Vallelunga post-race press conference

Vallelunga, Italy - Sunday 2nd September 2001:

Drivers Present
LMP900 Gary Formato - Richard Dean
GTS Chris Goodwin - Ian McKellar Jnr
GT Magnus Wallinder - Terry Rymer

Congratulations to Gary Formato, Richard Dean and the Lansera Racing team on your victory here at Vallelunga. Were there any problems during the race?

Richard Dean - No, we didn't have any problems I don't think. There was a plan, we were asked to do a pace and we did exactly that. We made sure we didn't throw it away really because with traffic it is easy to make a mistake. Anyway I'll put you onto Gary who did most of the work.

Gary Formato - The car ran great, there was no hassles. Apart from keeping a close eye on the traffic and not rushing through it. I just had some fun, I quite enjoyed myself out there. I'm happy for the team.

Turning to the second placed team, the winner of the GTS class. Again congratulations, did you have any fears or problems?

Chris Goodwin - Well I was watching at the beginning of the race, I'm always worried when I'm watching, but really Ian had it completely under control, he controlled the pace of the race and kept the gap to the other Saleen car perfectly until the first round of pitstops which is when I took over. The other car elected just to do a fuel stop and no driver or tyre change so they left ahead of us. I managed to claw back some of the time we lost and I think I put him under a bit of pressure he managed to have a spin and that was it. We were able to take the lead, pull away, stay out of trouble the pressure was completely off us then, in fact the pressure was on them and they spun again. We had a plan, we stuck to it, it worked. They had a plan and it didn't work.

Terry Rymer - It was great to be third overall but the real achievement was in winning the GT category with such strong competition. Dumas and Kaufmann were fast and Freisinger was also fast. I was in the lead at the beginning, but Kaufmann caught me and passed and built up a few seconds lead. I knew his teammate would be a little bit slower. It wasn't a drama, I closed the gap up at the end of my first stint. Magnus went into the car and held our lead. It was perfect, the Harlow Motorsport Team worked really well, the Dunlop tyres were good. It was a tough race and very hot but I really enjoyed it. It is my first international win in cars, so I'm rapped!

Paco Orti was asked if he would race at Petit Le Mans and keep alive his slim chances of winning the ELMS GT Drivers Title.

Paco Orti - It depends on our performances in the Spanish GT Championship. We would like to compete at Road Atlanta but if the Spanish GT crown is still undecided, winning in Spain will be our priority.

Ray Mallock on RML winning the 2001 ELMS GTS title.

Ray Mallock - This is a very satisfying end to the season. It is our first venture back in sportscar racing since the late '80's and the Saleen that RML developed in conjuction with Saleen inc has proved to be a superb car for the job.

Ian McKellar has been the backbone of the team and it's satisfying to see him win the drivers championship and watch his development as a driver. He's only 23 and has a great future ahead. For Chris Goodwin it is a fitting end, Chris has helped us test the S7 and has driven every RML car in a testing and development role since 1993.

Team work is always a major feature of our business on and off the track and this has been demonstrated by pitstops and car preparation that is one hundred percent every time. Hopefully we can now race at Petit Le Mans and take on the Corvettes, we will relish that contest.

-ELMS-