Lehto makes ALMS history

Victory was no easy task, though, for Lehto and Michelin fought one of the toughest races in the history of the championship. After qualifying third yesterday, Lehto moved to second at the first turn and quickly motored into the lead on the opening lap.

However, disaster soon struck after 10 minutes when Lehto locked horns with the J3 Racing Porsche of Tim Sugden. But there was more to drama to come.

Fighting back in pursuit of the two Dyson Racing Lolas, Lehto caught Butch Leitzinger and forced his way past at the Festival Curves - the two cars touched with Leitzinger spinning off the circuit.

Lehto was forced to return to the pits after being given a stop-go penalty. His second fightback was then launched and he charged back to catch race leader Chris Dyson. While chasing his prey, Lehto was tapped into a spin by the Corvette of Oliver Gavin at the Festival curves seconds after the two P1 cars had passed the slower GTS entry on the main straight.

Lehto dramas weren't over yet, however, with Butch Leitzinger attempting a pass on Lehto shortly after - the Dyson Lola made contact with the Champion Audi in traffic, forcing Lehto sideways.

This time, Leitzinger spun and was hit by the following Corvette of Gavin. The Lola driver was also forced to serve a stop-go penalty. Despite damage to the Audi's front bodywork, Lehto recovered to launch a final attack on Dyson and made the final pass for the lead around the outside of the first turn with one hour to go.

"This race was certainly tough. I made a few mistakes during the day but it was the best race I have had for a long long time," Lehto said.

Michelin's success in all classes entered continued at Portland with Corvette and Porsche taking additional victories for the "Bibendum Boys".

Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell took their second win in a row for Corvette-Michelin and their fourth win of the year. Michelin and Corvette remain undefeated in the GTS class in 2004.

In GT, Romain Dumas and Mark Leib were victorious for Alex Job Racing. It was the first win for this new driver combination. Michelin has now won four of the five GT races contested in the ALMS this year - every win scored by a different driver combination.