Three classes of cars run together, which can make things a bit confusing. The "P" category includes the Le Mans Prototype and World Sports Car type of pure racecars such as the Le Mans winning BMW V12LMR. The GTS category includes modified road cars such as Vipers, Corvettes, and Porsches with large displacement or turbo engines. The GT category includes modified road cars such as the BMW M3 or Porsche 911 with smaller displacement engines.

The site of round four was northern California's beautiful Sears Point International Raceway. This track is located in the wine country of Sonoma County north of San Francisco. The course is 11 turns with quite a bit of elevation change and has a very long stretch of fast esses. Definitely a demanding course, but one which the drivers all seem to enjoy. Great spectator and photography access around the course as well.

Much like at Sebring and Le Mans, at Sears Point the BMW team was the car to beat among the prototypes. The race was a 2 hour and 45 minute timed event. In the prototype class Steve Soper and JJ Lehto put the #42 car on pole and led virtually the entire race. Due to a late caution period (brought on Alex Caffi having a

frightening crash in a Ferrari 333SP) the finish was much closer than the race would otherwise have been with the winning margin less than 3 seconds over the #1 Panoz. In GTS Dodge Vipers were 1st and 3rd with a new Corvette taking second. In GT class the new Porsche 911 racing car made it's US debut and led all but the last lap when Hans Stuck made his way by in the BMW M3 to take the win. All in all a very exciting race despite BMW's dominance (the team car to the #42 didn't fare so though). The field was so full that teams were turned away after failing to qualify because there were more entrants than starting positions. This is something previously unheard of in US sports car racing. Nineteen prototype cars took the green flag for a very deep and exciting field.

The following are quotes from winning drivers in each class (from www.americanlemans.com news):

J.J. Lehto (#42-P BMW V12 LMR): "It was pretty easy. The car really behaved well. I wanted to get a good start and a little lead before hitting traffic. Panoz and Rafanelli were running well, but they couldn't catch us. There was a lot of slower cars and they really were polite. You had to take care of them; you had to make sure they saw you coming before you passed them. The prototypes were tough. They're always hard to pass because they take the air off your car. I only had one problem with a prototype; I don't know who he was but he wouldn't move over and I gave him my little greeting as I went by."

Steve Soper (#42-P BMW V12 LMR): "My old teammate made it pretty for me. I was a little concerned I wouldn't be sharp enough, but he gave me a good lead and a nice set of tires. I think I deserved to win, though, because I haven't won in two years." (on his near crash at the end of the carousel) "The Ferrari (Alex Caffi) was really moving, and I thought he was going to present a problem. I thought he might be on new tires or something. I got by him and I think he wanted to pass me back when the #24 GT Porsche (Jim Kelly) spun in front of me. There was a huge cloud of smoke. I wanted to go to the left but there was no room. I went right and just got through. The Ferrari was going like hell and tried to follow me. That was a big mistake; I knew the Porsche was going to come backward across the track. The Porsche had used up all the road and drove the Ferrari straight up the bank and he hit the wall hard. I saw it all in my mirrors." (how close did the Porsche come to him?) "He missed. Just missed."

Olivier Beretta (#91 Dodge Viper GTS-R): "The Dodge Viper was very quick. There was nice competition from the Corvette. It's good to have them here. Good team. Good drivers. A good week of competition." (on being a lap up with one lap to go after the final restart) "We are going so slow, I just look at my watch. Going slow like that behind the pace car, there is not much to do. Except going slow behind the pace car in the wet - then, you must always be alert."

David Donohue (#91 Dodge Viper GTS-R): "We expected the Viper to be strong throughout the race, and it's easier to make quick laps early before things get all mixed up. But it was a reality check for us. (Beating the Corvette) sure makes the win worthwhile. If you ever made a silly mistake, the Corvette was going to be there. Both their guns are loaded and they're going to come out blazing. It certainly brings a lot of attention to this class. It certainly makes the manufacturers happy. Having the Corvette here helps both us and them. We can't be complacent now because we're moving targets. As long as it keeps the accountants happy, we can make a living."

Hans Stuck (#9 BMW M3): "It was fantastic. A dream come true on the last lap. We had a plan to move right on the green. We were in close radio contact and as soon as I heard 'Green is on!' I was on the gas. I was alongside him at the green flag. In the first corner he (Cort Wagner) moved to the left, which he definitely should not have done. I went right past him on the right. We are [a] wonderful team. We get along very good. We have a lot of fun together but know when its time to work. I am so proud and happy to have Boris (Said) as my teammate. I would like to have his knowledge of this track, though. I asked him what short cuts he was taking around here but he wouldn't tell me." (about Sears Point) "I love this track. It hasn't been destroyed by silly chicanes as they have with other tracks."

Boris Said (#9 BMW M3): "I grew up following Hans Stuck. He was my favorite driver and I'm still in awe of him. BMW is the ultimate driving machine and Hans proved that today. Things went pretty good on one of my favorite tracks. I came here for the (Winston) Cup race and failed to qualify because I blew three engines. This makes up for that. Winning never gets old, and Hans did it on the last lap. It doesn't get any better than that. Everyone in sports car racing should thank Don Panoz for what he's done with this series. He's taken sports car racing from nowhere to what it is today in less than a year."

The next round in the series is round five in Portland Oregon at Portland International Raceway on August 1. All races in the series are covered live on web radio. Go to www.americanlemans.com to learn more about this exciting new series!

Photography and story by Mike Veglia. Mike is a professional photographer in the US and we hope to see more of his work on these pages soon. His work can be ordered at his own Web Site: Motor Sport Visions Photography - www.motorsportvisions.com

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