Sonoma, August 13, 2005
Audi "factory” driver Allan McNish and Stéphane Ortelli steered Audi
PlayStation Team ORECA´s Audi R8 to a last-gasp victory in a dramatic
1000 km race at Silverstone. Partly torrential rain caused many incidents
and Safety Car periods. Almost half of the race’s first three hours had to
be run behind the Audi RS 4 Safety Car. Having started fourth on the grid,
one of the full course caution periods cost the Audi pair almost a full lap.
Allan McNish, however, was able to recover the lost ground under
extremely difficult conditions in the second half of the race. With 35
minutes remaining, the DTM driver passed the leading Jamie
Campbell-Walter. After the last driver-change, Stéphane Ortelli was able
to defend the lead against Campbell-Walter´s attacks on the still damp
track, eventually crossing the finish line as the winner after an eventful six
hours. It was the first victory of the season for the Audi R8 in the Le Mans
Endurance Series (LMES), the first for the French Team ORECA with the
R8 and the 59th overall success for the most successful Le Mans
prototype ever.
Results and points
Silverstone (GB), 13 August, Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES) round 3
1 Allan McNish/Stéphane Ortelli (Audi R8) 151 Rd. in 5:51.09,527 Std.
2 Nicholas Minassian/Jamie Campell-Walter (DBA-Judd) + 6,569 Sek.
3 Joao Barbosa/Martin Short/Vanina Ickx (Dallara-Judd) - 7 Rd.
4 Claude-Yves Gosselin/Karim Ojjeh/Vincent Vosse (Courage) - 8 Rd.
5 Robert Pergl/Peter Kox/Jarek Janis (Ferrari) - 8 Rd.
Poinz standings after 3 of 5 rounds:
1 Boullion and Collard, 19 points;
3 Ickx and Short, 18;
5 Shimoda, 17; ...
12 McNish and Ortelli, 10.
Next race: Nürburgring (D), 4 September
|
