2002 Le Mans

Le Mans, France (bM) For the third year in a row Audi finds the top step on the podium at Le Mans en route to another factory sweep. Also for the third year it was the driving team of Kristensen, Pirro, and Biela to steer the winning car to the win. It was the first time in history that the same three drivers have won three years in a row.

The win was not easy however. Tire punctures plagued the LMP 900 Audi cars throughout the event and in the end the winning car had the best luck with keep all four tires inflated. Early one of the factory LMP 675 MG's put pressure on Audi, running as high as third. Then the GTP Bentley and the privateer Dallara's took turns keeping the Audi's honest. At the end of twenty four hours though the lead MG had gearbox failure while it's sister car lost the engine. The Bentley couldn't match the pace, while the Dallara's each had gearbox trouble. So, not a classic in terms of drama to the finish but a good race nonetheless.

The GTS class was a battle between the tortoise and the hare. The factory Corvette's were not up to the pace of the Prodrive prepared Ferrari 550 Maranello's, losing several seconds each lap. Unfortunately the Ferrari engine couldn't hold up and went up in smoke shortly after 4:00 a.m. With the Saleen's not up to speed the Viper's took up the challenge and finished third in class.

GT, or the factory Hot-rod class, was a Porsche show. BMW had backed out this year in a hissy fit virtually ensuring a Porsche win, at the end it was American-based The Racer's Group who took a 911 GT3-RS to the class win. The big story in this class were two quirky cars from Europe. Morgan was at Le Mans with their Aero 8 and Spyker brought the C8 Double 12, both were powered by BMW V8 engines and unfortunately both failed to finish. But it was wonderful to see such variety at Le Mans.

The finishing order was pretty much known with about an hour remaining, but wasn't without heartbreak for the then LMP 675 leading WR/Peugeot. They had a substantial lead but broke a rear upright and were forced to pit for several laps. Still, though, they were leading by over a lap. But with mere minutes remaining the upright broke again and handed the lead to the second place Reynard.

That's Le Mans, she takes just as quickly as she gives. Audi say they're not coming back next year with a factory effort, but will the publicity of four wins a row change their mind?

2002 RACE BRIEFING

Hour 1: Race started with the pole sitting #2 Audi taking the lead in front of the #'s 1 and 3 Audi. The #5 Audi took to the pits immediately with a puncture, foreshadowing things to come. Jan Lammers in the Dome couldn't match the pace of the Audis and has settled into 3rd. The Oreca Dallara is 4th while the MG is 5th. Two Caddy's are in the top ten! The #11 Panoz is still suffering with dealer's luck. The fire on Thursday nearly packed them in, then they stopped on lap 2 with a puncture. GTS isn't a battle at the moment, prodrive having the speed with the Ferrari over a Larbre Competition Viper and Corvette. In GT the Morgan has hit the pits with a shimmy in the drivetrain. At hours end it had only run 5 laps. The Spyker had to start from the pit lane with a faulty battery. California based The Racers Group pole sitting Porsche leads.

Hour 2: Race pace has definitely settled in. Lead Audi's exited the pits in numerical order #1 in 1st, #2 in 2nd but a mistake by Milka Duno in a Panoz allowed Johnny Herbert back through in the #2. The lone British-made Ascari had a HUGE off after a lower left rear wishbone broke. Werner Lupberger is still trying to get the car back into the pits. MG is finding that getting out of the pits is hassle with the touchy clutch. Cadillac CONTINUE to have problems with their starter, a situation plaguing them since, umm, inception of the woefully underachieving program. Though they SAY it isn't the SAME starter problem... The 11 Panoz is having another oil issue and has spent time in the garage. The two lead Audi's have a cushion over all competitors, and it is now Audi 1-4. 26 MG 6th, Bentley 13th, and 12 Panoz 15th. The 64 Corvette had to adjust their gear linkage to keep the car in 4th and 6th gear costing them time in the pits. Ferrari continue to lead. Much to the delight of the crowd the Morgan has returned but is obviously well down in the running order.

Hour 3: Is the rout on? Audi's still 1-2 in reverse numerical order. The 3 is 3rd and the 5 is 4th. The 26 MG is bring the fight to at least the last Audi, a mere .5 seconds back; the 27 had a headlight problem and has dropped to . Bentley is having a wastegate problem and isn't currently a factor. The 7 Cadillac finally hit the track again after an electrical glitch caused the non starting problem. The Racing for Holland Dome which threatened for pole, has fallen to 12th. The GTS leading Ferrari is up to 17th overall, the 63 Corvette a lap behind them in 18th. The Racers Group Porsche had fallen to 2nd in GT while PK Sport leads, the Spyker a competitive 5th.

Hour 4: Big development at the front, Christian Pescatori suffered a puncture in the lead 2 Audi. It happened around the Dunlop Chicane which for you non-Le Mans-philes is just past the pit exit. By the time he got it back around the car had slipped to third. MG has gotten into 4th and by some measure. The team is optimistic that this car will end up on the podium. The leader had completed 60 laps. Cadillac has dropped to 12th and 28th and is in danger of being beaten by the Riley & Scott Mk IIIc a car they gave up on last season, what a disgrace. GTS is a frantic battle. prodrive and 63 Corvette swap the lead with each pit stop. The 64 Corvette is on a tear to catch up from the earlier mishap with the weak detent springs causing the gearbox to come out of gear. GTS leader has completed 54 laps. Morgan is up to 45th overall besting two 360 Modena's; but in typical Morgan driver fashion the blinker is on! Freisinger Motorsport has taken the lead from PK Sport completing 51 laps after four hours (26th overall), Racer's Group remains 2nd.

Hour 5: Another puncture for the 3 Audi (who had one before the green flag!), moves him back to 4th behind the heretofore flawless 26 MG. the 27 MG has lost the alternator and is dropping down the order. Bentley is back at full clip, the wastegate was fixed and it is in economy mode but up to 8th. Up to 75 laps for the leader. GTS continues to be one of the best chess matches. The Ferrari seems to have 2 seconds or so of speed on the Corvette and has a 50 second cushion, but the Vette is doing a bit better on fuel. Each team is infinitely confident. Viper in third. GT is being led by Porsche, duh. Still the Freisinger one.

Hour 6: The 5 Audi, Team Goh, hit the garage at the end of the hour for some cooling system repairs. Seems as if the right sidepod has had a problem. The 11 Panoz also has cooling problems and spent a good quarter hour in the garage. But it is Audi in numerical order 1-3 then MG in 4th, Dome 5th, and Bentley in 7th splitting the Oreca Dallara's. Cadillac is 9th. 95 laps complete. Prodrive has a lap in hand over 63 Corvette who nearly has a lap over the Larbre Competition Viper. Freisinger Porsche with nearly a minute over PK Sport. The movie cars are the last cars running, 46th and 47th, after fitment of cameras.

Hour 7: Dusk at Le Mans and most of the teams are double stinting tires--changing at each stop is the exception now. The 16 Dome had to stop with a clunky gearbox which was changed in less than 10 mins, it is now out of the top ten however. The 5 Audi had a leaky radiator which was replaced but they too are way down in the order. Between tire strategy, competitors' problems, and consistent laps, the Bentley is up to 5th. Oreca Dallara in 6th and 7th, Caddy in 8th. Pescarolo in 9th, American's Riley & Scott in 10th. Nearing 110 laps in the books. A faulty turbo has foiled the efforts of the American KnightHawk Racing in the privateer MG. Corvette are now starting to double stint their drivers (and hence tires) since darkness has fallen on the track. The temp were only in the mid 80's with moderate humidity but the front engine Chevy puts off massive into the cabin. Freisinger still lead GT, PK Sport has overheating problems and is in the garage. Spyker is 6th in class.

Hour 8: Full dark at Le Mans and Safety Car! This isn't like NADSCAR where they through a caution when someone spills a soda. The reason for this one was a fully involved fire on a prototype. Unfortunately it is the American run KnightHawk MG, somehow the lead Audi might have been involved. This after it suffered a puncture of the right rear, but had a lap on 2nd place number 2 Audi and remains 1st. ...And the weekend keeps getting worse for the 11 Panoz. Still struggling with overheating and now the 12 has power steering problems. Not too much mention as of yet of the Team Playstation Oreca Dallara which is the leading privateer team. BOTH cars were in the top ten (till a gearbox change for the lead car), which is more than can be said for MG, Cadillac, and Panoz. Still a great run for those guys. The 2nd place GTS Corvette blew a right right rear and dropped another lap (-2). The previously leading PK Sport Porsche GT3-RS lost of all things the radiator cap which caused the oil and water temps to spike. A couple of blown head gaskets later and the team are doing some engine work. Morgan continues to plug along at a reasonable pace, team says at that rate it should go all night. This safety car session will definitely throw a monkey wrench in the pit sequences.

Hour 9: It was confirmed that flaming protoype was the 30 KnightHawk Lola. The resulting safety car period packed everyone together. Safety car at Le Mans means two cars actually one dispatched from the end of pit road while the other catches cars at the Mulsanne straight. Overall it is still Audi 1-3, but the number 2 and 2nd place Audi has come in with another puncture. Reports that the lead MG is out on the course and might not be coming back! Not quite diagnosed as of yet. prodrive still maintains a 2 lap lead on the 63 Corvette and the Larbre Viper, another Viper a lap down. Freisinger Porsche lead still but over the Racer's Group with Seikel in third.

Hour 10: Big news this hour confirming the suspicions from hour 9. The 26 and previously leading MG is out with gearbox failure. Seems as if the car packed up just past the end of the Safety car period with the driver unable to find a gear. Pity as this was THE car threatening to disrupt the Audi 1-3, speaking of Audi the 2 car suffered another puncture and is back to third. As of now Bentley moves to fourth and Caddy to fifth. Oreca are 6th and 9th, with the Racing for Holland Dome in 7th, and the Riley & Scott in 8th. The 11 Panoz is dead last of the cars running but is back running after a repairing a blown head gasket. This team spent all Thursday night rebuilding this car and don't seem ready to quit just yet... GTS continues to be a Ferrari show but the 64 Corvette has moved into third after the gear selector problems earlier in the day. More big news, this time in GT. The Freisinger Porsche has relinquished the lead to the pole sitting Racers Group Porsche. The PK Sport Porsche has been retired after the head gasket issue.

Hour 11: Some interesting data on how much time the remaining cars have spent in the pits/garage. - #7 Cadillac (17th) - 1 hour 9 mins. - #9 Dome (26th) - 1 hour 9 minutes. - #11 Panoz (42nd) - 4 hours 45 mins. - #13 Courage (31st) - 1 hour 45 mins. - #17 Courage (19th) - 1 hour 14 minutes. - #19 Panoz (39th) - 2 hours 42 mins. - #28 Reynard (32nd) - 1 hour 6 mins. - #51 Viper (35th) - 1 hour 33 mins. - #71 Ferrari (43rd) - 3 hours 34 mins. - #73 Morgan (38th) - 1 hour 51 mins. - #85 Spyker (36th) - 1 hour 30 mins. - #74 Ferrari (37th) - 1 hour 5 mins. and counting A safety car period for an oiled track was also hampered by light rain. The oil down was caused by the 18 Pescarolo Courage/Peugeot who has since found the garage to deposit the petroleum. The 1 Audi has one lap on the 2 Audi who has a lap on the 3 Audi in 3rd. Bentley is 4th, five laps down. Caddy is 5th, six laps down. Oreca are 6th (-7L) and 8th (-8L). 12 Panoz is up to 10th but being caught by the 5 Goh Audi. The 11 Panoz is back again for more service. 166 laps completed. Nothing new in GTS other than the smoking Andy Pilgrim in the 64 Corvette, they just set their fastest lap of the race. Ferrari has completed 152 laps. Freisinger is back in the GT lead by ~2 min over the Racer's Group. All Japanese Team Taisan is third. Spyker is 6th and Morgan 7th but separated by 4 laps. Curiously these cars share the same BMW lump. The 22 "Leader" movie car Panoz is broken on course with a driveshaft, will they be allowed to tow back to the pits?

Hour 12: Half way there! Here is the complete running order at the halfway point.

Not too many developments this hour. The 12 Panoz came in "dead" Gunnar Jeanette pushed it into the pits for the required service of a new rearend and driveshaft.

Hour 13: The hour of spins as the Bentley, 66 Saleen, and the Freisinger Porsche all stick it in the gravel. But the big news is the retirement of the class leading prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello. Alain Menu first reported an intermittent oil light and made it to the Porsche curves before the lump packed up. They had a comfortable lead on the Corvettes and were still outrunning them each lap. Hindsight is always 20/20 but maybe they should have played it a little closer to the vest? Corvette will surely go 1-2 again this year. The 12 Panoz made it back out, while the MG wheeled in for a precautionary gearbox change. Seeing as the sister car lost drive on course earlier in the evening this was a good call. Morgan had a broken driveshaft but managed to get for repair, they have since rejoined. It is still Freisinger/Racers Group for the lead.

Hour 14: So it is still an Audi sweep up front but Caddy and Bentley are battling it out for fourth. The Bentley just recently spinning at the second Mulsanne chicane and a weak clutch is costing it time over the Caddy. Oreca still frame the Dutch Dome which was showing a bit of smoke from the Judd V10 earlier. On a side note, a Judd has yet to make the finish at Le Mans. Hmm. 214 laps completed for the lead Audi's, 385 would set a all time distance record. News that the reason the Ferrari couldn't make it back in though it was so close was because it had a engine fire. Uh, yeah major engine fire. Corvette is 13 and 14th 22L and 24L back from the Audi's. The Spyker has ingesting some of its intake box and two cylinders have no compression. Pity as they had put forward a very respectable effort. Morgan has managed to slip by even with a loose gearshift.

Hour 15: The Riley & Scott retired just at the top of the hour, seems as if the Ford-based Elan engine had valvetrain trouble. Pity, they were running quite well and threatening Cadillac for the best American car. The non-factor Kondo Dome also retired, theirs was gearbox trouble. Ron Fellows is suffering from food poisoning and might not get back in the car. This is a crucial development as the Corvette is like an oven in the daytime heat, so much so that the drivers can't double stint. So come full daylight it will likely be Johnny O'Connell and Oliver Gavin swapping stints. The GT lead is still Freisinger with Racers Group nipping at their heels. The list of retirements is growing, only 33 cars remain.

Hour 16: Frantic hour this one. First of all the lone remaining MG--and a factory effort at that--has retired with engine failure. Well it isn't official but let's just say it could spray for mosquitos around the Mulsanne. Both Cadillac's have hit the pits at the same time in formation with some bodywork adjustments and matching right rear deflation's. The 7 went back out somewhat quickly with a bit of duct tape affixed. The 6 required an entire rear end change (15 mins) after an off at Indianapolis. Turns out the 7 drew a puncture after running through the gravel tossed up by it's teammate. The 15 Dallara has also been fitted for a new rear assembly. The 64 Vette pitted to fix an oil leak, fixed after roughly a quarter hour and back at it 2nd in class. The US based Orbit Racing Porsche has retired, Freisinger still leads over Racers Group. Morgan is up to 6th and is still running marvelously!

Hour 17: Not near the attrition this hour as last. In fact Audi has taken to time to crank out some laps as the 1 and 3 each go fastest this hour. So it is Audi 1-3, Bentley, Oreca 5-6, Dome 7, Cadillac 8 & 10. The 2nd place Corvette and 52 Viper had a nice battle out of the pits but the 64 Vette eventually pulled away comfortably. Morgan is slowing and might be on the last leg?

Hour 18: The hour that could have been! The number 2 Audi suffered through a puncture early in the hour and dropped a spot. However, they got it back when the 3 Audi pitted with a bit of gearbox trouble. The 6 Caddy also had a moment, at Tetre Rouge. Max Angelelli coming to grips with the tire wall. Then Jan Lammer's takes his turn playing in the kitty litter with the 16 Dome. 64 Corvette has gotten one lap back from the 63 and is now 3 laps in arrears. Morgan has had some problems and the stops keep getting longer. Just a bit more baby! The Racers Group has a lap over Freisinger Motorsport.

Hour 19: The 15 Dallara hits the pits early in the hour for a new starter. Are they pitted close to Cadillac? Audi ALSO has problems with the starter on the 1 car. It spends quite a spell in the pits and is now on the same lap as the 2 Audi. Panoz officially retired the 12 car this hour with a thrown rod. Another year of trouble for Panoz as neither car finished last year either. 294 laps complete for the lead Audi. A little update in GTS, the Larbre Competition Viper stuck it in the gravel last hour and has fallen to fourth in class. FFSA is trying to be the first Viper home behind the Corvettes. In the Porsche class--LM GT officially, it is the Racers Group by mere seconds over Freisinger. Morgan is the last of the GT class cars circulating, but hey they're still going!

Hour 20: Normal pitstops for the leaders with the exception of the 7 Cadillac. Their latest extended pitstop have cost it a top ten to the lone remaining Pescarolo. Frank Biela has extended the lead over the 2 Audi, now having a lap in hand. Unfortunately the Morgan has retired. It was first thought it had a fuel injection problem, but it turned out to be more serious. Big hand from the crowd as the team bowed out. Freisinger is now trailing the Racers Group by nearly a lap after being given a 1 minute penalty by the stewards for having too many crewman servicing the car.

Hour 21: Just three hors remaining in the 70th edition of the great classic. Pretty much the grind to the finish. With the decreasing car count and an 8 mile track, on track mishaps shouldn't be an issue and indeed hasn't. Leader has complete 322 laps and looks like a new record isn't going to happen this year.

Hour 22: No changes really, most teams have settled in their current positions. Advances will only come with the detriment of the car in front. 340 laps for the lead Audi now, 2 Audi -1L, 3 Audi -3L, Bentley -12L, 15 Oreca -16L, 14 Oreca -16L 45 sec. Highest Caddy is in 9th, 21L laps down. Corvette should finish 1-2 barring any problems. Racers Group continue the lead over Freisinger, ~1 min. Team Seikel in third.

Hour 23: One to go! It seems to be just business as usual for everyone. The Racing for Holland Dome might be on its last leg however as it is parked in the garage--hopefully in the smoking section. Cadillac has sucked it up and gotten a car in the top ten. All four GM cars are in the top fifteen in fact. If the 1 Audi can hold on to get the win it will be quite historic. Not only three in a row for Audi, but three in a row for the same driver lineup. Like it or not, that is quite impressive. The LMP 675 class is in shambles with the MG retirements. The WR is leading but has an upright problem on the right rear. Their only competitor is the Del Bello Reynard who might just pull it out.

Hour 24: For the third year in a row it is an Audi sweep! But for the first time in history three drivers have one three consecutive years, no doubt this is the factor that will be remembered most. Corvette gets their second 1-2 sweep in GTS. American based Racers Group Porsche wins GT. The last 5 minutes were FULL of drama in 675. The leading WR/Peugeot lost an upright in the previous hour and on the next to last lap they lost another. Somehow they made it around for the final lap but will unfortunately be excluded from the results because their last lap was not under 6 minutes. A true shame and heartbreak to go for so long yet come up completely empty handed.