2001 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 2001 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 69th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 and 17 June 2001.

2001 24 Hours of Le Mans
Previous: 2000 Next: 2002
Index: Races | Winners

Background

Preview

The 2001 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 69th edition of the race and took place at the 8.454 mi (13.605 km) Circuit de la Sarthe from 16 to 17 June.[1] The 24 Hours of Le Mans was conceived at the 1922 Paris Motor Show by the automotive journalist Charles Faroux to Georges Durand, the president of the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and the industrialist Emile Coquile as a means of prompting car manufacturers to test the reliability and fuel efficiency of racing vehicles and equipment.[2][3] It is considered one of the world's most prestigious motor races and is part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.[4]

Track and regulation changes

After the 2000 race, the ACO and the French government modified the Route nationale 138 which forms the Mulsanne Straight, by decreasing the height of a hill by 7.9 ft (2.4 m) on the approach to the Mulsanne Corner where Mark Webber had an airborne accident in a Mercedes-Benz CLR during a warm-up session for the 1999 edition.[5][6] Work in the area costing almost F6.5 million was mandated by motor racing's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), to comply with road safety regulations and traffic using the area was diverted onto an alternate route. It commenced on 1 December 2000 with the removal of 7,000 m3 (250,000 cu ft) of cuttings and continued until mid-March 2001.[7][8] Other changes included a widening of the run-off area to the outside on the approach to the right-hand Indianapolis corner and a gravel trap and spectator section was moved further back in an attempt to enhance safety.[9]

The ACO allowed cars in the Le Mans Prototype 675 (LMP675) category to be installed with a V6 turbocharged engine with a maximum capacity of 2,000 cc (120 cu in) up from a V4 power unit in the 2000 event. Teams could also fit a V8 engine into a car in the event that it was normally aspirated. The governing body also revoked a regulation for a car's headlights to be switched on in daylight hours and the FIA would supervise laboratory crash tests conducted on all vehicles.[10] Changes to the format of the weekend saw the test day have 48 cars and 6 reserves all driving together in lieu of individual sessions for Grand Touring and Prototypes and would not eliminate any cars from contention as seen in previous editions of the race.[11][12]

Entries

The ACO received 80 "good quality" inquires for applications by the deadline for entries on the midnight of 28 February 2001.[13][14] The ACO's eight-person selection committee granted 48 invitations to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in-late March. Entries were divided between the Le Mans Prototype 900 (LMP900), Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype (LMGTP), LMP675, Le Mans Grand Touring Sport (LMGTS) and Le Mans Grand Touring (LMGT) categories.[14][15]

Automatic entries

Automatic entries were earned by teams which won their class in the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans, or have won Le Mans-based series and events such as the 2000 Petit Le Mans of the American Le Mans Series, the Race of a Thousand Years held as part of the Asian-Pacific Le Mans Series and the 2000 1000 km of Nürburgring of the European Le Mans Series.[16][17] As entries were pre-selected to teams, they were restricted to a maximum of two cars and were not allowed to change their vehicles nor their competitors' licence from the previous year to the next. Entries were permitted to change category provided that they did not change the make of vehicle and the ACO granted official permission for the switch.[14]

The ACO published its final list of automatic berths on 26 January 2001.[16] Audi Sport North America, Viper Team Oreca and Dick Barbour Racing were the three teams out of the twelve that were pre-selected to decline their automatic invitations.[17]

Reason Entered LMP LMGTS LMGT
1st in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Audi Sport Team Joest Viper Team Oreca Team Taisan Advan
1st in the 1000 km of Nürburgring Panoz Motor Sports Viper Team Oreca Dick Barbour Racing1
1st in the Petit Le Mans Audi Sport North America Corvette Racing Dick Barbour Racing1
1st in the Race of a Thousand Years Audi Sport North America1 Viper Team Oreca1 Dick Barbour Racing1
Source:[16][17]
1.^  – Team declined their automatic invitations.[17]

Entry list and reserves

The ACO announced the full 48-car entry list for Le Mans plus six reserves on 4 April. The Ascari, Audi, Bentley, Cadillac, Courage, Chrysler, Dome and Panoz brands were accepted into the two Prototype classes, which featured a mixture of works teams and privateers. Cars from Lola, Pilbeam and Reynard featured in the eight-vehicle LMP675 class. Chrysler, General Motors via its Chevrolet division and Saleen were the three manufacturers in the LMGTS category. The majority of cars in the LMGT class were from Porsche with Callaway represented by one team.[18] On 27 April, the No. 59 Saleen/Allen Speedlab-entered S7 was withdrawn from the race. The No. 21 Team Ascari car was promoted from the top of the list of reserves to take the vacated slot on the grid.[19]

Testing

A mandatory pre-Le Mans test day split into two daytime sessions of four hours each was held at the circuit on 6 May,[14] involving all 48 cars and four reserve entries.[20] The morning session was led by Audi with a lap of 3 minutes, 36.054 seconds from Stefan Johansson in the No. 4 Johansson Motorsport R8. The top-placed works Audi was Tom Kristensen's No. 1 Team Joest car in second and the fastest Bentley EXP Speed 8 was the No. 7 of Stéphane Ortelli in third. Emanuele Pirro of Team Joest, Johnny Herbert for Champion Racing and Yannick Dalmas in a Chrysler LMP occupied fourth to sixth positions.[21] A broken exhaust header caused the carbon fibre chassis on David Brabham's Panoz LMP07 to catch fire in the final moments of the morning session. Panoz withdrew the No. 12 car for the rest of the test day due to extensive damage it sustained.[21][22] Eric van de Poele for Dick Barbour set the fastest lap in the LMP675 category,[23] while the Larbre Compétition team led both GT classes with the No. 58 Oreca Viper and the No. 60 Porsche.[24] Several drivers ran off the circuit during the session. Kristensen damaged the No. 2 Audi's front-right and the car's suspension arm was replaced. The No. 64 Corvette's steering failed and the car was stopped on the Mulsanne Straight.[25]

The second test session had Audi continue to lead with Rinaldo Capello in the No. 2 car with the day's fastest lap of 3 minutes, 32.742 seconds. This was followed by an improved time for the Champion Racing car of Ralf Kelleners in second and Martin Brundle in Bentley's No. 8 car in third. Racing for Holland was fourth courtesy of a lap from Jan Lammers and the second Joest Audi of Frank Biela rounded out the top five.[26] The Dick Barbour team continued to lead the LMP675 category with an improved lap of 3 minutes, 44.272 seconds,[27] ahead of the trio of drivers of the second-placed No. 38 ROC Auto Reynard 01Q and Claudia Hurtgen's No. 32 Roock/KnightHawk Racing Lola B2K/40-Nissan in third.[24][28] Oliver Gavin moved the No. 60 Saleen Allen Speedlab S7R to the head of LMGTS with a lap of 3 minutes, 54.344 seconds. He was followed by Johnny Mowlem's No. 62 Ray Mallock car on the soft compound tyres and Corvette's No. 63 C5-R was third-fastest in the session.[28] Xavier Pompidou in the No. 73 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche led the LMGT class with the No. 80 Larbre car second.[29] Fabio Babini's No. 83 Seikel Motorsport car and the No. 35 Rowan Racing Pilbeam MP84-Nissan made contact at the Ford Chicane late in the session and the former was unable to continue driving.[28][30]

Qualifying

Eight hours of qualifying divided into four two-hour sessions was available to all the entrants on 13 and 14 June. During the sessions, all entrants were required to set a time within 110 per cent of the fastest lap established by the fastest vehicle in each of the five categories to qualify for the race.[14] The first session took place in clear weather conditions.[31] Audi, the pre-race favourites,[32] led early on with a flying lap from Kristensen before his teammate Capello followed with a 3 minutes, 34.880 seconds time to go fastest overall. Kristensen stood three-tenths of a second adrift in second. Lammers followed in third and Kelleners was fourth for Champion Racing. The fastest Bentley was in fifth position after a lap from Brundle.[31] The No. 12 Panoz of Jan Magnussen stopped after the PlayStation chicane and was then sidelined with a blocked gearbox.[33] Anthony Reid carried the No. 34 MG-Lola EX257-Lola to provisional pole position in the LMP675 category with a time of 3 minutes, 42.065 seconds ahead of the ROC Auto Reynard and No. 36 Dick Barbour entries.[31][34] The crew of MG's No. 33 car set no laps because it suffered from an alternator issue that created a misfire.[31][33] The GTS class of GT was led by Ron Fellows' No. 64 Corvette, who set a 3 minutes, 55.552 seconds lap. Andy Pilgrim in the sister No. 63 Corvette was second followed by Christophe Bouchut's No. 58 Larbre Oreca in third. At the conclusion of the session, the No. 80 Larbre Porsche led in LMGT from the No. 70 Aspen Knolls MCR Callaway C12-R and the No. 72 Team Taisan Advan car.[33][34]

The day's fastest laps were predicted to possibly be set within the opening fifteen minutes of the second session due to lowering ambient temperatures and light levels.[35] Kristensen improved provisional pole position to a 3 minutes, 32.458 seconds lap seven minutes into the session to be four seconds faster than Allan McNish's 2000 pole lap.[36][37] He was unable to improve any further because of an electrical misfire that affected the No. 1 Audi. Capello fell to second; the No. 2 car had a power steering fault just as Christian Pescatori relieved his co-driver. Kelleners moved Champion Racing to third after a change of gearbox. Lammers of Racing for Holland fell to fourth and Brundle's No. 7 Bentley was demoted to fifth because a punctured tyre on the Mulsanne Straight sent him into the gravel trap at Mulsanne Corner. Reid MG's No. 34 car had a possible blocked fuel filter that regulated its fuel pressure; the car kept the class pole of LMP675.[37][38] Kevin McGarrity elevated the sister No. 33 MG to second in class and ROC Auto fell to third.[34] In LMGTS, Oliver Gavin's No. 60 Saleen led the session and took the provisional class pole position from Corvette Racing.[38] Fellows crashed into a tyre barrier at the second Mulsanne Chicane and the No. 63 Corvette sustained heavy rear-end damage.[36][38] He was unhurt.[37] The sole non-Porsche car in LMGT of the Aspen Knolls MCR-entered Callaway C12 of Cort Wagner moved to the front in class with Patrice Goueslard's No. 80 Larbre car second.[34][37]

Conditions were overcast for the third practice session on 14 June and some rain fell intermittently.[39] None of the first three Audi teams improved their times from the day before as most teams focused on locating their racing setups. Lammers set the session's fastest lap at 3 minutes, 34.838 seconds to strengthen Racing for Holland's hold on fourth position and he moved to within half a second of Herbert's Champion Audi. Johanasson was second-quickest and his time moved the No. 4 Audi from eighth to fifth in the final ten minutes of the session.[40] Jordi Gené set the fastest time in the LMP675 in the ROC Auto Reynard yet he was almost four seconds behind the class pole-sitting No. 34 MG.[40][41] The LMGTS class remained the same upfront as Gavin improved the No. 60 Saleen's fastest lap time to a 3 minutes, 52.849 seconds and took a new class record.[42] The No. 58 Larbre Oreca of Christophe Bouchut retained third place in category. The lead of LMGT changed when Goueslard's No. 80 Larbre entry took the category pole position late on before Wagner in the Aspen Knolls Callaway used his team's race engine to reclaim the position.[40][43] Perspective Racing's Michel Neugarten went off the circuit and damaged the rear of the No. 75 Porsche at the PlayStation chicane. Luis Marques in the No. 74 Luc Alphand Adventure car leaked oil at the entry to the Michelin chicane due to a hose problem and marshals quickly cleaned the track. Noël del Bello's No. 79 vehicle of Georges Forgeois damaged its front-left in an accident.[44]

As temperatures cooled in the final qualifying session due to fading light,[45] Capello waited in his garage before he negotiated slower traffic to set a 3 minutes, 32.249 seconds lap in the No. 2 Audi and demoted Kristensen from pole position.[46] Kristensen's No. 1 car had its damper unit and front bodywork changed and ran a race-tuned engine along with soft compound tyres;[45][47] he could not better his teammate's lap because of a slow puncture when he ran into a gravel trap at the first Mulsanne Straight chicane,[48] giving the No. 2 car pole position.[45][46] Champion Racing were not able to improve their lap and took third. Lammers' third-session time secured Racing for Holland fourth and Johannson's No. 4 Audi took fifth. Anthony Reid twice reset the fastest lap in LMP675 to secure pole position for the No. 34 MG team with a 3 minutes, 41.769 seconds lap.[47][48] Kevin McGarrity in the sister MG was second in class after an oil leak caused the team to change engines. Gené's ROC Auto entry took third in the category.[45][48] The GT categories remained the same with the No. 60 Saleen's lap time set by Gavin giving it pole position in the GTS class and Wagner's lap in LMGT was not bettered by any other driver.[42] Team Advan's No. 72 Porsche driven by Kazuyuki Nishizawa had an accident at the Porsche Curves and sustained damage to its front and rear.[49]

Qualifying results

Pole position winners in each class are indicated in bold and by a The fastest time set by each entry is denoted in gray.

Pos Class No. Team Car Day 1 Day 2 Gap Grid
1 LMP900 2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R8 3:33.514 3:32.429 — 1
2 LMP900 1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R8 3:32.458 3:37.678 +0.029 2
3 LMP900 3 Champion Racing Audi R8 3:34.349 3:38.787 +1.920 3
4 LMP900 9 Racing for Holland Dome S101 3:36.031 3:34.838 +2.419 4
5 LMP900 4 Johansson Motorsport Audi R8 3:37.451 3:35.128 +2.699 5
6 LMP900 16 Team PlayStation Chrysler LMP 3:36.155 3:44.755 +3.726 6
7 LMGTP 7 Team Bentley Bentley EXP Speed 8 3:36.535 3:37.441 +4.106 7
8 LMP900 5 DAMS Cadillac Northstar LMP01 3:39.892 3:37.402 +4.973 8
9 LMGTP 8 Team Bentley Bentley EXP Speed 8 3:37.408 3:38.512 +4.979 9
10 LMP900 19 SMG Courage C60 3:38.746 3:54.156 +6.317 10
11 LMP900 15 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler LMP 3:38.814 3:42.559 +6.385 11
12 LMP900 6 DAMS Cadillac Northstar LMP01 3:39.596 3:41.991 +7.167 12
13 LMP900 17 Pescarolo Sport Courage C60 3:40.926 3:39.789 +7.300 13
14 LMP675 34 MG Sport & Racing Ltd. MG-Lola EX257 3:42.065 3:40.243 +7.814 14
15 LMP900 10 Team Den Blå Avis-Goh Dome S101 3:42.089 3:40.958 +8.529 15
16 LMP900 14 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler LMP 3:42.215 3:48.022 +9.786 16
17 LMP675 33 MG Sport & Racing Ltd. MG-Lola EX257 3:42.476 3:56.274 +10.047 17
18 LMP900 20 Team Ascari Ascari A410 3:42.931 11:18.421 +10.502 18
19 LMP900 12 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz LMP07 3:48.083 3:42.974 +10.545 19
20 LMP900 18 Pescarolo Sport Courage C60 3:43.924 3:43.004 +10.575 20
21 LMP900 11 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz LMP07 3:51.969 3:43.498 +11.049 21
22 LMP900 21 Team Ascari Ascari A410 3:46.398 3:43.663 +11.234 22
23 LMP675 38 ROC Auto Reynard 2KQ-LM 3:48.075 3:44.198 +11.759 23
24 LMP675 36 Dick Barbour Racing Reynard 01Q 3:49.650 3:46.008 +13.679 24
25 LMP675 30 Gérard Welter WR LMP01 3:49.986 3:50.006 +17.557 25
26 LMGTS 60 Saleen/Allen Speedlab Saleen S7-R 3:54.190 3:52.849 +20.420 26
27 LMGTS 63 Corvette Racing Pratt Chevrolet Corvette C5-R 3:55.552 3:59.399 +23.123 27
28 LMGTS 58 Larbre Compétition Chrysler Viper GTS-R 3:58.658 3:56.838 +24.609 28
29 LMGTS 64 Corvette Racing Pratt Chevrolet Corvette C5-R 3:58.209 3:57.052 +24.803 29
30 LMP675 32 Roock-KnightHawk Lola B2K/40 3:57.942 3:57.099 +24.850 30
31 LMP675 37 Dick Barbour Racing Reynard 01Q 3:58.533 3:57.257 +25.028 31
32 LMGTS 62 RML Saleen S7-R 4:02.022 3:58.626 +26.297 32
33 LMGTS 61 Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7-R 4:03.135 3:58.868 +26.439 33
34 LMP675 36 S+R Rowan Racing Ltd. Pilbeam MP84 4:14.269 3:59.302 +26.873 34
35 LMGTS 57 Equipe de France FFSA Chrysler Viper GTS-R 4:00.790 4:02.181 +28.341 35
36 LMGTS 56 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R 4:02.148 4:02.183 +29.719 36
37 LMGTS 55 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R 4:06.329 4:02.791 +30.362 37
38 LMGT 70 Aspen Knolls MCR Callaway C12-R 4:13.063 4:10.168 +37.738 38
39 LMGT 80 Larbre Compétition Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:13.834 4:11.738 +38.509 39
40 LMGT 83 Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:15.167 4:11.787 +38.547 40
41 LMGT 72 Team Taisan Advan Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:18.010 4:13.158 +40.729 41
42 LMGT 77 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:18.918 4:13.816 +41.587 42
43 LMGT 79 Noël del Bello Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:18.573 4:24.058 +46.143 43
44 LMGT 76 PK Sport Ltd-Ricardo Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:18.625 4:23.422 +46.196 44
45 LMGT 74 Luc Alphand Adventure Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:18.926 4:24.814 +46.427 45
46 LMGT 82 Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:23.973 4:19.445 +47.216 46
47 LMGT 75 Perspective Racing Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:20.667 4:38.786 +48.238 47
48 LMGT 71 Racing Engineering Porsche 911 GT3-RS 4:30.143 4:24.840 +52.391 48
Sources:[50]

Warm-up

The drivers took to the track at 09:00 local time on 16 June for a 45-minute warm-up session.[14] It was held on a damp track after overnight rain;[51] teams focused on systems checks, setting up their cars against the weather of the time, tried several tyre compounds and ensuring their drivers had some driving experience.[51][52] The No. 2 Audi driven by Christian Pescatori set the fastest time with a lap of 3 minutes, 40.497 seconds. The sister No. 1 Joest Audi of Emanuele Pirro was second with the highest-placed Bentley in third with Guy Smith's No. 7 car. Sébastien Bourdais in Pescarolo Sport's No. 17 C60 was fourth-quickest and Éric Bernard's No. 5 DAMS Cadillac Northstar LMP fifth.[51][53] The fastest LMP675 lap was set by the ROC Auto Reynard at 3 minutes, 51.491 seconds. RML's No. 62 Saleen was the fastest car in the LMGTS category and the Aspen Knolls MCR Callaway led in LMGT.[51] The No. 11 Panoz of Klaus Graf had a tyre issue and went into the gravel trap at the exit to Indianapolis corner from which marshals extricated him.[51][52] Corvette's No. 64 car stopped at the Dunlop Bridge with a broken oil pump belt and the No. 80 Larbre Porsche leaked oil from its underside due to a possible fuel system fault.[53]

Race

220,000 people attended the event.[54] Audi's top two finishers had to share the podium with a Bentley interloper, but their margin over third place was formidable.

Corvette Racing's achievement of a GTS class win was sullied by a slow pace and the presence of two GT class Porsche 911s in front of them. It was the last time a Porsche team would finish in front of the GTS class until they had the class-consolidating 4.0 liter 997 GT3 RSR in their possession, in 2010.

Official results
Le Mans in 2001
Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps
Engine
1 LMP900 1 Audi Sport Team Joest Frank Biela
Emanuele Pirro
Tom Kristensen		 Audi R8 M 321
Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8
2 LMP900 2 Audi Sport North America Laurent Aïello
Rinaldo Capello
Christian Pescatori		 Audi R8 M 320
Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8
3 LMGTP 8 Team Bentley Andy Wallace
Butch Leitzinger
Eric van de Poele		 Bentley EXP Speed 8 D 306
Bentley 3.6 L Turbo V8
4 LMP900 16 Team PlayStation Olivier Beretta
Karl Wendlinger
Pedro Lamy		 Chrysler LMP M 298
Mopar 6.0 L V8
5 LMP675 38 ROC Auto Jordi Gené
Jean-Denis Délétraz
Pascal Fabre		 Reynard 2KQ-LM M 284
Volkswagen HPT16 2.0 L Turbo I4
6 LMGT 83 Seikel Motorsport Gabrio Rosa
Fabio Babini
Luca Drudi		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS Y 283
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
7 LMGT 77 Freisinger Motorsport Gunnar Jeannette
Romain Dumas
Philippe Haezebrouck		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS Y 282
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
8 LMGTS 63 Corvette Racing Pratt Ron Fellows
Scott Pruett
Johnny O'Connell		 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R G 278
Chevrolet LS7R 7.0 L V8
9 LMGT 75 Perspective Racing Thierry Perrier
Michel Neugarten
Nigel Smith		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS D 275
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
10 LMGT 80 Larbre Compétition Jean-Luc Chéreau
Patrice Goueslard
Sébastien Dumez		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS M 274
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
11 LMGT 72 Team Taisan Advan Hideo Fukuyama
Atsushi Yogo
Kazuyuki Nishizawa		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS Y 273
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
12 LMGT 82 Seikel Motorsport Tony Burgess
Max Cohen-Olivar
Andrew Bagnall		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS Y 272
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
13 LMP900 17 Pescarolo Sport Sébastien Bourdais
Jean-Christophe Boullion
Laurent Rédon		 Courage C60 M 271
Peugeot A32 3.2 L Turbo V6
14 LMGTS 64 Corvette Racing Pratt Andy Pilgrim
Kelly Collins
Franck Fréon		 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R G 271
Chevrolet LS7R 7.0 L V8
15 LMP900 6 DAMS Wayne Taylor
Max Angelelli
Christophe Tinseau		 Cadillac Northstar LMP01 M 270
Cadillac Northstar 4.0 L Turbo V8
16 LMGT 76 PK Sport Ltd-Ricardo Mike Youles
Davey Warnock
Stephen Day		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS D 265
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
17 LMGT 74 Luc Alphand Adventure Luc Alphand
Michel Ligonnet
Luis Marques		 Porsche 911 GT3-R M 265
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
18 LMGTS 60 Saleen/Allen Speedlab Franz Konrad
Oliver Gavin
Terry Borcheller		 Saleen S7-R G 246
Ford 6.9 L V8
19 LMP675 30 Gérard Welter Stéphane Daoudi
Yojiro Terada
Jean-René de Fournoux		 WR LMP01 M 245
Peugeot 2.0L Turbo I4
20 LMGTS 58 Larbre Compétition Christophe Bouchut
Jean-Philippe Belloc
Tiago Monteiro		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 234
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
NC LMGT 79 Noël del Bello Sylvain Noël
Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière
Georges Forgeois		 Porsche 911 GT3-R D 193
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
DNF LMP900 14 Viper Team Oreca Seiji Ara
Masahiko Kondo
Ni Amorim		 Chrysler LMP M 243
Mopar 6.0 L V8
DNF LMGTS 62 RML Johnny Mowlem
Ian McKellar
Bruno Lambert		 Saleen S7-R D 175
Ford 6.9 L V8
DNF LMP900 9 Racing for Holland Jan Lammers
Donny Crevels
Val Hillebrand		 Dome S101 M 156
Judd GV4 4.0 L V10
DNF LMP900 20 Team Ascari Werner Lupberger
Ben Collins
Harri Toivonen		 Ascari A410 G 134
Judd GV4 4.0 L V10
DNF LMP900 15 Viper Team Oreca Yannick Dalmas
Stéphane Sarrazin
Franck Montagny		 Chrysler LMP M 126
Mopar 6.0 L V8
DNF LMGT 70 Aspen Knolls MCR Bob Mazzuoccola
Vic Rice
Cort Wagner		 Callaway C12-R G 98
Chevrolet 7.0 L V8
DNF LMP675 36 Dick Barbour Racing Didier de Radiguès
Sascha Maassen
Hideshi Matsuda		 Reynard 01Q G 95
Judd GV675 3.4 L V8
DNF LMP675 32 Roock-KnightHawk Claudia Hürtgen
Rick Fairbanks
Chris Gleason		 Lola B2K/40 A 94
Nissan 3.4 L V6
DNF LMP675 33 MG Sport & Racing Ltd. Julian Bailey
Mark Blundell
Kevin McGarrity		 MG-Lola EX257 M 92
MG XP20 2.0 L Turbo I4
DNF LMP900 11 Panoz Motor Sports Klaus Graf
Jamie Davies
Gary Formato		 Panoz LMP07 M 86
Élan 4.0 L V8
DNF LMP900 12 Panoz Motor Sports David Brabham
Jan Magnussen
Franck Lagorce		 Panoz LMP07 M 85
Élan 4.0 L V8
DNF LMP900 3 Champion Racing Johnny Herbert
Didier Theys
Ralf Kelleners		 Audi R8 M 81
Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8
DNF LMP900 10 Team Den Blå Avis-Goh John Nielsen
Hiroki Katoh
Casper Elgaard		 Dome S101 G 66
Judd GV4 4.0 L V10
DNF LMP900 21 Team Ascari Klaas Zwart
Xavier Pompidou
Scott Maxwell		 Ascari A410 G 66
Judd GV4 4.0 L V10
DNF LMGTS 55 Paul Belmondo Racing Vincent Vosse
Vanina Ickx
Carl Rosenblad		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R D 61
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
DNF LMGTP 7 Team Bentley Martin Brundle
Stéphane Ortelli
Guy Smith		 Bentley EXP Speed 8 D 56
Bentley 3.6 L Turbo V8
DNF LMP900 5 DAMS Éric Bernard
Emmanuel Collard
Marc Goossens		 Cadillac Northstar LMP01 M 56
Cadillac Northstar 4.0 L Turbo V8
DNF LMP900 19 SMG Philippe Gache
Jérôme Policand
Anthony Beltoise		 Courage C60 M 51
Judd GV4 4.0 L V10
DNF LMGTS 56 Paul Belmondo Racing Grégoire de Galzain
Anthony Kumpen
Jean-Claude Lagniez		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R D 44
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
DNF LMGT 71 Racing Engineering Robin Donovan
Terry Lingner
Chris MacAllister		 Porsche 911 GT3-R D 44
Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6
DNF LMP900 18 Pescarolo Sport Emmanuel Clérico
Didier Cottaz
Boris Derichebourg		 Courage C60 M 42
Peugeot A32 3.2 L Turbo V6
DNF LMP900 4 Johansson Motorsport Stefan Johansson
Tom Coronel
Patrick Lemarié		 Audi R8 M 35
Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8
DNF LMP675 34 MG Sport & Racing Ltd. Anthony Reid
Warren Hughes
Jonny Kane		 MG-Lola EX257 M 30
MG XP20 2.0 L Turbo I4
DNF LMP675 37 Dick Barbour Racing John Graham
Milka Duno
David Murry		 Reynard 01Q G 4
Judd GV675 3.4 L V8
DNF LMGTS 61 Konrad Motorsport Walter Brun
Toni Seiler
Charles Slater		 Saleen S7-R G 4
Ford 6.9 L V8
DNF LMGTS 57 Equipe de France FFSA David Terrien
Jonathan Cochet
Jean-Philippe Dayraut		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 4
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
DNF LMP675 35 S+R Rowan Racing Ltd. Warren Carway
Martin O'Connell
François Migault		 Pilbeam MP84 A 3
Nissan VQL 3.0 L V6
  • Distance - 4381.65 km
  • Average Speed - 180.949 km/h
  • Highest Trap Speed — Audi R8 - 318 km/h (race), Dome Judd S101 - 335 km/h (Practice)[55]

References
  1. "2018 24 Hours of Le Mans – Press Information" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. June 2018. pp. 7, 10, 16 & 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  2. "Commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hours". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  3. "Le Mans — How It Began". Road & Track. 16 May 2007. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  4. Hargreaves, Eilidh (13 May 2019). "An insider's guide to the Le Mans 24hours: how to experience the ultimate endurance race in style". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  5. Jensen, Tom (7 March 2006). "SPEED Top 10 Moments #4: Mercedes Le Mans Flip". Speed. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  6. "Inauguration of the "new" bump on Mulsanne Straight". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 27 March 2001. Archived from the original on 8 May 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  7. Denoyelle, Nicolas (22 March 2001). "69e édition de la course d'endurance, les 16 et 17 juin 2001 Les abords des Hunaudières reboisés" [69th edition of the endurance race, June 16 and 17, 2001 The surroundings of the reforested Hunaudières]. Ouest-France (in French). Archived from the original on 6 May 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  8. "69e édition de la course d'endurance, les 16 et 17 juin 2001 Hunaudières : les bosses en moins" [69th edition of the endurance race, June 16 and 17, 2001 Hunaudières: fewer bumps]. Ouest-France (in French). 21 March 2001. Archived from the original on 18 February 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  9. "La Sarthe Changes At Indianapolis Too". TotalMotorSport. 25 January 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
    "Indianapolis Corner Work Continues". TotalMotorSport. 23 March 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  10. Laffeas, Marc (21 September 2000). "2001 Regs Changes to LMP 675 engine regs". TotalMotorSport. Archived from the original on 5 November 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  11. "24 Hours Latest Courage / Vanina Ickx / Test Day". TotalMotorSport. 14 November 2000. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  12. "Règlement & Essais préliminaires" [Regulations & Preliminary tests]. Ouest-France (in French). 11 November 2000. Archived from the original on 7 February 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  13. Legangne, David; Wilson, Rick (22 March 2001). "Le Mans news round-up: Le Mans entry list". Maison Blanche. Archived from the original on 18 April 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  14. "Le Mans 24 Hours (June 16th – 17th June 2001) – Supplementary Regulations" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 29 January 2001. pp. 3, 6, 11–12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  15. "America well represented on Le Mans entry". Crash. 6 April 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  16. "Le Mans Test Day Regulations". TotalMotorSport. 26 January 2001. Archived from the original on 6 September 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  17. "Le Mans 24 Hours 2001 entry list". Maison Blanche. 5 April 2001. Archived from the original on 8 April 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  18. Fallon, Cormack (4 April 2001). "ACO – Le Mans Entry List Released". Speedvision. Archived from the original on 1 June 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  19. "Withdrawal of the Official Saleen No. 59". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 27 April 2001. Archived from the original on 21 July 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  20. "Le Mans Test Day – 06/05/2001 Le Mans Entry". TotalMotorSport. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  21. "Official test (AM): Johansson leads early running". Autosport. 6 May 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  22. "Morning Session". Club Arnage. 6 May 2001. Archived from the original on 21 August 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  23. Fallon, Cormack (6 May 2001). "ACO – Johansson Sets Early Pace in Le Mans Trials". Speedvision. Archived from the original on 8 June 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  24. Radcliffe, Peter; Hettler, Jan (6 May 2001). "Le Mans Test Day – Sunday – Report". TotalMotorSport. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  25. "Preliminary Practice – Session One". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 6 May 2001. Archived from the original on 18 July 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  26. "Official test (PM): Capello throws down gauntlet". Autosport. 6 May 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  27. "Audi in the Lead During Practice Session 2". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 6 May 2001. Archived from the original on 26 May 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  28. Fallon, Cormack (6 May 2001). "ACO – Capello Tops Le Mans Test". Speedvision. Archived from the original on 8 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  29. Wilson, Rick; Legangneux, David (6 May 2001). "Preliminary testing report". Maison Blanche. Archived from the original on 22 August 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  30. "Afternoon Session". Club Arnage. 6 May 2001. Archived from the original on 29 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  31. "Le Mans Qualifying – 14/06/2001 – First Session On Wednesday". TotalMotorSport. 14 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  32. "Audi seek repeat". BBC Sport. 15 June 2001. Archived from the original on 6 March 2004. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  33. "Audi Ahead But Under Pressure". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 14 June 2001. Archived from the original on 24 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  34. Gardner, John (13 June 2001). "Le Mans, Wednesday Qualifying: Audis Set Early Pace". Speedvision. Archived from the original on 22 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  35. "First qualifying: Audi quick; Dome surprises". Autosport. 13 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  36. "1–2–3 – Audi Secures Top Three Slots!". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 14 June 2001. Archived from the original on 7 September 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  37. "Audi all the way in first qualifying". Crash. 13 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  38. "Wednesday qual: Kristensen heads Audi 1-2-3". Autosport. 13 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  39. Simpson, Jack (14 June 2001). "2nd Practice Session [Daylight]". Club Arnage. Archived from the original on 8 November 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  40. "Thursday first qual: No change at the top". Autosport. 14 June 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  41. "Le Mans 24Hrs: Qualifying - session three". Crash. 14 June 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  42. Fallon, Cormack (14 June 2001). "Le Mans, Thursday Qualifying: Capello Takes Pole, Grid Set". Speedvision. Archived from the original on 24 June 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  43. "Le Mans Qualifying – 14/06/2001 – Thursday – Let`s Go Again". TotalMotorSport. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  44. "Would Could Catch The Audis?". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 14 June 2001. Archived from the original on 29 June 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  45. Thomas, Stella-Maria; Waite, Lynne (14 June 2001). "2nd Practice Session [night]". Club Arnage. Archived from the original on 8 November 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  46. "Capello dashes Kristensen's hopes of pole". Crash. 14 June 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  47. "Qualifying: Capello nicks pole as Audi rules". Autosport. 15 June 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  48. "Le Mans Qualifying –14/06/2001 – Thursday –Second Session". TotalMotorSport. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  49. "Le Mans Qualifying – 14/06/2001 – Friday – (Porsche) News And Prospects". TotalMotorSport. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  50. "qualifying times". Maison Blanche. Archived from the original on 23 June 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  51. "Warm-up: Pescatori's turn at the top". Autosport. 16 June 2001. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  52. "The Warm-Up, Final Rehearsal Before The Race". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 16 June 2001. Archived from the original on 31 July 2001. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  53. "The 24 Hours – 17/06/2001 – Race Morning – Warm Up". TotalMotorSport. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  54. Virfeu, Jean-Claude (18 June 2001). "69e édition des 24 Heures auto, les 16 et 17 juin 2001 – Les 24 heures de course – Audi double la mise" [69th edition of the 24 Hours of Auto, June 16 and 17, 2001 – The 24 hours of racing – Audi doubles the stake]. Ouest-France (in French). Archived from the original on 27 October 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  55. Official Le Mans 2001 Annual: mulsannecorner.com
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.