Press Release N° 17
4H00 to 6H00

No worries during the night for Audi
Sunday, June 17th, 2001
It has been a quiet night for the leading car. Behind, its opponents are still experiencing a few problems. However, the agitation that was present during the passed hours has faded.

The n°1 Audi is really quite impressive. It keeps going, lap after lap - no mistakes from the drivers, no problems on the machine. It actually does seem more or less invincible. 14 hours have passed and the holders of the title are still leading.
Behind, the opponents are experiencing multiple problems. The n°2 Audi, which was slowed down in the night because of a spin, is 3 laps behind the leader.
Team Pescarolo's n°17 Courage has once again run into the gravel trap. The green car is relegated to 14th position.
Chrysler has not been spared either. After the withdrawal of n°15, it was the turn of n°14, which was then the best placed of team Oreca's cars, to stay immobilised in the pits. After having replaced a faulty probe, Masahiko Kondo got back to the track in 8th position.
The rain having stopped, the track is drying and the drivers are getting increasingly confident, but sometimes make mistakes. Gabrio Rosa, then leader of the GT class with his n°83 Porsche, remains stuck in the gravel. Same problem for n°76, which is in the hands of Dave Warnock. The Briton continues the race in 23rd position. Team Racing for Holland's n°9 Dome has also left the track without any serious consequence, it is now 11th.
The n°33 MG was back on the track after being immobilised for 5 hours. Kevin McGarrity unfortunately did not have the chance to discover the Le Mans racing track in the early morning daylight, because after only 2 laps he definitively withdrew from the race. Both MGs have therefore withdrawn from the race with a taste of unfulfilment, but at least they have demonstrated the car's potential.
The n°9 Dome has experienced problems: the car has parked after the Mulsanne bend and appears to be stuck there.
After 170 laps, the n°2 Audi stopped at the pits to refuel. Christian Pescatori decided to continue with cut slick tyres. It was the right choice. Indeed, the n°79 Porsche was equipped with slick tyres and Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière immediately commited a mistake.
The hour went by with unexpected stops, but they were without any particular consequences for the n°14 Chrysler and n°6 Cadillac.
In the overall ranking, the n°1 Audi is ahead, at 6 o'clock, by 3 laps on n°2, 10 laps on n°8 Bentley and 15 on n°16 Chrysler.
In the LMP 675 class, only two cars are left. The Roc Racing Reynard, which is in 6th position in the general ranking, the other survivor is the WR, which is among the very last cars.
In the GTS class, the n°63 Corvette is leading the dance with a 7th position in the general ranking. In the GT class, the n°77 Porsche is leading in front of Luc Alphand's n°74.