'00s MOTORSPORT

From F1's soaring revs and WRC's epic rivalries to Audi's Le Mans dominance, the noughties delivered speed, innovation and motorsport drama aplenty

- by RICHARD MEADEN

SO FAR AS GRAND PRIX RACING IS CONCERNED the noughties were all about revs. Fl’s screamer era was defined by the piercing wail of V10s and caustic howl of the even higher-revving 2.4-litre V8s that followed.

By the end of their development those 3-litre V10s were hitting 19,000rpm and developing almost 950bhp. The switch to 2.4-litre V8s in 2006 saw power drop but revs rise even further, Cosworth’s CA V8 famously being the first F1 engine to achieve 20,000rpm (at which speed its pistons were subjected to an accelerative force of 10,616 g!).

The rules were quickly changed in 2007 to limit revs to 19,000rpm (they would eventually drop to 18,000rpm) along with restrictions on development, but the V8s continued to race until the end of 2013.

The cars were sensational, but so too were the drivers. None more than Michael Schumacher (pictured). His extraordinary run of five consecutive championship titles between 2000 and 2004 remains unequalled. Such was his and Ferrari’s level of dominance in F1, we all knew the German and Italian national anthems better than our own.

There were flashes of brilliance from other teams. Especially Williams, who revelled in the power provided by BMW's awesome P83 V10. Juan Pablo Montoya - an incendiary talent with a zero-f***s attitude - would regularly tussle with Schumacher, while his record-breaking 162mph lap of Monza in 2004 showed his and the Williams’ blistering turn of speed.