Le 24 Hueres Du Mans
 I grew up in a family that liked to watch racing on TV. Mostly Indy Cars, some NASCAR and a little Formula 1. Typical for American families, we didn't watch those "other" funny "furrin" things that ran in Europe. From time to time I heard about the cars that ran at Le Sarthe, but it was never covered very heavily in America. I started to get interested in it in 1998, getting my first exposure to the cars. They were absolutely Fabulous! The Porsche 911GT1, the BMW V-12, the Chrysler Vipers, the Toyota GT-ONE, the Nissan R390 GT1, The Panoz GTR-1, the Ferrari 333sp, the Mercedes CLK-LM etc. etc. Absolutely fabulous cars.... The Porsche GT1 came through after quite a barn burner of a race, With the one of the Joest run works cars (#26) taking the checkered flag. This car was piloted by Allan McNish, Laurent Aiello, and Stephane Ortelli.
The 99 race featured the debut of the new Audi R8R LMP spyder, and the R8C GT-LMP, as well as returning BMW, Panoz (now with an LMP or open topped car ) as well as the Courage Nissan, among others. The race is most well known for the disaster that befell the Mercedes factory team. They had a serious problem with the aerodynamics on the nose of their GT-LM cars, and it culminated with one taking a wild back flip into the trees that adjoin the circuit.
The story beyond that was the ability of the BMW team to run more laps between stops than the TTE (Toyota Team Europe) entries. Again Allan McNish was featured prominently, as his Toyota (#2) took up the chase on the BMW's after the #1 Toyota fell out of the race. The end result was bad for McNish's car also, Theirry Bousten wrecked it in a terrible shunt in the night hours. He sustained a couple fractured vertebrae, and has not raced since. The Toyota #3 valiently gave chase but couldn't match the strategy of the BM. BMW took the checkers, with car #15, piloted by Pierro-Luigi Martini, Jo Winkelhock, and Yannick Dalmas. TTE was devastated, they had spent more money than one could imagine (rumors put it near 500 million) and failed to win the 24 hrs. again. They took their ball and went home, instead opting to enter the cut throat world of Formula One (starting in the racing year 2002. They had gone to the extreme for this year, hiring away McNish, and it failed, thankfully not due to him. He will be one of Toyota's test drivers for the F-1 effort. Meanwhile, McNish found himself an interim ride with the Joest run Audi team.
Audi was outgunned in 99, for 2000 they wanted to win. That required a whole new car design (The R8), and some hired guns. Having already acquired the services of McNish, they also hired his former Porsche compatriots Aiello and Ortelli. They also had the services of former F-1 driver Michele Alboreto, as well as former BM and BTCC hotshoe, Tom Kristensen, Audi DTM driver Christian Abt, as well as others. The new car flat out hauled ASS. That is the only way to put it. Joest is known for his professional teams and conduct of business. Combine that with the services of the best sportscar driver today, McNish, as well as a talented crew of others, you expect success. As you probably saw on the front page, Audi swept the podium. It didn't end so well for McNish, as the gearbox was a little notchy mid way through the race, so they stopped to change it. With the brilliant design of the rear end of the Audi, and the hydraulic paddle shifters, the whole back half of the car can be changed in under 10 minutes. That set McNish afire, he began ripping off sub 3:40 laps. That is extremely fast for a race pace, considering they qualified at 3:36 on the pole. He caught up his teammates who were in the lead, but obeyed the team orders that commanded they not fight amongst themselves and perhaps take each other out. He ended the race in formation with his teammates and came home 2nd. He set fastest lap of the race at 3:37.359, ( it would have been good enough to qualify 4th), except he was in the middle of the 24 hour race with added downforce (a non-qualifying setup).
Teammates Kristensen, Emanuelle Pirro and Frank Biela took the checkered flag in Audi #8.
The following is a depiction of a lap at Le Sarthe, from data aboard the 99 spec Audi (that was heavily out-gunned).
Pictures of the R8 (2000 spec) are on the home page, above you see a Ferrari 333sp, The Raffanelli Lola-Judd and the new Saleen S7 .
Below you see the champion audi R8, the first one run in privateer hands. next to it is the new Bentley GTP car which will be competing in the 2001 24hrs. of Le Mans. Below those two, we have the new for 2001 Chrysler LMP, and the 2000 Cadillac. It failed miserably...