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Watkins Glen

Rolex

19/05/2001

Brief News

From Friday

Weather. Whether to go out straight away in Qualifying, or wait. Those who went out first did the right thing. Andy Wallace on pole, Dider Theys next for Doran / Lista, then...the JET BMW 5 liter.

Many cars held back to see what kind of times would be needed. Three laps into the Prototype session and a black flag waved. The rain changed from a fine mist to a total downpour.

“I did three laps all together, one warm up, one flying lap and I was ready to go even faster on the third lap when I saw the black flag, so I came in,” said Didier Theys. “That was it for me. It was good that we got out early or we would be sitting behind a lot more cars than just Dyson.”

Notable down the grid Qualifiers included the Saleen in 18th, Field and Gavin in 19th, the Weaver / Leitzinger Dyson car in 21st, and the new Ranch Resort Riley & Scott C in 23rd.

One incident involved the Schumacher Racing Porsche GT1. Larry Schumacher stated that the rear end of the car came loose and he went for a long slide. The team doesn’t have another rear piece. “There are very few of these cars in existence, there is someone in Canada that might or might not loan one to us, if they do we are back in.”

After the session, Andy Wallace said, “I haven’t really done much running in the wet and I didn’t see much of that lap but it was very, very exciting.“ Andy said that he has increased his carrot intake for the weekend. He hopes that this will help his night vision in the latter part of Saturday’s race.

At Turn 11 late in the evening practice, with darkness approaching, George Robinson locked up the brakes in the new R&S Mklll C and hit the Stryrofoam safety barrier. Robinson was fine. The team has decided to bring out their other car for the race (and start from the back). It was an inspired decision that saw them decide to bring the MKlll, at very much the last minute. The throttle stuck on the new car, which is already on its way back to Indianapolis for repairs.

The Schumacher Porsche will be ready to race.