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2001 April 25:
Michele Alboreto was killed testing an Audi R8 on
the Lausitzring Germany in preparations for the Le Mans 24-hour race.
He was a Formula One driver from 1982 to 1994, and
had competed in eight Le Mans 24-hour races, winning in 1997.
2001: Audi's Le Mans car is now called
the ``Infineon Audi R8''.
The layout of the car and its 3.6-litre twin turbo-charged engine remain the
same but with many refinements to the power train, chassis and aerodynamics.
The rules do not allow the
six-speed sequential gearbox to
use electronic control systems so the change is
operated pneumatically.
Right: Johnny Herbert at Le Mans.
The open LM-P Audi's will have the company of closed LM-GT
Bentley
siblings in 2001.
2000: Audis finished 1-2-3,
a remarkable achievement,
even allowing for the absence of Mercedes Benz, Nissan and Toyota,
and the Porsche prototype(s).
- Biela/Kristensen/Pirro (Audi R8) 368 laps
- Aiello/McNish/Ortelli (Audi R8) -1 lap
- Abt/Alboreto/Capello (Audi R8) -3 laps
- Bourdais/Grouillard/Clerico (Courage) -24 laps
- Katoh/O'Connell/Raphanel (Panoz) -26 laps
- Suzuki/Kageyama/Kageyama (Panoz) -28 laps
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