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Mid-Ohio ready for return of ALMS

American Le Mans Returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course DUBLIN, Ohio (June 21, 2004) - The carryover from the world's most popular sportscar race will hit high gear this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, during the ...

American Le Mans Returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

DUBLIN, Ohio (June 21, 2004) - The carryover from the world's most popular sportscar race will hit high gear this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, during the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio, June 25-27.

The American Le Mans Series follows rules set by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the sanctioning body for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Under those rules, four classes of cars will compete for both overall and class wins at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during a 2 hour, 45 minute race.

The series returns to north-central Ohio after a one year absence, when Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro championed their Audi R8 to an overall win in June of 2002.

Many of the teams and drivers competing this week have just returned to the U.S. following the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including three of the four class winners - Intersport Racing (LMP2), Corvette Racing (GTS), and Peterson Motorsports/White Lightning Racing (GT).

One of those drivers, Intersport's Clint Field of Dublin, Ohio, is looking forward to racing at home.

"It means a lot to be able to race at home, especially after winning at Le Mans," said the 21-year-old Field. "I'm thankful that we're going to have the chance."

The young driver was quick to point out that being near home doesn't guarantee anything, especially on a track as difficult as the 13-turn, 2.25-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

"Everybody thinks that because we're so close, that we're always out here testing, and that we've just raced hundreds of times here," he said. "I did a school race here once, the ALMS races in '01 and '02, and a couple of others, and maybe two test days, and that's it. My dad hasn't raced that much here. But it's still home for us and you always want to do well at home."

Adding to the weekend's on-track excitement will be seven support races run by the SCCA Speed World Challenge Series, Star Mazda Series, Panoz Racing Series, Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship, and Mazdaspeed Miata Cup.

Off the track, there are plenty of activities available for spectators to get up close and personal with the teams and drivers from all the series at the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio. The FANatic Forum will take place in the Honda Pavilion at lunchtime on Saturday, June 26. This event allows fans to ask questions of the biggest names in the American Le Mans, including Scott Atherton (CEO and President of the American Le Mans Series), and drivers Clint Field and J.J. Lehto. Also on Saturday, the American Le Mans Series autograph session will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the paddock. The Speed World Challenge will host their autograph session at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets for the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio are available by calling 1-800-MID-OHIO or online at www.midohio.com.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a 2.4-mile, 15-turn permanent road racing circuit in Lexington, Ohio. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional riders and drivers. Mid-Ohio's 2004 schedule features seven spectator events, including AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days (July 16-18), Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire (July 23-25), Mid-Ohio Road Racing Classic (August 6-8), Unlimited Audio and Accessories presents the Triple Crown Tuner Challenge (August 21-22) and SCCA National Championship RunoffsÒ presented by Kohler (September 20-26).

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Inc. is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver instruction, corporate, and family entertainment events throughout the year.

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