"At the end of the day, it's the challenge."
Johnny Herbert of Champion Audi
By Margot Orenchuk and Jeremy Hansen
Photos courtesy Margot Orenchuk
MONTEREY, California (October 17, 2004) – There’s no doubt about it; Johnny Herbert is one of the best known names in racing today. From his comeback from a potentially career-ending accident in F3000 to a 10 year career in Formula One (who will forget seeing him being carried to his Benetton on race day? None of that ‘Too dangerous’ nonsense for Johnny!), to an exciting sports car career, including the Le Mans debut season with Team Bentley and many winning races with Audi, to races in the FIA-GT in the brand new Masarati … Johnny Herbert has been there and done that. After a successful 2003 season with Champion Audi, Herbert decided to take some time for himself and do a more limited season closer to home, chiefly the European races in the LMES and FIA-GT, this year, but fortunately for North America, he was enticed back to the ALMS for the final two races of the year in a second Champion Audi. RFM’s Jeremy Hansen and Margot Orenchuk met up with Johnny at Laguna Seca before the win he and Pierre Kaffer took (after a spin and fall to the back just to make it interesting) and get all the news about his 2004 and a hint of his plans for 2005.

Jeremy Hansen: Obviously the second place finish at Le Mans wasn’t what you were hoping for after your tremendous pole position winning lap, did winning the LMES championship make up for not winning Le Mans?

Johnny Herbert: Yes, I wouldn’t say it made up for it because Le Mans is the race if the year. It was nice to win a championship again, but it was a disappointment to not win the last 3 years. It was great to go the distance, and it was really nice to get the pole. 2nd place was unfortunate, we had mechanical issues, and it wasn’t anything on our part. And the LMES rounded off a nice year, in a way, because I am coming back into the ALMS to do these 2 races as well. But it was nice to win that Championship, which they haven’t had in Europe for a few years.

Margot Orenchuk: You said at Petit Le Mans, that you regretted leaving the ALMS.

JH: But that was my fault.

Q: Are you hoping to come back?

JH: I am hoping to be back – you will have to ask Dave [Maraj – Champion Audi team owner] what the situation is. I hope I can. I’ve got a good chance of doing it. I’ve got other little things going on as well. Probably at this stage, it’s much later that I thought it would be. I think he’s trying to sort out the 2 cars, so we will have to see what happens at the end of the day. I doubt they (Audisport UK) will be running in the LMES again. Veloqx will run the Audi UK team.

Q: Did you enjoy the revival of the 1000-kilometer races in the LMES this year?

JH: Ya, it was nice. It’s something that has always been nice having those longer races to do, there has always been in the sports car history to do a championship back in the 80’s like in Japan.

Q: How would you grade the LMES on its debut season?
JH: The competition was nice, but it really was just the 2 Audis and the Zytek. That car is blinding quick. It qualified over us 2 times in 4 races.

Q: Did that shock you?

JH: The Audi has a more competitive edge, as it stays together for the race. The Audis always win on that, overall, at the end of the day. Here, we had the one Audi and the Dysons, and now the Creation Autosportif Zytek. As the championship has run longer, obviously people have become more accustomed to the way it worked and have become more competitive because of it.

Q: After all these years is the Audi R8 still fun to drive and has it changed much over its life?

JH: Yes, it’s still fun. It’s a nice driving car. It’s very, very enjoyable to drive. And luckily, Audi have always fielded cars in the ALMS and Le Mans, and they have been helping the ACO continue the best in the sports car field. And getting back in one is always a very good feeling. Racing one is fun, it’s always close.

Q: And we are glad to see the second one back!

JH: And it helps fill out the field as well.

Q: Switching gears so to speak, you’ve also done some races in FIA GT this year. You’ve managed to land a seat in one of the more fascinating racecars of recent times, the Masarati MC12. Is this car the real deal?

JH: I had never driven those before. It was a bit of a learning experience. I had done about 15 laps before the first race. So for me, so it was all a bit new. I have enjoyed it. It was something completely different than I’ve ever done.

Q: What made you do it?

JH: At the time, I was not doing the ALMS. I had spoken to Champion about doing the 2 races this year and Masarati asked me about the same time actually, if I was available to do some races. I said it all depended on the dates, and it worked out that we didn’t have any conflicts, so I said, well, why not give it a go? I’m only doing 4 races for them this year. They aren’t looking for a manufacturer’s championship this year. That will be next year.

Q: Is it as competitive as it looks?

JH: It’s a very different animal than the R8 for example. I expected worse. It’s not that bad at all. I thought they would slide around a lot more. They are actually packaged very nicely.

Q: Will you be racing the MC12 next year as well?

JH: Not if I come back to the ALMS. There are too many conflicts.

Q: What’s it like not driving a “big” car?

JH: At the end of the day, it’s the challenge. It’s a challenge to do Formula 1, it’s a challenge to do Sports Cars, and it’s a challenge to do whatever form of racing you choose to do. So the Masarati in the FIA GT was another challenge for me.

Q: Do you miss Formula 1?

JH: I miss the cars. I enjoyed every one of my 10 years there.

RFM sports wants to thank one of the classiest and hardest working ladies on the grid, Kaye Wilson, for her kind assistance in securing this interview, and warm thanks to Mr. Herbert for his time for this interview on his busy race weekend. Congratulations on his race win! We hope to see him in the ALMS with Champion Audi again in 2005.