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Hot
News & Press from Doran Racing
Doran-Lista Racing to Converge
At PIR Easter Weekend in Search of Points
LEBANON, Ohio, March 30
- Fredy Lienhard Sr. will
be coming all the way from
Niederteufen, Switzerland to compete in the Food
City 250 Grand American Rolex
Series race at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR)
April 8-10.
His co-driver, Didier Theys, will have a much shorter
commute.
The Belgium native who lives in nearby Scottsdale,
Ariz., says one of the
nicest things about racing at PIR is that for this
event, one of 12 in a schedule
which dots the nation and extends into Canada, he
can sleep in his own bed at
night.
Theys received a key to the city of his adopted hometown
of Scottsdale from
Mayor Mary Manross after the Doran-Lista Racing team
won the Rolex 24 Hours of
Daytona in 2002 and he went on to capture the driver
championship in the
series' top class. Earlier this month Manross
was re-elected for another term, and
Theys hopes she and other area residents will come
out to the track, located
in Avondale, Ariz., on Saturday, April 10 to cheer
him and Lienhard on and see
their new car, the Doran-Lista DORAN JE4 Lexus #27.
When Theys raced at PIR in 2002 he was driving the
Doran-Lista Dallara, a
completely different car. Co-driving with Fredy
Lienhard Jr., he qualified
fourth and finished second.
The series' rules changed last year and a new top
class, Daytona Prototype,
was introduced. Its ranks have swelled, and that
class now accounts for the
most cars in any of the event's three classes racing
together in the Food City
250, with 18 of the 42 total entries.
Four of those 18, including Theys and Lienhard's
Goodyear-shod Doran-Lista
DORAN JE4 Lexus #27, were designed and built by Doran
Designs, a sister company
to Doran-Lista Racing. Both are based in Lebanon,
Ohio.
Theys and Lienhard Sr. would like nothing better
than to end up on the top
step of the podium during the awards ceremonies on
Saturday night, April 10, but
Lienhard says that with so much tough competition,
his goal is a podium
(first, second or third place) finish.
The team finished fourth overall and second in the
Daytona Prototype class at
this year's Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. Theys
qualified second at Homestead,
Fla., but the team finished 14th in class and 19th
overall after his co-driver
for that race, Jan Magnussen, was involved in a much-talked-about
accident
while going for the lead late in the race.
"Well, we can only do better than in Miami!" said Lienhard
from his home in
Switzerland. "With me, a podium finish [at Phoenix]
would be a very good
result. This is what we are shooting for."
With the disappointing finish at Homestead, points
are definitely on the team
members' minds. When Easter morning dawns a quarter
of the season will be
over, and the competition for the championship is
intense.
Still, Lienhard, Theys, team owner Kevin Doran and
other members of the team
won't let the pressure of competition spoil their
enjoyment of the event and
the area's beauty.
"The ambiance is unique," Lienhard said. "The
sunset in the desert and the
starting-grid atmosphere are unbeatable. I really
love it. The race track
itself is quite physical; for me it was the most
demanding track because you can
never really relax; the straightaway is too short
and takes your full
concentration after passing the pits in order not
to miss a good entry into the infield
[portion of the 1.51-mile, 11-turn road course]."
Lienhard explained that quick driver changes will
be critical in the
two-hour-and-45-minute race, which begins at 6 p.m.
local time on Saturday, April 10
and will be broadcast live on the SPEED Channel beginning
at 9 p.m. Eastern
time.
"We need a smooth driver change, especially if we have
to change twice, which
is a possibility," he noted.
Lienhard says that PIR has had a way of being at
the forefront of his racing
activities over the years due to the timing of some
important decisions he has
made in his career.
"Phoenix is where I decided in September of 1994 to
buy a Ferrari 333 SP and
to race it in the United States," he noted. "At
the same time I met Didier
Theys, who became not only my teammate but also my
friend and coach. Without
Phoenix, I might never have raced in America. I
always look forward to coming
to Phoenix."
The team's sponsor, Lista, the worldwide leader in
modular storage solutions,
will entertain some customers at the race.
"We have a good sales manager there and a lot of fine
customers," Lienhard
added. "I want to meet them and thank them for
their business."
In addition to Lista's guests, Theys will have other
friends at the track too.
"My wife and my kids will get to come," he said. "I'll
be working on our
set-up and won't get to spend a lot of time with
them, but they understand that,
or at least I hope they will!
"The biggest thing about racing at Phoenix International
Raceway is that I
can sleep in my own bed in the evening," he reiterated. "The
team is
headquartered in Ohio and we don't have a testing
budget per se, so it's my 'home track'
only in that it is the track closest to where I live.
We don't test there and
it's not like I have a lot more laps there than I
do at the other tracks. So
really my approach to the race will be just like
any other one."
Still, there's no place like home.
"I was born in Belgium but I've lived in Scottsdale
for many years, and it
feels like home to me," Theys added.
The tentative weekend schedule shows the team practicing
from 3:40 p.m. until
4:30 p.m. and again from 7:55 p.m. until 8:55 p.m.
on Thursday, April 8.
Another hour-long practice session is slated for
2:05 p.m. on Friday, April 9
prior to qualifying at 4:25 p.m. that day.
On race-day, Saturday, April 10, there is a warm-up
practice session at 12:15
p.m. and an autograph session at 1 p.m. before the
250-mile/166-lap/2-hour-and 45-minute race begins
at 6 p.m.
For more information see www.lista.com , www.listaintl.com ,
www.doranracing.com , www.toyotamotorsports.com , www.phoenixraceway.com and www.grandamerican.com .
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