Race of a Thousand Years
The 2000 Race of a Thousand Years was an endurance race and the final round of the 2000 American Le Mans Series. It was run on the Adelaide Street Circuit in Australia on New Year's Eve, 31 December 2000. The race was run on the full 3.780 km Grand Prix circuit used by Formula One for the Australian Grand Prix between 1985–1995, rather than the shorter 3.219 km Supercars version of the circuit used since 1999. The Race of a Thousand Years was intended to be run for 1000 kilometres but was stopped short due to time constraints, two hours before midnight, after completing 850 kilometres.
Background
Like the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000 km, the Race of a Thousand Years was intended as a precursor to a planned Asia-Pacific Le Mans Series run by Don Panoz and the Professional Sports Car Racing body, just as the Silverstone and Nürburgring events earlier in the season were for the European Le Mans Series. After a small number of entrants for the European series in 2001, as well as a lack of entrants for a third Asian-Pacific exhibition event at the Sepang Circuit, the APLMS plans were cancelled.The race was the final of twelve endurance sports car racing rounds of the 2000 American Le Mans Series and took place at the Adelaide Street Circuit on 31 December 2000. The event was the first in a nine-year contract, but was abandoned after only one. Over 135,000 fans attended the race meeting, with almost 70,000 of them in attendance on race day. Organisers expected around 200,000 people in attendance during the race weekend.
Race Summary
By completing the first 25 laps, Allan McNish became the 2000 American Le Mans Series LMP Drivers' Champion. McNish and teammate Rinaldo Capello completed 225 laps in their Audi Sport North America R8. Australian driver Brad Jones had also qualified the R8 but did not drive in the race. Jones, the team owner and lead driver of Audi's factory backed Super Touring team in Australia, was on stand-by for Scotsman McNish who had injured his back a few days before the race while stepping out of his kilt after a photo shoot and had spent the day before the race flat on his back in bed in a successful effort to be fit to race. The Audi team suffered a setback on the morning of the race when Capello crashed the R8 into the tyre barriers on the outside of turn six. However the team were able to repair the car to allow McNish to start.The GTS class was won by Olivier Beretta, Karl Wendlinger and Dominique Dupuy who piloted their Team Oreca Dodge Viper GTS-R to 3rd outright, while finishing 5th outright were the GT class winners Dirk Müller and Lucas Luhr in their Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R.
McNish, Portuguese driver Ni Amorim and German Luhr set the fastest laps in their respective classes, with McNish's time of 1:25.2189 being the fastest ever non-Formula One race lap of the Adelaide circuit.
/ Allan McNish crocodile liveried Audi R8 driven early in the race by McNish.
Top 10 Qualifiers
Official results
Class winners in bold.| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Tyre | Laps |
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Engine | Tyre | Laps |
| 1 | LMP | 77 |  Audi Sport North America |  Rinaldo Capello Allan McNish Brad Jones | Audi R8 | 225 | |
| 1 | LMP | 77 | Audi Sport North America | Rinaldo Capello Allan McNish Brad Jones | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | 225 | |
| 2 | LMP | 28 | Konrad Motorsport |  Franz Konrad Charles Slater Alan Heath | Lola B2K/10 | 204 | |
| 2 | LMP | 28 | Konrad Motorsport | Franz Konrad Charles Slater Alan Heath | Ford 6.0L V8 | 204 | |
| 3 | GTS | 91 |  Viper Team Oreca |  Olivier Beretta Karl Wendlinger Dominique Dupuy | Dodge Viper GTS-R | 202 | |
| 3 | GTS | 91 | Viper Team Oreca | Olivier Beretta Karl Wendlinger Dominique Dupuy | Chrysler 8.0L V10 | 202 | |
| 4 | GTS | 92 | Viper Team Oreca | Jean-Philippe Belloc Ni Amorim | Dodge Viper GTS-R | 202 | |
| 4 | GTS | 92 | Viper Team Oreca | Jean-Philippe Belloc Ni Amorim | Dodge Chrysler 8.0L V10 | 202 | |
| 5 | GT | 5 | Dick Barbour Racing | Dirk Müller Lucas Luhr | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 199 | |
| 5 | GT | 5 | Dick Barbour Racing | Dirk Müller Lucas Luhr | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 199 | |
| 6 | GT | 15 | Dick Barbour Racing |  Randy Wars John Graham Christian Menzel | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 191 | |
| 6 | GT | 15 | Dick Barbour Racing | Randy Wars John Graham Christian Menzel | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 191 | |
| 7 | GT | 6 | Prototype Technology Group | Terry Borcheller Anthony Lazzaro | BMW M3 | 190 | |
| 7 | GT | 6 | Prototype Technology Group | Terry Borcheller Anthony Lazzaro | BMW 3.2L I6 | 190 | |
| 8 | GTS | 61 | Chamberlain Motorsport |  Milka Duno Stephen Watson Ray Lintott | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | 190 | |
| 8 | GTS | 61 | Chamberlain Motorsport | Milka Duno Stephen Watson Ray Lintott | Chrysler 8.0L V10 | 190 | |
| 9 | LMP | 12 | Panoz Motor Sports | David Brabham Greg Murphy Jason Bright | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | 190 | |
| 9 | LMP | 12 | Panoz Motor Sports | David Brabham Greg Murphy Jason Bright | Élan 6L8 6.0L V8 | 190 | |
| 10 | GT | 10 | Prototype Technology Group | Brian Cunningham Bill Auberlen Niclas Jönsson | BMW M3 | 190 | |
| 10 | GT | 10 | Prototype Technology Group | Brian Cunningham Bill Auberlen Niclas Jönsson | BMW 3.2L I6 | 190 | |
| 11 | GT | 66 | The Racer's Group | Robert Orcutt Darren Palmer Christian D'Agostin | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 188 | |
| 11 | GT | 66 | The Racer's Group | Robert Orcutt Darren Palmer Christian D'Agostin | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 188 | |
| 12 | GT | 8 |  Haberthur Racing | Patrick Vuillaume Manfred Jurasz Francesc Gutiérrez | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 187 | |
| 12 | GT | 8 | Haberthur Racing | Patrick Vuillaume Manfred Jurasz Francesc Gutiérrez | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 187 | |
| 13 DNF | LMP | 0 | Team Rafanelli SRL | Domenico Schiattarella Didier de Radigues Norman Simon | Lola B2K/10 | 183 | |
| 13 DNF | LMP | 0 | Team Rafanelli SRL | Domenico Schiattarella Didier de Radigues Norman Simon | Judd GV4 4.0L V10 | 183 | |
| 14 | GT | 30 | White Lightning Racing | Mike Fitzgerald Randy Pobst | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 178 | |
| 14 | GT | 30 | White Lightning Racing | Mike Fitzgerald Randy Pobst | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 178 | |
| 15 | LMP | 78 | Audi Sport North America | Frank Biela Emanuele Pirro | Audi R8 | 170 | |
| 15 | LMP | 78 | Audi Sport North America | Frank Biela Emanuele Pirro | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | 170 | |
| 16 | GT | 70 | Skea Racing International | Johnny Mowlem Richard Dean | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 164 | |
| 16 | GT | 70 | Skea Racing International | Johnny Mowlem Richard Dean | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 164 | |
| 17 | GT | 51 | Dick Barbour Racing | Sascha Maassen Bob Wollek | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 162 | |
| 17 | GT | 51 | Dick Barbour Racing | Sascha Maassen Bob Wollek | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 162 | |
| 18 DNF | GT | 69 | Kyser Racing | Kye Wankum Joe Foster Jeff Pabst | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 159 | |
| 18 DNF | GT | 69 | Kyser Racing | Kye Wankum Joe Foster Jeff Pabst | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 159 | |
| 19 DNF | LMP | 31 | Motorola DAMS | Éric Bernard Emmanuel Collard | Cadillac Northstar LMP | 72 | |
| 19 DNF | LMP | 31 | Motorola DAMS | Éric Bernard Emmanuel Collard | Cadillac Northstar 4.0L Turbo V8 | 72 | |
| 20 DNF | LMP | 32 | Motorola DAMS | Christophe Tinseau Marc Goossens | Cadillac Northstar LMP | 54 | |
| 20 DNF | LMP | 32 | Motorola DAMS | Christophe Tinseau Marc Goossens | Cadillac Northstar 4.0L Turbo V8 | 54 | |
| 21 DNF | GT | 71 | Skea Racing International | Doc Bundy Rohan Skea Des Wall | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 53 | |
| 21 DNF | GT | 71 | Skea Racing International | Doc Bundy Rohan Skea Des Wall | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 53 | |
| 22 DNF | GT | 7 | Prototype Technology Group | Hans-Joachim Stuck Boris Said Johannes van Overbeek | BMW M3 | 30 | |
| 22 DNF | GT | 7 | Prototype Technology Group | Hans-Joachim Stuck Boris Said Johannes van Overbeek | BMW 3.2L I6 | 30 | |
| 23 DNF | GTS | 37 | Intersport Racing | Vic Rice Kevin Buckler | Porsche 911 GT2 | ? | 19 |
| 23 DNF | GTS | 37 | Intersport Racing | Vic Rice Kevin Buckler | Porsche 3.8L Turbo Flat-6 | ? | 19 |
| 24 DNF | LMP | 1 | Panoz Motor Sports |  Jan Magnussen Klaus Graf | Panoz LMP07 | 2 | |
| 24 DNF | LMP | 1 | Panoz Motor Sports | Jan Magnussen Klaus Graf | Élan 4.0L V8 | 2 | |
| DSQ† | LMP | 2 | Panoz Motor Sports |  Hiroki Katoh Johnny O'Connell Klaus Graf | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | 187 | |
| DSQ† | LMP | 2 | Panoz Motor Sports | Hiroki Katoh Johnny O'Connell Klaus Graf | Élan 6L8 6.0L V8 | 187 |
† – No. 2 Panoz was disqualified for allowing an unassigned driver, Klaus Graf, to drive the car during the race.
Statistics
- Pole Position – Rinaldo Capello – No. 77 Audi Sport North America – 1:23.804
- Fastest Lap – Allan McNish – No. 77 Audi Sport North America – 1:25.219
- Average Speed – 148.048 km/h