22.07.2004 David Brabham, winner of the first ever Portland GP AND the current lap record holder, is looking to lead Lamborghini onto the podium when the ALMS series returns thE NORTH EAST CIRCUIT this weekend

David Brabham will lead the American Le Mans field to the north-east of the country this weekend, as the Portland Grand Prix returns to the schedule for the first time in three years.

A two-time winner of the event while piloting the unique Panoz prototypes, Brabham won the first ever Portland Grand Prix in 1999 and the most recent race there during the 2001 season, at which he set the series' PIR track qualifying record.

This weekend, however, the Australian won't be at the wheel of a prototype, and will instead be attempting to win the GTS class in the Krohn-Barbour Racing Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT which made its ALMS debut earlier this year.

Brabham is one of four drivers to have taken at least one class win each season since the series began in 1999, but is still seeking his first win of 2004. Hoping to add another season to that accomplishment, he is excited to return to Portland for another possible win, but also admits that the track is very difficult.

"I love the area at Portland," Brabham said, "Every time I go there, it's not just the track, it's the area, the people - I so look forward to going there. The track is not like a big, big track. It's a small track, but quite a demanding little track - and it's really hard to actually get the car to find those last few tenths because everyone's so close around there.

"It's really an interesting track too. The toughest part of the track is after the chicane, the series of corners that you have to round there is probably where a lot of the time comes. You know, if you can get your car to work really well through there, that you have gained a lot of lap time."

Brabham and co-driver Peter Kox believe that they will have a good chance of a podium this weekend, particularly as the Lamborghini earned its first podium by finishing in second place at Infineon Raceway last Sunday, albeit in the hands of team-mate Track Krohn and David McEntee.

David Brabham reflects of the Grand Prix of Sonoma:

"What a crazy weekend we all had at Sears Point. Dale Earnhardt Jr was the guest driver for the Corvette team this weekend, driving with Boris Said, and it was great to see him come a have a go in 'our' series.

"Junior's involvement was great news for everyone, as the media hype was in full motion. Ticket sales were 100 per cent up from last year, which I am not sure had a lot do with the Lambo's arrival (although, we did get a lot of people admiring the cars!).

"Once again, just as it had been at Mid-Ohio and Lime Rock, it was great to see the reaction the Krohn-Barbour cars received. People were saying things like 'love the sound of your car, man' or 'these cars look awesome, man' and 'beat the 'Vettes, man'.

"However, I could not believe the amount of hysteria around a particular person. At the drivers' autograph session, the queue for Jr's autograph was a mile long - and full of people wearing the famous #8 NASCAR T-shirts, hats and body tattoos! It was interesting to me to see all this and try to work out why it happens. But that's another story.

"The bad part of this story is that, in the pre-race warm-up, Junior had a big, nasty, accident. He hit the wall backwards and pushed the rear end of his 'Vette in so badly that it ruptured the fuel tank. The car was fitted with cameras in the cockpit facing his helmet and rearward under the floor, and they showed the rear spinning round and then hitting the wall.

"The next thing you see is fuel gushing out of the back and you know it looks bad. As the car came to a stop, it burst into flames - and the camera facing Junior's helmet shows flames engulfing the whole cockpit. The strange thing was that he wasn't trying to get out. I thought for second that he was very calm, but I think he was knocked out. It was every driver's worst nightmare, getting stuck in a fire. He did get out, but he was burnt. There are lots of stories going round as to how bad he was, but I just hope it wasn't too bad.

"Back in the Lambo camp, we had some development bits to try this weekend. New rear wing and suspension parts all helped to make the car a little easier to drive, but not a lot quicker. It has, however, given us some direction on where we need to go with the car.

"Qualifying was different this weekend, as it featured two hot laps for each car to determine the grid. I got first crack at it in our car, and was pleased with the lap - but it wasn't good enough. The car is still difficult to drive on the edge, although it is getting better.

"The race was also a short one. Peter Kox started the car but only did 15 laps and then had oil coming out the rear. It was differential oil - and it ran out. So in the garage the went.

"We went back to the pits to give Tracy Krohn and Dave McEntee some support, although they were taking it easy as it was the first race for the rebuilt no 6 car. Other cars around them were having trouble, though, and it slowly dawned on us that a podium was a real possibility for them. The no 4 'Vette hit Dave and went in the wall, but rejoined the race and proved to be the biggest threat. I think Dave got a little mixed up on where he should be, so the no 4 car was now behind and catching our no 6 at a great deal of knots.

"Fortunately, they ran out of time and Tracy and Dave finished second. It was a great result for the team, and it was their first race as well."