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Le Mans: Michelin, Audi, Chrysler Viper and Porsche Dominate at Le Mans

19 June 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

(Le Mans, FRANCE) - Michelin dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend, winning the prestigious race with an Audi driven by Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro. The victory marked Michelin's defense of its Le Mans wins in 1998 with Porsche and in 1999 with BMW. The win also represents Michelin's sixth Le Mans win in the past nine years.

Placing second this year in the pole-winning Audi was Allan McNish, Laurent Aiello and Stephane Ortelli, with third place going to an Audi driven by Michele Alboreto, Christian Abt and Rinaldo Capello.

Michelin teams dominated the event from the beginning:

- Michelin teams led every one of the 368 laps
- Michelin teams swept the top nine positions, its most dominant performance ever
- The #9 Audi of McNish, Aiello and Ortelli recorded the fastest race lap
- In addition to leading flag to flag overall, Michelin teams did the same in the GTS and GT categories

"We came to race against our competitors and to win...we did that," said Herb Johnson, director of motorsports, Michelin North America. "The temperatures were as hot as they have ever been at Le Mans, which was a challenge for us. But we were able to triple-stint our tires (change tires every second pit stop) in the heat of the day as well as in the cool of the night. That was a big advantage and again proves the reliability and performance of Michelin tires."

Chrysler Viper Scores GTS Win For Michelin

Coming off its victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier this year, Chrysler Viper beat its rival Corvette to the finish line to score its third consecutive Le Mans GTS victory. Oliver Beretta, Karl Wendlinger and Dominique Dupuy scored the win while teammates David Donohue, Ni Amorim and Anthony Beltoise finished second. The Corvette of Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins and Franck Freon finished third.

"Chrysler Viper has been a partner of ours since the Viper was introduced in 1992. Every Viper that has rolled off of the assembly line comes standard with Michelin tires," said Johnson. "So we are thrilled to score another Le Mans victory with Viper. Great cars, great tires and a great team are hard to beat."

Michelin-shod Porsche Wins GT Category

The Dick Barbour Racing team again proved its superiority by winning the GT category. Dirk Mller, Bob Wollek and Lucas Luhr won the category by nine laps. The Michelin-shod Barbour team adds a Le Mans title to its list of victories in 2000 that already includes the 12 Hours of Sebring and American Le Mans Series races at Charlotte and Silverstone.

"The Porsche GT3R is a special car and the Dick Barbour Racing team is a special team," said Johnson. "They were so well prepared for this event and are very deserving winners. The Michelin tires held up their end of the bargain throughout the event without a single problem"

Victories Adding Up

With the Le Mans victories this weekend, Michelin's win list continues to grow. Earlier this year, Michelin won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Audi, the 24 Hours of Daytona with Chrysler Viper and two American Le Mans Series races with BMW. In 1999 competition, Michelin won numerous sportscar, motorcycle and rally world championships. Michelin even won the Tour de France.

Text provided by Michelin

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