Konrad Motorsports Earns Second Straight Podium

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 22, 2002 – Last month two Saleen S7Rs finished on the podium on the same day on two different continents. First in England and third in Canada. This month provided a similar story as two Saleen S7Rs took their drivers to the GTS Drivers’ Championships in their respective series, once again on two different continents.

Graham Nash Motorsports’ team of Brazilian Tommy Erdos and Brit Ian McKellar continued to dominate the British GT Championship with a victory last Sunday at Thruxton in England, thereby clinching the GTS Drivers’ Championship for both drivers. They followed that up with a second-place finish at Donington Park today. Erdos’ pole earned him the title of “Top Gun” and the Team Championship for GNM. The duo has been on the podium ten out of eleven races this year winning an amazing seven of them. McKellar was the 2001 European Le Mans GTS Drivers’ Champion.

GNM’s entry in the Spanish GT Championship also continues to dominate as Pedro Chaves and Miguel Ramos each won a pole this weekend and finished second in their heavily restricted Saleen S7R.

On this side of the pond, Chris Bingham won his second straight Rolex Cup GTS Drivers’ and Team Championship without turning a wheel at Mt. Tremblant as his nearest competition stayed home. Saleen can clinch its second straight Grand-Am GTS Manufacturers’ Championship simply by taking the green flag at Daytona in November.

Not quite as lucky has been the Konrad Motorsports’ team of Terry Borcheller and team owner Franz Konrad in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). In spite of Borcheller being the “fastest gun in the West” by claiming most of the GTS poles last year and finishing as the 2001 ALMS GTS Drivers’ Champion, the car has been hampered by an ACO-imposed restriction that has reduced performance by approximately 100 horsepower.

The duo did gain their second straight podium this weekend at Monterey’s Laguna Seca as they finished second to the ProDrive Ferrari 550 Maranello, shutting down the factory Corvettes for the first time this season. The final two races of the ALMS season will be in Miami on Oct. 5 and Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans on Oct. 12.