Champion confirms Herbert
As reported earlier this month, sports car star Johnny Herbert will return to ADT Champion Racing to drive a second Audi R8 Prototype. But the team has expanded on its original plans and will run Herbert in the final two events of the American Le Mans Series season

The British driver will team up with young German driver Pierre Kaffer for the next round on September 25 in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and at the season-ending event at Mazda Raceway Laguna in Monterey, Calif., on October 16.
ADT Champion Racing, owned by Dave Maraj, has taken overall wins in five of the seven ALMS races held this season with drivers JJ Lehto and Marco Werner. Lehto and Werner have already clinched the 2004 ALMS driving title for the top prototype class but the team still wants to wrap up the team title, as well as manufacturer championships for Audi and tyre supplier Michelin.
Herbert will be reuniting with the Florida-based Champion team for which he contested the 2001-2003 seasons of the American Le Mans series. He scored four ALMS race wins for Champion in 2003, including a victory at Road Atlanta in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans. He has spent the 2004 season driving for Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx, finishing third in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring that opened the ALMS season and second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Herbert also won a Le Mans Endurance Series race for Audi UK at Monza, Italy.
"I am really happy to have this opportunity to race in the last two races of the ALMS series with Champion Racing," Herbert said. "I have missed not racing with them this season and it will be good to get back into the team and see everybody again. I have raced against Pierre Kaffer in the LMES championship this year and I know him to be a very good driver. I'm looking forward to having him as my team-mate. This is going to be a great challenge, the Audi R8 has won six of the ALMS races this year and having been given the opportunity to win Petit Le Mans again I intend to do just that. I am also looking forward to finishing the series on a high note at Laguna Seca."
A factory Audi driver, Kaffer was part of the winning team in this year's Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the only ALMS race in which he has competed, along with Allan McNish and Frank Biela. He has also scored two wins this season in the Le Mans Endurance Series in Europe, all driving for Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx.
"I am really looking forward to Petit Le Mans and Laguna Seca," Kaffer said. "Those are great racetracks and most definitely challenging ones too. I am very proud to drive for Champion Racing and I look forward to coming over and joining them soon. I tested an R8 at Road Atlanta earlier this year and found that track to be very much like Nurburging, lots of ups and downs with fast corners. I especially like the first part of the track, Turn 1 and the Esses. You really need a big heart for this track!"
"We look forward to Johnny driving for Champion again," said Maraj. "He was a huge asset during the three years he drove for us. Pierre Kaffer is definitely an up and coming driver who has already proven himself at Le Mans and in the Le Mans Endurance Series. He'll make a perfect addition to our team."
Latest news
Daytona 24, Hour 18: Cadillac in command with six hours to go
Chip Ganassi held a commanding net lead in the Daytona 24 Hours as dawn broke, while Meyer Shank Racing recovered to second to set up a Cadillac vs Acura battle.
Westbrook: Tyre strategy as crucial as reliability in Daytona 24 Hours closing stages
Cadillac Racing’s Richard Westbrook says tyre strategy in the closing hours of the Daytona 24 Hours could prove as crucial as reliability in deciding the overall winner.
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
Daytona 24, Hour 15: Porsche takes lead amid trouble for MSR Acura
Porsche Penske Motorsport moved to the front of the Daytona 24 Hours in the 15th hour after the erstwhile-leading Meyer Shank Racing Acura developed an oil leak issue.
The F1 technology behind Mercedes’ Nordschleife record hypercar
It’s taken over half a decade of development but now the Mercedes-AMG One is here – boasting 1048bhp from a Formula 1-based hybrid powertrain and smashing the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record for a production car with Maro Engel at the wheel last month. ROBERT HOLMES wonders if it can now claim to be the ultimate hypercar...
How to get the best out of amateur racers
Pro-Am GT racing is booming. But how should drivers approach working with an amateur? Autosport sought out a panel of experts to explain the pitfalls amateur drivers should avoid and how professionals can help them to achieve their goals
The remarkable career of a 'classy' champion who rejected politics
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of team-mates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Autosport to look back
The ex-IndyCar racer in "uncharted territory" of British GT team ownership
This weekend’s British GT finale will be a tense title showdown for some but, for those not in the championship fight, it’s a chance to end a challenging year on a high. In the latter camp is Paddock Motorsport's team owner Martin Plowman, whose 2021 season has been a rollercoaster ride of non-stop learning
The unpopular BMW stalwart built for the big occasion
It has won most of the big prizes in endurance racing across its six years in service, but the BMW M6 GT3's key weaknesses meant only a devoted few teams persisted with running it. As it prepares to bow out at season's end, the teams and drivers involved in its story share the secrets of an unpopular winner
The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever
Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today
Why Britain's greatest sportscar was eclipsed on the world stage
The E-Type may be the most famous of all road-going Jaguars, but that didn't always translate into success on the track. After winning on its competition debut in 1961, motorsport success seemed an inevitability, but things didn’t turn out to be quite that straightforward
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
It’s 60 years since the Jaguar E-type arrived and caused a sensation. As our resident racer Ben Anderson discovered when he got behind the wheel of two special racing versions at Brands Hatch, the thrill of driving them hasn't diminished over time
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.