Lehto, Werner set ALMS record with Portland win.

Monday, 26th July 2004

JJ Lehto and Marco Werner set an American Le Mans Series record Sunday with their fourth consecutive overall race win as they took a hard-fought victory in the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway.

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JJ Lehto and Marco Werner set an American Le Mans Series record Sunday with their fourth consecutive overall race win as they took a hard-fought victory in the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway.

Their ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 spun twice after contact with other cars and was penalised once for contact during the two-hour, 45-minute sports car race event on the 1.944-mile track, all during Lehto's stint behind the wheel.

However, the two Lola cars from Dyson Racing that had battled the Audi through the entire race each experienced problems in the last hour of the event and fell from contention. There were eight lead changes among the three cars and the Champion team earned Michelin yyres its 50th overall race win in ALMS history.

"I am never going to forget this race," said Lehto. "It was just one of those races. Lots of hits and spins, this is like nothing I've ever experienced before. It was a lot of hard work. I think it's the first time in my whole racing experience that so much has happened in one race."

"(Watching) was very difficult," said Werner, who drove the last 50 minutes. "I nearly had a heart attack. My heart rate was probably higher than (Lehto's). It was very fun watching, it was the best race I've ever seen."

James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger finished second, 1m 08.446s behind, in one of the Dyson Lola EX257-AER/MG machines.

For much of the first hour of the race, Lehto battled back-and-forth with Chris Dyson, driving the Lola that co-driver Andy Wallace had qualified on the pole. Dyson led 54 laps, many of them with Lehto behind him trying to pass. The car ultimately finished 12 laps down after losing time in the pits with a mechanical problem.

"It was such great fun," said Dyson. "It was a good clean fight. JJ had the edge. But remember, catching up and getting passed are two different things. I hope everyone enjoyed watching."

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