View source for Race of a Thousand Years

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
[[File:Adelaide (long route).svg|thumb|[[Adelaide Street Circuit]]]]
The '''2000 Race of a Thousand Years''' was an [[Endurance racing (motorsport)|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&nbsp;km (2.349&nbsp;mi) Grand Prix circuit used by [[Formula One]] for the [[Australian Grand Prix]] between 1985–1995, rather than the shorter 3.219&nbsp;km (2.001&nbsp;mi) [[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 1000km|1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000&nbsp;km]], the Race of a Thousand Years was intended as a precursor to a planned Asia-Pacific Le Mans Series (APLMS) run by [[Don Panoz]] and the [[International Motor Sports Association|Professional Sports Car Racing]] body, just as the [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]] and [[Nürburgring]] events earlier in the season were for the [[2001 European Le Mans Series season|European Le Mans Series]] (ELMS).  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 racing (motorsport)|endurance]] [[sports car racing]] rounds of the [[2000 American Le Mans Series]] and took place at the [[Adelaide Street Circuit]] on 31 December 2000.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/2000/12/12/1211rrr.html#42aa3dc34b23|title=Adelaide: Race of a Thousand Years|last=Frank|first=Michael|date=14 December 2000|website=[[Forbes]]|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />

==Race Summary==
By completing the first 25 laps (and in the lead after having passed teammate [[Frank Biela]] on lap 17), [[Allan McNish]] became the [[2000 American Le Mans Series season|2000 American Le Mans Series]] LMP Drivers' Champion. McNish and teammate [[Rinaldo Capello]] completed 225 laps in their [[Joest Racing|Audi Sport North America]] [[Audi R8 (race car)|R8]]. Australian driver [[Brad Jones (racing 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]] [[Brad Jones Racing|team]] in Australia, was on stand-by for [[Scottish people|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. Only being a guest driver who'd never even driven the car until practice (nor had he driven a race car as expensive), Jones admitted that despite knowing the circuit well, he was some 4 seconds slower than both McNish and Capello so it was probably a good thing he didn't get to drive. The Audi team suffered a setback on the morning of the race when Capello crashed the R8 (painted in crocodile livery in honour of the host country Australia) 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]] (known as a Chrysler Viper in Australia) to 3rd outright, while finishing 5th outright were the GT class winners [[Dirk Müller (racing driver)|Dirk Müller]] and [[Lucas Luhr]] in their Dick Barbour Racing [[Porsche 911 GT3-R]].

McNish (Audi), [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] driver [[Ni Amorim]] (Viper) and [[German People|German]] Luhr (Porsche) 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 (compared to the outright lap record of 1:15.381 set by [[Damon Hill]] in a [[Williams F1|Williams]] [[Williams FW15C|FW15C]] powered by a [[Renault RS engine|Renault]] [[V10 engine]] during the [[1993 Australian Grand Prix]]).
[[File:2000 Thousand Years winning Audi R8.jpg|thumb|The winning [[Rinaldo Capello]] / [[Allan McNish]] crocodile liveried [[Audi R8 (race car)|Audi R8]] driven early in the race by McNish.]]

==Top 10 Qualifiers==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Pos
! No
! Team
! Driver
! Car
! Time
! Gap
|-
|- style="font-weight:bold"
! Pole
| 77
| {{flagicon|GER}} [[Joest Racing|Audi Sport North America]]
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Rinaldo Capello]]
| [[Audi R8 (race car)|Audi R8]]
| 1:23.8038
|align="center"| —
|-
! 2
| 78
| {{flagicon|GER}} [[Joest Racing|Audi Sport North America]]
| {{flagicon|GER}} [[Frank Biela]]
| [[Audi R8 (race car)|Audi R8]]
| 1:23.9783
| 0.1745
|-
! 3
| 12
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Panoz]] Motor Sports
| {{flagicon|AUS}} [[David Brabham]]
| [[Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S]]
| 1:24.9890
| 1.1852
|-
! 4
| 2
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Panoz]] Motor Sports
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Johnny O'Connell]]
| [[Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S]]
| 1:25.1683
| 1.3645
|-
! 5
| 1
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Panoz]] Motor Sports
| {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Jan Magnussen]]
| [[Panoz LMP07]]
| 1:26.8596
| 3.0558
|-
! 6
| 31
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Motorola]] [[DAMS]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Éric Bernard]]
| [[Cadillac Northstar LMP]]
| 1:27.5513
| 3.7475
|-
! 7
| 32
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Motorola]] [[DAMS]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Christophe Tinseau]]
| [[Cadillac Northstar LMP]]
| 1:27.7513
| 3.9475
|-
! 8
| 0
| {{flagicon|ITA}} Team Rafanelli SRL
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Domenico Schiattarella]]
| [[Lola B2K/10]]
| 1:28.8167
| 5.0129
|-
! 9
| 28
| {{flagicon|GER}} [[Konrad Motorsport]]
| {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Franz Konrad (racing driver)|Franz Konrad]]
| [[Lola B2K/10]]
| 1:32.9607
| 9.1569
|-
! 10
| 91
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Dodge Viper|Viper]] Team [[Oreca]]
| {{flagicon|MON}} [[Olivier Beretta]]
| [[Dodge Viper GTS-R]]
| 1:34.6027
| 10.7989
|-
|}

==Official results==
Class winners in bold.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! rowspan=2 | Pos
! rowspan=2 | Class
! rowspan=2 | No
! rowspan=2 | Team
! rowspan=2 | Drivers
! Chassis
! rowspan=2 | Tyre
! rowspan=2 | Laps
|-
! Engine
|- style="font-weight:bold"
! rowspan=2 | 1
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 77
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GER}} [[Joest Racing|Audi Sport North America]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Rinaldo Capello]]<br>{{flagicon|GBR}} [[Allan McNish]]<br>''{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Brad Jones (racing driver)|Brad Jones]]''
| [[Audi R8 (race car)|Audi R8]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 225
|- style="font-weight:bold"
| [[Audi]] 3.6L Turbo V8
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 2
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 28
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GER}} [[Konrad Motorsport]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Franz Konrad (racing driver)|Franz Konrad]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} Charles Slater<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} Alan Heath
| [[Lola B2K/10]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Goodyear}}
| rowspan=2 | 204
|-
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] ([[Roush Racing|Roush]]) 6.0L V8
|- style="font-weight:bold"
! rowspan=2 | 3
| rowspan=2 | GTS
| rowspan=2 | 91
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Dodge Viper|Viper]] Team [[Oreca]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|MON}} [[Olivier Beretta]]<br>{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Karl Wendlinger]]<br>{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Dominique Dupuy]]
| [[Dodge Viper GTS-R]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 202
|- style="font-weight:bold"
| [[Chrysler LA engine#8.0 Viper V10|Chrysler 8.0L]] V10
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 4
| rowspan=2 | GTS
| rowspan=2 | 92
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Dodge Viper|Viper]] Team [[Oreca]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Jean-Philippe Belloc]]<br>{{flagicon|POR}} [[Ni Amorim]]
| Dodge Viper GTS-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 202
|-
| Dodge Chrysler 8.0L V10
|- style="font-weight:bold"
! rowspan=2 | 5
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 5
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Dick Barbour Racing
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GER}} [[Dirk Müller (racing driver)|Dirk Müller]]<br>{{flagicon|GER}} [[Lucas Luhr]]
| [[Porsche 911 GT3]]-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 199
|- style="font-weight:bold"
| [[Porsche]] 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 6
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 15
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Dick Barbour Racing
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|MEX}} Randy Wars<br>{{flagicon|CAN}} [[John Graham (racing driver)|John Graham]]<br>{{flagicon|GER}} [[Christian Menzel]]
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 191
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 7
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 6
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Prototype Technology Group (PTG)
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} [[Terry Borcheller]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Anthony Lazzaro (race car driver)|Anthony Lazzaro]]
| [[BMW M3#E46 M3|BMW M3]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Yokohama}}
| rowspan=2 | 190
|-
| [[BMW]] [[BMW M52|3.2L]] I6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 8
| rowspan=2 | GTS
| rowspan=2 | 61
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GBR}} Chamberlain Motorsport
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|Venezuela|1930}} [[Milka Duno]]<br>{{flagicon|RSA}} [[Stephen Watson (racing driver)|Stephen Watson]]<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} Ray Lintott
| [[Chrysler Viper GTS-R]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 190
|-
| [[Chrysler]] [[Chrysler LA engine#8.0 Viper V10|8.0L]] V10
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 9
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 12
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} [[Panoz]] Motor Sports
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|AUS}} [[David Brabham]]<br>{{flagicon|NZL}} [[Greg Murphy]]<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Jason Bright]]
| [[Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 190
|-
| [[Élan Motorsport Technologies|Élan]] 6L8 6.0L V8
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 10
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 10
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Prototype Technology Group (PTG)
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Brian Cunningham<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Bill Auberlen]]<br>{{flagicon|SWE}} [[Niclas Jönsson]]
| BMW M3
| rowspan=2 | {{Yokohama}}
| rowspan=2 | 190
|-
| BMW 3.2L I6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 11
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 66
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} [[The Racer's Group]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Robert Orcutt<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} Darren Palmer<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} Christian D'Agostin
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Pirelli}}
| rowspan=2 | 188
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 12
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 8
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|SWI}} Haberthur Racing
| rowspan=2 |  {{flagicon|FRA}} Patrick Vuillaume<br>{{flagicon|AUT}} Manfred Jurasz<br>{{flagicon|ESP}} Francesc Gutiérrez
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Dunlop}}
| rowspan=2 | 187
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 13<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 0
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|ITA}} Team Rafanelli SRL
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Domenico Schiattarella]]<br>{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Didier de Radigues]]<br>{{flagicon|GER}} Norman Simon
| Lola B2K/10
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 183
|-
| [[Judd (engine)#GV4|Judd GV4]] (Rafanelli) 4.0L V10
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 14
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 30
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} White Lightning Racing
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Mike Fitzgerald<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Randy Pobst]]
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 178
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 15
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 78
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GER}} [[Joest Racing|Audi Sport North America]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GER}} [[Frank Biela]]<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Emanuele Pirro]]
| Audi R8
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 170
|-
| Audi 3.6L Turbo V8
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 16
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 70
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|AUS}} Skea Racing International
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Johnny Mowlem]]<br>{{flagicon|GBR}} Richard Dean
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Pirelli}}
| rowspan=2 | 164
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 17
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 51
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Dick Barbour Racing
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GER}} [[Sascha Maassen]]<br>{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Bob Wollek]]
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 162
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 18<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 69
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|CAN}} Kyser Racing
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|CAN}} Kye Wankum<br>{{flagicon|USA}} Joe Foster<br>{{flagicon|CAN}} Jeff Pabst
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Pirelli}}
| rowspan=2 | 159
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 19<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 31
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Motorola]] [[DAMS]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Éric Bernard]]<br>{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Emmanuel Collard]]
| [[Cadillac Northstar LMP]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 72
|-
| [[Cadillac]] [[GM Premium V engine|Northstar]] 4.0L Turbo V8
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 20<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 32
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Motorola]] [[DAMS]]
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Christophe Tinseau]]<br>{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Marc Goossens]]
| Cadillac Northstar LMP
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 54
|-
| Cadillac Northstar 4.0L Turbo V8
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 21<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 71
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|AUS}} Skea Racing International
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} [[Doc Bundy]]<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} Rohan Skea<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} Des Wall
| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| rowspan=2 | {{Pirelli}}
| rowspan=2 | 53
|-
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 22<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | GT
| rowspan=2 | 7
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Prototype Technology Group (PTG)
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|GER}} [[Hans-Joachim Stuck]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Boris Said]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Johannes van Overbeek]]
| BMW M3
| rowspan=2 | {{Yokohama}}
| rowspan=2 | 30
|-
| BMW 3.2L I6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 23<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | GTS
| rowspan=2 | 37
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Intersport Racing
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Vic Rice<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Kevin Buckler]]
| [[Porsche 911 GT2#996 generation|Porsche 911 GT2]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Dunlop}}
| rowspan=2 | 19
|-
| Porsche 3.8L Turbo Flat-6
|- 
! rowspan=2 | 24<br>DNF
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 1
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} [[Panoz]] Motor Sports
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Jan Magnussen]]<br>{{flagicon|GER}} [[Klaus Graf (racing driver)|Klaus Graf]]
| [[Panoz LMP07]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 2
|-
| Élan ([[Zytek]]) 4.0L V8
|- 
! rowspan=2 | DSQ<sup>†</sup>
| rowspan=2 | LMP
| rowspan=2 | 2
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|USA}} [[Panoz]] Motor Sports
| rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|JPN}} Hiroki Katoh<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Johnny O'Connell]]<br>{{flagicon|GER}} ''[[Klaus Graf (racing driver)|Klaus Graf]]''
| [[Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S]]
| rowspan=2 | {{Michelin}}
| rowspan=2 | 187
|-
| Élan 6L8 6.0L V8
|}
† – 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&nbsp;km/h

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Auto Action, 12–18 January 2001
*Official Program, Adelaide Race of a Thousand Years, 29–31 December 2000

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030403075301/http://www.imsaracing.net/archives/2000adelaide.pdf Official results, www.imsaracing.net, as archived at web.archive.org]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010202175900/http://www.lemansadelaide.com.au/ www.lemansadelaide.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org]

{{Sportscar Race Report
| Year_of_race = 2000
| Sportscar_Series = American Le Mans Series
| Previous_race_in_season = [[2000 Grand Prix of Las Vegas]]
| Next_race_in_season = [[2001 Grand Prix of Texas]] <BR> ''2001 season''
}}

{{Asian Le Mans Series}}
{{Automobile endurance races}}
{{ALMS races}}

[[Category:2000 in Australian motorsport]]
[[Category:2000 American Le Mans Series]]
[[Category:Auto races in Australia]]
[[Category:New Year celebrations]]
[[Category:Motorsport in Adelaide]]