The 2000

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

was the 68th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 2000.

Pre-race

After the 1999 race, most of the manufacturers in the top classes went in different directions. BMW and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

went into

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, while

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

left sportscar racing after the

CLR CLR may refer to: * Calcium Lime Rust, a household cleaning-product * California Law Review, a publication by the UC Berkeley School of Law * Tube_bending, Centerline Radius, a term in the tubing industry used to describe the radius of a bend * Cen ...

accidents, returning to the DTM. Nissan also left due to financial difficulties. Other than the French privateers Pescarolo, Oreca and DAMS, only

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

and

Panoz Panoz is an American manufacturer of sports automobiles founded in 1989 as Panoz Auto Development by Dan Panoz, son of Don Panoz. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, the Panoz Esperante, and the Panoz Avezzano. Pa ...

remained from the previous year, while newcomer Cadillac joined.

Race notes

The 1-2-3 finish of the Audi LMP900s marked the beginning of two dynasties, Audi's and Tom Kristensen's in the top-finishing Audi. The Oreca team's GTS class winning, seventh place, 333 lap finish with the Chrysler Viper was the best ever with that car. It faced serious competition within its class from Corvette Racing's new C5.R., which would within the next two years top the Viper's distance record and establish itself as the car to beat among the GT classes.

Official results

† - #83 Dick Barbour Racing was disqualified for an illegally sized fuel tank in post-race inspection.

Statistics

* Pole Position — Allan McNish, #9 Audi Sport Team Joest - 3:36.124 * Fastest Lap — Allan McNish, #9 Audi Sport Team Joest - 3:37.359 * Distance - 5007.99 km * Average Speed - 207.00 km/h * Highest Trap Speed — Audi R8 - 337 km/h (race) {{24 Hours of Le Mans Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans races