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Audi Presents Petit Le Mans

06/10/2001

The Race

Part 3

© Janos Wimpffen

Third Hour

With the ROC Reynard still stopped out on the course and the no. 5 Barbour car having delays, the much promised 675 race is faltering a tad. Interestingly, Milka Duno leads the class as Steven Knight is now in the pits with the crew poring over the gearbox.

The driver’s door has taken leave of the Dutch / Belgian / American Viper. The recovery of the no. 50 Panoz is stymied thanks to a penalty, for of all things, having contact with the no. 19 Viper way back when. I guess the 20 lap stop wasn’t enough. Magnussen is forced to come back in again for a normal stop.

At the 2:30 elapsed time mark the gap is between the private and works Audi, with Wallace a crack back from Biela. The no. 8 Cadillac is still healthy with Tinseau aboard. The extensive early attrition has brought Collins’ GTS Corvette up to fifth overall, two laps clear of champion-elect Borcheller.

The two Schnitzer BMWs continue their two-car train, but the two PTG M3s are also running in tandem, a mere seven seconds arrears of the works team. Maassen now leads the non-BMW GTs.

However, JJ Lehto contacts James Weaver’s R & S. The rear of the BMW is damaged while the Lincoln powered Prototype seems OK. Both cars come in for quick repairs.

Moving forward from the back of the field, Gavin is running well in the late-starting Saleen, some 30 laps down from the leaders. The Porsches of Orbit (2 cars), Barbour, Kyser, and Sebah have been running reasonable and uneventful races down the order. The Callaway and the Seikel entered Porsche are doing somewhat better.

Lap 108 at the 2:40 mark, Biela fights past Wallace at Turn 2, but it turns out to be the English driver’s last lap for this particular stint. Their stops go well, but the third Audi of Lemarie has a problem as they start working on the car prior to the completion of refueling. It will be assessed a penalty on its next halt.

The other two Audis pull into the pits nearly simultaneously. Biela’s stop is nearly perfect but the Champion car will have to come back in to take a stop-and-go for running over an air line.

At the three-hour mark the race is on lap 121 of 394 necessary to achieve the 1000-mile mark. The no. 15 Porsche is off at Turn 10 and towed out of the way. A lap earlier Pirro passes into the overall lead. The Joest driver is now the fastest on the circuit. The delayed Knight / Hawkins Lola is into and out of the gravel.

The Riley & Scott is well down the order, having repaired a broken suspension piece. The Jeannette Porsche is running again but has made further repairs. The Pilbeam is stuck on course and we go to a full-course yellow once more.