Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela won the battle and the war this weekend. The Champion Racing duo won Petit Le Mans and captured their first LMP1 drivers championship together in the American Le Mans Series with a convincing victory at Road Atlanta.
Each have each won previous ALMS titles: Biela in 2003 with Marco Werner, and Pirro in 2001. The No. 2 Champion Racing Audi R8 won for the fourth time this season and has finished in the top three of each ALMS round this year, a model of title-winning consistency.
"All we had to do was keep it on the track," a joyous Pirro said after climbing out of the winning car. "I want to thank our mechanics for a great job. Winning this championship is an absolute dream."
The No. 2 Audi was a 12-lap winner over Chris Dyson and Guy Smith in the No. 20 Dyson Racing Lola. They finished second, followed by the No. 1 Champion Audi of Lehto and Werner. The car was involved in a first-lap accident that collected Lehto and the pole-sitting No. 15 Zytek of Hayanari Shimoda and Tom Chilton.
James Weaver, in the No. 16 Dyson Lola, also was involved in the incident and lost significant time, as well. That left Pirro and Biela up front by themselves.
"For us, its not so easy with such a big lead," Biela said. "Sometimes it's a little bit easier when there's a lot of competition. You're not concentrating on not making mistakes, but having to overtake and keep them behind you. Our guys did a brilliant job. Finally we won it. When we came to Audi this season, all we wanted to do was win. We didn't think we could win here (then), but we did it."
Clint Field is on the verge of becoming the youngest American sports car champion ever as he, father Jon Field and Liz Halliday won in P2 with the No. 37 Intersport Racing B05/40. That victory, combined with a DNF by Miracle Motorsports' No. 10 Courage, launched the 22-year-old into first in the drivers championship standings by 22 points over B-K Motorsports' Guy Cosmo and Jamie Bach, who finished second with Elliott-Forbes Robinson.
Field is four months younger than when John Paul won the 1982 IMSA GTP championship.
"With all that was going on out on the track, it was very satisfying to finish and cross the finish line first," Field said.
Field posted his fifth class victory of the season and fourth in the last five events. Finishing third Saturday was the No. 7 BAT Competition Lola of Mike Johnson, Georges Forgeois and Bob Woodman.
B-K Motorsports' No. 8 Mazda-powered Courage placed second in class. Jamie Bach and Guy Cosmo moved up to second in class past Jeff Bucknum and Chris McMurry from Miracle Motorsports. Finishing third Saturday was the No. 7 BAT Competition Lola of Mike Johnson, Georges Forgeois and Bob Woodman.
In the highly anticipated third meeting between the two, Corvette Racing bested Aston Martin Racing in GT1. Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen won in class for the second straight year in the No. 4 Corvette C6-R. A valiant effort by the No. 57 Aston Martin DBR9 of David Brabham, Darren Turner and Jonny Kane resulted in a second-place finish. The car was heavily damaged during practice Thursday.
"This team is unbelievable. All the pit stops they have done since the beginning, and they've never failed," Beretta said. "They did a fantastic job in preparing the car. Jan and Oliver are very fast and very clever. They know when it's time to push and when it's time to save the car. We want the same thing on the car, and that makes for an easy life on the car."
Third was the No. 63 ACEMCO Motorsports Saleen of Terry Borcheller, Johnny Mowlem and Ralf Kelleners.
Gavin and Beretta now take a 15-point lead into the final round in two weeks at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which pays 23 points to the winner. Their closest challengers, Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell in the No. 3 Corvette C6-R, lost drive and finished sixth.
"The championship is looking good," Gavin said. "We didn't want to get in this position with having something bad happening to the sister car. You want to win it on the track."
In GT2, Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister drove the No. 31 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Porsche to its third victory in a row and fourth of the season. They now lead Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, in the No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche, by 22 points heading into the season finale.
Bernard and Dumas started on the pole but lost significant time repairing the lower control arm assembly just past the four-hour mark. That left Long and Bergmeister to run their usual consistent race to a victory.
"I can't say enough about this Porsche," Long said. "This car is indestructible. (The points race) is never over until it's over, and we don't talk about it until it's over. Winning Petit Le Mans is a big feather in my cap and the rest of the team."
The final round of the 2005 American Le Mans Series is the Monterey Sports Car Championships on Oct. 15 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. The race is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. PDT Oct. 15, with SPEED TV broadcasting the race from 3 to 7 p.m. EDT Oct. 16. Qualifying scheduled for 2:10 p.m. PDT. Oct. 14. American Le Mans Radio, and IMSA Live Timing and Scoring, will be available at americanlemans.com.
Petit Le Mans - Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.
1. (3) Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Frank Biela, Germany; Audi R8 (1, P1), 394.2. (5) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Lola EX257 AER (2, P1), 382.3. (11) Oliver Gavin, England; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6-R (3, GT1), 379.4. (13) David Brabham, Australia; Darren Turner, England; Jonny Kane, Ireland; Aston Martin DB9 (4, GT1), 378.5. (6) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B05/40/AER (5, P2), 375.6. (16) Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Johnny Mowlem, England; Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Saleen S7R (6, GT1), 372.7. (2) JJ Lehto, Finland; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi R8 (7, P1), 372.8. (17) Andrea Bertolini, Italy; Fabrizio de Simone, Italy; Fabio Babini, Italy; Maserati MC12 (8, GT1), 371.9. (22) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Craig Stanton, Long Beach, CA; Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (9, GT2), 364.10. (24) Emmanuel Collard, France; Ian Baas, Noblesville, IN; Marcel Tiemann, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (10, GT2), 363.11. (14) Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Tomas Enge, Czech Republic; Peter Kox, The Netherlands; Aston Martin DB9 (11, GT1), 359.12. (12) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6-R (12, GT1), 357, Lost Drive.13. (25) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Jon Fogarty, Palo Alto, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (13, GT2), 356.14. (18) Jamie Bach, West Palm Beach, FL; Guy Cosmo, Long Island, NY; Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Sherrills Ford, NC; Courage Mazda (14, P2), 354.15. (10) Michael Lewis, San Diego, CA; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Riley & Scott MRK IIIC (15, P1), 350.16. (23) Bob Woodman, Beaufort, SC; Georges Forgeois, New York, NY; Mike Johnson, Atlanta, GA; Lola BK2/40 Nissan (16, P2), 350.17. (20) Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (17, GT2), 349.18. (21) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Martin Jensen, Denmark; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (18, GT2), 343.19. (28) Tim Sudgen, England; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Justin Jackson, Buford, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (19, GT2), 324.20. (19) Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Michele Rugulo, Italy; Jean-Philippe Belloc, France; Dodge Viper (20, GT1), 303.21. (29) Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (21, GT2), 258.22. (30) Michael Cawley, Atlanta, GA; Tony Burgess, Canada; Leh Keen, Dublin, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (22, GT2), 253, Accident.23. (8) Elton Julian, Los Angeles, CA; Phillip Bennett, England; Juan Barazi, Switzerland; Courage C65-AER (23, P2), 225, Engine.24. (9) Jeff Bucknum, Lake Havasu City, AZ; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; James Gue, Athens, GA; Courage C-65 (24, P2), 197, Gearbox.25. (7) William Binnie, Portsmouth, NH; Sam Hancock, London, England; Alan Timpany, England; Lola B05/40Nicholson McLaren (25, P2), 195, Engine.26. (4) James Weaver, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Andy Wallace, England; Lola EX257 AER (26, P1), 164, Turbo.27. (26) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Scott Maxwell, Canada; Robin Liddell, Scotland; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (27, GT2), 90.28. (27) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; David Murry, Cumming, GA; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (28, GT2), 89, Accident.29. (15) Ben Devlin, England; Gunnar Van der Steur, Chesapeake City, MD; Eric Van der Steur, Spartanburg, SC; Lola B2K/40 AER (29, P2), 7, Collision.30. (1) Hayanari Shimoda, Japan; Tom Chilton, Horely, UK; Zytek 04S (30, P1), 0, Accident.
Unofficial points
P1
Emanuele Pirro 163Frank Biela 163Chris Dyson 138Marco Werner 135JJ Lehto 135Andy Wallace 119James Weaver 113Butch Leitzinger 113Guy Smith 38Michael Lewis 36Bryan Willman 36Tom Kristensen 26Allan McNish 22Tom Chilton 10Hayanari Shimoda 10
P2Clint Field 122Jamie Bach 100Guy Cosmo 100Jeff Bucknum 98Chris McMurry 98Liz Halliday 66Jon Field 62Ben Devlin 45Gunnar van der Steur 32Ian James 26Elliott Forbes-Robinson 22Gregor Fisken 20Mike Johnson 19Bob Woodman 19Georges Forgeois 19Erik van der Steur 13Elton Julian 0Alan Timpany 0Juan Barazi 0William Binnie 0Phillip Bennett 0James Gue 0Sam Hancock 0
GT1Olivier Beretta 173Oliver Gavin 173br>Ron Fellows 158Johnny O`Connell 158Johnny Mowlem 103Terry Borcheller 103Michele Rugolo 66Tom Weickardt 66Alex Figge 65Ryan Dalziel 65Darren Turner 48David Brabham 48Jan Magnussen 45Ralf Kelleners 35Max Papis 34Jean-Philippe Belloc 28Stephane Ortelli 26Pedro Lamy 23Peter Kox 23Johnny Kane 22Tomas Enge 14David Empringham 12Stephane Sarrazin 9Fabrizio de Simone 0Andrea Bertolini 0Fabio Babini 0
GT2Patrick Long 156Jorg Bergmeister 156Romain Dumas 134Timo Bernhard 134Jon Fogarty 101Johannes van Overbeek 101Tim Sugden 71Wolf Henzler 68Ian Baas 67Robin Liddell 62Darren Law 62Justin Jackson 61Mike Rockenfeller 60Bill Auberlen 42Nic Jonsson 40Seth Neiman 34Lonnie Pechnik 34Marino Franchitti 32Martin Jensen 30Bryan Sellers 29Lucas Luhr 26Marcel Tiemann 22Emmanuel Collard 22Randy Pobst 21Michael Cawley 17Marc Sluszny 16Tracy Krohn 16Andrew Thompson 14Michael Vergers 14Juan Barazi 14Spencer Pumpelly 12Steve Ivankovich 12Andy Lally 12Tony Burgess 12Christophe Tinseau 8Michael Galati 6Scott Maxwell 5Sascha Maassen 4Rick Skelton 1Leh Keen 0Gunnar Jeannette 0
