Press Release N° 6 - The Warm-Up

The warm-up, final rehearsal before the race
Saturday, June 16th, 2001
With the changing weather, the warm-up provided the teams with an opportunity to polish up their rain settings.

For most of the drivers, the warm-up was a good opportunity to try out the tyres in preparation for the race. Indeed, although the 48 cars performed the two qualifying sessions on a dry track, it seems that the race may be punctuated with showers. The teams have tested various types, from tread tyres to slick tyres, and even tyres specially designed for a "cold track" (normally reserved for use at night).
And despite the fact that the 45 minutes of the warm-up were essentially dedicated to work on the wet settings, the cars still drove at a good pace. As in the qualifying sessions, it was the Audi n°2 that achieved the best time, in 3:40.497, in front of the Audi n°1, the Bentley n°7 and the Courage n°17. In the LMP 675 category, the best time was achieved by Reynard n°38 ; best times too for the Saleen n°12 in GTS, and for the Callaway n°70 in GT.
Some teams had their share of trouble too. Especially the Corvette n°64, which had to stop shortly after the Dunlop - a problem with the oil pump was suspected in the pits. Panoz also gave themselves a little fright, when Klaus Graf n°11 skidded off the track at the exit of Indianapolis. The marshals had to intervene to remove the car from the gravel trap.
The 48 drivers will be on the starting grid in the traditional Le Mans echelon formation at 12.45. As usual, the official start will take place at 16.00. This year, it is Dr Ferdinand Piech, Chairman of the board of Volkswagen AG, who will wave the tricolor flag to signal the start of this 69th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours.