« We are ready for the race ! »
Marco Werner of ADT Champion Audi 
By Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy Margot Orenchuk

VANCOUVER, Canada (May 20, 2004) – Twenty-two days til the green flag drops on the 2004 running of the 24 Hours du Mans, and Marco Werner is ready for action.  Although this will be his first Le Mans race with Champion Audi, he’s no stranger to the 8 mile circuit in the south of France.  In 2002 he came 3^rd there with the Infineon Joest Audi team, and in 2003 he came 4^th with the privateer Japanese Audi Team Goh.  And as ALMS fans know well, after starting the 2003 season with a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, he finished it as the 2003 American Le Mans driver champion (with Frank Biela, who has now moved on to the European DTM).  RFM caught up with Marco to get his thoughts on the Le Mans test day in April and a look forward at the race to come. 

Margot Orenchuk:  Was there a significant handling change to the car for you at Le Mans with the new wing configuration from last year? 

Marco Werner:  Thank God - there isn’t any change in the rear. The rear is very stable with less wing. The Audi engineers did a great job. 

MO: How much time did you get in the car at Pre Q? Was it enough to get done what you needed to? 

MW:  OK, the time in the pre Q is never enough. But I mean our lap times were OK and all drivers were happy with the set up. We are ready for the race. 

MO:  How did you find the atmosphere at Pre Q this year? Does it feel a bit different for you coming back as a privateer team?  

MW: No, there was not a different atmosphere. Also last year I was already in a privateer team: Audi Sport Japan Team Goh. 

MO:  Who was in the car when you were hit?  

MW:  What do you mean? The problem with the damaged gearbox?? That was JJ in the beginning. A “normal” problem with (blind) GT driver… you also have seen this at Sebring… 

MO:  What was the team working on in the afternoon that slowed the pace down so significantly compared to the morning times? 

MW:  First of all, it is normal that the track in the morning is slower as in the afternoon. Le Mans isn’t a permanent racetrack. It’s dirty and slow in the morning. In the afternoon you have more and more rubber from the race tires and by that a better grip level. Also the team had worked well and made the car faster and better by making experiences round by round. 

MO:  Now that you have seen who else is out there, which team do you think will be your biggest rival in June? 

MW:  I think for the whole race only the Audis are the frontrunner. So the other Audi teams will be the biggest rivals. But in practice or in the beginning of the race we have a lot of cars (Lammers-Dome, MGs, Zytek) in a good performance. 

MO:  How much more testing will you be getting in before the race? 

MW:  Unfortunately nothing. 

MO:  Do you know who will be qualifying the car yet – or when that decision will be made? 

MW:  No, I do not know yet. The decision will be made in Le Mans. 

MO:  Is the new gas tank size going to come into play at a track the size of Le Mans? Is this even a worry? 

MW:  Yes, now we are closer to each other. That’s the background of the rules. 

MO:  How is your hand? (We noticed it is still taped up.) 

MW:  Now the tape is off. But it will take some more time before everything will feel normal again with my fingers. But I think they are not a problem for the race. They are OK but they do not look very nice…and the training is still painful.

RFM thanks Melissa Grunnah and Marco Werner for giving us some of their valuable time, and we look forward to following Marco, and all of ADT Champion Audi, through their preparation and their race, beginning June 9^th, 2004 to the chequered flag on the 13^th.  Check back with us frequently to eavesdrop as the team prepares for the biggest challenge of the racing year: the 24 Hours du Mans.