Champion Racing 20 Year Reunion

Words and photos by James Edmonds

Can it be 20 years? Champion Racing won the overall honors at Le Mans in one of the most intense battles we had seen to date, and perhaps even since that 2005 victory. The Audi R8 had proven to be one of the most successful racing cars of all time, but by 2005 – it’s last year of full time competition – it had been almost forced out of contention. Aero penalties, less fuel capacity and an ever smaller restrictor, made stalwart Champion driver, JJ Lehto, comment that the car was no longer enjoyable to drive and “felt as if it was tied to a post”.

The Pescarolos were the cars to beat in 2005 and were the home favourites for obvious reason. But with a doggedly determined team of the best in the business, a calm and fearless leader in Dave Maraj, the Zen-like technical director, Brad Kettler and master strategist, Mike Peters, the team had great karma. They went in with a solid race plan and modest but high hopes.

You may recall that 2005 was one of the hottest races in a long time. This played into the hands of the small private team from Pompano Beach, Florida. The Pescarolos had early trouble with overheating, but the tried and trusted Audi R8 showed her true Champion colours and the reason why she had already been touted as a legend.

Brad Kettler was there, regaling us all with insider hysterics which will, in all likelihood, never be published

Brad Ketter was convinced that the performance penalties saddling the R8s, wound up working in their favor. Being forced to run under-powered made the huge heat less of a factor. Despite a very tight race that had Mike Peters constantly redoing the math right up until the end,  and Dave Maraj staving off a nervous breakdown (not helped at all by the expectant Audi brass in the pit box), the Champion team earned their name with an historic win. It was the first overall win for an American team since Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt did it in 1967 with Ford. This gave Tom Kristensen his seventh overall win (and sole ownership of the win record), JJ Lehto his second and Marco Werner his first. The sister car team of Emanuele Pirro, Allan McNish and Frank Biela also made the podium in third place with the highly touted Pescarolo a close second.

But I digress.

On the weekend of Le Mans 2025, a hotel on the water in Deerfield Beach, Florida, hosted a watch party like no other. It was just a few miles up the road from the race shop at exit 38 off I-95 (that’s an Easter Egg for those who don’t know) in Pompano Beach, Florida. If the Pikes Peak Time Attack 911, resplendent in her Champion Racing DayGlo colours, causally sitting outside, didn’t give a hint as to who was inside, then the adjacent silver and red Audi R10 TDI surely gave it away. It was definitely an IYKYK happening.

Inside, were members from Champion Racing past – most of whom had made a long trek and some a cross country journey – just to be there. They were there to relive their victory with friends and team mates from that special time of 20 plus years ago. To have been invited by Mike Peters to attend was a spine tingling honour.

Brad Kettler was there, regaling us all with war stories of nail biting pit stops, tire strategies, special LM bodywork and insider hysterics which will, in all likelihood, never be published. With few exceptions, most all of the old team members are still working locally and around the country, and they number too many to mention here. One thing for certain, is that they all infuse Champion DNA into their respective roles and  I am proud to know most of them. The legendary Larry ‘Revvy’ Reynolds who washed wheels and had tires fitted for both cars – on his own – for the 24 hour race – is still selling dreams at Champion Porsche. 10 years ago, The Motorsport Diaries ran a story about the tenth anniversary of the 2005 win and we talked about Jacky Carrie. He is still making all the Champion Porsches gleam. Mike Peters is still the GM. Maraj brothers Mitra and Naveen still steer the ship since the untimely passing of The King, Dave Maraj. A family like this is a rarity.

Team photographer Robin Thompson, was wearing a tee shirt of his own design, featuring one of his iconic shots (as was I). His catalogue of ALMS photos is second to none, as is his English humor! Rene Bolders, looking at the mighty V12 diesel R10, remembered making tools and pit lane equipment for the car, before he’d ever even seen it! That all of his custom equipment worked first time, is a great testament to his quietly modest expertise, given the tight timeline he had to get things ready for the advent of the then secret, new race car. The body craftsmen, painters and mechanics all chatted with the media people who all ate and drank and celebrated together as if the race had just been won all over again.

 

Being a Le Mans party, obviously many of the 2005 drivers were working for TV stations doing their own broadcasts. This didn’t stop IT guru Jeff Kohn from setting up a link to Tom Kristensen, Emanuele Pirro and many others including our event organizer and Media Delegate/PR manager/Team Mom et al, Kaye Wilson who was a joy to speak to. Although perhaps not as well known as some others, Kaye is a legend having overseen or managed all aspects of racing, as well as managing events for the Royal Family. Of all the Zoom guests, Kaye was there for the longest, chatting to all and sundry with her trademark smile.

You know when unusual race cars are in the vicinity, that the mechanics and engineers will be close at hand, poking around. “Wow! Look at that!” or, “Holy crap! How cool!” were some of the exclamations ringing around the 911 Pikes Peak car, which was somewhat of a curiosity for the Le Mans team. Quietly admiring his work while the others marveled at the tech, was Dave Schnorr whose legendary livery graced most all of the Champion machines including of course, the iconic Champion Racing R8. It’s fair to say that he liveried a huge percentage of all the cars of the period and pioneered vinyl wraps as paint went away. His book is still a promise, but hopefully soon a reality!

Greg ‘Kiwi’ Martin had us all in stitches with his recollection of one of the greatest Champion Racing yarns of all time: Lake Lola. The story of how legendary gearbox man, the late Keith Bransford, wound up in the lake next to the race shop, with the Porsche Lola while on a brief gearbox test. The story is all the more entertaining when you learn that the event was witnessed by several disbelieving team mates and that the car was already due to be at Daytona for the 24 hour race practice that night! There was Keith. Going through the gears on hard transport tyres; a loose gravelly road surface and a lot of boost…you can use your imagination. Needless to say, the car made it to Daytona – perhaps amid muffled laughter when one of the drivers asked what the green ooze was coming out around the instruments!

As the 2025 race got underway, fittingly to the crescendo of Strauss’ Sprach Zarathustra, those in attendance raised a glass to one another as we toasted the 2005 win, while also remembering the late, great, team founder, Dave Maraj as well as the dearly departed team mates, Keith Bransford and Rick Clifton. All were talked about with reverence as much as anyone who was there, such was their legacy. Oddly enough, as we all sipped the bubbly and watched the start of the race, it was only minutes before everyone returned to their friendly conversations and looked over the beautiful cars outside. Race? What race? This all the while taking in the warm Florida ocean breeze. Dave would have been proud.

James Boody and Marcus Haselgrove, both had the foresight to bring along their old fire suits. In a moment of collective breath holding, the room waited to see if they could still be zipped up. Of course we all had a good laugh, and a big round of applause went out to them in a great moment of spontaneity as they did indeed, still fit!

Before he left for a prior engagement, team photog, Robin and I, asked Kettler to come outside and recreate some of the famous pit stop poses from his days on the team.  Always a good sport, he had a few laughs while ‘stopping’ the car and ‘letting it go’. It was a thousand moments like these which made the event an unequalled success.

For those who wrote special messages, but were unable to attend, it is the collective hope that this will be done again. Maybe TK, JJ Lehto, Marco Werner, Howden Haynes, Dr. Ulrich, Martyn Pass, Chris Avery, Bobby Green, Kaye Wilson and so many others, will be able to make it next time.

I’ll make sure to keep you posted when it happens. Until then, see you at the races.