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ALMS: Werner Rockets to Petit Le Mans Pole
Written by: Kevin Krefting   
10/04/2007 - 07:00 PM
Braselton, Ga.
 
Werner rewrote the qualifying record with his diesel-fueled Audi. (LAT photo) ยป More Photos

Marco Werner rewrote the history books at Road Atlanta on Friday with a record-breaking qualifying run for Audi in its diesel-powered R10 TDI at Petit Le Mans. Werner set a time of 1:08.906 to capture pole position for the 10th running of Saturday's 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic a race that Audi has never lost.

As expected, qualifying times were well under Allan McNish's previous mark of 1:10.379, set in 2000 in an Audi R8. Werner's only other pole position this season came in March at Sebring, the American Le Mans Series' other signature endurance race.

The fastest six cars Friday all were under McNish's former mark as the field attacked Road Atlanta's freshly paved surface. Werner outpaced Penske Racing's Romain Dumas by 0.133 seconds for pole position.

Dumas was the quickest LMP2 car at 1:09.039 to break Lucas Luhr's fastest qualifying time from last year by more than two seconds. The Frenchman and Timo Bernhard have won the last four overall races in the American Le Mans Series. They also lead the class championship.

Third overall and second in P1 was Dindo Capello, McNish's teammate in the second Audi, at 1:09.366. Ryan Briscoe in the second Penske Porsche qualified fourth overall and second in P2 at 1:09.462.

Andrea Bertolini shocked the field with a GT1 pole run in Lista Doran Racing's Maserati MC12. Bertolini, making his first start in the Series since the season-ending event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2005, posted a lap of 1:17.428. He was nearly a full second better than Corvette Racing's Johnny O'Connell, the hometown driver who toured the track in 1:18.415.

Bertolini raced full-season in the factory Maserati effort in the American Le Mans Series during the 2005. He finished third in class twice (at Road Atlanta in the spring sprint race and at Road America) and was fourth at Petit Le Mans. His lap Friday was the first non-Corvette GT1 pole position since Monterey last year.

Jaime Melo captured his fifth GT2 pole this year for Ferrari and Risi Competizione. The Brazilian driver piloted the No. 62 Ferrari F430 GT to a 1:21.660, good enough for a 0.138-second gap back to Dirk Muller in the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Ferrari.

Petit Le Mans qualifying results:

1. Marco Werner, Germany; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Audi AG/R10/TDI (P1), 1:08.906, 132.703
2. Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Patrick Long, Oak Park, Calif.; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:09.039, 132.447
3. Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi AG/R10/TDI (P1), 1:09.366, 131.823
4. Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Emmanuel Collard, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:09.462, 131.640
5. David Brabham, Australia; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Robbie Kerr, UK; Acura/ARX-01a (P2), 1:10.000, 130.629
6. Bryan Herta, Valencia, Calif.; Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Vitor Meira, Brazil; Acura/ARX-01a (P2), 1:10.223, 130.214
7. Andy Wallace, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, Pa.; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche
RS Spyder (P2), 1:10.499, 129.704
8. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Lola/B06-43/Acura (P2), 1:10.713, 129.311
9. Clint Field, Dublin, Ohio; Richard Berry, Evergreen, Colo.; Jon Field, Dublin, Ohio; Creation/CA06H/Judd (P1), 1:10.973, 128.838
10. Greg Pickett, Alamo, Calif.; Klaus Graf, Germany; Memo Gidley, San Rafael, Calif.; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:11.031, 128.733
11. Stefan Mucke, Germany; Danny Watts, UK; Jan Charouz, Czech-Republic; Zytek 073/Zytek (P2), 1:11.058, 128.684
12. Tom Chilton, Horely, UK; Darren Manning, England; Zytek Z07S/Zytek (P1), 1:11.166, 128.488
13. Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:11.555, 127.790
14. Jamie Campbell-Walter, England; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Christophe Tinseau, France; Creation CA 07/Judd (P1), 1:11.976, 127.042
15. Ben Devlin, England; Jamie Bach, Saukville, Wis.; Raphael Matos, Brazil; Lola/B07-40/Mazda (P2), 1:12.053, 126.907
16. Michael Lewis, San Diego, Calif.; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, Az.; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, Wa.; Creation CA06H/Judd (P1), 1:14.755, 122.320
17. Didier Theys, Belgium; Fredy Lienhard Sr., Switzerland; Andrea Bertolini, Italy; Maserati MC 12 (GT1), 1:17.428, 118.097
18. Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga.; Ron Fellows, Canada; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:18.415, 116.610
19. Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:18.602, 116.333
20. Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Johnny Mowlem, England; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (GT2), 1:21.660, 111.976
21. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Peter Dumbreck, Scotland; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari 430GT (GT2), 1:21.798, 111.788
22. Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, Calif.; Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:21.938, 111.597
23. Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Tom Milner, Leesburg, Va.; Graham Rahal, New Albany, Ohio; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:22.124, 111.344
24. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:22.158, 111.298
25. Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, Calif.; Joey Hand, Sacramento, Calif.; Tom Kimber-Smith, England; Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 1:22.667, 110.612
26. Darren Law, Phoenix, Az.; Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, Calif.; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, Calif.; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:22.914, 110.283
27. Nathan Swartzbaugh, La Habra Heights, La.; Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, Ga.; Lars Nielsen, Denmark; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:23.120, 110.010
28. Tim Pappas, Boston, Mass.; Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, Fla.; Marc Basseng, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:23.688, 109.263
29. Tracy Krohn, Houston, Texas; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Darren Turner, England; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (GT2), 1:24.987, 107.593
30. David Robertson, Ray, Mi.; Andrea Robertson, Ray, Mi.; Arie Luyendyk, Jr, Phoenix, Az.; Panoz Esperante GTLM Elan (GT2), 1:33.366, 97.937
31. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Chapman Ducote, Miami, Fla.; Dodge Viper (GT2), 0, 0