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History of the Cadillac Grand Prix Continued...
On Friday, July 19, the Cadillac Grand Prix Lifestyle Expo opened at 10:00 a.m. Fans were able to experience the auto racing lifestyle. The air-conditioned facility hosted celebrity and driver Autograph sessions as well as exhibits from Michelin, Extreme Street, Corvette Heritage Tour and many other manufacturers.
The Cadillac Grand Prix began Friday, July 19, with a roar. As early as 8:30 a.m., residents along Oklahoma Avenue were treated to the thunderous roar of high-performance engines as the practice runs for Saturday and Sunday’s races were taking place.
Some residents could feel their windows shake as the race cars sped less than a hundred yards from their front doors. A combination of particle boards and fiberglass, the sound barriers were still under construction as the drivers took to the track Friday. Lencheski hoped to have the work finished before Saturday. Chris Lencheski, Chairman of Cadillac Grand Prix, said that the sound barriers between the residents and the race track would ease some of the noise. The sound barriers are something new for grand Prix racing.
Bobby Goldwater, of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, said that everything that could be done was being done to ease the impact on the neighborhood. “We’ve had requests for hotel rooms and even a request to take someone to the library [transportation away from the event and even free tickets to the race].”
City inspectors found the sound wall constructed in the Kingman Park neighborhood measured only 584 feet long with sizable gaps between some sections, and over the weekend, at least nine large panels were removed, in some cases for photography reasons. District tests recorded during the event registered 93 to 105 decibels, far exceeding the city's 60-decibel limit for residential areas.
Under brutally hot and humid conditions the practice race was immediateley followed by three sanctioned races including the BF Goodrich Trans-Am Race featured on CBS with temperatures above 100 degrees F on the track.
Mike Fitzgerald, of Phoenix, Ariz., topped a 46-car SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring in preparations for Sunday’s Round Six race.
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Audi driver Frank Biela, two weeks after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third straight year, set a inaugural track record record to take the pole position for Sunday's American Le Mans Series.
''It's hard to compare this race to Le Mans, but this may be our most difficult race of the season,'' said Biela, who co-drive an Audi R8 Prototype with Emanuele Pirro of Italy. ''At Le Mans, you have long straights that you can relax for a moment, but you can never rest on this circuit because it is so short."
Driving the No. 81 Team FBR/Trans Sport Lexus IS 300, Fitzgerald turned a lightning-quick lap of 1:27.100 (68.652 mph) early in the afternoon session to lead all cars on the day. It marks the second time in three races that the Lexus has led practice, but it still seeks its first pole and win in World Challenge competition.
Rookie Marc Kirberg, of Corte Madera, Calif., was second fastest in his No. 37 SSF Imported Auto Parts BMW 325is with a time of 1:27.430 (68.393 mph). Will Turner was third in his BMW, followed by the Mazda Protégé of Chuck Hemmingson and the Acura Integra R of Peter Cunningham.
July 20, 2002 Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., dominated qualifying to capture the Woody’s Ice Pole Position for this afternoon’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT event at Washington. Johannes van Overbeek, of Danville, Calif., and Jeff McMillin, Erie, Pa., completed the top three.
Pobst, driving the No. 22 1st Interstate Inn/3R Racing Porsche 911 Cup, wasted no time in jumping to the top of the time sheets on his first hot lap. He then improved on his own time the next time by, setting a fast lap of 1:17.970 [76.691 mph] that would hold up for the remainder of the 20-minute qualifying session.
“My SCCA autocross upbringing from 20 years ago really helped me learn how to get cars around hairpins quickly,” said Pobst. “Temporary circuits are very friendly to me for the same reason. I can learn a course fast. To me, it doesn’t look like a road—more like a video game with the walls. I pick out points on the walls and the track to use as reference.”
Phil McClure, of Floris, Iowa, and series point leader Michael Galati, of N. Olmstead, Ohio, completed the top five.
July 20, 2002 5:25 p.m -- Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., led flag-to-flag in Saturday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship race at the Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., vaulting Porsche back into the Manufacturers’ Championship lead. Johannes van Overbeek, of Danville, Calif., finished second for the fourth-straight race, followed by Jeff McMillin, of Erie, Pa.
Driving his No. 22 1st Interstate Inn/3R Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Pobst jumped to the lead at the standing start and never looked back, holding van Overbeek off for a 0.761-second win, averaging 74.136 mph in the 30-lap, 49.83-mile contest.
“The key to today was my car’s handling,” said Pobst, who also won at Lime Rock Park this season. “There are a number of super-tight hairpins and one high-speed sweeping corner, so it’s tough to get the balance right in both. Everything was getting hot--the brakes, the tires and the driver, but the car held up.”
While Pobst could stretch out to nearly a four-second lead at times, traffic played a major role, including the last several laps, which allowed both van Overbeek and McMillin to close.
“I really had to push at the end,” Pobst added. “Johannes [van Overbeek] and Jeff [McMillin] were right there. This is just a team victory. Sometimes the driver gets all the credit whether you win or lose, but this weekend was a team win.”
In his similar No. 81 Flextronics/Brocade/Shoreline Porsche, van Overbeek was able to keep Pobst in sight for most of the race, including his run at the end of the contest, with McMillin hot on his tail.
“I’d used up all my brakes by the end of the race and was just hanging on,” said van Overbeek. “When you’re second, you just hope something happens--traffic, a caution, anything.
“This was a really well thought out event. It’s clear that a lot of preparations were made and money was put into the right places to make a great first-year event here in Washington , D.C. ”
McMillin was able to move his No. 25 JJ’s Snacks/McMillin Motorsports BMW M3 past van Overbeek at the start, actually bumping Pobst as the field went into turn one. However, van Overbeek was past three corners later, and McMillin dropped off the fight until the last 10 laps.
“They caught some traffic near the end, and I had just been hanging on,” said McMillin, who earned his third podium finish of the season. “We just didn’t have the braking capability that the Porsche has. Johannes [van Overbeek] can stop a car like nobody else.”
Peter Cunningham, of W. Bend, Wis., moved from his seventh starting spot to finish fourth in his record 100th SPEED World Challenge start driving a supercharged Acura NSX. John Young, of Woodside, Calif., equaled a career best, finishing fifth in his Saleen SR.
Bob Miller, of Ellicott City, Md., was awarded the Rogaine “Hair Raising Pass of the Day” for his move on Gennady Soykher, of Abingdon, Md.
Point leader Michael Galati had a difficult day, finishing sixth after spinning back to ninth from fourth. His fight back to sixth maintained his point lead over Cunningham, but it shrunk to 17 (168-151). McMillin closed to within two of Cunningham, with 149. Van Overbeek is fourth, with 146. The win by Porsche vaulted it to the top of the Manufacturers’ Championship, with 38 to Audi’s 31. Acura is third, with 25.
The first Cadillac Grand Prix Celebrity Pro-Am was held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening. Thirteen celebrities--from supermodels to astronauts to senators paired up with a professional driver in a racermatch-racing format with one driver at a time taking a fast-as-you-can-go 1.661-mile lap in a 5-liter, 250hp Panoz GT RA race car. Speeds at times reached 100 mph. Driver times were added together, and the lowest combined (03:07:270) was declared the winner.
The unusual pairing of US Rep. Richard Prombo (R-Calif) and Smashmouth lead singer Steve Harwell paid off with a one-second team win in.
Second place went to the Number 14 Panoz car driven by Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford and Emmy nominee Tim Matheson of TV's The West Wing.
Third went to perhaps the most unusual pairing of rapper Coolio with NASA's three-mission veteran astronaut Pierre Thuot.
Super model Kim Alexis hit the wall in the final turn enroute to the checkered flag. Unhurt, both she and the car were done for the day. Piloting a spare, teammate actor William Shatner ("Star Trek's" Captain Kirk) pushed his legacy way beyond the final frontier with a heroic attempt of the third fastest lap (92.978 sec) of any driver, but was unable to make up the difference. The team finished next to last.
"My racing started months ago back in Los Angeles where the Grand Prix people invited me to drive in their driving school for four days, and I had a great time and wrecked three cars, and then I drove in their race and had one of the most ecstatic experiences I've ever had," Shatner said. I think events like the Grand Prix in Washington is a real example of showing the rest of the world that our country is strong."
Best overall time was clocked by Harwell at 89.769 sec.
Other celebrity teams included local Washington radio personality Mark Kessler with DC restaurateur and TV's "Iron Chef" Todd English, 90210 star Ian Ziering with Melissa Joan Hart of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and ex Redskins great George Starke and DC radio personality Jimmy Alexander.
Prior to competing, each celebrity completed a required one or two-day racing school training session at a Panoz Racing School facility at Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway or Texas Motor Speedway.
The celebration continued on Saturday evening at the Cadillac Grand Prix "Stars & Cars Party" at Dream Nightclub. Fans, racing stars, politicians, and media celebrities were shuttled from the circuit at RFK to Dream Nightclub, one of the largest clubs in Washington D.C. area. 52,000 square feet of entertainment space on four floors was a perfect way to end the first day of incredible racing. Hats off to a lavish buffet, valet parking, and a professional staff to making the party a memorable one.
"This party will be the talk of the town long after the event," said DC ONE's Publisher Masoud A.
On Sunday, July 20 Robbie Knievel performed a motorcycle jump prior to the American Le Mans Series race at 9:30 a.m. The jump was his first record-breaking attempt since the summer of 2000 and his first jump ever in Washington, D.C.
In the first major automobile race held in Washington in more than 80 years, it was appropriate that an American-made car painted in a stars and stripes motif came home the winner in the inaugural American Le Mans Series. More importantly was the manner in which that victory was achieved as Brabham and Magnussen engaged in a no holds barred, race long fist-fight with both factory Audi's R8s, Magnussen and Brabham used pit strategy and hard driving to win. Run in tough hot and humid conditions, the race featured seven lead changes with Panoz leading 84 of the 140 laps. After a titanic battle with both Audis , Magnussen took the chequered flag over Tom Kristensen by only .766 of a second driving a trusty Panoz LMP-1 Prototype.
The race came alive after the opening round of pit stops, Magnussen had mercilessly harried pole sitter Frank Biela, who shared a car with Pirro, and Kristensen's partner Rinaldo Capello for the lead before passing both when Capello made contact with the Champion Audi of Stefan Johansson who was just about to go a lap down. Capello said the stop/go penalty decision was “a joke” but little did the Danish driver realize the 25 second delay would work in his and Kristensen’s favor later on.
So close was the battle that Kristensen’s eventual deficit counted as a safe distance. By the start of the final hour the three protagonists were back as one and remained virtually that way until the end.
Brabham crossed the line with three seconds in hand over Kristensen as the race went green courtesy of a fortuitous stop just as the safety car was about to come out. Four laps later, that gap was down to next to nothing and one more time around the tight and twisty circuit Pirro made it a three-way battle. The three cars remained locked together for the next 10 laps, Brabham remaining resolute in the lead.
Brabham diced with Emanuele Pirro for several laps, losing the lead on lap 73 and re-passing the Italian with a brilliant move in traffic two laps later. Emanuele
With an hour left when all cars went to the pits again on lap 93. A crash between GT class cars brought out a caution yellow flag and forced all cars to the pit lane.
The Panoz team elected to give up the lead and put on new Michelin tires on the car in addition to adding fuel, and also chose to make a driver change and put Magnussen back into the car for Brabham.
"When that caution came out, we thought it would be a good idea for Jan to get back in because he had had a chance to rest," said Brabham. "We also had the chance to put new tires on the car."
Magnussen had driven the first 55 minutes and thought he was finished for the day.
During their pit stop, the two Audis took on fuel only. Kristensen, who had halved a 30-second deficit to the leaders, emerged in the lead courtesy of his earlier delay. The race officials mistakenly opened the pit lane under yellow after the two leaders had gone by, which allowed the third-placed car to leapfrog to the front. The mistake penalized Team Panoz seven seconds behind the two Audis when the race was restarted, but the 'Dane' Magnussen then chased down the two Audis within seven minutes, eventually regaining the lead on lap 104 and held off Kristensen to the finish.
"Kristensen was able to stay close, but I was able to get far enough away with just a few laps left and I knew he couldn't make a move." said Magnussen. "The tires [Michelin] made a big difference."
"I thought we had a chance today, but I really didn't expect to be leading more than half the race," Magnussen said. "It was a fantastic battle. Tom got past me at one stage in traffic but I was able to get him back straight away. Once we got into clean air I was able open up a bit of gap but it was a brilliant fight.Michelin did a outstanding job for us today and the entire crew were amazing. I am very happy."
"This result is just an amazing performance from the entire team," Brabham said. "To take the stars and stripes 'Spirit of America' car to victory lane in the first ALMS race in Washington D.C. - particularly after 9-11 last year - is just a fantastic feeling. For their first race, the entire Washington event went remarkably well and was a real showcase for sportscar racing. This race has an enormous future and I am just so proud that our team was able to win the first event."
``He drove a fantastic race, but technically we won,'' Kristensen joked. ``But, obviously, there was a stop-and-go.''
Pirro, meanwhile, trailed home eight seconds further back in the second Joest-run Audi R8 after settling for third in the closing stages.
No one else was in the same race as the top three. Cadillac claimed an encouraging fourth with Max Angelelli and Christophe Tinseau on the first outing of the Cadillac prototype Northstar LMP 02 in high-downforce trim after making steady improvement through the weekend.
The Johansson/Johnny Herbert Audi a disappointed fifth.
RACE RESULTS:
1. (3) Jan Magnussen, David Brabham; Panoz LMP-1 (LMP 900), 140, 2:45:02.49, 0.766 second.
Driver standings: (LMP 900) 1. Kristensen, 114; 2. Capello, 111; 3. Biela, 101; (LMP 675) 1. J. Field, 114; 2. Devlin, 94; 3. Knight, 82; (GTS) 1. Fellows, 134; 2. O’Connell, 128; 3. Collins, 113; (GT) 1. Maassen, 118; 2. Luhr, 115; 3. Bernhard, 103.
Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell's Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, scored their fourth win in five ALMS races this season in the GTS class with an eighth place finish overall. They won by a lap over fellow factory Corvette drivers Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim. Emanuele Naspetti and Mimmo Schiattarella finished third in the Team Olive Garden Ferrari 550 Maranello after giving the Corvette's a sustained race-long challenge. For the first time. The Italian duo finished in tenth spot overall, just one lap behind the Pilgrim/Collins ‘Vette and one lap ahead of the Konrad Motorsports Saleen.
Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen won for the third time this season in the GT class, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 RS for Alex Job Racing. As was the case in the Prototype class, the GT cars had a three-car battle throughout the event, with The Racers Group Porsche of Kevin Buckler and Brian Cunningham leading part of the race before ultimately finishing second. The second Job team car driven by Jorg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard finished third. Overall the leading GT trio finished 13th, 14th and 15th.
The father-son driving team of Jon and Clint Field won the LMP 675 class for smaller Prototypes in the Intersport Racing Lola EX257-AER MG in 12th overall. It was the second win of the season for the elder Field, who was part of the winning team in the season opening 12 Hours of Sebring, but Clint Field scored his first ALMS win.
The Intersport team owed their participation in Sunday's race to rival MG LMP675 outfit Knighthawk Racing who loaned them equipment and parts after a sizable qualifying shunt on Saturday. Sadly Knighthawk's generosity and sportsmanship was not rewarded as Steve Knight and Chad Block retired after just 36 laps.
The Pilbeam MP84-Nissan of Chris McMurry, Bryan Willman and Jeff Bucknum were second in the LMP675 class, followed by Ben Devlin and Will Langhorne in a Lola B2K40-Ford.
The oppressive heat took its toll on both drivers and machinery with those in the enclosed, front-engined GTS machines most affected. Such were the temperatures that at one point, the Marino Franchitti/Tom Weickardt crewed American Viperracing entry sat silently on pit road, perfectly healthy but with two exhausted drivers. Franchitti and Weickardt eventually recovered enough to complete 108 laps in the oven-like machine.
The featured race event of the weekend, the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) included three of the four class winners-- Audi, Corvette and Porsche--from the recent 24 hours of LeMans in France. These top contenders competed among the field of approximately 40 cars on the 1.7-mile, seven-turn circuit. The Cadillac Grand Prix race was televised live on NBC and CBS and aired the Trans-Am race.
On July 19-21 the Innaugral Cadillac Grand Prix was held on the grounds of RFK Stadium, which featured races of three sanctioning bodies, American Le Mans (ALMS), Trans-Am and World Challenge GT. It was the first major auto-racing event in the D.C. metropolitan area in more than 80 years.
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