Sebring, March 12, 2001

Following the fiercely fought double victory at the season-opener of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in Dallas/Fort Worth, Team Audi Sport North America now concentrates on defending last year´s win at the ALMS season highlight: the 12 Hours of Sebring. On March 17th, the Audi squad will conduct a rehearsal in Florida for the Le Mans 24 Hour race.

Head of Audi Sport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and his team will attempt to prepare for the enormous Le Mans challenge as best as possible. For Audi, this means that the chequered flag at Sebring on Saturday evening brings only a preliminary halt to the test. "After the finish, we want to drive another 12 hours with one of the two Infineon Audi R8s on the Sebring circuit on Monday," explains Dr. Ullrich. Engine, gearbox and all other components of the racing sportscars will then go through a 24 hour endurance test, with half the distance under racing conditions.

Following the motto "never change a winning team", Frank Biela will share one car with Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro. This trio won in Sebring and Le Mans last year. Sharing the cockpit of the second Infineon Audi R8 are Laurent Aiello, Michele Alboreto and Rinaldo Capello.

Sebring is the oldest long-distance race in the USA and is run this year for the 49th time. Over 100,000 spectators are expected this year, and the enthusiasm is huge. Many of them set up camp in front of the closed gates weeks before the event in the hope of getting the best possible viewpoint, with their makeshift shelters beside the racetrack sometimes quite adventurous. The first of two qualifying sessions takes place on Wednesday after two test days on Monday and Tuesday. To date, more than 40 cars are entered for the race.

The 3.7-mile circuit, with the pits recently receiving extensive modifications, places extreme demands on man and machine. The track surface of the former military airbase is very uneven and provides drivers and engineers with a difficult challenge in finding the best possible set-up. The hard work in Sebring, however, seems to pay off: In the past two years, the winner of the Sebring event has gone on to win the Le Mans race three months later.

LMP 900

1

2 

16 

18 

37 

38 

50 

51 

72 

LMP 675

11 

77 

GTS

3 

4 

26 

44 

45 

GT

6 

10 

12 

15 

17 

22 

23 

30 

34 

35 

36 

42 

43 

47 

52 

53 

57 

58 

66 

69 

98 

99 

00 

07 

09 

Radio Le Mans Web
Saturday, 17 March
15.30 - 17.00 qualifying

Sunday, 18 March
12.30 - 15.30 the race

Televised on


SpeedVision - Airing
Saturday, 17 March
10:30

Fox Net - TBA

Eurosport
Sunday, 25 March
14.45 CET

Monday, March 12, 2001
Testday
10:10 - 11:10 LMP 900 / LMP 675 / GTS / GT
11:10 - 11:40 LMP 900 / LMP 675
14:30 - 15:30 LMP 900 / LMP 675 / GTS / GT
15:30 - 16:00 LMP 900 / LMP 675

Tuesday, March 13, 2001
14:55 - 15:55 LMP 900 / LMP 675 / GTS / GT
15:55 - 16:25 LMP 900 / LMP 675

Wednesday, March 14, 2001
09:30 - 10:30 Practice - LMP 900, LMP 675, GTS and GT
15:10 - 15:30 Qualifying - Session #1 - LMP 900 and LMP 675

Thursday, March 15, 2001
09:15 - 10:15  Practice -  LMP 900, LMP 675, GTS and GT
15:05 - 15:25 Qualifying - Session #2 - LMP 900 and LMP 675
20:00 - 21:00 Night Practice -  LMP 900, LMP 675, GTS and GT

Friday, March 16, 2001
09:45 - 10:45 Practice - LMP 900, LMP 675, GTS and GT

Saturday, March 17, 2001
07:30 - 07:50 Warm Up - LMP 900, LMP 675, GTS and GT
10:40 START

All times are local