CANADIAN MAXWELL TO MAKE LAMBORGHINI DEBUT AT HOME TRACK

When the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) makes its only appearance of the season outside the United States this weekend, visiting Mosport International Raceway in Ontario, Canada, local driver Scott Maxwell will make his race debut in one of the two Krohn-Barbour Racing Lamborghinis.

Toronto-based Maxwell had hoped to start his season with Krohn-Barbour Racing six weeks ago, when the exciting new Lamborghini Murci?lago R-GT made its US competition debut in round two of the ALMS at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 25-27, but he has been frustrated in his hopes of starting every one of the last four races.

Maxwell and his team-mate Tracy Krohn had to sit out the Mid-Ohio race, and round three at Lime Rock, Connecticut, one week later, because the Lamborghini was badly damaged in Friday practice at Mid-Ohio when a Porsche collided with it. The Lamborghini was rebuilt around a new chassis in time for round four at Infineon Raceway, California ? but Maxwell found himself unable to get to the track because he was without an up-to-date ?P1' visa to enter the United States. Maxwell's visa finally came through on Friday 23 July, the day of practice for that weekend's fifth round at Portland International Raceway, Oregon, but by then the team had enrolled Nic Jonsson as a one-off stand-in.

Forced to watch from the sidelines, Maxwell has seen ?his' number 6 car achieve the best-ever result for the Lamborghini marque in an international-status auto race, when it placed second in the GTS class (to a Chevrolet Corvette) at Infineon Raceway on July 18. Krohn, participating in his first-ever ALMS race, shared the car that day with track instructor David McEntee.

Maxwell said: "It's somewhat apropos that I get to make my race debut in my own back yard. It's been a bit of a roller-coaster season for me because of the crash damage and then the visa problem out of the blue, so I'm excited that I'm finally getting to drive the car. I grew up at Mosport and know it really well, so the focus for me this weekend is going to be on getting to know the car. I'm looking forward to getting in and doing a good job.

"Mosport is perhaps the most challenging track we visit all year. It's very much the old-style road racing track in that it follows the terrain and it's kept its character over the years. It's very hilly and fast, with sweeping, blind corners. Good drivers tend to thrive there. You have to be smooth, keep momentum through the fast corners, and not be intimidated by the blind crests."

Maxwell is a past winner of the Mosport 24 Hours, and won two Canadian national single-seater championships early in his career. As a sports car racer, he has scored class victories in the Daytona 24 Hours, Petit Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Krohn-Barbour Racing's number 5 Lamborghini will be driven as usual this weekend by Dutchman Peter Kox and English-based Australian David Brabham. Kox placed second in the GTS-class at Mosport last year, in a Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello; Brabham placed second-overall at Mosport in 1999 and 2001, driving for the Panoz factory team.

This Sunday's race will run for two-hours 45-minutes on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn Mosport road course near Bowmanville, starting at 12.00 noon (ET). CBS Sports is scheduled to televise the event from 1.00pm to 3.00pm (ET). Timed qualifying, to establish starting-grid positions, takes place Saturday, with practice on Friday