2001 American Memorial
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 16 of 21 in the 2001 CART season | |
Map of the track
|
|
| Date | September 15, 2001 |
| Official name | The American Memorial |
| Location | EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Klettwitz, Germany |
| Course | Oval 2.023 mi / 3.256 km |
| Distance | 154 laps 311.54 mi / 501.42 km |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Gil de Ferran (Team Penske) |
| Time | No Time Trials |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Tony Kanaan (Mo Nunn Racing) |
| Time | 34.747 (on lap 96 of 154) |
| Podium | |
| First | Kenny Bräck (Team Rahal) |
| Second | Max Papis (Team Rahal) |
| Third | Patrick Carpentier (Forsythe Racing) |
The 2001 American Memorial was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on September 15, 2001, at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Germany. It was the 16th round of the 2001 CART season and the first race in the series to be held in Europe. Originally known as the German 500, the race's name was changed by CART in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.Kenny Bräck won the race for Team Rahal; his teammate Max Papis finished in second place, and Patrick Carpentier was third.
The season points leader entering the race, Gil de Ferran, was awarded the pole position when qualifying was cancelled after a practice session was rained out. Bräck took the lead early in the race, and built a seven-second advantage before going off course while trying to lap another car. Carpentier took his place after the lap 64 incident, and held the lead until Tony Kanaan passed him on lap 95. After passing Carpentier for second, Alex Zanardi moved ahead of Kanaan after a series of pit stops between laps 121 to 123. Zanardi held the top spot entering his final scheduled pit stop with 12 laps remaining.
Upon leaving the pit lane, Zanardi lost control of his car, which turned sideways onto the circuit. Alex Tagliani crashed into Zanardi's car, splitting the chassis into two pieces. The crash led to the amputation of both of Zanardi's legs. The rest of the race was run under a caution flag, and Bräck, who had moved into second place before Zanardi's pit stop, secured the victory. Zanardi and Tagliani were taken to a Berlin hospital; Zanardi had a fractured pelvis and a concussion in addition to his amputations, while Tagliani was not severely injured.
The German 500 was the first CART race ever to be held in Europe. It was the beginning of a two-week European stretch for the series; the Rockingham 500 was held at Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, England one week later. EuroSpeedway chairman Hans Joerg Fischer hoped for a crowd of 70,000 at the track, which had a capacity of 90,000.
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