22.08.2003 PRODRIVE HEAD FOR ROAD ATLANTA CONFIDENT A FIRST WIN IS NOT FAR AWAY
“For sure, I’m looking forward to going there. It’s a very, very fast, smooth track, which I think will suit us better than Sonoma and Trois-Rivières did. It’s a bit up and down, and there are parts of the track where the car will go light which makes it exciting, but pretty wide so good opportunities for passing! Not an easy track to prepare for but absolutely one of my favourite tracks in the world.”
Jan Magnussen’s words about the 14 turn, 4.048 mile Road America circuit at Elkart Lake, neatly sum up why all four of the Prodrive Ferrari drivers are anxious to get to the scenic Wisconsin venue.
After the excitement and tension of the grandstand finish at Mosport between Johnny O’Connell’s Corvette and the Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS driven by Peter Kox, when just 0.8 seconds separated the pair at the chequered flag, all expect the racing to be equally close at this weekend’s event. Over the last four rounds, the newcomers to the American Le Mans Series have gradually closed the gap in terms of competitiveness on their more experienced US rivals, and some mighty battles are expected on the track in both qualifying and the race.
Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell, comments: “It’s been a challenge, that’s certain. Everyone assumes, with the names involved in the programme, we’ve got enormous resources available to us but that’s some way from the truth. We are a privately funded team, and we’ve therefore had to work twice as hard with what we have available to get us to this stage of competitiveness. Pretty much everyone on the team does at least two jobs and there’s not one person who doesn’t play a crucial role in the running of the team, not least Frederic Dor of Care Racing, our client and owner of the cars, who has supported us and encouraged us from the very beginning.
“Our driver line-up is very strong and all four have been able to pool their knowledge for the common benefit of the team. Tomas and Peter obviously had a greater depth of knowledge where the car was concerned, and David and Jan have been able to give us invaluable help with their track and general ALMS experience. We’ve improved at every event, little by little, and now feel that we are really coming to terms with American Le Mans Series racing. The only thing missing now are victories, and I know they won’t be long in coming.”
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