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A brief word with
JJ Lehto
June 12, 2004 – 8:15 p.m. – JJ Lehto gives us an
update on the accident in the No. 2 Champion Audi and his drive, as well as
an assessment of the current situation (in which Marco Werner has placed the
car in P16 after beginning at P43).
Margot Orenchuk: What happened out there, JJ?
JJ Lehto: Somebody blew the engine in front of me and the track was
just full of oil; and there were no flags at all to warn us.
MO: You had to sit there quite awhile; did you notice if any of the
turn workers had any communication equipment to be warned by race control of
any oil on the track?
JJ: No, all I wanted was a tow truck to get me back out there and
back to the pits.
MO: Before the incident, you were having quite the battle with
McNish. It looked like fun out there!
JJ: It was good! But we were just racing safely; there wasn’t too
much pushing, the car was good, it will be capable of and very good at
nighttime. So that was what I was waiting for.
MO: You were running very close and well. Is the car running well?
JJ: Yes, it’s fine.
MO: Thanks JJ, and we will see you in a few hours.
T hree for the show
JJ
Lehto, Marco Werner
and
Emmanuele Pirro of ADT Champion Audi
By
Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy Margot Orenchuk
 LA
SARTHE, France (June 10, 2004) --
Champion ADT Audi drivers JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and Emmanuele
Pirro sit down and talk about the qualifying to come with RFM.
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"Winning is the biggest thrill of all"
Greg Martin, Engine Technician and
Tireman, ADT Champion Audi
By
Kate Shaw
Photos © David Babcock
 LA
SARTHE, France (June 10, 2004) – When Greg Martin was introduced to me,
he said “G’day,” but when he was introduced as an Australian, he was quick
to retort, “No, I am a Kiwi!” Although Martin retains the Kiwi flavour to
his speech, he has lived in the States for many years. He comes from an
impressive racing background which includes Champ Cars and sports cars
alike. He worked with Brad Kettler at Essex Racing in 1986 and for five
years with Rohr Racing, and when the Champion Audi team were formed,
naturally his old mate thought of him. He’s been with ADT Champion Audi for
about 4 years, where his main responsibility is looking after the mechanical
aspects of the engine: checking the seals, changing parts, tightening and
loosening, making sure everything is as close to perfection as it’s likely
to get in this life.
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"Just being a part of Le Mans is kind of
amazing"
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 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. --> MORE
"The most important part
of Le Mans is the final 24 Hours."
Kaye Wilson, Team Coordinator,
ADT Champion Audi
By
Kate Shaw and Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy Margot Orenchuk
 LA
SARTHE, France (June 9, 2004) – “I call myself Team Coordinator,” says
Kaye Wilson. “It’s kind of difficult to know what to call me, because I look
after the drivers too and a TC doesn’t look after the Drivers. I don’t
really have a title.”
If ADT Champion Audi could give Kaye a title, it would probably be “Your
Majesty.” There isn’t anything in the team that she can’t handle. She began
at the team in March 2001, as coordinator and major problem solver, working
with everything from the needs and requests of the drivers to the VIP
program of the sponsors. In addition to ADT Champion Audi, Kaye coordinates
the Porsche VIP program and the whole of the Michelin panoply of racing –
F1, Superbikes, 500cc Grand Prix, Le Mans and the Rallye Race of Champions.
Here we find out how she got started and what makes her so valuable to ADT
Champion Audi.
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A
helping hand
Jacky Carrie, R8 Helper, ADT Champion Audi
By
Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy David Babcock
 LA
SARTHE, France (Audi Hospitality) (June 9, 2004) – In a sport where time
is measured in .001ths of a second, everything possible must be done to make
sure the ADT Champion Audi R8 is as perfect as it can be. Jacky Carrie is
the man who makes the finishing touches to the car when it comes in and
before it goes out again: he works as, among other things, the team
detailer. Carrie has worked for 5 years in the Champion Audi dealership run
by Dave Maraj in Florida, maintaining the showroom in perfect condition and
the cars in their most attractive, bandbox fresh way; when Champion Audi
decided to return to La Sarthe, they tapped Carrie as the best man to do the
job for the ADT Champion Audi team.
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Working
toward one shining moment
Champion Audi prepares for Le Mans
By
Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy Margot
Orenchuk and Champion Audi
 TORONTO,
Canada (May 22, 2004) – Those who line the track at Le Mans, or who lean
close to their television to follow the progress of the cars, no doubt have
a certain appreciation for the beauty, dash and drive of the car, the driver
and the event as they meld into a beautiful whole. But nobody can match the
feeling shared by the “team around the team” watching the culmination of a
job that began before the eau de champagne from last year’s race has
completely left the air. “Le Mans,” says Champion Audi Technical Director
Brad Kettler, “is the Holy Grail to us. I want to prove to the world just
how good a racing team we are!” And very hard work it is, too, as complex as
choreographing a ballet or putting together the mass of detail that go into
the making of a blockbuster movie. Here’s just a taste of what goes into
putting Champion Audi on the winning track at Le Mans.
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«Our
motto is no extraordinary effort.»
Brad Kettler, Technical Director, ADT Champion Audi
By
Kate Shaw
Photos © Davi Babcock
 LA
SARTHE, France (June 10, 2004) – Perhaps the busiest man at Le Mans this
week is the Tech Director of Champion Audi, Brad Kettler. He was here with
the team at its first outing in 2001 – which was decided upon after Sebring
2001. “We learned so much in 2001 that really helped us when we returned in
2003,” he explained. “And not only about racing or the car! We learned a lot
logistically too. We are extremely fortunate that Mr. Maraj [owner of the
Champion Audi dealerships] is committed to our team and willing to invest
whatever it takes to be a winner. In 2001 we learned that there was such a
limited amount of time between Road Atlanta and Le Mans that we really
needed two sets of everything – and that alone was a four month job. And
when I say everything, I mean just that: from toilet paper and aspirin,
stationery and office supplies, to every nut, bolt, cable and washer used by
anybody anywhere on the team.”--> MORE
"We are ready to go"
Keith Branasford, Gearbox Technician and Tireman, ADT Champion Audi
By
Margot Orenchuk
Photos © Margot Orenchuk
 LA
SARTHE, France (June 9, 2004) -- One of the mechanical team (yet the one
person no one wants to have actually work this weekend) at Champion
Audi is Keith Branasford. He is the Gearbox Mechanic; and his job certainly
became one of THE most important when the ACO changed the rules this year
and decreed that you may not change gearboxes in the 2004 race, only rebuild
them. And that is what Keith’s specialty is. He sat down and spoke to RFM
about what his background and function is within the team.
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Doctor of Speed
Vincenzo Tota, M.D., Team Doctor, ADT Champion Audi
By
Kate Shaw
Photos © Margot Orenchuk
 LA
SARTHE, France (June 11, 2004) – Dr. Vincenzo Tota isn’t only a doctor
of medicine – he is also a doctor of speed. That is, he was a racing driver
before he became a doctor! He specialized in off-road racing; he’s done the
Paris-Dakar (and would like to do it again), and in 1987 he won the Camel
Trophy. These days he races powerboats. So it’s no use a driver saying, “You
don’t understand” to him. He most certainly does. Dr. Tota is in fact the
team doctor for BMW, but since they are not racing here, he has been
contracted to work for Champion Audi. He’s been a doctor for 15 years and
medicine is definitely his passion; there’s no chance he’ll give up medicine
for a career as a racer.--> MORE
"We are the innovators."
Stefan Huewe, Pit Setup and Refuelling Team,
ADT Champion Audi
By
Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy David Babcock
 LA SARTHE,
France (June 10, 2004) – Stefan Huewe started out racing motocross in
South Africa on a 250 cc bike, but his love for cars began around the age of
5 in his father’s garage. “I decided to stop racing on bikes,” he said,
“because racing on bikes involved too many knee operations!” He ran his own
racing team for 8 years in South Africa, and is a Master Mechanic.
Huewe was born in Germany and grew up watching the 24 Heures du Mans,
idolizing the drivers and imagining what it would be like to become involved
in the biggest race in the world. But he never imagined the amount of work
that goes into the preparation of a racing car.
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Here's to Mum and Dad
What it takes to feed and cater for the love of
ADT Champion Audi
By
Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy Margot Orenchuk
 LA
SARTHE, France (June 10, 2004) -- Diana and Stu are the dynamic
duo-catering powerhouse that spearhead Champion Audi’s corps of staff that
looks after the feeding and hospitality of the team. From dawn until well
after sunset these unsung heroes are serving up unending meals for hundreds
of drivers, media, VIPs and tires changers. As gasoline is required to run
the R8s, so is food required to run our bodies, and Mum and Dad are around
to fill the bill.
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Dear Diary
Day 1 at Le Mans with ADT
Champion Audi
By
Kate Shaw
LA SARTHE, France (June 9,
2004) – Mon cher diary:
Here we are at sunny Le Mans, France, for our total surround coverage of ADT
Champion Audi as they make the annual dash from set-up to Victory Podium.
The team have been in town for three or four days, but the rush only really
began today, the first day the cars will be going on the track. Brad
Kettler, the team’s Technical Director, has a saying: “No extraordinary
efforts.” That is, they come to Le Mans so well prepared that they are well
able to deal with any of the inevitable derangements to their plans without
getting their overall program off the rails. (Just wait until you read my
interview with Mr. Kettler. Your eyes will revolve like pinwheels.)
Our day with Champion Audi began at 9:30 a.m. at Audi Hospitality in the
paddock, with a meeting of our RFM team with Melissa Grunnah, the Media Rep
for Champion Audi. She had a list of those we had requested to interview,
and had scheduled times for many of them already; although there were a few
who were so busy currently that they would have to be caught between acts,
no one had said No; and what was even better, she had a number of other
interviews to propose and the people were there waiting! In quick succession
we were granted interviews with Greg Martin, a Kiwi now living in the States
who is responsible for the mechanical part of the engine, and on race day
for the air jack and the left rear tires; Stefan Huewe, Master Mechanic,
responsible for pit setup and substitute on the refuelling team; Jacky
Carrie, the detailing man; Brad Kettler, Tech Director and Generalissimo;
Kaye Wilson, responsible for overseas logistics and herding the drivers; Dr.
Vincenzo Tota, the Team Doctor; and Diana (also known as” Mum”) in charge of
the very important department of catering. You will meet and get to know
each of these members of the ADT Champion Audi team as the week goes on.
Every one of them was eager to talk to us about what he or she does in the
team, and in every case we were both interested and amazed at the complexity
of their jobs and the way they fit seamlessly together into a framework
that, in a short time in racing years (compared, for example to Joest Audi
that was) have made giant strides to a competitive place at the front of the
grid. There’s a constant movement in both the Champion Audi hospitality and
in their pits – drivers, mechanics, engineers, administrators, people
carrying mark-ups of posters and decals to be approved – people saying “sign
this please” or “may I have a copy of this, please” or “when do we eat?” or
“Have you seen Mike?” And always there was an answer, without a raised
eyebrow or a raised voice to be seen or heard.
Although we have not yet met all the members of ADT Champion Audi, we have
come to recognize them when we spot them walking from Here to There – and
what is more impressive, they are beginning to recognize us. In the next 5
days you will recognize them too – along with our interviews, we’ll be
showing you David Babcock’s exciting photos of the team at work and “kicking
back”, and of the car in anger and at rest, being tweaked, rebuilt, rewound,
polished, pushed around and speeding down the Mulsanne at Warp Factor 2. You
have a lot to look forward to, and I hope you’ll come back every day to see
what each day brings.
We’re off to First Night Qualifying – the first chance to actually watch the
cars of the 2004 Le Mans 24 Heures in action! Meet us back here to see how
it all comes out.
« I
believe that one Audi will win
the race ! »
Emanuele Pirro of ADT Champion Audi
By
Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy Champion Audi and Noel Bradford
 VANCOUVER,
Canada (May 27, 2004) – Those who have followed the American Le Mans
series in North America are very well acquainted with Emanuele Pirro. He was
ALMS champion in 2001, racing with Frank Biela (now racing for Audi in the
DTM) and was an outspoken proponent of the concept of Dual Championship for
the two drivers who share the driving duties in the series all year, which
now is the rule. A seven time competitor and 3 time winner at La Sarthe,
Pirro returns to Le Mans in 2004 once again with ADT Champion Audi, rejoined
by J.J. Lehto, his teammate from last year, and Lehto‘s ALMS partner Marco
Werner. Always ready with a quip, M. Pirro entertained us all at the press
conference in 2003 Friday before the Big Show -- and then jumped into the
car and kept the excitement going, finishing on the podium third overall in
the First Car Not a Bentley. We caught up with him between Le Mans
Pre-Qualifying and Le Mans for his thoughts on the new ADT Champion Audi and
a look forward to the 2004 race.
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« 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 3rd
there with the Infineon Joest Audi team, and in 2003 he came 4th
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. --> MORE
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