Jerome Freeman, Parts Manager, ADT Champion Audi
By Margot Orenchuk
Photos © Margot Orenchuk

LA SARTHE, France (June 9, 2004) -- Jerome Freeman, Parts Manager extraordinaire is amongst one of the busiest members of Team ADT Champion Audi. He works for both the ALMS and the Speed World Challenge branches of the racing arm of Champion. 

Margot Orenchuk: So Jerome, how did you get involved in Champion Audi? Was racing always a passion for you?  

Jerome Freeman: I went to work in the dealership in 1993 and I worked there for 3 years I think, and we had a much smaller scale in parts with racing. The 24 hours of Daytona, or Sebring, would come up and Mr Maraj would just kind of gather volunteers and I got involved in it then. I left the dealership, and worked at a few other places, and I was actually talking to another guy at the dealership about coming back to do some sales work and Mr. Maraj asked me if I wanted to give this a try and I said, “sure!”. And this is my 5^th season now. So, it’s been a lot of fun.  

MO: So, what are your responsibilities? You take care of both Champion Audi and the Speed World Challenge teams, don’t you? 

JF: Well, I helped set this up, to “pull the team alive”. I helped set up the hospitality, my main function is purchasing. But this team keeps me away so much, the last couple of years, those guys (SWC) when I am there and available I give them everything I can. I’m still involved with them, I’m just not as available as much as I used to. 

MO: How many people are directly working with you? 

JF: None, just me. 

MO: Have you been to Le Mans before?  

JF: Just last year.  

MO: Where you pretty much in awe when you got here? 

JF: Absolutely. It was just overwhelming - it’s definitely an experience. If you love the sport you should be involved in it. I’ll tell you when it hit me. We parked this bus last Thursday. And seeing this (hospitality tent) go up, and seeing all the surrounding hospitality, especially the Corvette go up, the construction of all that go up, in unbelievable. It’s a wild place. 

MO: How did you come in and prepare for Le Mans? Why is this the race of all races for the team, when it really doesn’t count towards the championship in the ALMS? 

JF: You absolutely want to win this one. For me, it’s a matter of being as prepared as we can. Having everything here that the team might need. And that is basically from the information the team gives me and there are things I think of on my own; I’m also involved with the logistics of the equipment to get it here. A lot of the airfreight, I am directly involved in that; there are many things. But for me, that is the most stressful; you are shipping t 2 buses full of things across the Atlantic. They go by sea. The trailers left first; the preparation was gruelling -- we were preparing for both this and Sebring at the same time. The Le Mans trailers left I think 4 or 5 days before our trailers left for Sebring. 

Preparation is pretty tough. You have to separate everything. Anything we didn’t have duplicates of we had to buy; it was just endless. We didn’t think we would get through it, but we did. So that was the main preparation; you worry about stuff getting here safely, then we did fly some things here, I think 9 large cases of stuff, and some things we just couldn’t duplicate.  

MO: Are your main responsibilities the same in Sebring as here? 

JF: Yes. I handle the team radios at the track, I manage them; I’m not really involved in the car radios technically, I manage the frequencies and the equipment and all of that. In the pit stops I’m the fire bottle guy. 

MO: So in Miami last year, you were the one the put out Johnny Herbert?  

JF: Yep, that was me. 

MO: Is there any other position on the team that you would like to be?  

JF: I don’t know; I’ve got enough now! I enjoy what I do. I oversee set-up at the US events. 

MO: What do you think is the best part about Le Mans? 

JF:  It’s a gruelling event, but just being here, being a part of the history, there aren’t too many people that can say they have been part of this event. Especially at our level. It creates a tension around you because of the exposure and the expectations and what you can accomplish; just being a part of it is kind of amazing. We are just lucky to be here, absolutely. 

RFM thanks Melissa Grunnah and Jerome Freeman for their help with this interview at this very busy time, and we wish them all the luck in the 24 Hours of Destiny to come.