans in 1998. "The tread came off at Indianapolis and I was helpless - it's even more upsetting because I was actually making a scheduled pit-stop at the end of that lap.
"It took four minutes to get dragged out of the gravel trap and back to the pits and a further 18 minutes to repair the front suspension which dropped us to third, six laps behind the lead Audi."
In LM2 RML took the win in a Lola MG. Tommy Erdos, Mike Newton and Warren Hughes drove the car to the win in a trouble plagued race. The winning car finished 66 laps behind the overall winner and finished behind the GT1 and GT2 race winner. Reliability has always been an issue with the LM2 class and the race winner this year had trouble on the opening lap. Paul Belmondo Racing took second and third in the LM2 class finishing only four and ten laps down to the class winner.
In GT1 Corvette Racing surprised no one with a 1-2 finish in the class with their almighty Corvette C6-R. Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Jan Magnussen took the win by two laps over their team car. Third in the class went to Aston Martin Racing, sixteen laps arrears of the race winning Corvette.
After trailing its rivals through the night, the 19th hour proved to be the turning point for Corvette Racing. The No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Gavin, Beretta and Magnussen took the point when the leading Aston Martin pitted for repairs. The Corvette kept relentless pressure on its pursuers, running 3-minute, 55-second laps in withering 97-degree heat. The Corvette victory was sealed when both Aston Martins encountered problems in the 23rd hour,
"I pushed hard, it was like qualifying every lap," said Magnussen, who drove a stunning double stint at the crucial time. "I was trying to stay out of trouble, be consistent and work the traffic. It paid off and we wore out the competition. I enjoyed every minute of it because I could see that we could open up the gap. It's the best we could hope for."
In GT2 it was Alex Job Racing that took the win with Leo Hindrey, Mike Rockenfeller, and Marc Lieb at the wheel. The trio finished just one lap ahead of the White Lightning Porsche.
The trio swapped the class lead with two challengers during the first part of the race, but regained it in the sixth hour and stayed ahead to win by a one-lap margin. They led the class for about 20 hours of the 24-hour race. Rockenfeller also set the fastest GT2 race lap, with a time of four minutes 7.164 seconds. "I didn't think we would win like that. It was performance. It was not lucky; it was because we were quicker all the time. We had the better car and we were doing better lap times. It was hard work, that's for sure, because of the temperature [32 C] and the long driving time," Rockenfeller said. "The car was running really good, the tires were extremely good, we had no problems at all. We changed the radio in the car once and we changed the brakes. The rest we didn't touch."
