 Herbert, McNish in Audi Clash at Le Mans Friday June 11th, 2004 By Rodolphe Landais
The two Audi R8s entered by British team Veloqx dominated practice and will start from the front row when the world's most famous endurance race starts at 1400 GMT on Saturday. Last year's British winner Bentley has not entered a team to defend its title. Herbert clocked the fastest time in 1:32.838 in Thursday's night session for the first pole position of his long Le Mans career. "The pole is very special. It's taken me 13 years to get here. And it was a nice battle with Allan and that's been nice. But pole is for the boys. The race is for the men," the former Formula One driver said. Herbert beat McNish, also a veteran of Formula One, in the first Le Mans Endurance Series race in Monza last month and will be hoping to repeat the feat at the weekend even though the main goal is for the team to win the race. Asked if they were likely to be subject to team orders, Herbert joked: "Yes, I get to win. No, there are no team orders. We all just go as fast as we can." Winner at Le Mans in spectacular fashion with a Mazda in 1991 - he fainted at the finish - Herbert has revenge in mind after finishing second in 2002 and last year. Surprising Zytek McNish also won once in 1998 in a Porsche and this time around can count on the experience of Germany's Frank Biela, winner in 2000, 2001 and 2002 in an Audi R8. German constructor Audi, who have not entered a factory team, can also look to the car entered by Audi Sport Japan and led by Seiji Ara, who was fourth fastest in practice. The driver line-up for that car will also feature Dane Tom Kristensen, who could equal Belgian great Jacky Ickx's record of six victories at the endurance classic with a win on Sunday. Kristensen's part in Bentley's triumph last year made him the first man to win the race four years in a row. The fourth Audi R8 at the start will be driven by Finnish former Formula One driver JJ Lehto. A surprise could come from British team Zytek, who long led the last practice session before the two cars from Audi UK took over. "I drove to the limit. I was lucky to have an all-clear lap after being stuck behind a Ferrari in a previous lap," said Australian David Brabham, who teams up with Briton Andy Wallace - in his 16 Le Mans - and Japan's Hayanari Shimoda. "The car is fine and the engine too. It'll be even better in race conditions," he added. Zytek is better known for its engines and is led by former Jordan engineer and team manager Trevor Foster. "We'll have to see how long the Zytek lasts. And there are some other fast cars. It's going to be a long 24 hours. But I'm going to enjoy it," said Herbert. Among the other favourites will be the Pescarolo Judd team led by France's Sebastien Bourdais.
Published at 15:11:51 GMT
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Britons Johnny Herbert and Allan McNish will continue their friendly rivalry at Le Mans over the weekend, each hoping to lead Audi to its fourth victory in the last five 24-Hour races.
(03-11-2005): 
