Race of a Thousand Years
Non-championship endurance race in Adelaide.
The Race of a Thousand Years was a non-championship endurance race held on 31 December 2000 at the Adelaide Street Circuit in Australia. It was intended as a precursor to a planned Asia-Pacific Le Mans Series, which was later cancelled due to lack of entrants. The race was run on the full 3.780 km Grand Prix circuit used by Formula One from 1985 to 1995, rather than the shorter Supercars version.
- Date
- 31 December 2000
- Location
- Adelaide Street Circuit, Australia
- Circuit length
- 3.780 km (2.349 mi)
- Race duration
- 6 hours (4pm to 10pm)
- Overall winner
- No. 77 Audi Sport North America (Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello)
- Pole position
- Rinaldo Capello – 1:23.804
- Fastest lap
- Allan McNish – 1:25.219
Lore & Background
Over 135,000 fans attended the race meeting, with almost 70,000 on race day, though organizers had hoped for around 200,000. The Audi Sport North America R8, painted in crocodile livery in honor of Australia, suffered a crash on race morning when Rinaldo Capello hit the tyre barriers at turn six. Some body panels with the special paintwork were souvenired by spectators, but the team repaired the car in time for Allan McNish to start.
Reader's Guide
The Race of a Thousand Years is significant as the final round of the 2000 American Le Mans Series and as an attempt to establish an Asia-Pacific Le Mans Series. Allan McNish secured the LMP Drivers' Championship by completing the first 25 laps and leading after passing teammate Frank Biela on lap 17. The race featured the fastest non-Formula One lap of the Adelaide circuit, set by McNish at 1:25.2189. The event drew a large crowd but failed to return, marking a brief chapter in endurance racing history.
Did You Know?
- Allan McNish injured his back a few days before the race while stepping out of his kilt after a photo shoot and spent the day before the race flat on his back in bed to be fit to race.
- Australian driver Brad Jones was on standby for McNish but did not drive; his lap times were about 4 seconds slower per lap than McNish and Capello, and he struggled to fit in the R8 due to his size.
- The Audi R8 was painted in crocodile livery in honor of the host country Australia.
- The No. 2 Panoz was disqualified for allowing an unassigned driver, Klaus Graf, to drive the car during the race.
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