Le
Mans 24 Hours, 15/16 June 2002
Race
Audi Sport UK, 16th June: Brentwood-born Johnny Herbert
claimed second-place in the Le Mans 24 Hours today (SUN) as
Audi scored a historic third consecutive victory in this year’s
round-the-clock marathon which saw the German manufacturer sweep
to a dominant, unchallenged 1-2-3 result.
Britain’s
former Grand Prix ace started from pole-position but two separate
punctures after four hours cost the Herbert car the lead. A
third puncture after nine hours, dropped the Briton to third,
two laps down on the leading Audi of ultimate record-breaking
winners Frank Biela/Tom Kristensen/Emanuele Pirro.
Despite
a fourth puncture, Herbert briefly moved back on to the lead
lap with six hours remaining when Biela lost seven minutes having
his Audi’s starter and battery changed.
Herbert
confirmed: “The time we lost due to four punctures cost our
car any chance we had of victory. It’s a crying shame - the
car itself ran faultlessly, fast and reliable throughout the
24 hours. But no one can be blamed for a tyre being punctured
- you’re literally in the lap of the Gods with something like
that and we were the unlucky ones - fourfold!”
At
the chequered flag Herbert, who physically drove for almost
11 hours in four separate stints, finished a lap down on the
triumphant Biela/Kristensen/Pirro Audi. The German/Danish/Italian
combination, who covered the 3,180-mile race distance at an
average speed of over 132mph, become the first identical crew
to ever win the legendary Le Mans race for three consecutive
years since the race first ran in 1923.
The
third-place Infineon Audi R8 of Michael Krumm/Marco Werner/Philipp
Peter finished third, three laps adrift of the winners with
the fourth-placed car an amazing 110-miles behind the winning
Audi which, in the hands of Kristensen, also set a new lap record
of 3min 33.483secs, an average speed of over 143mph, around
the revised 8.482-mile track - the fastest-ever lap time in
the 70-race history.
The
customer Audi Sport Japan Team Goh 2001-specification Audi R8
netted seventh place having lost 30minutes to change a water
radiator.
Qualifying
Final
qualifying - Capello sets fastest ever lap time
Audi
Sport UK, 13th June: Johnny Herbert will start his Audi
R8 from pole-position in the Le Mans 24 Hours tomorrow (SAT)
afternoon.
His
Italian Co-driver Rinaldo Capello shaved almost half a second
off his provisional pole-time last night (THURS) to stop the
clock at 3min 29.905secs, an average of 145.47mph around the
8.48-mile circuit.
“Dindo’s
time was actually the fastest ever lap time ever recorded
around Le Mans which proves just how quick we are,” confirmed
1991 Le Mans winner Johnny. “We’ve not only got a very fast
car but one that is exceptionally reliable backed up by two
previous Le Mans wins.”
Tom
Kristensen, of Denmark, also improved on his time from the opening
qualifying sessions on Wednesday evening but remains alongside
the Herbert/Capello/Christian Pescatori Audi - three-tenth’s
of a second off Capello’s amazing time. Kristensen shares a
similar Audi with Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro aiming to record
their third consecutive Le Mans triumph.
Audi
fill the top-three places on the 50-car starting grid after
Michael Krumm moved up from fourth to third in the final two
hour session.
Herbert
added: “Three factory-entered Audis head the grid which bodes
well. But we need to repeat that performance for 24 hours
when the race gets underway.”
Audi
finished 1-2-3 in the round-the-clock endurance classic in 2000
and 1-2 last year with its dominant Audi R8 sportscars featuring
the latest fuel-efficient engine technology. The 70th running
of the historic motor race begins at 3pm (BST) tomorrow (SAT).
Top
10 on the starting grid at Le Mans:
1.
Capello/Herbert/Pescatori (Infineon Audi R8) 3m 29.905s
2. Biela/Kristensen/Pirro (Infineon Audi R8) 3m 30.219s
3. Krumm/Peter/Werner (Infineon Audi R8) 3m 30.801s
4. Montagny/Sarrazin/Minassian (Oreca-Judd) 3m 31.828s
5. Lammers/Hillebrand/Coronel (Dome-Judd) 3m 32.734s
6. Blundell/Bailey/McGarrity (MG Lola) 3m 33.254s
7. Beretta/Lamy/Comas (Oreca-Judd) 3m 33.403s
8. Bernard/Collard/Lehto (Cadillac) 3m 33.569s
9. Brabham/Magnussen/Herta (Panoz) 3m 34.824s
10. Angelelli/Taylor/Tinseau (Cadillac) 3m 35.042s .
Wednesday
qualifying - Capello quickest for Audi
Autosport,
12th June: Audi ace Rinaldo Capello stole Dome's thunder
to take provisional pole position in tonight's (Wednesday) second
qualifying session for the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Italian set
a new mark of 3m30.347s after eight minutes of the two-hour
session to knock Jan Lammers off the top spot. The Dutchman
had surprised the Audi squad by outpacing them in the first
session.
The
Racing for Holland team lost another place just seconds after
Capello had eclipsed its time when Tom Kristensen's R8 jumped
up to second, giving Audi a one-two. Lammers responded by improving
his time to 1m31.057s, but he remained third.
As
most teams will concentrate on race set-up in tomorrow night's
two sessions, that skirmish could well have settled the top
grid positions for the race, which starts on Saturday afternoon.
Top
10 qualifying times:
1
Capello/Herbert/Pescatori Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R8 3m30.347s
2 Kristensen/Biela/Pirro Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R8 3m30.701s
3 Lammers/Hillebrand/Coronel Racing for Holland, Dome-Judd S101
3m31.057s
4 Krumm/Peter/Werner Audi Sport North America, Audi R8 3m32.531s
5 Blundell/Bailey/McGarrity MG Sport, MG-Lola EX257 3m33.254s
6 Sarrazin/Montagny/Minassian Team ORECA, Dallara-Judd LMP 3m34.053s
7 Beretta/Lamy/Comas Team ORECA, Dallara-Judd LMP 3m34.244s
8 Taylor/Angelelli/Tinseau Cadillac, Team Cadillac, Cadillac
LMP02 3m35.042s
9 Cottaz/Derichebourg/Bjork Courage Competition, Courage-Judd
C60JX 3m36.942s
10 Wallace/Leitzinger/van de Poele Team Bentley, Bentley EXP
Speed 8 3m38.036s* .
Preview
Johnny aims to record Audi's Le Mans hat-trick
Audi
UK Sport Press Release, 8th June: Johnny Herbert will be
bidding to score his second and Audi’s third Le Mans 24 Hour
victory when the Briton lines-up for this year’s round-the-clock
marathon on Saturday afternoon (15 June).
The
37-year-old three-time Formula One Grand Prix race winner drives
for the all-conquering “works” Audi team that has dominated
the annual French marathon in recent years. In 2000, the German
manufacturer claimed the top-three places and then finished
first and second last year with its phenomenally successful
220mph Audi R8 sportscar.
Indeed
former British Touring Car Champion Frank Biela along with Tom
Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro will make history if their Audi
wins again as never before has the same three drivers claimed
three consecutive Le Mans wins. But Herbert is hungry to repeat
his own 1991 Le Mans triumph and is confident that the Audi
he shares with Italian duo Rinaldo Capello and Christian Pescatori
is capable of glory and achieving a memorable Le Mans hat-trick
for Audi.
“My
objective is for ‘Dindo’, Christian and I to win - that’s
not being selfish I’m just being an honest racing driver,”
confirmed Herbert who has been cycling near his Monte Carlo
home in preparation for the physically demanding race. “I’m
racing at Le Mans to win myself but we’ll obviously do everything
to help the other two ‘factory’ Audis as whatever happens,
the important factor is for Audi to claim its third Le Mans
triumph - a tremendous feat.
“Dindo,
Christian and I won the Sebring 12 Hour race in America in
March while our car set the quickest time in warm-up trials
at Le Mans last month so the build up couldn’t have been better
for the three of us. But Le Mans is unique - that’s the attraction
of arguably the world’s most famous and difficult motor race.”
A twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre V8 engine, which features the
latest FSI (petrol direct injection) technology to improve fuel
economy and torque, produces 610bhp. The winning car will need
to clock up in the region of 3,200 miles at an average speed
of almost 130mph around the 8.62-mile circuit which is fractionally
longer this year.
The
fuel-efficient Audis will make scheduled pit-stops approximately
every 45 minutes to take on almost 19 gallons of petrol which
sees the car stationary on average for just 30-seconds courtesy
of well-regimented and efficient team tactics. A new set of
Michelin tyres are generally fitted at every other pit-stop.
Each
driver will normally stay behind the wheel for at least two
“stints” but cannot exceed four hours driving at any one time.
The car is stationary for less than a minute even when tyres,
fuel and a driver change takes place.
Johnny
continued: “There is a pit-lane speed of 37mph. Strict rules
apply during refuelling - the engine must be switched off,
the car cannot be jacked-up, no repairs can be done until
refuelling has finished. Once it is fuelled-up, up to four
mechanics can then work on the car.
“If
I’m driving then either ‘Dindo’ or Christian will be waiting
in the garage, in their race-suit, ready to jump in the car
if I want to make a sudden pit-stop. The ‘off duty’ driver
will often have a massage, eat something like pasta and perhaps
lie down for a few minutes. But you never fully switch off
even when you’re not in the car - you’re always listening
out for news about your co-drivers and of course keeping your
fingers tightly crossed.”
But
Herbert and the rest of the Audi driver squad know that they
have the best car. Since the Audi R8 made its race début in
March 2000, it has chalked up 21 victories from 26 races.
“An
Audi will win Le Mans again this year barring a major catastrophe,”
confirmed Herbert. “It’s the fastest, best handling and most
reliable machine in the entire 50-car Le Mans field. The changes
to the rear aerodynamics worked well in the Le Mans test and
in our final 30-hour test at the high-speed Paul Ricard circuit
recently.”
May
test
Johnny's car is quickest overall in pre-practice
Audi
UK Sport Press Release, 5th May: Britain’s Johnny Herbert
and the Audi team warmed-up for next month’s Le Mans 24 Hours
in fine style by blitzing the opposition at trials in France
today (Sunday) - recording a time almost two seconds quicker
than their closest rival.
German manufacturer Audi has won the annual round-the-clock
endurance sportscar race for the past two years while ex-Formula
One ace Herbert (37) will be bidding to repeat his 1991 Le Mans
triumph.
The
Infineon Audi R8 of Herbert and his Italian co-drivers Rinaldo
Capello plus Christian Pescatori clocked the quickest time around
the revised 8.62-mile Le Sarthe track after two, four hour time
trials. Capello ultimately beat Herbert’s quickest lap with
just 10 minutes remaining when the Italian set a 3mins 30.296secs
- an average speed of over 135mph.
The
similar 200mph Audi of Frank Biela (D), Tom Kristensen (Den)
and Emanuele Pirro (It) claimed the third fastest time (3:32.578).
A third consecutive victory for the trio will re-write the motor
racing history books as never before has the same three drivers
won three consecutive Le Mans races.
The
third, latest specification "factory" entered Audi
of Michael Krumm (D)/Philipp Peter (A)/Marco Werner (D) were
fourth quickest (3:33.180). Meanwhile the Audi Sport Japan Team
Goh 2001-spec R8 of Seiji Ara (Jap)/Yannick Dalmas (F)/Hiroki
Katoh (Jap) clocked a 3:36.074.
A
52-car entry contested the tests in overcast and cool conditions,
the only opportunity to race around the circuit made up of public
roads before this year’s event on 15-16 June.
1
J Herbert/R Capello/C Pescatori (Audi R8) 3min 30.296secs
2 F Montagny/S Sarrazin/S Johansson (Oreca Dallara) 3:32.168
3 F Biela/T Kristensen/E Pirro (Audi R8) 3:32.578
4 M Werner/P Peter/M Krumm (Audi R8) 3:33.160
5 M Blundell/J Bailey (MG) 3:33.414
6 A Wallace/E van de Poele/B Leitzinger (Bentley) 3:34.556
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