UNSER EYEING DRIVE IN AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES FOR 2003

    BRASELTON, Ga. (November 16, 2002) – A member of one of America’s most famous racing families is eyeing a drive in the American Le Mans Series for the 2003 racing season.
    Robby Unser of Albuquerque, N.M., whose versatile racing resume includes eight wins in the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, is in talks with several racing teams in the American Le Mans Series and hopes to compete in the sports car endurance racing series in 2003.
    “I’ve been watching the American Le Mans Series as it has grown,” said Unser, a two-time starter in the Indianapolis 500. “There seems to be a lot of opportunity for drivers, especially since every car in every race has at least two drivers. The series has grown to the point that it is a good alternative to some of the open-wheel and stock car racing series for drivers who want to be in a first-class series with good competition.”
    The American Le Mans Series features four classes of race cars, all competing at the same time for both class wins and the overall race win. The LMP 900 top class features the exotic, high-speed Prototype machines. Though Unser’s most recent racing experience has been in the high-speed cars of the Indy Racing League, he expressed no preference as to what ALMS class he would like to race in.
    “I’ve talked to some teams in every class,” he said. “I would just like to be in a competitive situation with a chance to do well in the races.”
    The 2003 American Le Mans Series season begins with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway Mar. 13-15.
    Unser’s eight wins at Pikes Peak have been spread among the Rally, Open Wheel, Truck and Stock classes at the annual event, and he won the FIA World Hill Climb championship in Rally car. He won at Pikes Peak in both overall and the Open Wheel class in 1992, and his win in 1989 in the Overall class was the 30th victory for an Unser Family member at Pikes Peak.
    The son of three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser won Rookie of the Year honors in the Indy Racing League in 1998. He made his Indy 500 that year debut with a fifth-place finish, then finished eighth the next year. He finished second twice in IRL races.
    Unser was also the American Indy Car Series champion in 1989, winning 12 of 16 races. He has also raced sports cars, making starts in the Daytona 24 Hours in 1990 and 1991. Sports car racing is nothing new to other racing members of his family, as his father, his uncle, Al, his cousin, Al, Jr., and his cousin, Johnny, have all competed in sports car racing events, including the Sebring 12 Hours.