Car # 78 with Biela/Kristensen/Pirro piloting for Audi Sport North America, managed to retain first place for all twelve hours, with only a few minor problems and status changes. # 77 with Alboreto/ Capello/McNish at the wheel raced a sprint instead of just an endurance race and captured second even after a tire blow out. BMW took third and fourth place, with two BMW V12 LMR1s. Car #42 with JJ Lehto /Jorge Muller and #43 with Auberlen/Gounon/Soper gave the Audis intense competition throughout the twelve hours as they traded second and third positions.
Cadillac had Prototype cars running sixth, seventh and eighth until Andy Wallace crashed #9 into the retaining wall going 170 miles per hour, which put that car out of the competition in hour three. Later the two other cars, #19 and #31 also retired but Cadillac reports it gained important data and looks forward to LeMans and the rest of the season. Lola also had problems that forced early retirment for Team Raffinelli, and Intersport Racing. The #1 and #2 Panoz cars also dropped out with problems in the throttle and gear box.
Dominating the GTS division were the three entries from Dodge Viper, the surprise overall winners of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. Car # 91 from Viper Team Oreca was driven to class victory by Beretta/Wendlinger/Dupuy. Olivier Beretta , #91, said "The race was fantasticŠOne thing I can say is that there are no more endurance races. They are all sprints now. This is good for us as we have a strong car."
The Corvette Racing Team did not have a good day as it had to retire both of its entries due to engine and gear box problems. Porsche took the top places in GT division with #5 Muller/ Luhr for Mobil 1/Michelin first in class, followed by Murry/Mowlen in # 70 and Reiser/Haywood/Stan in #03. The new BMW M3 GT gave up after only a broken rear axle on both the #6 and #10. BMW North America,Motorsport Director., Tom Salkowsky said "This is a car that we developed very quickly and its out many, many months before the production M3. That say a lot about the team. Ther will be bumps along the way, no doubt about it, but we learned from the experience and we1ll come back very hard for Charlotte."
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