The competiton heats up at Road America

Liddell and Field Are Out for a Fifth Win in P2 Against a Formidable New Entry Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 19, 2004 - As the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) rolls into Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for this weekends Road America 500 presented by the Chicago Tribune, two-thirds of the current season is already in the record books. For teams looking to make a late-season charge to consolidate a points lead, or those hoping to move to the head of the pack, Road America will be crucial for establishing momentum for the races that follow at Road Atlanta, the higher-points, Petit Le Mans 10-hour enduro, and the season-ending, run-into-darkness, 4-hour race at Laguna Seca. Clint Fields Pirelli-sponsored Intersport Racing Lola B2K/Judd P2 team is coming off a fourbagger after another dominating class win at Mosport. While the team has won the P2 class in four of the first six ALMS races this year, it trails the points-leading Miracle Motorsports team in the season-long championship because Intersport finished third behind the winning Pirelli-shod Miracle entry at Sebring and suffered a rare mechanical failure at Lime Rock where Miracle won and the Intersport team recorded no points. And it isnt about to get any easier for Field and teammate Robin Liddell, who have shared all of the Intersport teams ALMS victories this year, because Miracle Motorsports will debut a new Courage Competition C65 prototype on American soil in this weekends race. Courages newest creation was built especially for LMP2 competition, and, more importantly, the Courage factory team raced the specific car obtained by Miracle this past weekend, winning the Le Mans Endurance Series race at Silverstone, England. Neither Field nor Liddell is taking this new competition lightly. Come Saturday, Field will be shooting for his fifth pole of the year in P2 and on Sunday Scotsman Liddell will be gunning for his fifth fastest P2 race lap. In GTS Terry Borcheller and Johnny Mowlem are hoping that the seventh race of the ALMS season will prove to be lucky for their Pirelli-shod ACEMCO Saleen S7R. While the two drivers have finished third a number of times this year behind the juggernaut factory Corvettes, including the most recent Mosport event, they are hoping to find the speed this weekend to move up a notch or two on the podium. Not as lucky are the two Pirelli-sponsored Lamborghini Murcielagos R-GTs of Krohn-Barbour Racing, piloted by David Brabham/Peter Kox and Tracy Krohn/Canadian Scott Maxwell. In Canada the team was forced to withdraw both entries when it was discovered that the rear suspension control arms were bending because of the severity of the loads they were subjected to on the demanding Mosport circuit. Unfortunately, new parts could not be designed in time for Road America so the team wont be back in action until Petit Le Mans. In recent years alone, Pirelli has won: Seven Sports Car Drivers' Championships and Manufacturers' Championships. The " Triple Crown" (Drivers', Manufacturers' and Team Championships) of the inaugural Grand American Road Racing season in 2000 with the Saleen/Allen Speedlab Team. Two-straight World Sports Car Championships for Manufacturers and Drivers with Fermin Velez racing Team Scandias Ferrari 333 SP in 1995 and Wayne Taylor driving Doyle Racings Oldsmobile Riley & Scott Mk III in 1996; while contributing significantly to Ferraris second WSC Championship in 1998 as Taylor and Doyle-Risi Racing won the WSC Team Championship. In fact, this latter car, which also won the prototype, class at Le Mans and overall at the inaugural Petit Le Mans will be on display in Infineons victory circle this weekend. Four-straight GTS-II Championships for Manufacturers and Drivers, including three straight by Larry Schumacher at the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR. Pirelli has won the 12 Hours of Sebring race overall several times, including back-to-back victories in 1995 and 1996. It also has numerous class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring, including three-straight wins in GTS-2 at Sebring from 1995-1997. Pirelli took a hiatus from sports car racing in America until 2002 when it returned to the American Le Mans Series. With several class wins and podium finishes already in 2004, Pirelli is setting up for even greater success as the ALMS moves to Elkhart Lake for the Road America 500. The race on Sunday, August 22 will be televised live on the SPEED Channel from 2-5 p.m. (EDT). Race fans can also listen to live coverage of the race on the ALMS radio web at www.americanlemans.com.