PRESS INFORMATION 

Post Race - Quotes From The Teams 

Donington Park, Saturday 14^th April 2001:  

Tom Kristensen - Audi R8 #1: "From the start it went well from the beginning of the race and I was able to extend the gap to seven seconds and then five to seven seconds depending on the traffic.  At that time the tyres were working really well and then they started to slide a bit, the temperature was lower than expected and the circuit is very smooth, these cars tend a bit more in these conditions.  I planned to make two stops and so I tried to stabilise that gap and then I had a clash a bit later with a backmarker.  I talked to the driver, he said sorry, he didn't see me, I'm that’s what happened, I thought he had seen me and that's basically it. A stop and go penalty was the result, I have to accept it, I'm not really happy with it, it's something that shouldn't happen but this is racing with so much overtaking.  After then the car was great.  After I got the stop-go I realised I really have to gain sometime so then on I drove as quick as I could." 

Rinaldo Capello - Audi R8 #1: "I didn't have any problems, the car was great.  The car was very nice to drive in the warm up this morning.  The only problem we got was the stop and go but after three laps Tom was able to regain the lead." 

Guy Smith - Audi R8 #7:  "The car was good, I wasn't sure where my place would be compared to the works car when I came out of the pits, I was surprised I was able to stay with Emanuele (Pirro) and then the next thing I knew I was quicker than him and I was able to put pressure on him.  It was then just a case of trying to get past him.  He drove really well, but I put him under some pressure for two or three laps, he made a little mistake out of the chicane and I was able to get a run on him.  I was able to pass him, it was a great move and I really enjoyed the race.  I was hoping that we wouldn't have to stop, I knew we were going to be close on fuel.  The engine started cutting out and I did two laps on the reserve tank but we were on the reserve tank and the engine started cutting out.  We made the stop, I wasn't sure if the number two car had to stop as well, but obviously not and that last refuelling cost us second place.  We're getting a little bit closer and we're making them work for it this year.  Hopefully in Jarama we will end up beating them." 

Olivier Beretta - Chrysler Oreca #6:  "At the beginning I tried to get a good start, and was steady behind Biela.  I was surprised to stay with the Audis but as soon as I tried to push we had a problem with the throttle and I was glad to make it to the end of my stint.  I had to be careful not to crash because the first goal of this weekend was to get to the end of the race." 

Hugues de Chaunac - Director of Team Oreca: "It was a good first race and we used it as a test.  After two laps we had an accelerator problem.  Olivier had to drive carefully until his pit stop because of this problem.  We had to change the system on the engine that cost a lot of time in the pits.  We are pleased with overall weekend.  It is easier to make a fast car reliable than a reliable car fast." 

David Brabham - Panoz LMP07 #50: "Traction was very difficult today and the tyres were sliding around.  My second set of tyres were more consistent and the car was in pretty good shape when I got out." 

Jan Magnussen - Panoz LMP07 #50: " The car didn't feel bad when I took it over and I did some good times to begin with. Then I started feeling a small vibration, which I thought was related to pickup on the tyres as it was only at certain places on the track. I started to get a soft brake pedal which turned out to be caused by the loose wheel and when I went into McLeans I had no brakes and just spun a around. It's good though that we got the car back out and finished. 

Klaus Graf - Panoz LMP07 #51: "It was very difficult straight from the start as the paddle shift system wasn't working properly and I had to find ways of driving around it. Four or five times a lap I missed shifts which meant the car wasn't easy to drive at all. What happened when I went off was that it didn't select a gear on the downshift and the brakes were locking so I arrived at the corner way too fast and just spun it off. But at least we finished and that's good for all of us on the team. 

Gualter Salles - Panoz LMP07 #51: "The gearshift system was giving us problems right from the start and I kept getting neutrals instead of gears! I was also hit by the Chrysler during my second stint but 6^th place is much better than no finish ."