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14 aug 2004 |
Audi celebrated
a triple victory in the third race of the Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES)
at Silverstone/England. As in the previous race at the Nürburgring/Germany
Allan McNish and Pierre Kaffer passed the finish line after 1000 kilometres
at first positon in their Audi R8 of the Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx. They
managed to do so one lap ahead of their Audi colleagues Seiji Ara and
Rinaldo Capello in the 2004 “Le Mans 24-hour race” winning
car of the Audi Sport Japan Team Goh. Total triumph for Audi was completed
by Jamies Davies and Johnny Herbert finishing third. |
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Right in the first third of the race Pierre Kaffer went into the lead, losing it only during the regular pit stops. All three Audi R8 made the six-hour race without any technical problems. Right to the end of the race Rinaldo Capello managed by doing some very fast laps to catch Johnny Herbert who suffered from a difficult handling of his car. After their second consecutive victory Pierre Kaffer and Allan McNish took the lead in the drivers´ standing of the LMP1 class. The last race of the 2004 LMES season will take part on 12 September in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium. |
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Quotes after the race Rinaldo Capello (Audi Sport Japan Team Goh / Audi R8 #5): “This was a nice race. After my first two stints when the car was not so good, I was not very much encouraged for the last two stints. But as soon as I made the first miles I noticed the car was completely different. I was able to push as hard as I wanted. Starting sixth, finishing second is not bad... Let´s see whether we can manage a victory in the last race at Spa.” Allan McNish (Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx / Audi R8 #8): “Pierre completed an excellent double stint and handed me a car that was perfectly in the groove. The car continued to be consistent through each of my stints. I backed off to save having to make a late fuel stop which cost both the Japanese Audi and our ‘sister’ car time. Second place would be good enough for the LM P1 Driver’s title at Spa but we want another win.” Seiji Ara (Audi Sport Japan Team Goh / Audi R8 #5): “I am very excited and happy to finish second. Dindo was driving fantastic. I have to say `Thank you` to him.“ Kazumichi Goh (Team Director Audi Sport Japan Team Goh): “A great result. Both drivers did a good job, especially Dindo was fantastic at the end of the race. More than this: Our Audi R8 was in good shape today.“ Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “Again we saw an exciting long distance race - until to the very end. Tactics played a major role. The Goh team fully earned the second place. Allan and Pierre did a faultless race for victory. Congratulations to them. What makes me really happy: All three Audi R8 made it to the finish line without any technical problem.” The
result at Silverstone |
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