|
|
06.13.2002 |
For
the 70th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour race, Rinaldo Capello (Infineon
Audi R8 #2) improved his time from the previous day with a new record lap
as well as team-mates Tom Kristensen (#1) and Michael Krumm (#3). Rinaldo Capello is the first driver since 1980 who starts from pole position at Le Mans for two consecutive years. For the third time in a row, it is the yellow R8 which leads the field into the highlight of the season in France. The three silver Infineon Audi R8 sportscars which fly the additional colours of black (Krumm/Peter/Werner), red (Biela/Kristensen/Pirro) and yellow (Capello/Herbert/Pescatori) resembling the German flag, finished the qualifying within a margin of less than a second. |
 |
In
the final session, Capello became the first driver in a Le Mans prototype
(LMP) to shatter the 3m 30s barrier. With his time of 3m 29.905s, the Audi
driver even broke the track record of Martin Brundle who had set his time
in 1999 on a different shaped circuit. Since then, some corners near the
famous “Dunlop Bridge” had been added.
For
the third time in a row, Audi Sport Team Joest starts from pole position
at Le Mans and now has the chance to achieve a very rare hat-trick after
the victories of 2000 and 2001: In the 70-year-old history of Le Mans
only four manufacturers have managed to win the race in three consecutive
years with the same team to take home the historic trophy. |
|
Rinaldo
Capello: “For the third successive year ‘my’ car will start Le Mans from
pole-position. I am really hoping that it will be third time lucky for
me to earn a first victory here. I had to overtake a number of slower
cars on my pole lap but that is normal at Le Mans. So far, so good.“ The
starting grid at Le Mans |
 |
 |
 |