LEHTO AND WERNER TAKE PORTLAND.(Competition)

JJ Lehto and Marco Werner set an American Le Mans Series record with their fourth straight overall victory, taking the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway.

Their Champion Racing Audi R8 spun twice after contact with other cars and was penalized once for contact (all with Lehto behind the wheel) during the two-hour, 45-minute race. Dyson Racing's two Lolas battled the Audi throughout the race, but experienced problems in the last hour and fell from contention. There were eight lead changes among the three cars. James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger finished second, 1:08.446 behind, in a Dyson Lola.

Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell took their fourth GTS class win in five races in the Corvette C5-R, finishing third overall. Their car took the class lead when the other Corvette team car, driven by Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta, had to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix a flat tire.

After coming close several times this season, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb won their first race as Alex Job Racing teammates, driving their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to victory in the GT class.

Trulli gone

Renault Formula One driver Jarno Trulli, the only man other than Michael Schumacher to win a Grand Prix this year, announced he will quit the team at season's end. "I am happy with this decision and feel very confident, as my plans for the future are clear. I will inform you of them in due course,'' Trulli said in a statement issued at Hockenheim prior to the German GP. "I would like to thank everyone at Renault for the trust and support they have given me during the past three seasons, and also to thank the team for releasing me from my obligations after the final Grand Prix of the season.''

Trulli's move comes amid speculation that Giancarlo Fisichella, whom Trulli replaced at Renault before the 2002 season, will return to the team for 2005, while Jaguar's Mark Webber will likely drive for Williams. Paddock speculation-and logic-says Trulli will land at Toyota, which recently announced it has signed Ralf Schumacher to a three-year contract (AW, July 19).