Yours truly, was a witness to this miracle of motor racing
technology, at age 14, in front of my eyes, on television, at the 2000 24 Hours
of Le Mans. The 68th renewal
of that great race, saw something that was unprecedented, a few different
times. Audi Sport Team Joest, entered
three of their R8 prototypes for the 2000 running of Le Mans. The #8 entry that won the race, in the hands
of Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen, and Emmanuelle Pirro, did not have to undergo
this procedure. But, the team’s other
two cars (#7 driven by the trio of Rinaldo Cappello, Christian Abt, and the
late, great Michele Alboreto), and the #9 machine in the hands of Allan McNish,
Stephane Ortelli, and Laurent Aiello, had to undergo the rear end change, which
consisted of having a full rear end unit (rear end assembly plus suspension,
and brake rotors and pads) fully assembled, while taking the old unit out of
the car, on a hoist, and then, swinging the new unit into position, and
fastening it down, which could be done in anywhere from four to seven minutes.
This practice, was so revolutionary, it was banned by the
ACO (the organization that sets the rules for the 24 Hours of Le Mans). But, despite that, it still goes down as one
of the greatest technological innovations in sports car racing history. Speedvision broadcast crews, covered both
changes. For the first one, Gregg Creamer, Alain de Cadenet, and Danny Sullivan, in the booth, with Guy Hobbs calling
the actual change of parts, in the pit lane.
For the second change, play-by-play is provided by Derek Daly, David Hobbs, and Sam Posey, topside, and the men on the ground, covering
the garage action, Calvin Fish, and Dorsey Schroeder. At the same time, the Panoz team, who had the legend Mario Andretti on their driver's strength, along with David Brabham and Jan Magnussen, was also doing a gearbox change. But that year, Panoz was not as lucky as Audi as both their cars ran into further problems.
This is a truly amazing.
Check it out.
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