












|
| Pos |
# |
Drivers |
Laps |
| 1 |
78 |
Biela/Pirro |
127 |
| 2 |
77 |
Capello/McNish |
+12.673s |
| 3 |
1 |
Brabham/Magnussen |
126 |
| 4 |
42 |
Lehto/Müller |
124 |
| 5 |
43 |
Auberlen/Gounon |
124 |
| 6 |
2 |
Katoh/O'Connell |
123 |
| 7 |
36 |
Johansson/Smith |
122 |
| 9 |
37 |
Field/Sutherland |
115 |
| 23 |
0 |
Schiattarella/de Radigues |
34 |
| 24 |
39 |
Matthews/Simo |
27 |
fastest lap Allan McNish 1 point most lead laps Allan McNish 1 point lead lap Rinaldo Capello 1 point lead lap Frank Biela 1 point lead lap Allan McNish 1 point |
Forth Worth, September 2, 2000 |
| A perfect start |
for Team |
Audi Sport |
North America going |
into the |
second half |
of |
| the |
American |
Le |
Mans |
Series |
(ALMS): |
In |
gruelling |
heat |
Audi |
took |
an |
| unchallenged |
1-2 |
victory |
at |
the |
Texas |
Motor |
Speedway |
in |
Dallas/Fort |
Worth. |
| The two Audi R8s led all |
127 laps, and lapped the |
entire field. With the third |
1-2 |
| of |
the |
season |
Audi |
took |
the |
lead |
in |
the |
manufacturers |
championship |
of |
the |
| American |
Le |
Mans |
Series. |
All |
four |
Audi |
pilots |
reduced |
the |
gap |
in |
the |
drivers |
championship. |
| Allan |
McNish |
and |
Rinaldo |
Capello |
set |
the |
pace |
for |
most |
of |
the |
2:45-hour |
| distance, but |
had |
to |
settle |
for |
second behind |
their |
teammates |
Frank |
Biela |
and |
| Emanuele |
Pirro. |
While |
Biela |
refuelled |
during |
a |
caution |
period, |
Capello |
had |
to |
| come |
in |
for |
a |
late |
splash-and-dash |
ten |
minutes |
before |
the |
end |
of |
the |
race |
handing victory to Biela/Pirro. |
| It was the fourth victory for the Audi |
R8 in the seventh ALMS race of the |
season |
| and |
the |
R8 |
once |
again |
was |
in |
a |
class |
of |
its |
own: |
The |
Audi |
drivers |
were |
about |
| one |
second |
per |
lap |
faster |
than |
their |
competitors. |
Even |
before |
half |
distance |
| Allan |
McNish |
had |
lapped |
the |
whole |
field |
apart |
from |
his |
teammate |
Emanuele |
| Pirro. The |
fastest race |
lap |
of EP |
was |
only 0.4s |
slower |
than his |
qualifying |
time. |
| And |
by |
triumphing |
in |
Texas, |
Audi |
achieved |
a |
hattrick, |
never |
before |
had |
any |
manufacturer been able to win three ALMS races in a row. |
Frank Biela (#78) |
| “This was a |
very good and |
a very important |
weekend for us. |
Both R8s were |
very |
| close |
together |
all |
the |
time. |
We |
were |
able |
to |
put |
pressure |
on |
our |
teammates |
| which |
was |
not |
always |
the |
case |
in |
the |
last |
races. |
Thanks |
to |
perfects |
pit |
stops |
| the race was perfect for us. We had a great car and this victory is very important |
for our chances in the championship.” |
| “First of all I want to thank the whole crew which has done a great job. Today we |
| were very |
lucky. |
We |
won the |
race |
because |
our team |
mates |
had |
problems |
with |
| their radio. But this is |
part of the sport |
and you have to |
accept it. Therefore I |
am |
| happy about |
the victory. |
The car |
was much |
better with |
full fuel |
tanks. With |
less |
fuel it started to oversteer on the entrance of the corners.” |
| “I |
am |
really |
destroyed. |
The |
car |
was |
perfect, |
I |
had |
no |
problems |
at |
all, |
just |
that |
| the |
radio |
stopped |
working |
the |
lap |
before |
the |
last |
caution |
period. |
I |
got |
the |
| message that |
I was |
five seconds |
ahead of |
Frank. When |
I saw |
the yellow |
flags |
I |
| called |
the |
pits |
but |
got |
no |
answer. |
Unfortunately |
it |
is |
the |
only |
track |
were |
we |
can’t use pit boards for the communication. So it was really bad luck.” |
| “I am |
very happy |
to have |
an Audi |
1-2 again. |
We worked |
very hard, |
Dindo did |
an |
| excellent |
stint. |
It |
is |
just |
very |
unfortunate |
that |
the |
race |
was |
decided |
due |
to |
a |
radio problem more than racing itself. The car was very good to drive.” |
| “The race went |
the way |
we hoped |
after the |
practice sessions |
and qualifying. |
All |
| the |
pit |
stops |
went |
perfectly. |
The |
decision |
was |
made |
when |
Dindo‘s |
radio |
didn’t |
| work anymore, |
we |
couldn’t call |
him |
in so |
he |
had |
to stop |
for |
a splash |
and |
go |
in |
| the closing |
laps |
under green. |
He |
lost |
the lead. |
The |
race showed |
that |
both |
cars |
perform very much the same, today a little bit of luck decided the winner.” |
| “The most important accomplishment today was |
the double victory for Audi. |
The |
| fact |
that |
Frank |
and |
Emanuele |
won |
today |
makes |
the |
competition |
in |
our |
team |
| very interesting |
again. The |
problem with |
the |
radio was |
just bad |
luck. That |
is |
life |
| and |
motorsport. |
A |
big |
compliment |
to |
all |
of |
the |
four |
drivers |
and |
our |
pit |
crew. |
Everyone did a perfect job.” |