(Le Mans, 16 June 2001, 19.30 hours) The initial phase of the 2001 Le Mans 24 Hour race was nothing for the faint-hearted: Heavy rain showers caused turmoil for the 48-car field which eventually led to a 30-minute safety car period.

The Audi drivers had been surprised by the sudden rain as well: Laurent Aiello, who led initially in the Infineon Audi R8, had to pit. The Frenchman slid off the slippery track and required new rear bodywork and a trackrod.

Stefan Johansson (Johansson Motorsports) touched the barriers and lost three laps during a pit stop for repairs. Ralf Kelleners (Champion Racing) also spun on the flooded track. Only Frank Biela, who started extremely carefully and dropped to fourth position as a consequence, managed to stay out of trouble in this critical phase.

During the second hour Biela, in his Infineon Audi R8 with starting number one, moved ahead of the field and continued to extend his lead. Laurent Aiello, who had dropped back to 29th position after his small off-track excursion, sliced through the field with quick lap times. Shortly after 18.30 hours, he passed the second-placed Bentley.

After two and a half hours, both Infineon Audi R8 sportscars led the field for the first time before torrential rain caused another safety car phase. “Conditions were extreme“, explained Audi driver Laurent Aiello. “I could hardly manage to keep the car on the track with slick tyres in the rain. Even in the pits, we had aquaplaning!“

The weather forecast predicts changeable conditions for the night and into Sunday.