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21.03.2004 BARRON CONNOR RACING DELIGHTED WITH A CLASS SECOND PLACE FINISH ON THEIR SEBRING DEBUT

Frank Biela joined an elite club and Allan McNish made a triumphant return to sports car racing Saturday as Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx won the 52nd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the opening race of the 2004 American Le Mans Series season.

Meanwhile, Johnny O'Connell became the first driver to score six class wins in the legendary Sebring event as he drove a Corvette to his third straight GTS class win.

O'Connell teamed with Ron Fellows and Max Papis to take the GTS class win in a Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, finishing fourth overall and winning the class by 22 laps. "It's amazing," he said. "I've been fortunate to have excellent cars. The C5-R is one of the most important cars in history, and our new Michelin tires made a huge difference."

"Fourth overall is pretty impressive," said Fellows. "Pit stops in the are were flawless. Sebring is a tough race, but we've learned how to win. We were more careful getting out of the pits after the clutch problem on the #4 car. We have to say thanks to Michelin, we couldn't have done this without them. We need them to win Le Mans, it is part of the evolution of the program."

Meanwhile, John Bosch, Danny Sullivan and Thomas Biagi, in the surviving Ferrari 575 GTC, scored a sensational second placed in the GTS class, marking a remarkable start for the new team.

"This is great", John Bosch said. "We came here with brand new cars that ran here this week for the first time. To finish second then in such a tough race is a fantastic compliment to everyone who was involved here at the track this week and a great motivation for the future." The second car of Mike Hezemans, Ange Barde and Jean-Denis Deletraz had dropped out after 101 laps with front suspension problems.

Exactly 50 laps adrift of the Barron Connor Ferrari came the third place GTS finisher, the ACEMCO Motorsports Saleen S7R of Terry Borcheller, Johnny Mowlem and David Brabham.

In GT, the sole Italian representative, the Risi Competizione Ferrari 360 Modena driven by Ralf Kelleners, Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, Matteo Bobbi, survived a hectic race to come home 7th in class, 13 laps down on the winning Porsche 911 GT3-RS of Timo Berhard and Saacha Maasen.

American Le Mans Series, Round 1: 12 Hours of Sebring - Race Result, 20.03.2004

1. (2) Allan McNish, Scotland; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Frank Biela, Germany; Audi R8 (LMP1), 350.
2. (1) JJ Lehto, Finland; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi R8 (LMP1), 345.
3. (4) Johnny Herbert, England; Jamie Davies, England; Guy Smith, England; Audi R8 (LMP1), 338.
4. (10) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Max Papis, Italy; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS), 329.
5. (6) Joao Barbosa, Portugal; Rob Barff, England; Martin Short, England; Dallara-Judd LMP1), 326.
6. (3) James Weaver, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Andy Wallace, England; Lola-EX257-AER/MG (LMP1), 323.
7. (9) Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Vic Rice, San Rafael, CA; Michael Lewis, San Diego, CA; Riley & Scott MkIIIC-Elan LMP1), 321.
8. (20) Timo Bernhard, Germany; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 317.
9. (11) Christophe Bouchut, France; Jean-Luc Blanchemain, France; Roland Berville, France; Panoz GTR1-Elan (LMP1), 317.
10. (44) Romain Dumas, France; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 317.
11. (24) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Craig Stanton, Long Beach, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 311.
12. (22) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Darren Law, Canada; Jon Fogarty, Palo Alto, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 311.
13. (43) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Leo Hindery, New York, NY; Peter Baron, Deerfield Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 309.
14. (28) Justin Jackson, Buford, GA; Tim Sudgen, England; Brian Cunningham, Danville, KY; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 307.
15. (17) Danny Sullivan, Louisville, KY; Thomas Biagi, Italy; John Bosch, The Netherlands; Ferrari 575 GTC (GTS), 307.
16. (23) Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Matteo Bobbi, Italy; Ferrari 360 Modena (GT), 304.
17. (5) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Duncan Dayton, North Salem, NY; Larry Connor, Centerville, OH; Lola B160-Judd (LMP1), 302, Engine.
18. (21) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Cort Wagner, Pacific Palisades, CA; Kelly Collins, Corona Del Mar, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 302.
19. (31) Piers Masarati, England; Ian Donaldson, Scotland; Gregor Fisken, Scotland; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 299.
20. (33) Neil Cunningham, New Zealand; Keith Ahlers, England; Adam Sharpe, England; Morgan Aero 8 (GT), 281.
21. (26) Romeo Kapudija, Lincolnwood, IL; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Dorsey Porter, Jr, Cincinnatti, OH; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 275.
22. (15) Justin Wilson, England; Milka Duno, Venezuela; Phil Andrews, England; Lola B2K/10-Judd (LMP1), 270, Driveline.
23. (16) Ian James, England; Mike Borkowski, Phoenix, AZ; John Macaluso, Winter Haven, FL; Lola B2K/40-Nissan (LMP2), 264.
24. (32) Christopher Stockton, England; Gareth Evans, England; Amanda Stretton, England; TVR 400R (GT), 262.
25. (41) Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Johnny Mowlem, England; David Brabham, Australia; Saleen S7R (GTS), 257.
26. (18) Mike Fitzgerald, Fountain Hills, AZ; James Gue, Athens, GA; Bill Rand, Dallas, TX; Lola B2K/40-Nissan (LMP2), 248.
27. (13) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; William Binnie, Portsmouth, NH; Rick Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Lola B2K/40-Judd (LMP2), 232.
28. (35) Rob Wilson, England; Frank Mountain, England; Robert Brooks, England; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 215, accident.
29. (37) Alex Caffi, Italy; David Warnock, England; Tracy Kohn, Metairie, LA; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 214.
30. (42) Jeff Bucknum, Lake Havasu City, AZ; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Pilbeam MP91/Nissan (LMP2), 181.
31. (27) Robin Liddell, Scotland; Peter Boss, Naragansett, RI; Hugh Plumb, Chadds Ford, PA; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 167, Drive shaft.
32. (40) Jean-Philippe Belloc, France; Kevin Allen, Atlanta, GA; Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Dodge Viper GTS-R (GTS), 121, Accident.
33. (29) Michael Caine, England; Lee Caroline, England; Bob Berridge, England; TVR 400R (GT), 120, Electrical.
34. (19) Jason Workman, Gainesville, GA; Bobby Sak, West Bloomfield, MI; Scott Bradley, San Jose, CA; Lola B2K/40-Nissan (LMP2), 108, Gearbox.
35. (7) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Didier de Radigues, Belgium; Jan Lammers, The Netherlands; Lola EX257-AER/MG (LMP1), 106, Driveline.
36. (14) Mike Hezemans, The Netherlands; Ange Barde, France; Jean-Denis Deletraz, Switzerland; Ferrari 575 GTC (GTS), 101, Front Suspension.
37. (25) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Peter Cunningham, West Bend, WI; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 100, CV Joint.
38. (38) Marc Bunting, Monkton, MD; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Jim Matthews, Boca Raton, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 94, Accident.
39. (39) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS), 83, Clutch.
40. (8) Michael Durand, Wayland, MA; Chad Block, York, PA; Georges Forgeois, New York, NY; Riley & Scott MKIIIC-Elan (LMP1), 62, Drive Shaft.
41. (36) Tony Burgess, Canada; Philip Collin, Park Ridge, IL; Grady Willingham, Birmingham, AL; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 47, Engine.
42. (12) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Derek Hill, Santa Monica, CA; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Lola B2K/40-Nissan (LMP2), 12, Transmission.
43. (30) Jay Cochran, New York,NY; Ed Zabinski, Miami, FL; Damien Faulkner, Ireland; Lotus Elise (LMP1), 7, Transmission.
44. (34) Gunnar Van der Steur, Chesapeake City, MD; Eric Van der Steur, Spartanburg, SC; Lola B2K/40-Nissan LMP2), 2, CV Joint.