ALMS

Road America: Drivers' pre-event quotes

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: ROAD AMERICA There may not be a track in North America that gets a driver's heart thumping and pounding more than Road America. A drive around the circuit offers four miles and 14 turns of adrenaline-pumping thrills that go ...

Published: Aug 9, 2007, 4:13 PM

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS: ROAD AMERICA

There may not be a track in North America that gets a driver's heart thumping and pounding more than Road America. A drive around the circuit offers four miles and 14 turns of adrenaline-pumping thrills that go up, down, around and through rural Wisconsin. No wonder it's a favorite of drivers in the American Le Mans Series, who get their annual crack at Road America in this weekend's for-hour Generac 500.

Tim Pappas, Team Trans Sport
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2)

"Road America is definitely one of the most European-like tracks because it's long and flowing, it has a lot of elevation change, and it's got a lot of constant-radius corners. Some of the American tracks are a little choppier and smaller. Road America just is big and beautiful and you can really stretch your legs on it."

Jim Tafel, Tafel Racing
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2)

"It's very reminiscent of Le Mans. Being able to go down some of those back straights gives you the feeling with the trees going by. It's just a really fast track and it's really smooth. We just spent two days testing there a couple of weeks ago, so I'm looking forward to going there for the race. We should have a good setup."

Butch Leitzinger, Dyson Racing
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)

"Road America is like a throwback to what sports car racing has been since the 50s. A very fast track, kind of meandering through the beautiful hills of Wisconsin. It doesn't have any of the silly chicanes and stupid little things that slow you down. There's a 160 mile per hour kink on the back straight and they don't make any apologies for it. It's really what sports car racing should be. Instead of trying to make everything like F1 where every turn looks the same, it's a track that has real character."

Sascha Maassen, Penske Motorsports
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)

"It's a very, very quick track. Unfortunately it has some straights in there, which is not good for us, but we will cope with that. It is a nice track, nice event, and we won there last year with our car in our class, so I'm looking forward again to go there."

Emanuele Pirro, Audi Sport North America
Audi R10 TDI (LMP1)

"When you drive an Audi, of course, your only aim is to win the race. I remember last year was a really good race. I was fighting with Dindo Capello and then I beat him on the restart with 15 laps to go. It was really very nice and a lot of joy. Personally, I like Road America very, very much. It is one if not the, my favorite circuit in the U.S. I'm really looking forward to going there, and let's see."

Adrian Fernandez, Lowe's Fernandez Racing
Lola B05/40-Acura (LMP2)

"I love Road America. That's one of my favorite race tracks. It's so fast, it's so nice. It's always been my favorite race track. Now that I've raced in Le Mans, probably Le Mans in France is my favorite now because it is so fast and so long. But here in America, Elkhart Lake is one of the best tracks to race in. I'm looking really forward to racing these cars there because it's fantastic; the speeds and with the downforce power you have with these cars, for the driver it's just fantastic."

Seth Neiman, Flying Lizard Motorsports
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2)

"Road America is probably one of the most famous race courses for serious international sports car racing in the United States. It's a very historical track, very fast, very difficult. We have not done as well there as we like, which is a shame because we do love to race there. This year we have Jorg Bergmeister running with us in the 45 car and he is widely regarded as one of the Road America specialists. So we're hoping to get up there and learn a few tricks from Jorg."

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Generac 500 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. The four-hour race is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 11. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage at americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA Live Timing & Scoring. NBC Sports will broadcast the race from 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 12.

-credit: alms

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