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Seiji
Ara and Rinaldo Capello fulfilled a perfect double victory for
Audi. After nearly six hours they finished one lap behind their Audi colleagues
Davies and Herbert. Ara and Capello are fifth in the final driver point
standings. They are each one point down to their Audi colleagues Allan
McNish and Pierre Kaffer, who are third with 28 points each.
This was not a reason for big joy for McNish and his German team-mate
Kaffer because the double season winner went into the last LMES race in
2004 at Spa as championship leaders. But on the 23rd lap, Pierre Kaffer
could not avoid a collision with a slow and unaware backmarker. Back in
the pits the Audi R8 had to retire from the race. The race was –
typical for the challenging track at Spa – filled with changing
weather conditions and many safety car interruptions.
"Vorsprung durch Technik” proved all three Audi R8 with four
victories in all four races of the maiden LMES season. In two races, they
even managed a triple victory, the other two have been double victories.
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Quotes
after the race
Jamie Davies (Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx / Audi R8 #88):
"The car never missed a beat which allowed me to push hard right
to the end. The Audi R8 is a fantastic race car and Michelin gave us excellent
tyres and I’m delighted Johnny and I have been able to reward Sam
Li, and all of the Veloqx team, plus Audi UK with this success. To win
this title – including two races - and to have finished second at
Le Mans in a single year is a marvellous feeling. I’m happy.”
Johnny Herbert (Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx / Audi R8 #88):
"The opening lap was hectic but my biggest problem was losing almost
a lap when the Safety Car came out in front of me putting me almost a
lap down. My engineer [Chris Gorne] then perfectly ‘called’
the weather and sent me out on intermediates rather than full wet weather
tyres. This is my first championship success since winning the 1987 British
Formula Three title so I’m delighted – I’d forgotten
what it felt like!”
Seiji Ara (Audi Sport Japan Team Goh / Audi R8 #5): "I
love this track and the race was a lot of fun. Our car was in a very good
condition. I am sorry to miss third place in the driver’s point
standings by just one point.”
Rinaldo Capello (Audi Sport
Japan Team Goh / Audi R8 #5): "At the beginning everything was perfect.
But then we lost nearly two laps by unlucky manoeuvres of the safety car.
I think we should go back to the old rule, so that the safety car goes
in front of the leader and not somewhere in the middle of the field –
otherwise the race outcome can be unfair. We tried for our first LMES
victory here, but it did not work out, although we pushed to the very
end. But the season was fantastic for us – the highlight of course
winning at Le Mans.”
Kazumichi Goh (Team Director Audi Sport Japan Team Goh):
"I am satisfied with the result. Audi again managed a double victory.
I am sorry for Allan and Pierre. It was a shock when I saw what happened.
It could have been a good fight for victory between all three Audi. It
has been a fantastic year for us: winning Le Mans made my lifelong dream
come true. I congratulate Sam Li and the Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx."
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "It
was nice to make the 50th victory of the Audi R8 a double one. It was
again a perfect team performance and an exciting race. All this on a race
track, which is ideal for sportscars. It was a pleasure to see four nice
races in the first LMES season. I think in this way we satisfied the expectations
of all spectators and did something to raise the standing of sportscar
racing.”
The result at Spa-Francorchamps
1 Davies/Herbert (Audi R8) 144 laps in 5hrs 58m 55.262s
2 Ara/Capello (Audi R8) - 1 lap
3 Minassian/Campbell-Walter (Zytek) - 5 laps
4 Frei/Hancock/Cochet (Courage) - 7 laps
5 Stack/Hignett/Collini (Zytek) - 8 laps
6 Erdos/Ramos/Newton (Lola-AER) - 8 laps
7 Bouchut/Lamy/Zacchia (Ferrari) - 12 laps
8 Belmondo/Gosselin/Eyckmans (Courage) - 15 laps
9 Ortelli/Collard (Porsche) - 15 laps
10 Enge/Pergl/Goueslard (Ferrari) - 15 laps
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