American Le Mans Series -- New England Grand Prix News and Notes

The 2006 New England Grand Prix marks the American Le Mans Series' third visit to the eight-turn, 1.54-mile Lime Rock Park course. Six previous event winners are entered: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin (2004, 2005 GT1), Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas (2005 GT2), Ralf Kelleners (2004 GT2) and Chris McMurry (2005 LMP2).
• For the second year in a row, the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall crown was captured by an American Le Mans Series entry – Audi Sport North America – with its innovative diesel-powered R10 TDI in a historic performance that included a 1-3 LMP1 finish. It was the sixth Audi overall triumph in the last seven races at Le Mans and third consecutive title. And, for the eighth straight year dating back to the founding of the American Le Mans Series in 1999, including the last six years in a row, Series teams swept to multiple class championships in the world's greatest motor race. Audi R10 TDI teammates Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela each won at Le Mans for the fourth time while Marco Werner won for the second straight year.
In GT1, Corvette Racing swept to a third consecutive Le Mans title after a race-long battle with Aston Martin, another Series mainstay. It was the fifth Le Mans victory for Olivier Beretta, the Series' all-time career victory leader, and the fourth La Sarthe triumph for teammate Oliver Gavin. Gavin and Beretta have won the first three races of the 2006 American Le Mans Series season in GT1 to hold the points lead and are riding an eight-race winning streak dating back to last season. The Corvette and Aston Martin two-car teams will renew their season-long GT1 championship fight at Lime Rock Park.
In GT2, a Team LNT-entered Panoz Esperante GTLM, making its second Le Mans start, swept to victory to join marques such as Porsche and Ferrari in the Le Mans record book. The race and the emotional victory marked the 10th anniversary of Don Panoz's involvement in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During the weekend, he was awarded the prestigious ‘Spirit of Le Mans' Award.
• Now factory affiliated in the R10 TDI endeavor, Champion Racing is in the midst of a unique and challenging competitive period: Competing at Le Mans with two new innovative diesel-powered Audi R10s and winning, and then bringing the most successful racer in sports car history – the venerable R8 – to Lime Rock Park for its farewell run. With the R8 prepped for Lime Rock prior to Le Mans, Champion personnel were scheduled for an R10 TDI training session after Le Mans at Audi AG in Ingolstadt, Germany before traveling directly to Lime Rock for Round No. 4. Beginning with the Utah Grand Prix on July 16, Audi Sport North America Team Champion will field two new pioneering race cars – the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDIs that were introduced to the racing world in March at Sebring and delivered a history-making overall victory The New England Grand Prix marks the final race for the Audi R8.Chronicling the R8: Considered the most innovative and productive race cars in sports car racing history, after six-plus years of competition and a Series record 49 victories since its introduction (2000) and five overall Le Mans championships, the New England Grand Prix marks the final race of the Audi R8's three-race ‘farewell tour.' The R8 is unbeaten in its first two visits to Lime Rock Park dating back to the inaugural event in 2004, and is on a three-race win streak in 2006 in the LMP1 class. Allan McNish and Dindo Capello piloted the R8 to an overall win at Houston and another class win at Mid-Ohio.
Audi considers the R10 TDI a "completely new design" compared to the R8. One major example: the integration of the monocoque and bodywork. On the R10 TDI, the majority of the carbon-fiber parts belonging to the monocoque are suspended directly in the air flow. There are five other areas of significant differences in the R10: 1) a second roll-over structure; 2) a more pointed nose configuration; 3) a stepped front splitter; 4) a longer wheel base; and 5) revised mounting of the rear wing on the car's center line.
For Lime Rock, Audi Sport North America has created a unique design for the R8 for its farewell race. The names of all 18 drivers who won a race in the R8 will be visible and the names of the 23 race tracks worldwide on which the R8 won – from its debut at Sebring (March, 2000) to the its 62nd overall win at Houston (May 12).
• Seven of the 12 2006 winners at Le Mans have American Le Mans Series victories as a part of their front-running résumés, and the 12 Le Mans winning drivers this year have amassed a total of 315 Series starts, a competitive compliment to the growth and status of the American Le Mans Series on the world racing stage.