Portland: Testing starts Friday

ALMS Testing Starts Friday at Portland International Raceway

PORTLAND, Ore. (July 23, 2004) -- Testing starts on Friday at Portland International Raceway for Sunday's American Le Mans Series Portland Grand Prix. ALMS cars will have two hours of testing time starting at 12:50 p.m. (PDT) on the 1.944-mile road racing circuit located in a city-owned park at the northwest edge of the Rose City.

The race marks the return of world-class sports car racing to Portland for the first time since the ALMS last raced at the circuit in 2001.

JJ Lehto and Marco Werner, drivers of the ADT Champion Racing Audi R8, will be seeking their fourth consecutive ALMS overall race win, a feat that would establish a series record.

Official practice and qualifying will be held Saturday, along with a Fan Forum and an autograph session featuring all ALMS drivers.

Sunday's race starts at 1 p.m. (PDT) and will be a timed event of two hours and 45 minutes. SPEED Channel will have live, flag-to-flag coverage in North America starting at 4 p.m. (Eastern) while MotorsTV will have full live coverage in Europe.

The American Le Mans Series Radio Web will have live coverage of both qualifying and the race online at www.americanlemans.com.

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