Shane Lewis Closes 2003 ALMS Season with Seventh at Petit Le Mans

BRASELTON, Ga., October 20, 2003 � Shane Lewis, of Jupiter, Fla., whose No. 63 ACEMCO/ Yokohama Tires Ferrari 360 GT Modena qualified tenth in GT class for Saturday's Petit Le Mans, finished seventh in class at the 10 hour/ 1,000 mile endurance event. Driving with Terry Borcheller and Darren Law, both of Phoenix, Lewis drove the third rotation in the car he has piloted since the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring. The combination ran in the top-ten throughout the day on the 2.54 mile Road Atlanta circuit taking the checkered flag behind a string of Porsches and one other Ferrari. Lewis, who had strong on-site representation from the Shane Lewis International Fan Club, finished the year with 41 driver championship points after competing in each of the 2003 ALMS races. He also led at the 24 Hours of Le Mans before a rare engine failure ended the team's day at the race's midpoint. “I enjoyed myself in the car today,” reflected Lewis. “The Ferrari ran very well; the Yokohamas were awesome. The guys did a great job of giving us a car that, while not there as far as speed went, was there at the end of the day. In an endurance race that is what you aim for: reliability. Between the crew guys working on the car and the Ferrari factory we got the reliability we needed to finish when a lot of others cars didn't. The No. 63 doesn't have the outright speed that the Porsches do or the Risi Ferrari does. We got everything we could out of the car, just like we have all season. This seventh is like a podium for us because it shows that we have taken the car as far as it can go. The Ferrari 360 GT is an awesome car but we just needed to develop it more if we expected to finish in the top-five more often or compete for wins like the Risi guys have. Development is everything in this series. It's what makes the difference between a top-ten, a top-five and a winning car. There are no turn-key successes in professional sports car racing. Still, we have two top-fives and we led Le Mans with the Ferrari. That isn't bad.”Shane Lewis is the 1998 Professional Sports Car Racing Rising Star award winner and is a multiple race winner in IMSA, SCCA Pro and Grand-Am sanctioned events. He has raced in three 24 Hours of Le Mans, six 24 Hours of Daytona, seven 12 Hours of Sebring and four Petit Le Mans. Lewis, a regular top-five finisher in ALMS competition, has earned ALMS podium finishes at Silverstone, the Nurburgring and Portland and is one of the few drivers with experience in the four major classes of international sports car racing (LMP 900, LMP 675, GTS and GT). He drives the ACEMCO Motorsports Ferrari 360 GT Modena in the ALMS and the Nuzzo Motorsports Mini Cooper S in Grand-Am Cup.For more on Shane Lewis please see www.ShaneLewis.com. ###