Slipstream - December 2004

ALMS Audi Sports Car Championship
Photo by Bill Stafford
by Bill and Marilyn Stafford
The season ending 4-hour race for the 2004 American
LeMans Series wasn’t the first race ever run into the
darkness, but it was the first time a night race has been
held at Laguna Seca. If you were to purposely pick a spot to
hold a night race it couldn’t be any darker than at Laguna.
Although the “neighbors” were complaining about the noise
(Laguna Seca is situated up in the hills inside the old Ft. Ord
Artillery Range impact zone), the race ended at 8 PM and no
further nasty phone calls came in after that.
Practices for the night races are different. That is to say
the night practice sessions are not held the night before
(exception being Daytona) and the time between them and
the race tends to dull the memory a bit. Couple that with an
uncertain weather forecast, and you have an interesting
event. This being the final 2004 Race, most of the Class winners
were predictable, barring, of course, a catastrophic
event. None the less, the race was interesting and when the
rain came with about 30 minutes to go, it became more
interesting as darkness and a slick track prevailed with no
one wanting to pit for rain tires until absolutely necessary.
The Race: The British #27 Creative Autosportif DBA-
Zytek surprised many by taking the pole in front of the
Audis. Driver Nicolas Minassian knew they would face a
tough race with the 2 Audis and the ever-present Dyson
cars. “We know the Audis will be consistent. They push
buttons to get out of the pit where I have to worry about the
clutch, gas, and brake. I will need a ten second lead to be
successful in the pits.” But if you guessed Audi would win,
you would be correct. They just keep steamrolling right
along. The only thing that changed was the Team. The #38
Series champions J.J. Lehto and Marco Werner came in 2nd
this time, while the #2 Audi R8 with Johnny Herbert and
Pierre Kaffer managed to take the checker.
the win in that order and Job (factory driver) Timo
Bernhard also took the driving title. Team Flying Lizards
Porsche was 3rd. Sadly, the rumor may be true that the Alex
Job Porsche Team may be calling it quits after this year, but
the official word is “undecided”.
Pit Rat Notes: The Track Management continues to
surprise the Fans with some varied racing events (shifter
Carts) and the occasional weird thing. This year, there was a
Brazilian Dance Troupe decked out in Carnivale outfits
going up and down the Paddock. More than 1 driver was
seen following the scantily clad dancers as they … well,
you know.
There is still a lot of Team indecision regarding the
2005 season. Dick Barbour was in the pits throughout the
weekend talking to various manufacturers. He will not be
back with the Lamborghinis, but he will be back.
The next item hurts my brain. American Le Mans Series
introduces the “Founder’s Challenge Cup” to celebrate
accomplishments of gentlemen drivers (What about gentlewomen
drivers?). Drivers in the AMLS whose primary
career is not racing will have their own championship to
compete for in 2005. Named in honor of ALMS founder
Don Panoz, the Founder’s Challenge Cup will recognize
drivers in each race, with points awarded for a season-long
championship. The champions will receive unique,
“specially designed awards” that will be revealed at the 2005
season-opening event at Sebring. Enough said……
Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca continues to undergo
more changes. Over the winter, the gravel trap runoff area at
turn 9 will be expanded due in large part to the AMA
Motorcycle race requirements. Ironically, the best place to
view the race (my opinion) is at the signature “Corkscrew”
Turn 8 where the view is now marred by the addition of
high catch fences mandated by the Champ Car Series.
Several individuals, off the record, made comments that if
and when CART goes out of business, the fence would be
removed.
Also for the first time the Grand American Road
Racing Association (GARRA) will be bringing the Grand
Am series and the Daytona Prototypes to Laguna Seca for
the 2005 Seasons 4th race on May 1st.
Get to a race and support your local Racetrack.
Olivier Beretta driving the #4 Corvette grabbed the pole
in the GTS class, tying Ron Fellows for the most poles in the
Series. However Fellows and Johnny O’Connell in the #3 car
ended up with the win. With the pullout of the Team
Barbour Lamborghini’s after the Petit LeMans at Road
Atlanta, the Corvettes own the GTS class. This victory was a
3-lap runaway from the Saleen and marked the first win for
Team Corvette at Laguna Seca while finishing off a perfect
year in which they went undefeated.
In the GT class, the Alex Job #23 and #24 Porsches took
22
Johnny Herbert in the race-winning Audi R8
Photo by Bill Stafford
The 2nd-place finishing Alex Job GT Porsche