CADILLAC IN TOP FIVE;
CORVETTES CHASE GTS LEADER
LE MANS, June 16, 2002 – Team Cadillac had more mixed fortunes in the second quarter of the 70th Le Mans 24 Hours, as the #6 Northstar LMP 02 made it to the top five overall, while the #7 car needed more attention from its pit crew. In GTS, both Corvettes keep running like clockwork.
As the race fell into its nightly rhythm, the drivers of the #6 car continued to make up places at a blistering pace. Easily amongst the three or four fastest cars on the track, drivers Christophe Tinseau and Max Angelelli put in quadruple stints in a faultless running Cadillac. "These guys are ironmen," GM Racing Group Manager Gary Claudio said.
On #7, Emmanuel Collard's chase was briefly stopped by a blown right rear tire, necessitating some major repairs. "The tire took off part of the rear body," GM Racing Chassis Engineer David Spitzer said. "Since it's easier and quicker to change the whole rear end, we decided to do that. We did that in some 10 minutes, but because the pace car was out and the field was running at a very slow pace, we mended a connector problem as well. All in all we lost just four laps on that car."
Both the Corvettes meanwhile stuck to their pre-set race pace, keeping within a lap of the leading GTS car. "This is a very long race, and we know from experience that the best thing to do is to run at your own pace," Program Manager Doug Fehan said. "We're just at the halfway mark and anything can still happen."
70th Le Mans 24 Hours – Positions after 12 hours
| 1. |
Biela/Pirro/Kristensen |
Audi R8 |
183 laps |
| 2. |
Capello/Herbert/Pescatori |
Audi R8 |
181 laps |
| 3. |
Krumm/Peter/Werner |
Audi R8 |
181 laps |
| 4. |
Wallace/Leitzinger/Van de Poele |
Bentley EXP Speed 8 |
178 laps |
| 5. |
Angelelli/Taylor/Tinseau |
Cadillac Northstar LMP 02 |
177 laps |
| 6. |
Lamy/Beretta/Comas |
Dallara-Judd |
176 laps |
| 7. |
Lammers/Hillebrand/Coronel |
Dome-Judd S101 |
174 laps |
| 8. |
Sarrazin/Montagny/Minassian |
Dallara-Judd |
174 laps |
| 9. |
Goossens/Theys/Matthews |
R&S-Elan Mk.IIIC |
174 laps |
| 10. |
Ara/Dalmas/Katoh |
Audi R8 |
171 laps |
| 11. |
Blundell/Bailey/McGarrity |
MG Lola EX257 Le Mans (1st LMP675) |
170 laps |
| 13. |
Enge/Menu/Rydell |
Ferrari 550 Maranello (1st GTS) |
167 laps |
| 14. |
Bernard/Collard/Lehto |
Cadillac Northstar LMP 02 |
166 laps |
| 15. |
Fellows/O'Connell/Gavin |
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (2nd GTS) |
165 laps |
| 16. |
Pilgrim/Collins/Fréon |
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (3rd GTS) |
164 laps |
| 22. |
Daoudi/De Fournoux/Bouvet |
WR-Peugeot (2nd LMP675) |
158 laps |
| 24. |
Deletraz/Lechner/Pillon |
Reynard-VW 2KQ (3rd LMP675) |
157 laps |
| 23. |
Dumas/Maassen/Bergmeister |
Porsche 911 GT3-RS (1st GT) |
157 laps |
| 25. |
Buckler/Luhr/Bernhard |
Porsche 911 GT3-RS (2nd GT) |
157 laps |
| 27. |
Iida/Yogo/Nishizawa |
Porsche 911 GT3-RS (3rd GT) |
154 laps |
|
