altodx

13 jun 2004
<<<<

 Roughly 200,000 spectators witnessed a triple Audi victory at the 24-hour race at Le Mans and one of the tightest finishes in Le Mans’ history. Leading by merely 41.354 seconds, Seiji Ara in the cockpit of the Audi R8 fielded by Audi Sport Japan Team Goh crossed the finish line ahead of Johnny Herbert at the wheel of the R8 entered by Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx. For both the 30-year old Japanese driver and Team Kazumichi Goh today marked the first victory in the world’s major endurance race. Audi works driver Rinaldo Capello clinched his second Le Mans win in a row. Tom Kristensen achieved his sixth Le Mans exploit, now equalling the previous record holder, Jacky Ickx. The Dane is the first driver ever to clinch five consecutive victories at Le Mans.

Photo car # 5 on fire: Julian Roberts

The battle for victory fought by the second Audi R8 fielded by Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx and Audi Sport Japan Team Goh remained a thriller through to the very end. The U.K. trio of Jamie Davies, Johnny Herbert and Guy Smith, having led the field right from the start, lost their lead when the push rod of the left rear wheel suspension of their R8 had to be replaced. Though the repair had cost the Britons two laps, they nearly recovered the set-back in a remarkable chase to catch up again, benefiting, to some extent, from the “Japanese” Audi R8 briefly catching fire during one of the last refuelling stops. Yet, Seiji Ara kept his cool in the final stage, defending his lead over Johnny Herbert, as the latter was getting closer and closer.

1 Ara/Capello/Kristensen (Audi R8) 379 laps
2 Davies/Herbert/Smith (Audi R8) + 41.354s
3 Lehto/Werner/Pirro (Audi R8) - 11 laps
4 Ayari/Comas/Treluyer (Pescarolo-Judd) - 17 laps
5 Biela/Kaffer/McNish (Audi R8) - 29 laps
6 Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen (Chevrolet) - 34 laps
7 Lammers/Dyson/Kaneishi (Dome-Judd) - 38 laps
8 Fellows/O’Connell/Papis (Chevrolet) - 45 laps
9 McRae/Rydell/Turner (Ferrari) - 50 laps
10 Maassen/Bergmeister/Long (Porsche) - 52 laps

Quotes after the race

Rinaldo Capello (Audi Sport Japan Team Goh / Audi R8 #5): “My exploit with Bentley last year makes me feel particularly happy about this year’s victory with Audi – and even more so since the race had not started all that well for me. Because of braking problems right in the early stage, I spun into the gravel, causing me to lose some time. When this happened, I simply promised myself to keep cool. Since we were able to solve the problem during my first pit stop, the Audi R8 was running perfectly afterwards, and we were back in the race with our full competitive power.“

Seiji Ara (Audi Sport Japan Team Goh / Audi R8 #5): “I’m really happy to have won this race. Even before the race I was under a lot of pressure, not least because I knew I’d be competing alongside two extremely successful team-mates, Tom and Dindo. I didn’t want to disappoint them. Now, I’ll need a little time to digest what happened today. And of course I’ll have a glass of sake, as well.“

Tom Kristensen (Audi Sport Japan Team Goh / Audi R8 #5): “Now, I’ve actually won Le Mans five times in a row, equalling Jacky Ickx’s record of six wins. Honestly, I hadn’t even dreamt of it. I’ve always been lucky, though, to have been able to race at Le Mans with some fantastic teams. My fellow drivers, and Jacky Ickx, too, think that I’m a lucky bastard. That’s probably true. I just hope that I’ll survive this night, now, because my family, friends and a lot of Danish fans are here. I know we’ll be having an incredible party.“

Kazumichi Goh (Team Director Audi Sport Japan Team Goh): “Today is the happiest day of my life. I’m so happy that we’ve been able to win this race together with our partner, Audi. We clearly proved that a multi-cultural crew can achieve a lot.“

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “I’m proud of the whole Audi squad. The outcome of the race was open until the final lap and there wasn’t a single minute that was boring. A dual of the type we saw in the last few hours is relatively rare in the history of Le Mans. All three teams have done a great job. I don’t think that anyone would have thought it possible for the two cars to end up in the top ten after those heavy crashes.“

 
sottomenu