TEAM QUAIL AT LE MANS

2000

The three Audis at the start of the 2000 Le Mans

BMW did not come back to Le Mans in 2000 as a works team, and the sole private entry retired after 180 laps. But it was time for another German marque to begin a period of dominance – Audi. And the three R8 car team was managed by Reinhold Joest, the most successful privateer at Le Mans.

Audi started at the front, and stayed there, except for one brief period when the safety car was out  after a DAMS Cadillac caught fire. The Panoz teams had brought David Brabham in early for a pit stop, and when the race restated he was leading. But it only lasted 4 laps, and the Panoz challenge had faded by mid-distance. Audi only had to worry about each other, and they only had minor problems to deal with such as punctures and brake disc changes, and a spin of Ortelli.

Two of the cars had needed gearbox changes during the night, but  Audi had allowed for that with a rear-end design that allowed gearbox and suspension to be changed as a unit, in minutes.

Nothing could challenge the dominance of Audi in 2000

So at 4pm the Audi of winner Tom Kristensen, Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro, joined in formation with the second and third Audis (McNish, Aiello  & Ortelli and  Alboreto/Abt/Capello) to cross the line. The third car was some twenty laps ahead of the fourth placed Courage-Peugeot of Ourdais, Grouillard and Clerico, with Panoz fifth.

Results in full

2001

Audi had a disastrous build up to the race when Michele Alboreto was killed while preparing for this year's race, while testing at the Lausitzring in Germany in April after a tyre blew on a high-speed section of the track. Audi decided that there was nothing a fault with the car and went ahead with their preparations.

 The remains of Michele Alboreto's Audi

So as Audi returned to defend their crown with two works entries, there was a new challenge in the return of Bentley seventy-one years after their last official entry. And for additional British interest MG had a works team in the smaller prototype class.

The rain shaped the course of the race, sometimes it rained on just one part of the circuit, sometimes on others, and most of the time everywhere, and when it was wet, it was very wet.

In 2001 it poured with rain for much of the race

Ten minutes after the start the first deluge put half a dozen cars off the track, and brought the pace car out for the first of many appearances. After seven laps Bentley led Le Mans, as Martin Brundell passed Aiello’s number 2 Audi. For two hours as the rain and pace car came and went Bentley slugged it out with Audi, as other cars dropped out.

The rain caused many problems to most cars. The leading Bentley driven by Brundle, Ortelli and Smith went out in the fifth hour , stuck in top gear, and its overheating turbo chargers briefly setting the bodywork alight. Both Bentley had trouble in the rain with the electrics, the cockpit and the radio. For most of the race the drivers were blinded by the misted screen and out of radio contact with the pits. The number 4 Audi in the famous Gulf Oil colours had already gone, as had the quicker of the MGs, and one of the Cadillacs along with several others.

The new MG Team ran very well

The MGs had countless practice problems, but after twenty minutes they were sixth and seventh, and giving the bigger cars a fright. After eighty minutes Brundell was up to fifth and then he passed the second Bentley to go into fourth place, and briefly into third. It was a fantastic effort, but the first MG had gone by the sixth hour, while the second hung on until after midnight when it drowned.

One by one threat to Audi retired, and Sunday morning was unusually quiet, half the 48 car fields was out. By breakfast, the second private Audi had gone with a Cooked clutch, and both the Domes and Panozes which had fought for the early lead had gone.

The winning Audi and the third placed Bentley

Only the Audis and the surviving Bentley looked comfortable, and the Bentley team eventually got on top of some of the problems, like gear selection and driver vision. But the Audi were a dozen laps clear of Bentley at the end, as they came home in formation, with Bentley and the rest tagging on behind, the last part of the race being a-finish-at-all-costs effort, a nightmare in the conditions.

Results in full

2002

The big surprise in 2002 was that Bentley only entered, or was allowed to enter, one car, the number 8 of Wallace-Leitzinger-Van de Poele. It was rumoured that Audi were going all out for victory while depriving it's Bentley off-shoot of funds, which would be enhanced in 2003. MG were back with two entries, and Morgan entered in the LMGT class.

The Bentley leads the MG

There was further drama, when having qualified 1-2-3 on the grid, the number 3 Audi had a puncture on the parade lap and had to start from the pit-lane. But it was not long before it had hauled its way back up the field and took third spot. Apart from this Audi had a smooth run, which was marked only by the number of punctures the number 2 and number 3 cars had, whilst the number 1 car only suffered with one.

So in front of 220,000 spectators, Audi ran the race that everyone had expected from them. Perfect from start to finish, the Ingolstadt manufacturer  not only won the race three times in a row in a dominating fashion, it also become a part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans legend.

By winning the Sarthe classic three times in a row, Audi became only the sixth manufacturer to have achieved such a result, joining the ranks of Bentley, Alfa-Romeo, Ferrari, Matra and Porsche. All of these manufacturers are truly legendary.

Audi become a part of this race's history. The third consecutive win means that Audi was given the enormous 24 Hours of Le Mans trophy to keep indefinitely. The German manufacturer dominated the race for the last three years: a triple in 2000 with all three works cars, a 1-2 finish in 2001 with two cars entered, and another triple this year, with three works cars having taken the start. The number 1 team of Pirro-Biela-Kristensen finished in front of the number 2 team of Capello-Pescatori-Herbert, followed by the number3 team of Krumm-Peter-Werner. A stellar performance thanks to an unequalled level of performance and rock-solid reliability. Since the car first raced at Le Mans in 1999, the Audi Joest team has yet to retire a car from the race.

The dominant Audis take 1-2-3

Another record was broken by the team of the Italian Emanuele Pirro (40 years old), the German Frank Biela (37 years old) and the Dane Tom Kristensen (34 years old). The trio was the first, after 70 editions of the classic race, to have won three times in a row. With Kristensen having now won the race on 4 different occasions, he came ever closer to matching Jacky Ickx's record (6 victories).

Another record was just missed. With much of the race gone the Audis were on course to run the fastest Le Mans ever, however the appearances of the pace car put paid to that.

The Number 1 and 2 Audis

Just shy of the podium was the sole Bentley, driven by Wallace-Leitzinger-Van de Poele, which was unable to match last year's third-place finish, made all the more difficult this year by having an additional works Audi at the start. Having finished 13 laps behind the winning Audi, the Bentley still has a way to go. The British team, which gave Alain Prost the opportunity to discover the Le Mans classic by inviting him in their pits, nonetheless merited the title of "best of the rest".

The French Oreca team  finished extremely well by completing the race in 5th and 6th place. A remarkable performance for a privately-owned team with no manufacturer support. The number 15 car driven by Beretta-Lamy-Comas finished just seconds ahead of the number 14 team of Sarrazin-Montagny-Minassian.

Just behind the privateer Team Goh Audi and the Racing for Holland Dome cars was the top Cadillac. The number 6 car was 9th overall, with the number 7 finishing in 12th. The number 17 Pescarolo Sport Courage Peugeot finished in a well-deserved 10th place.

In a repeat of last year, there were only two cars in the LMP-675 class that finished the race. Second in 2001, the number 25 WR Peugeot was certain of victory with only a few minutes to go before the chequered flag. But a suspension failure was not to let that be. In the end, the Noël Del Bello Reynard-Lehmann took the surprising class win, the same car which had been victorious the previous year with the ROC team. The MG team ran well before they retired, one of which was caused by the engine catching fire on the Mulsanne straight during the night.

The MG in the LMP-675 Class

The Corvette again took the LM GTS class by storm. A 1-2 finish in 2001, and the same result this year in the very same order: the number 63 car driven by O'Connell-Fellows-Gavin followed by the number 64 team of Pilgrim-Collins-Freon. The number 52 Equipe de France FFSA Chrysler Viper completed the podium.

The Porsches again laid down the law in LM GT. The only cars to finish the race in class were those of the German manufacturer. The Racer's Group number 81 car was victorious over the number 80 Freisinger Motorsport car, which repeated its finishing position of 2001 in 2nd.

The talk at the end of the race was of Audi retiring the works team and moving them to Formula One. Although there will be private Audi entries this must give Bentley its best chance of a win for years in 2003.

The Bentley at the 2002 Birmingham Motor Show

Results in full

The Circuit 2002 onwards

Length: 13.650 km

A major change between the Dunlop Bridge & the Esses with the straight run down the hill being replaced by a series of sweeps. This was to facilitate a better entry to the short Bugatti circuit.

Distance record set by the 2002 winners: 5,118.75 km, average speed: 212.248 km/h.

Fastest lap was set during the 2002 race by Tom Kristensen in the no.1 Audi R8 with a time of 3:33.483, an average speed of 230.182 km/h.
 

2003

This was Bentley's third and probably last attempt to win the race. There was no Audi Works team, but three strong private entries from Audi Sport UK, the American Champion Racing team and the Japanese Team Goh. The Dome-Judds of the Racing for Holland Team also had an outside chance.

At the Sebring 12 hours race Audi won, but Bentley performed well on a circuit  that did not suit them, and starting from the rear of the grid after a minor infringement spotted by the scruitineers.

Team Bentley unveiled their new car and team for 2003 in February. The drivers were named as Mark Blundell, David Brabham and Johnny Herbert together with Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello (the latter three all part of the 2002  Audi team) and Guy Smith.

The car, the Speed 8, was all new. It was still powered by a twin turbo charged, four litre V8 engine developing 600bhp with direct fuel injection. The external cockpit area was much reduced and had a smaller, more aerodynamic engine cover. The air intake had been moved from the top to the sides of the car, lowering the height. These changes made the car quicker and easier to drive. New regulations for 2003 Le Mans has dictated a 10% reduction in engine restrictor size and this lead to many new internal engine components and new electronics. The suspension was been redesigned to receive new Michelin tyres.

The 2003 Bentley Speed 8 at its launch on 4th February 2003

The same day the provisional line up for the British Audi importer Audi Sport UK was announced. Mika Salo (left, in car) will team up with three times winner Frank Biela and Englishman Perry McCarthy.

It was know before the race that the Bentleys were faster and had more power. However they also used more fuel and their thinner tyres would not last as long as the Audis. The question was, therefore, could Bentley establish a substantial enough lead to compensate for more pit visits.

The Team Nasamax entry caused quite a lot of pre-race interest as it had a converted Cosworth engine running on eco-friendly bio-ethonol made from corn mash. It was hampered by the fuel tank restrictions which meant that it would have to pit more often than its rivals. It lasted 138 laps before it caught fire.

The No. 7 Bentley of Kristensen, Capello and Smith headed the grid ahead of their team mates, followed by the three Audis, and they stayed there virtually from start to finish with only minor problems hindering the No. 8 Bentley which finished second, two laps behind. The Audis race consistently with the Champion Racing Team of Pirro, Lehto and Johansson finishing third, five laps adrift, in front of the Team Goh Audi. The third Audi retired before two hours had elapsed when it ran out of fuel when Frank Biela missed a pit stop. The Panoz finished fifth with the Racing for Holland Dome-Judd sixth, Jan Lammers taking the Courage on the last lap.

Bentley therefore took their first victory in the Le Mans 24-Hours race for 73 years as  Tom Kristensen entered the record books with a fourth successive win. Bentley's victory was its sixth overall, with the previous five titles clinched in the golden era of the flamboyant "Bentley Boys" between 1924 and 1930.

A total of 19 cars from the 49 which started abandoned the race, with gearbox malfunction, chassis trouble, engine and transmission failure accounting for the large majority.

History repeated itself for Noël Del Bello Racing in LMP 675. Like last year (and in 2001 with the ROC team), the No. 29 Reynard-Lehman won the class victory after a trouble free race. Out of the seven starting cars, only three made it to the finish.

For its fiftieth anniversary, Corvette wanted a third win in a row in LMGTS, however the Veloqx Prodrive Ferrari showed their strength, even if only one of them made it to the finish. The No.88 550 Maranello driven by Enge/Davies/Kox, which finished 10th overall, won class victory, leaving the No.50 and No.53 Corvettes 10 laps behind.

In LM GT, for the fifth consecutive year, a Porsche 911 GT3 wins class victory. The German cars took the top 6 positions in the category. The No. 93 Alex Job Racing car driven by Collard/Luhr/Maassen won, with the No. 87 Orbit Racing car coming second, and the No. 75 Thierry Perrier car was third.

Results in full

2004

2004 saw the introduction of new regulations being gradually phased in over the next three seasons, which when fully enforced will consign the existing prototypes to history. The new regulations are designed at greater safety, making the cars more aerodynamically stable and less likely to take off at high speed. Seven cars in this race have chassis converted from the previous generation to conform to the new aerodynamic regulations. The ability of Audi to change the entire rear end of the car was stopped by a rule that required the same gear box casing to be retained throughout the race.

There were also new classes with LMP1  as the top prototype class (incorporating  LMP900); LMP2 the entry level prototype class (effectively replacing LMP675), GTS for the top road based cars and GT for true road-going cars.

With Bentley not competing before the race it looked odds on an Audi R8 win in 2004, even though there were no factory entered cars. The three privateers were piloted by drivers with 16 Le Mans wins between them. They were JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and Emanuele Pirro in the Champion Racing R8; Seiji Ara, Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen for Audi Sport Japan Team Goh and Allan McNish, Frank Biela and Pierre Kaffer in the number 8 with Johnny Herbert, Jamie Davies and Guy Smith in number 88 for the Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx.

The Nasamax  Judd DM139, running on eco-friendly bio-ethonol was back with a 135 litre capacity fuel tank, rather than the standard 80 litres. It was the only 900 kilo prototype to conform with the new regulations. Taurus Sports entered a Lola-Caterpillar running on diesel.

The LMP2 grid was dominated by 5 Courage entries in a field of seven cars. With another year to go before the promised introduction of teams from Lamborghini and Maserati, the GTS promised to be another showdown between Chevrolet Corvettes and Ferrari, with the added interest of 1995 world Rally Champion Colin McRae in a Prodrive Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello. The GT class was again made up mostly of Porsche 911s but TVR returned with two T400R private entries and Morgan returned after a gap of a year with an Aero 8.

The Start

As expected the Audi’s dominated qualifying and started with four of the first six places, with the #8 and #88 British Veloqx cars one and two, the Japanese Goh car fourth and the #2 American Champion Audi sixth. The new Zytec car managed to split them and started third, but on the first lap dropped to seventh. One TVR had problems with the engine management system in the first 10 minutes and pitted for around twenty minutes. Then Capello in the Japanese Audi # 5 went into the gravel trap in the Dunlop curve losing precious time.

In the GTS class #65 and #66 Ferraris led the #64 Corvette, but this was reversed at the first pit stop.

The British Veloqx Audis which started first and second, and finished second and fifth

Just before the second hour had elapsed the #8 Veloqx and #2 American Audis, second and third place (driven by McNish and Lehto), spun off on oil left by a slower car at the Porsche Curves and slammed into the tires at 190mph. The #66 Ferrari also went off, but there was no contact and it continued. Both Audis were pulled out of the gravel and returned to the pits with heavy damage. Alan McNish was briefly unconscious, but quickly recovered however he was advised by doctors not to continue, so the car continued with his two co-drivers. After two hours the Audi #88 was leading from the Audi # 5 which had recovered and had come through the field.

The Remains of the Champion and Veloqx Audis after the second hour off. They finished 3rd and 5th.

The race started to settle down after three hours with Audi first and second with Pescarolo third and Jan Lammers Dome fourth. Colin McRae briefly made eighth in his Ferrari, one place behind the leading Corvette

On five hours can the first official retirement - The #10 Lola-Caterpillar with transmission problems. Jan Lammers pitted with a fuel pump problem. Colin McRae had a small spin with the #65 Prodrive Ferrari, destroying the clutch in the gravel.

Overnight there was a succession of crashes and punctures, but no change to the overall lead. In the GTS class #64 Corvette had an off handing the lead to the #65 Ferrari.

Then, the sixteenth hour started with as much action as there had been at any time in the race. First Short in the #6 Dallara was pitched into the gravel by the #17 Pescarolo, costing them their hard earned 4th position. Very soon after the #88 Audi had an off and received front end damage and arrived back at the pits to find that its team mate was having a rear suspension part replaced. This cost it the lead for the first time in the race to the #5 Audi. Martin Short in the #6 Dallara then had an accident at the Porsche Curves which badly damaged the car. He was able to get out of the car at the scene but suffered concussion. Davies in the #88 Audi set the fastest lap of the race in his chase of the #5 car with 3.34.264. Both Pescarolo cars reached the top five as the stopped Dallara slid down the order. Pirro’s chase of the 3rd place #18 Pescarolo was delayed when he went through the gravel at Mulsanne corner.

So in the early morning light Tom Kristensen in the Goh Audi # 5was on course for his sixth successive victory in the, despite the early incident, but Herbert’s Veloqx Audi was on the same lap with seven hours to go. 

The Pescarolo went off at Mulasanne, have just pitted, and handed third place to the #2 Champion Audi driven by J J Lehto, despite having lost a large amount of time in the earlier high speed shunt.

At 12.13 the Audi # 8 took fifth place from the Corvette # 64 having made up thirty-nine places since its return to the track just after 19.00 on Saturday evening, thanks to the efforts of Frank Biela and Pierre Kaffer as Allan McNish was obliged to withdraw on doctors' recommendations.

The last hour or so saw Herbert in his #88 Audi UK desperately chasing down the Goh Audi, with the gap reduced to under a minute with 90 minutes to go.

Seigi Ara brought the #5 Goh Audi home for Tom Kristensen’s record equalling six Le Mans win (in just eight entries) from Johnny Herbert’s #88 Veloqx Audi (which went though  the gravel, pushing, with just 10 minutes to go) by some 41 seconds, and J J Lehto’s #2 Champion Audi. The #8 Veloqx Audi, driven for twenty two hours by just Frank Biela and Pierre Kaffer was fifth with the #18 Pescarolo fourth.

The Nasamax finished for the first time in 17th but some 63 laps behind.

The winning Team Goh Audi

The winner completed 379 laps, more than Bentley’s record for this circuit set in 2003, but with the disadvantage of a smaller fuel tanks (but with fewer safety car laps).

In LMP2 the class win went to #32 Intersport Racing Lola which finished in 26^th, but following several GTS and GT cars, and one of only two cars classified in class.

GTS Oliver Gavin brought the #64 Corvette home for a class win (and sixth overall) by over 11 laps over the #63 Corvette. Colin McRae’s Ferrari was third in class and ninth overall.

Porsche dominated the GT class as usual taking 1, 2 &3. Both TVRs also finished, in 22nd and 24th. The Morgan finished 28th but completed 222 laps, not enough to be classified.

So the 2004 race did end up as a battle between the Audis as predicted, but given the reliability shown in previous years and the incredible driver experience, unbelievably all the Audis suffered major problems, which provided for one of the best races of recent years.

Results in full

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