2001 Australian Grand Prix, Practice
Barrichello set the day's fastest lap in the second session at 1 minute 28.965 seconds. Jarno Trulli for Jordan, Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Häkkinen, Ralf Schumacher, Heidfeld, Frentzen, Prost's Jean Alesi and Panis followed in positions two to ten. Tarso Marques' engine failed after seven minutes and laid oil on the track. Both Irvine and Button sustained separate punctures. Red flags were shown after 35 minutes when Jaguar's Luciano Burti locked his tyres into the first corner and spun. He damaged the front-left corner of his Jaguar R2 car in an impact with a concrete barrier at the corner's exit. Burti was unhurt. Frentzen beached his car in the turn six gravel trap with six minutes remaining, and Heidfeld had an off-track excursion, which damaged the front wing.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Practice
Shortly after, Michael Schumacher did not see waved yellow flags in turn five to alert drivers to Heidfeld. He accelerated and saw the yellow flags in the braking area for turn six. Schumacher lost control of the rear of the car on oil laid on the approach to the right-hand turn six while braking. He spun backwards after hitting the inside kerb and speared into the gravel trap at 120 mph (190 km/h). The wheels dug into a ridge in the gravel on the outside of the turn and the Ferrari lifted airborne. Schumacher somersaulted and barrel rolled twice before landing upright against a tyre barrier. He was unhurt, and he returned to the area later that day to discuss possible changes to turn six after raising concerns the day before.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Practice
In the third session, Michael Schumacher was fastest in his rebuilt car with a lap of 1 minute 28.134 seconds. The McLarens of Coulthard and Häkkinen were second and third. Trulli was fourth-fastest with Jacques Villeneuve of BAR fifth and his teammate Panis sixth. Frentzen, Barrichello, Montoya and Irvine followed in the top ten. Barrichello stopped at the side of the track with an engine failure and Verstappen was affected by a transmission fault caused by an electrical problem. Frentzen spun late in the session and avoided damaging his car. Coulthard led the final session with a lap of 1 minute 27.540 seconds, followed by Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen, Frentzen, Trulli, Panis, Räikkönen, Irvine and Heidfeld. A brake problem caused Marques to spin into the gravel trap and Michael Schumacher stopped at turn six with debris in his left-front brake duct.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Saturday's afternoon one hour qualifying session saw each driver limited to twelve laps, with the grid order decided by their fastest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, which required each driver to set a time within 107 per cent of the quickest lap to qualify for the race. The weather was hot and clear.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Qualifying
After a front camber angle alteration, Michael Schumacher took his first pole position in Australia, his fifth in a row extending back to the 2000 Italian Grand Prix, and the 33rd of his career with a time of 1 minute 26.892 seconds, almost four seconds faster than Häkkinen's pole lap from the 2000 race. Barrichello in second negotiated slower traffic on his fastest lap; he aborted one lap due to a gear selection fault and was ordered to stop on the weighbridge.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Häkkinen, who had pole position early on, had balance problems putting him off the track at a bumpy turn one and took third. Frentzen, fourth, was confident in the feel of his Jordan EJ11 car, ahead of Ralf Schumacher in fifth, the highest-placed Michelin-shod car. Coulthard, in sixth, twice ran onto the grass due to car balance problems. Trulli started from seventh, bemoaning a deteriorating handling balance. Villeneuve took eighth place, ahead of his BAR teammate Panis in ninth; both drivers reported an adequate car balance. Villeneuve collided with Montoya in an attempt to pass him on the inside, necessitating a bargeboard replacement. Heidfeld in tenth was twice slowed by traffic.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Montoya was the fastest driver not to qualify in the top ten; Bernoldi slowed Montoya leaving turn four and put him wide on his final timed lap. Irvine, in his balanced and slightly heavy Jaguar, set the 12th-fastest lap as debris removed one of his bargeboards. Räikkönen was the highest-placed rookie driver in 13th, as he drove an unbalanced Sauber—a problem his team could not resolve. Alesi was the faster of the two Prost cars in 14th, as Verstappen's transmission fault prevented him from setting up his car to achieve an optimal performance and was 15th.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Button did not have his preferred qualifying setup following a gearbox change and was 16th. His teammate Fisichella was 17th due to a water leak in his car prompting him to switch to the team's spare car, which had a braking problem. Bernoldi, 18th, failed to generate sufficient heat into the front tyres on his car with traffic slowing him. Alonso set the 19th-fastest time in his first Formula One qualifying session; he lost around half a second through an error. A strong understeer left Prost's Gastón Mazzacane in 20th.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Burti in 21st had a left-rear suspension failure sending him into a retaining wall at turn five, stopping the session for 12 minutes to allow track marshals to clear debris. Occupying the last spot on the grid, Marques failed to set a lap time within the 107 per cent limit due to his unfamiliarity with the Minardi PS01's two-pedal setup. He spun at turn three before driving Alonso's race car. Minardi appealed to the stewards and Marques was granted permission to start the race under "exceptional circumstances."


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Warm-up
A 30-minute warm-up session took place on Sunday morning for teams to set up their cars before the race. It was held in overcast weather with spots of rain that made the track moderately slippery. While he was briefly kept in the garage with a suspected engine oil leak, Coulthard led the session with a lap of 1 minute 30.099 seconds, 0.053 seconds quicker than his teammate Häkkinen in second. Verstappen was fastest for the opening 20 minutes before falling to third. Montoya, Panis, Michael Schumacher, Heidfeld, Irvine, Barrichello and Frentzen followed in positions four to ten. After exiting the pit lane at the beginning of the warm-up, Bernoldi lost control of the rear of his Arrows and removed the nose cone from his car in a collision with the turn one wall.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
The race took place before a crowd of 128,500 spectators at 14:00 local time. The weather was dry and overcast with the air temperature between 22 and 23 °C (72 and 73 °F); the track temperature ranged from 27 to 28 °C (81 to 82 °F); forecasts predicted heavy cloud cover with high humidity and no rainfall. Tyre durability and grooved tread wear were predicted to affect the race and analysis suggested one pit stop was the ideal strategy for drivers and teams. Jaguar isolated and fixed a minor vehicle design fault linked to Burti's accident in Saturday's qualifying session.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
They strengthened the double wishbone suspension on all three of their cars overnight. Irvine switched to the spare Jaguar due to a power steering failure on his race monocoque. Button used the spare Benetton; his mechanics remained on the grid to work on the car before the formation lap began, entailing an investigation by the race stewards resulting in Button incurring a ten-second stop-and-go penalty.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
When the five red lights went out to start the race, Michael Schumacher made a brisk getaway to lead going into the first corner. Barrichello in second made a slower start and allowed a pack of cars to approach. Coulthard, on the right-portion, steered to the middle to try and hold off Ralf Schumacher on his left and Frentzen to his right. As the available space was reduced going into the turn one braking area, Frentzen hit the right-hand sidepod of Coulthard's car sending him towards Ralf Schumacher's Williams. He made a second, harder contact that slowed Coulthard.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
Behind the first five drivers, Montoya made up five positions before the end of the start/finish straight. He carried too much momentum and drove off the track at turn one. Montoya lost several positions and almost made contact with Panis as he rejoined the track. Entering turn three, Montoya attempted to pass Irvine and the two cars collided, sending the Jaguar into the grass and a 180-degree spin. Mazzacane retired with a broken brake pedal and an engine failure.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
At the conclusion of lap one, Michael Schumacher led Häkkinen by 1.2 seconds and was a further second ahead of Frentzen in third. Barrichello challenged Ralf Schumacher for fourth and took the position when the latter ran deep under braking at turn one and fell to seventh. That enabled Coulthard to return to fifth as he had earlier passed Trulli. On lap two, Bernoldi became the race's second retiree when he lost control of his car exiting turn two and struck the left-hand barrier.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
Barrichello recorded an early fastest lap as he moved closer to attempt to pass Frentzen for third. On lap three, Barrichello attempted a pass on the right of Frentzen (who was on the racing line at the time) at turn nine, and the two made contact. Frentzen was sent into the grass; he avoided stalling his engine and rejoined the track in 16th. Barrichello continued in third albeit the toe-in on his front-left wheel was knocked out of alignment. Further down the order, the lightly-fuelled Verstappen overtook Panis and Heidfeld to move into ninth on the same lap. Marques then joined the list of retirees with a progressively worsening battery misfire causing the engine to shut down on lap four.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
On lap five, a two-car accident led to the safety car's deployment. On the approach to turn three at about 290 km/h (180 mph), Ralf Schumacher, on the left, was about to defend from Villeneuve in the centre. Villeneuve slipstreamed Ralf Schumacher, and was caught out by him under braking. Villeneuve's right-front tyre struck the Williams' left-rear wheel, launching his car airborne and rotated through 180 degrees towards a retaining catchfence and concrete barrier to his left.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
The resulting impact of more than 30G, and cart-wheeling along the wall, destroyed the rear of Villeneuve's car up to the carbon fibre monocoque. Ralf Schumacher's rear wing was removed and he spun into the gravel trap. Villeneuve's 38 cm (380 mm) right-rear wheel detached from the car and catapulted through a 40 cm (400 mm) access area. It struck the chest of 51-year-old track marshal Graham Beveridge at around 175 km/h (109 mph), causing the left ventricle of his heart to rupture, as well as lung and liver lacerations. He was killed instantly. The force of the impact catapulted Beveridge backwards and clockwise, resting on his back with his eyes open. 11 spectators were injured by flying debris.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
An ambulance was dispatched, and race officials prevented nearby spectators from forcing their way through a tarpaulin to watch medical personnel tend to Beveridge or scavenge debris. Beveridge was transported to the track's medical centre and then under resuscitation to the trauma and intensive care unit of The Alfred Hospital, under a protocol established by the local sanctioning body, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), and the hospital. He was officially declared dead at 15:08 local time. In the meantime, track marshals cleared debris and the remaining drivers conserved fuel at reduced speed behind the safety car.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
They swerved from side-to-side to maintain warm temperatures in their tyres. Both Ralf Schumacher and Villeneuve clambered out of their cars unaided. Several hours later, Villeneuve admitted himself to hospital, with bruising, muscle damage, nausea and chest pains, mostly due to the pressure put upon him by his car's seat belts in the accident.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
Verstappen made a tactical pit stop on lap 15 to support his two-stop strategy. He caught up to the field before the safety car was withdrawn at the end of the lap. Michael Schumacher began to pull away from the rest of the field, increasing his lead by two-tenths of a second per lap. There were overtakes farther down the field. Montoya passed Fisichella for ninth, and Irvine overtook Verstappen and Alonso. Räikkönen passed Button for tenth place on lap 17. Button took his stop-and-go penalty on the next lap. He emerged at the back of the order.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
Michael Schumacher opened up a five-second lead over Häkkinen in second by lap 25. Häkkinen retired from the race for the third year in a row on lap 26 with a left-front suspension failure under braking at the end of the back straight sending him backwards into the tyre barrier at Ascari corner. Häkkinen exited his McLaren with a mild concussion from flying debris striking his helmet and went to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
With Häkkinen's retirement, Michael Schumacher led his teammate Barrichello by ten seconds and pulled away. Coulthard started to draw closer to Barrichello albeit momentarily delayed by Fisichella's slower Benetton. On lap 31, Panis overtook Trulli for fourth as the latter slowed with a misfiring engine; Trulli soon retired. Three laps later, Alonso exited the pit lane following a pit stop and temporarily delayed Barrichello, unbalancing the Ferrari enough to allow Coulthard to stay in his slipstream into turn three. Coulthard steered left and overtook Barrichello into turn four.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
By this point, Michael Schumacher had extended his lead to 15 seconds and set the race's fastest lap of 1 minute 28.214 seconds on lap 34. He relinquished the lead to Coulthard on lap 37 with his only pit stop for fuel and tyres and rejoined in third. Barrichello made a pit stop from second two laps later, rejoining the track in fifth.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
A full tank of fuel and traffic meant Michael Schumacher fell 18.1 seconds behind Coulthard until the latter entered the pit lane at the end of lap 41. Coulthard rejoined the race in second, behind Michael Schumacher. After the pit stops, Michael Schumacher led Coulthard by 10.5 seconds. He, in turn, was 10 seconds in front of Barrichello. Panis in fourth pulled away from Heidfeld in fifth. Montoya stopped on the circuit due to an engine failure caused by a broken oil pipe on lap 41, prematurely ending his maiden Grand Prix. His retirement promoted Frentzen to sixth.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race
Following a period of stability throughout the field, Verstappen passed Alesi for tenth on the 49th lap. Four laps later, Button was slowed by a split exhaust system. He retired because it overheated his car's electronics. Michael Schumacher finished first after 58 laps to achieve his fifth consecutive victory and the 45th of his career. Coulthard was 1.717 seconds behind in second with Barrichello a further 31 seconds adrift in third. Panis was fourth on the road, Heidfeld finished fifth and he held off Frentzen in sixth over the last nine laps. Räikkönen, Burti, Verstappen, Alesi, Irvine, Alonso and Fisichella were the final finishers.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Out of respect for Beveridge's death, the top three drivers on the podium refrained from spraying champagne. Michael Schumacher expressed the importance of ensuring he did not push too hard, "Any time I needed to be fast, I was able to go fast, and what is good is that finally we seem to be able to do good starts as well. So all in all, it's the way we wanted to be and for that reason we can obviously be confident for the rest of the season, but obviously we know there is no reason to be overconfident."


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Coulthard said he felt fortunate to finish second after starting from sixth, "I would imagine the team are disappointed, obviously, for whatever the particular problem was with Mika's car, but you've always got to expect some reliability issues in the first race. You hope you can get two cars to the finish, but I don't believe any team would put a lot of money on both their cars making it so far." Barrichello explained he did not battle Coulthard because of an understeer and was told by Ferrari's technical director, Ross Brawn, to slow towards the race's end because of fluctuating oil pressure, "It was a difficult race since the beginning, because I had all sorts of troubles."


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Sauber team owner Peter Sauber filed an official appeal with race officials against the BAR and Arrows teams because he believed Panis and Verstappen illegally overtook Heidfeld under yellow flag conditions for Bernoldi's lap two crash. The stewards interviewed the three drivers and reviewed video footage of the incident before upholding Sauber's protest. Panis and Verstappen incurred a 25-second time penalty and dropped from fourth to seventh and ninth to tenth, respectively. This promoted Heidfeld to fourth, Frentzen to fifth and Räikkönen into sixth.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Panis argued the stewards made an incorrect decision because he felt Heidfeld was overtaken in an area where there were no yellow flags, "What makes me furious is that I was found guilty without any evidence. There was no report from the track marshals and it was all based on accusations made by Nick Heidfeld. It was his word against mine and they said he was right."


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Frentzen felt he missed the chance of taking a podium finish due to the collision with Barrichello albeit unangry about it, saying, "At the end of the day I took away two points for a fifth place spot which, considering how the race went for me, was still pretty good. However, I could have easily been in second place had things gone my way." Barrichello argued Frentzen went towards him and affected the toe-in of his left-front wheel.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Frentzen chose not complain about the contact saying, "it wouldn't help anything and I am sure that he is sorry for what he did, especially as it upset the handling of his car for the rest of the race." Räikkönen was praised by the press and Sauber personnel for his performance. The Guardian's Richard Williams wrote Räikkönen had possibly the best Formula One début of any driver since Villeneuve moved from CART and finished second at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix. David Tremayne of The Independent on Sunday felt Räikkönen "did not put a wheel wrong all weekend." Jacky Eeckelaert, Räikkönen's race engineer, said the driver "drove a perfect three days, like a driver who's been doing it for 10 years" and Heidfeld stated he was happy for his teammate.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Five days after the race, Frentzen wrote on his website he was suspicious that Sauber illegally used traction control (a driver aid outlawed after the 1993 championship, which was permitted from the fifth round of the 2001 season, the Spanish Grand Prix) on their cars to get an unfair advantage. He clarified his comments three days later to say the Sauber's fast acceleration out of the tight corners was achieved by an engine software package lowering its power and eliminating wheelspin, "It cannot be ignored that something like that exists, there is simply no room for discussion about that.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
On the other hand, however, you can discuss if the device that exists is legal or illegal." Michael Schumacher responded by saying Frentzen had brought Formula One into disrepute and argued the latter should concentrate on his own car and performance, "To make this stupid comment is completely unfair, he should rethink what he is saying. I know he does not say it is illegal but then he has to say that we have done a very good job, not say that it is dubious what we are doing." Frentzen clarified he did not state any car running a Ferrari engine had an illegal traction control system in any media interview or on his website.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
As this was the first race of the season, Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with ten points. He was followed by Coulthard in second with six points and Barrichello in third with four points. Heidfeld was in fourth with three points and Frentzen was fifth with two points. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari collected 14 points because of Michael Schumacher's victory and Barrichello's third-place finish. That gave them an eight-point gap over the second-placed McLaren. Sauber's double points finish placed them third with four points. Frentzen's fifth-place result put Jordan in fourth with sixteen races remaining in the season.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries
The death of spectator marshal Graham Beveridge overshadowed the race. He was the first track marshal to die from injuries sustained during a Formula One race since Paolo Gislimberti at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix. He predeceased his wife and three adult children. At the request of his family, his death was not made public during the event, and Michael Schumacher announced Beveridge had died, at the post-race press conference. The day after the race, Beveridge's family spent more than half an hour visiting the accident site and the crash was explained by a race official.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries
CAMS and National Australia Bank formed a trust fund for his family for individuals to donate to, and a subsequent public auction to sell Formula One memorabilia raised more than A$100,000. On 9 March, a memorial service was held at the St. Jude's Anglican Church in Beveridge's hometown of Bowral, New South Wales. He was buried at the Bundaberg General Cemetery four days later. A park bench opposite turn three was dedicated in his memory at a commemoration service on 9 November 2002.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries
The race stewards investigated the crash and chose not to pursue any action against Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher. They rated the crash "a racing incident", with neither driver to blame. The FIA launched an inquiry as Villeneuve's car was impounded on the order of the state coroner of Victoria Graeme Johnstone for his investigation. The section of catchfence that Villeneuve's right-rear wheel penetrated was stored at the Victoria Police's traffic centre in Brunswick. Both Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher were interviewed by officers from the Victoria Police's Major Collision Investigation Unit. The FIA's investigation was completed on 3 August. In its confidential report, the organisers of the race, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC), were absolved of any responsibility for the death of Beveridge, which it called "a freak accident", and discovered the marshal was stationed at an incorrect position at the time of the crash.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries, Coronial inquest
Following the Victoria Police Major Collision Investigation Unit examination lasting eight months and also absolved the AGPC, on 3 December 2001 the official inquest into the death of Beveridge opened in Melbourne. The FIA severed all formal links with the inquest and withdrew instructions to local lawyers to act on its behalf. The governing body's own appointee, the race director and permanent starter Charlie Whiting, did not appear in person or provide evidence by satellite.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries, Coronial inquest
During the inquest, the court was told Beveridge was instructed to stand at the fence opening to prevent spectators from accessing the track and it had prevented any further fatalities. The issue over the height of the catchfence was then raised by the inquest. Tim Schenken, a member of CAMS, said some of the fences were raised in height by 1 m (39 in) before the 1999 race albeit he had no knowledge if a formal risk analysis report was carried out to assess the potential danger to marshals and spectators.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries, Coronial inquest
Following this, a safety engineer was called to the stand. He said the fence was too low and a Formula One car could cartwheel over it if a collision occurred. He also theorised debris could be projected for around 300 m (980 ft) past the fence and be launched as high as 22 m (72 ft) into the air. A British track marshal told the court this had twice been the case at the Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom. The inquest later heard the AGPC rejected Whiting's suggestion to increase the height of the fences in 1998 and 2001, something CAMS and the AGPC denied.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries, Coronial inquest
The court was then shown a video of Martin Brundle's airborne accident on the first lap of the 1996 race which occurred at the same corner where Beveridge died. The manager of safety services for CAMS stated he could not recall any meeting to discuss the crash and no investigation occurred since nobody was injured. Villeneuve's damaged car was brought into the court to explain why its wheel tethers failed in the accident.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries, Coronial inquest
It was told while the car met FIA international standards dictating the wheel tethers to withstand 500 t (490 long tons; 550 short tons) of pressure, three of them failed in the collision. The BAR technical director Malcolm Oastler said the design of the wheel tether was changed following the accident.


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries, Coronial inquest
On 19 December, the final submissions were made to the inquest. Jim Kennan, the counsel assisting the coroner, argued the organisation that should be held responsible for Beveridge's death was the AGPC under the Australian Grand Prix Act, "No one organisation accepted ultimate responsibility for the design – AGPC relied on CAMS, CAMS relied on FIA, the FIA said the local promoter had ultimate responsibility." Johnstone's report was released on 8 February 2002. It agreed with Kennan's suggestion the AGPC was the sole company responsible for Beveridge's death due to it not analysing the risks to marshals and concluded the accident was "avoidable".


2001 Australian Grand Prix, Death of Graham Beveridge and inquiries, Physician's inquest
In December 2002, the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria opened an investigation into the professional conduct of three senior physicians who treated Beveridge at the scene of the accident when Johnstone's report revealed medical records had been altered to disguise the fact the marshal died at the track. It found a physician was told via telephone resuscitation on Beveridge had stopped at 14:47 local time and he subsequently ordered the nurse who produced the record to delete it. One physician said he had an obligation to transport casualties and fatalities to The Alfred Hospital for their official certification of death. Two of three senior physicians were found guilty of professional misconduct by the four-member panel on 7 November 2003. In June 2004, an appeals tribunal reversed the unprofessional conduct decision on the chief medical officer, who deemed he had committed an "error of judgement".


2001 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
The 2001 Australian Individual Speedway Championship was held at the Riverview Speedway in Murray Bridge, South Australia on 3 February.


2001 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
Former World #3 Todd Wiltshire won his second Australian Championship after defeating defending champion Leigh Adams in a runoff. Mick Poole from New South Wales finished third after defeating Perth's Steve Johnston in a runoff, while Shane Parker defeated fellow Adelaide riders Brett Woodifield and Nigel Sadler in a runoff to claim the final spot in the Overseas Final.


2001 Australian Labor Party leadership election
The Australian Labor Party held a leadership election on 22 November 2001, following the resignation of Kim Beazley after the party's defeat at the 2001 federal election. Deputy leader and Shadow Treasurer Simon Crean was elected unopposed as Beazley's replacement, thus becoming Leader of the Opposition.


2001 Australian Labor Party leadership election
Beazley, the party's leader since 1996, announced his resignation on the night of 10 November 2001, when it became clear that his party had lost the election to John Howard's Coalition. The following day, Crean announced that he would contest the leadership. Shadow Health Minister Jenny Macklin, Shadow Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner, Shadow Industry Minister Carmen Lawrence, and Manager of Opposition Business Bob McMullan were also seen as possible contenders. On 12 November, Macklin announced her intention to stand for the deputy leadership.


2001 Australian Labor Party leadership election
She and Crean were reported to be running as a ticket, representing the Labor Left and Labor Right factions, respectively. No other MPs declared themselves candidates for either position over the following week, and Crean and Macklin were consequently elected unopposed when the Labor caucus met on 22 November. Macklin became the first woman to hold a leadership position in the Labor Party.


2001 Australian Nations Cup Championship
The 2001 Australian Nations Cup Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to drivers of GT style cars complying with Nations Cup regulations as published by PROCAR and approved by CAMS. The title, which was the second Australian Nations Cup Championship, was contested over an eight round series.


2001 Australian Nations Cup Championship
The championship was won by Jim Richards driving a Porsche 911 GT3. It was his second consecutive victory, having won the inaugural Australian Nations Cup Championship in 2000.


2001 Australian Nations Cup Championship, Calendar
Points were awarded on the results of each individual race with double points applied for the single race in Round 6. One point was awarded at each round for the driver who set pole position during qualifying.


2001 Australian Nations Cup Championship, Results
Note :  The 64 points theoretically earned by Sam Newman for his seventh place in Round 6 were not included in points totals as published by PROCAR.


2001 Australian Open
The 2001 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Australia. It was the 89th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 15 through 28 January 2001.


2001 Australian Open, Seniors, Men's Doubles
Jonas Björkman /  Todd Woodbridge defeated  Byron Black /  David Prinosil 6–1, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4


2001 Australian Open, Seniors, Women's Doubles
Serena Williams /  Venus Williams defeated  Lindsay Davenport /  Corina Morariu 6–2, 2–6, 6–4


2001 Australian Open, Seniors, Mixed Doubles
Corina Morariu /  Ellis Ferreira defeated  Barbara Schett /  Joshua Eagle 6–1, 6–3


2001 Australian Open, Juniors, Boys' Doubles
Ytai Abougzir /  Luciano Vitullo defeated  Frank Dancevic /  Giovanni Lapentti 6–4, 7–6 (7–5)


2001 Australian Open, Juniors, Girls' Doubles
Petra Cetkovská /  Barbora Strýcová defeated  Anna Bastrikova /  Svetlana Kuznetsova 7–6 (7–3), 1–6, 6–4


2001 Australian Open – Men's Doubles
Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach were the defending champions, but Leach did not participate. Ferreira paired with David Rikl but lost in the second round to Arnaud Clément and Sébastien Grosjean.


2001 Australian Open – Men's Doubles
Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge won the title, defeating Byron Black and David Prinosil 6–1, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 in the final. It was Woodbridge's 12th Grand Slam men's doubles title  and his first with a partner other than Mark Woodforde, who retired after the 2000 season.


2001 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Defending champion Andre Agassi successfully defended his title, defeating Arnaud Clément 6–4, 6–2, 6–2 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 2001 Australian Open.


2001 Australian Open – Men's Singles
This was the first main-draw major appearance for future ATP World Tour finals champion Nikolay Davydenko.


2001 Australian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Andre Agassi is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


2001 Australian Open – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for the Men's Singles at the 2001 Australian Open.


2001 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles
Rennae Stubbs and Jared Palmer were the defending champions but only Stubbs competed that year with Todd Woodbridge.


2001 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles
Stubbs and Woodbridge lost in the semifinals to Barbara Schett and Joshua Eagle.


2001 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles
Corina Morariu and Ellis Ferreira won in the final 6–1, 6–3 against Schett and Eagle.


2001 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


2001 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs were the defending champions but lost in the first round to Martina Hingis and Monica Seles.


2001 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
Serena and Venus Williams won in the final 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 against Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu, each achieving a career doubles Golden Slam.


2001 Australian Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


2001 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Jennifer Capriati defeated Martina Hingis in the final, 6–4, 6–3 to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 2001 Australian Open. Following her win, Capriati re-entered the top 10 ranking for the first time since 1993.


2001 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Lindsay Davenport was the defending champion, but lost to Capritati in the semifinals, in a rematch of their semifinal at the 2000 Australian Open.


2001 Australian Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for the women's singles event at the 2001 Australian Open.


2001 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The 2001 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Group 3D Sports Sedans. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport and was the seventeenth Australian Sports Sedan Championship.


2001 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The championship was won by Tony Ricciardello driving an Alfa Romeo GTV


2001 Australian Sports Sedan Championship, Calendar
The championship was contested over a five round series  with two races per round.


2001 Australian Super Touring Series
The 2001 Australian Super Touring Car Series was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to Super Touring Cars. It was the ninth running of an Australian series for Super Touring Cars and the first to be contested under the Australian Super Touring Series name. The series, which was promoted as the '2001 Power Tour', began on 21 October 2001 at Winton Motor Raceway and ended on 25 November 2001 at Calder Park Raceway after two rounds.


2001 Australian Super Touring Series, Future Touring Cars
With Super Touring competitor numbers dropping after the withdrawal of the factory supported Audi and Volvo teams, the grids for the 2001 championship were bolstered with cars from the Future Touring Car category. This category, which catered for V8 powered cars that had competed previously in AUSCAR racing, made its debut in a support event to the 1999 Bathurst 500. While the Future Touring Cars and the Super Touring Cars raced together in the same events, drivers competed for two separate titles with separate points scoring for each category.


2001 Australian Super Touring Series, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2001 Australian Super Touring Championship.


2001 Australian Super Touring Series, Race Calendar
The 2001 Australian Super Touring Championship was contested over a two-round series, with two races held at each round.


2001 Australian Super Touring Series, Points system
Points were awarded on a 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the top ten race positions in each race. A bonus point was allocated for the fastest lap time set in each qualifying session.


2001 Australian V8 Ultimate
The 2001 Australian V8 Ultimate was the thirteenth and final round of the 2001 Shell Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 1 to 2 December at the Sandown International Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria.


2001 Australian V8 Ultimate, Race report
Todd Kelly took his first round win in a race weekend mainly composed of heavy rain.


2001 Australian federal election
The 2001 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Kim Beazley.


2001 Australian federal election, Seats changing hands
The following table indicates seats that changed hands from one party to another at this election. It compares the election results with the previous margins, taking into account redistributions in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and both territories. As a result, it includes the seats of Macarthur and Parramatta, which were held by Liberal members but had notional Labor margins. The table does not include the new seat of Hasluck (retained by Labor); the abolished Northern Territory, which was divided into Lingiari (retained by Labor) and Solomon (retained by the CLP); or Paterson, a Labor seat made Liberal by the redistribution


2001 Australian federal election, Background
Throughout much of 2001, the Coalition had been trailing Labor in opinion polls, thanks to dissatisfaction with the government's economic reform programme and high petrol prices. The opposition Australian Labor Party had won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote at the previous election and had won a series of state and territory elections. Labor also recorded positive swings in two by-elections, taking the Queensland seat of Ryan and coming close in Aston.


2001 Australian federal election, Background
However following the September 11 attacks, and the Children Overboard and Tampa affairs, Polls swung strongly toward the coalition after the "Tampa" controversy but before the 11 September attacks.


2001 Australian federal election, Background
In fact, voter concern with terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States was noted, with the rise in the combined primary votes of the major partiesfrom 79.61% at the previous election in 1998, to 81.17% at this election. There would be further increases in the combined major party primary vote in 2004 and 2007.


2001 Australian federal election, Background
Another major issue was the collapse of the country's second-biggest airline Ansett Australia and the question of whether it should be given a bailout. The Coalition was opposed to any bailout because the collapse was not the government's fault. However, Labor supported a bailout, because the company's collapse was about to result in the biggest mass job loss in Australian history, whilst also arguing that the government was partially responsible for allowing Ansett to be taken over by Air New Zealand, a move which had caused Ansett's failure. Although the two-party preferred result was reasonably close, the ALP recorded its lowest primary vote since 1934.


2001 Australian federal election, Background
Political scientists have suggested that television coverage has subtly transformed the political system, with a spotlight on leaders rather than parties, thereby making for more of an American presidential-style system. In this election, television news focused on international issues, especially terrorism and asylum seekers. Minor parties were largely ignored as the two main parties monopolised the media's attention. The election was depicted as a horse-race between Howard and Beazley, with Howard running ahead and therefore being given more coverage than his Labor rival.


2001 Australian federal election, Background
The election-eve Newspoll forecast that the Liberal/National Coalition would get 53 percent of the two-party-preferred vote.


2001 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2001 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 12–14 October 2001 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.


2001 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (500cc)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round fourteen has concluded.


2001 Austrian Figure Skating Championships
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by 58.143.166.173 (talk) at 15:02, 23 June 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2001 Austrian Figure Skating Championships
The 2001 Austrian Figure Skating Championships (German: Österreichischen Staatsmeisterschaften im Eiskunstlauf 2001) were the national championships of the 2000–01 figure skating season. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing. The results were used to choose the Austrian teams to the 2001 World Championships and the 2001 European Championships.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix
The 2001 Austrian Grand Prix (officially the XXV Großer A1 Preis von Österreich) was a Formula One motor race held at A1-Ring on 13 May 2001. It was the sixth round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the 24th Austrian Grand Prix as part of the series. David Coulthard driving for the McLaren team won the 71-lap race starting from seventh. Michael Schumacher of the Ferrari team finished second, with his teammate Rubens Barrichello third.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher won the 37th pole position of his career by setting the fastest lap in qualifying. The Williams pair of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher overtook him at the start of the race. Montoya led the first 15 laps until Michael Schumacher attempted a pass on Montoya that put both drivers wide on lap 16. Montoya relinquished the lead to Barrichello, who held it until a pit stop on the 46th lap. Coulthard took the lead by staying on the circuit three laps longer than Barrichello. He maintained it for the rest of the race to win. Michael Schumacher finished second after Barrichello complied with team orders from Ferrari to cede the position on the final lap.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix
It was Coulthard's second victory of the season and the eleventh of his career. Due to the result of the race, Coulthard was left within four points of the leader of the Drivers' Championship Michael Schumacher. Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher maintained third and fourth. Sauber's Nick Heidfeld kept fifth. Ferrari continued to lead McLaren by 18 points in the Constructors' Championship and Williams maintained third – both Montoya and Ralf Schumacher failed to finish due to mechanical problems – with eleven races left in the season.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Background
The 2001 Austrian Grand Prix was the 6th of the 17 motor races of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the 24th edition of the event as part of the series. It was held at the nine-turn 4.326 km (2.688 mi) A1 Ring, Spielberg, Styria on 13 May 2001. Redesigned by Hermann Tilke to comply with FIA Grade 1 Circuit License requirements for its Formula One return in 1997, the track is of average length and provides very few low-speed sections. It allowed teams to optimise their engines and ran with little downforce. Teams also ensured that brakes and cooling systems had no excess strain put upon them because of their heavy usage over a single lap. For the Grand Prix, 11 teams (each representing a different constructor) entered two race drivers each.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Background
Following the 2000 race, the Grand Prix organisers extended the length of the kerbs along the side of the track and the gravel traps beside it. An additional row of tyres was erected to improve driver safety. The line demoting the entry to the pit lane was moved from the entry to the final corner to the exit of turn eight. The changes were predicted to affect lap times since cars would have less on-track time and spend more time in their pit stalls.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Background
After winning the preceding Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 36 points, eight ahead of David Coulthard in the leading McLaren in second. The second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello was third with 14 points and Williams' Ralf Schumacher was two points behind in fourth. With eight points, Sauber's Nick Heidfeld completed the top five in the standings. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 50 points; McLaren stood in second place with 32 points. Williams were third with 18 points, as Jordan with 13 points and Sauber nine contended for fourth place.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Background
In preparation for the race, all the teams conducted in-season test sessions at various circuits across Europe. Jaguar, Prost, Benetton, Williams and McLaren went to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia from 1 to 3 May. Teams undertook tyre development on behalf of Michelin and Bridgestone, tested their aerodynamic packages; McLaren and Benetton developed the chassis of their MP4/16 and B201 cars.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Background
Jordan, Sauber, British American Racing (BAR) and Arrows tested at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone from 1 to 3 May, which was disrupted on the first day when Kimi Räikkönen's Sauber was caught off guard by Jordan test driver Ricardo Zonta at the exit to Becketts corner. Sauber assessed launch control for the first time. Minardi tested launch control and a revised electronics package at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy with driver Fernando Alonso, joining Ferrari who utilised the track for car development and reliability testing.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Background
At the previous round in Spain, Coulthard stalled on the starting grid and McLaren team principal Ron Dennis accused him of "brain fade", a remark he later retracted. While Dennis publicly apologised to Coulthard, the relationship between the two was still strained; Coulthard spoke of his hope of continuing to score points in every race of the season. The Daily Telegraph columnist Sarah Edworthy said the Austrian Grand Prix was where Coulthard had to demonstrate no driver errors. His manager Martin Brundle stated Coulthard needed to prevent emotions from disrupting his consistency.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Background
Michael Schumacher said his focus was to respond to McLaren's challenge and hoped to be competitive in Austria, "Last year I got pushed out of the race at the first corner which was very disappointing. This year I hope things will go better for me. The car should be competitive, the track characteristics are similar to those of the last race in terms of performance."


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Practice
Four practice sessions were held before the Sunday race, two each on Friday and Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon sessions lasted an hour; the third and fourth sessions, on Saturday morning, lasted 45 minutes each. The Friday practice sessions took place in dry and overcast weather and on a slippery, dusty track. Several drivers spun during the session; all avoided damage to their cars. McLaren's Mika Häkkinen, unwell with the flu, set the first practice session's fastest lap of 1 minute and 11.751 seconds late on, almost three-tenths of a second faster than his teammate Coulthard in second.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Practice
Barrichello, Räikkönen, Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, Arrows driver Enrique Bernoldi, BAR's Olivier Panis, the second Arrows of Jos Verstappen and Heidfeld rounded out the session's top ten quickest drivers. Jean Alesi's Prost had an engine failure on the start/finish straight, and Jordan driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen had his running curtailed with a power steering problem.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Practice
In the second practice session, Coulthard recorded the day's fastest lap of 1 minute and 11.245 seconds on his final lap of practice. His teammate Häkkinen placed second and Barrichello was the highest-placed Ferrari in third, having been the fastest driver late in the session until both of the McLaren vehicles set their quickest laps. Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, Heidfeld, Frentzen, Räikkönen and the BAR duo of Panis and Jacques Villeneuve followed in positions four through ten. Jenson Button's Benetton B201 engine failed on the approach to turn two five minutes into practice. Verstappen later spun into the final turn gravel trap and his Arrows teammate Bernoldi lost control of his car on the way back to the pit lane.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Practice
The Saturday morning practice sessions occurred in clear and warm weather. With a time of 1 minute and 10.094 seconds, Michael Schumacher was fastest in the third practice session, ahead of Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya, Häkkinen, Barrichello, Coulthard, Frentzen, Panis, Villeneuve and the Sauber duo of Räikkönen and Heidfeld. Bernoldi ran into the grass by locking his brakes, and Coulthard approached the final corner too quickly, causing him to drive deep into the corner's gravel trap.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Practice
Coulthard led the final practice session with a lap of 1 minute and 10.010 seconds. The Ferrari cars were second and third – Michael Schumacher ahead of Barrichello –  with Schumacher leading the time sheets until Coulthard's last lap. Häkkinen, Montoya, his teammate Ralf Schumacher, Frentzen, Trulli, Heidfeld and Villeneuve completed the top ten. Verstappen's right-rear suspension failed at the double left Niki Lauda bend turn, spearing into a gravel trap and a wall beside the track. Ralf Schumacher pirouetted through 180 degrees at the turn two; he continued driving. Later, a deer emerged from the forests and caused Montoya to slow. The deer ran through a gravel trap and left the circuit via a trackside barrier.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's one hour qualifying session saw each driver limited to twelve laps, with the starting order decided by their fastest laps. During this session the 107% rule was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107 per cent of the fastest lap time to qualify for the race. The weather was warm and overcast with a headwind slowing drivers. As the circuit was low on grip due to a lack of usage, drivers waited for 21 minutes before driving on it, leading to heavy traffic.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Notwithstanding a driver error at turn two, Michael Schumacher bettered Häkkinen's unofficial lap record from the 2000 race to take his first pole position in Austria, his fifth of the season and the 37th of his career with a lap of 1 minute and 9.562 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Montoya who took his maiden front row start. Traffic on his final timed lap, an error on his third, and a slower pace in the final two corners put Ralf Schumacher third. Barrichello in fourth adjusted his car's downforce set-up.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Trulli changed his engine after it failed during practice and he drove the final 15 minutes to take fifth. Sixth-placed Heidfeld made minor alterations to his Sauber C20 and experimented with tyre pressures. The McLaren team were seventh and eighth in its worst qualifying performance since the 1997 French Grand Prix. Coulthard in seventh could not improve his lap because of the headwind and a car balance that created oversteer. A minor loss of water pressure in his engine at turn three and on the back straight slowed his teammate Häkkinen in eighth on his final attempt.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Ninth-placed Räikkönen was slowed by Villeneuve on a timed lap and had a recurrence of gearbox shifting problems from the prior two practice sessions. Panis took tenth after confusion over tyre strategy. Frentzen in 11th accidentally engaged his pit lane limiter at his first attempt and his best lap was on his second timed run before his car's balance deteriorated. Multiple errors from an unbalanced setup and weight distribution on his BAR 003 restricted Villenueve to 12th.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Jaguar's Eddie Irvine swerved into the pit lane to avoid hitting Alesi's spun car on his first timed lap and traffic left him in 13th. His teammate Pedro de la Rosa took 14th on his second lap. Bernoldi  in 15th was ahead of his teammate Verstappen 16th after a spin at the final corner, which caused Michael Schumacher to swerve into a gravel trap. Burti and Alesi qualified their Prost cars in 17th and 20th, both complaining of a lack of car grip. Alonso separated the two drivers in 18th.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella in 19th had a misfiring engine and he used the spare car setup for his teammate Button. Car set-up issues and an understeer left Button in 21st. Tarso Marques in the second Minardi car was the final qualifier in 22nd; he spun into a gravel trap and took the team's spare car until a rear damper fault curtailed his running.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Warm-up
The drivers took to the track on Sunday morning for a 30-minute warm-up session in dry weather. All drivers fine-tuned their race set-ups against the weather of the time, set laps in their spare cars and Jaguar and Williams tested their launch control systems. Both McLaren drivers improved from qualifying: Häkkinen recorded a lap of 1 minute and 11.647 seconds to go fastest.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Warm-up
Coulthard and Frentzen were second and third and the Ferrari pair of Barrichello and Michael Schumacher fourth and fifth, the latter stopped at the exit of the pit lane with fire erupting from the rear of his car. Positions six through ten were occupied by Trulli, Räikkönen, Villeneuve, de la Rosa and Heidfeld. An engine problem prompted Villeneuve to switch into the spare BAR 003 car for the race.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
The 71-lap race took place in the afternoon from 14:00 Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00). The weather at the start was dry and clear, with the air temperature from 18 to 19 °C (64 to 66 °F) and the track temperature between 18 to 32 °C (64 to 90 °F); forecasts four days beforehand predicted rain showers and lower ambient and track temperatures. At the start, both Jordan  cars of Frentzen, Trulli, Häkkinen's McLaren and Heidfeld's Sauber were stationary on the grid with launch control system faults. That prompted several drivers to swerve to prevent a pile-up.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
In the meantime, Montoya moved ahead of the slow starting Michael Schumacher for the lead. Ralf Schumacher then got past the Ferrari driver to move into second on the approach to turn one. Coulthard made a fast getaway, moving from seventh to fifth after Michael Schumacher held him off into first turn. At the first lap's conclusion, the safety car was deployed since track marshals were unable to clear the grid of stranded cars in time for all of the circulating drivers to come by at racing speed. Of the stalled cars, Frentzen retired with a broken gearbox, Häkkinen did a solitary exploratory lap once the safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap three before retiring and Trulli and Heidfeld began from the pit lane.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Montoya maintained the lead over his teammate Ralf Schumacher in second and Michael Schumacher in third after the safety car drove into the pit lane at lap three's conclusion. On lap four, Verstappen overtook Räikkönen and Irvine to move to sixth as he set an early fastest lap of 1 minute and 14.059 seconds because he was on a light fuel load. That same lap, Fisichella joined the list of retirees by his race engineer instructing him over the radio to enter the pit lane with a misfiring engine.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Verstappen then bettered his own fastest lap to a 1-minute and 13.282 seconds on the following lap as he passed Coulthard for fifth. During the fifth lap, Trulli went into final corner's gravel trap, and Heidfeld overtook him for 18th. An attempt by Barrichello to pass his teammate Michael Schumacher on lap six almost resulted in contact at the second turn. That allowed Verstappen to challenge Barrichello; he could not overtake him. On lap seven, Panis passed Irvine for seventh and stopped a counterattack from the latter.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Two laps later, Ralf Schumacher began to lose pressure in his rear brakes and fell back from his teammate Montoya; he struggled against Michael Schumacher and Barrichello. Bernoldi passed Irvine and Villeneuve on the same lap. On lap 10, Villeneuve lined up a pass on Irvine for 10th and the two made contact halfway through the first corner, causing Villenueve to spin and relinquish 11th place to de la Rosa. Ralf Schumacher fell to seventh before he entered the pit lane at the end of the lap to retire. This promoted Michael Schumacher into second, his teammate Barrichello third and Verstappen fourth. At this point, a higher rate of tyre degradation of his Michelin compounds slowed Montoya, allowing Michael Schumacher to close up and forming a group of cars composed of Schumacher, Barrichello, Verstappen, Coulthard and Räikkönen.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Over the next four laps, Montoya held off attempts from Michael Schumacher to overtake. On the 14th lap, Trulli was shown a black flag to inform him he had been disqualified from the race because he ignored the red light to indicate that the pit lane was closed. The top six drivers were covered by two seconds at the start of lap 16. As the field drove towards turn two, Michael Schumacher drew alongside Montoya on the right going into the turn and then steered left for the corner itself.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Montoya braked later than Michael Schumacher and went off the racing line to block on the dirty part of the circuit, causing him to run into the gravel trap with the latter trapped to his left. Michael Schumacher ran wide onto some grass; he dropped to sixth and Montoya seventh. Barrichello took the lead with Verstappen second and Coulthard third. Bernoldi retired in the garage with a hydraulic system failure on lap 17 as Burti was overtaken by his teammate Alesi for 12th. Six laps later, after dropping away from Barrichello, Verstappen made the first of two pit stops, rejoining the circuit in seventh. In the meantime, Michael Schumacher set a series of fast lap times to get closer to Panis. He overtook Panis around the inside for fourth on lap 25.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
On lap 26, Marques pulled off to the side of the track to retire with a gearbox failure. Two laps later, Michael Schumacher caught Räikkönen, slipstreamed him and made a pass for third place going into Gosser corner with no counter-challenge. On the same lap, Alesi overtook de la Rosa for 10th and Button got ahead of Burti for 12th on the lap after. By lap 35, Michael Schumacher set a new official track record of 1 minute and 11.179 seconds as he drew to within a second of Coulthard in second.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Panis ran wide on the entry to the final corner at the end of the following lap and gave Montoya fifth. At this point, Coulthard and Michael Schumacher lapped half a second faster than race leader Barrichello as Michael Schumacher came to within a tenth of a second of Coulthard. Two more retirements occurred during this stage of the Grand Prix: Alonso had a gearbox fault on the 39th lap and Montoya stopped on an escape road with a loss of hydraulic pressure two laps later.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
On the 44th lap, the first round of pit stops for the leaders began when Panis made a pit stop from fifth. He rejoined in sixth and Verstappen entered the pit lane on the next lap. Michael Schumacher and Räikkönen stopped at the end of lap 46. Coulthard led when Barrichello entered the pit lane on the next lap. Barrichello emerged in second, ahead of his teammate Michael Schumacher after the latter lost grip into the final corner and ran sideways onto dirt.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Coulthard remained on the circuit for the next three laps by setting the race's overall fastest lap on lap 48 at 1 minute and 10.843 seconds to go faster on a lighter fuel load. After an eight-second pit stop, Coulthard rejoined the circuit 1.3 seconds ahead of Barrichello in second. On lap 50, de la Rosa retired from 12th with a transmission failure. Two laps later, Villenueve took a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his pit stop; he kept eighth. Further down the field, Heidfeld overtook Button for 11th on the 57th lap.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
By the 61st lap, Coulthard was a full second in front of Barrichello and was able to keep him out of range for an overtake notwithstanding slower traffic impeding him. Michael Schumacher was a further 1.2 seconds behind in third. Button became the Grand Prix's final retirement with fire emerging from the rear of his car and spun on his own oil at the final turn on lap 63. Six laps later, Ferrari's team principal Jean Todt invoked team orders on Barrichello to allow Michael Schumacher past and improve his teammate's status in the Drivers' Championship.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race
Barrichello ignored repeated instructions from Todt and continued in second; he obeyed at the end of lap 71 by going wide exiting the final corner to yield second to Michael Schumacher. After finishing second in every Austrian Grand Prix since 1997, Coulthard increased his advantage to 2.1 seconds by managing his lead and crossed the start/finish line first after 71 laps to take his second victory of the season and the 11th of his career. Raikkonen secured the best finish of his season in fourth. Panis took fifth and Verstappen earned his first point of 2001 in sixth. The final finishers were Irvine, Villeneuve, Heidfeld, Alesi and Burti.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Out of respect for Paul Morgan, the managing director of Ilmor Engineering, who was killed in a plane crash at the Sywell Aerodrome in Northampton the day before the race, Coulthard refrained from spraying champagne on the podium. In the subsequent press conference, Coulthard spoke of the importance of driving with a heavy fuel tank, "I was able to lean the engine out early on after the first few laps and save quite a few laps of fuel as well as obviously with the safety car and that enabled us to go quite long."


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Michael Schumacher said he executed a manual start after a launch control system fault and that his strategy after the collision with Montoya was to wait until the pit stops, adding, "I didn't have much to lose. I could have stayed behind and wait all race until the pit stops. But then I wouldn't have had a chance to have a go to get back up to the lead, which at some stage I thought I could."


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Barrichello stated he began on used front tyres and unused rear compounds and spoke of his belief he would have won had Coulthard not remained on track for another three laps, "It was one of those races where I had a good feeling, I had a good car, I was really driving as fast as I could behind him, but there was very little to take away and unfortunately I couldn't go to win again."


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Opinions over the application of team orders within Ferrari on the final lap were mixed. Alonso called it "a strange decision" since it was the early stages of the season and the technical director of McLaren Adrian Newey felt it went against Formula One's moral principles. Villeneuve said he was puzzled at those who expressed shock over the order due to Barrichello's status as Ferrari's second driver and the Jaguar team principal and three-time world champion Niki Lauda argued it was the correct decision because of Michael Schumacher's higher placing in the Drivers' Championship.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Ferrari held a post-race meeting with senior staff to discuss the situation. Barrichello later insisted the orders had not demotivated him, "Of course, I was unhappy to be asked to move over. The one thing that makes my life difficult at Ferrari is nothing to do with the team structure or team orders, it is just the simple fact that Michael is a good driver."


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
The finishing order outside of the top three remained provisional because BAR lodged an appeal with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)-aligned Royal Automobile Club over its belief Räikkönen overtook Panis under yellow flag conditions necessitated for Button's retirement on lap 66. It came about when the team's protest to the stewards was rejected following a review of video footage that resulted in the conclusion there was no incident since it was unreported by track marshals.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Craig Pollock, the BAR team owner, explained the appeal was lodged because the constructor sought clarity over the regulation preventing drivers from passing under yellow flag conditions. BAR's appeal was heard by a panel of judges at a meeting of the FIA's International Court of Appeal in Paris on 1 June. The judges upheld the stewards' original verdict and confirmed the original result of the race. BAR stated their satisfaction with the result.


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Michael Schumacher said he was upset about the incident with Montoya on lap 16 that forced both drivers to lose positions and vowed to speak to the Colombian, "I am a little bit upset obviously because there is no way he could make that corner. He just went off and took me with him. He had lost it anyway and all he could do was do something to me. Sooner or later I would have passed him anyway."


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Montoya responded by saying, "If he (Schumacher) thinks he has been granted by divine grace some right which allows him to overtake wherever he wants, I have news for him: he can forget it. He won't intimidate me, because I'm not psychologically fragile as other drivers." After reviewing television footage of the incident, Michael Schumacher told the press he now agreed with Montoya's perspective it was "a racing incident", adding, "It has to be said that, when you sit in the car you don't get the overview of the situation, which you can have looking from outside."


2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
The race result saw Coulthard reduce Michael Schumacher's advantage in the Drivers' Championship to four points. Barrichello remained in third with 18 points and he extended his advantage over the fourth-placed Ralf Schumacher to six points. Heidfeld continued to round out the top five with eight points. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari retained the same 18-point gap over McLaren in second and Williams maintained third. Sauber in fifth made up three points over Jordan in fourth with eleven races left in the season.


2001 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao expansion and inclusion plebiscite
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was the only autonomous region in the Philippines, until it was superseded by Bangsamoro; as such it is the sole region with a regional government as prescribed by the Constitution of the Philippines. In 2001, Republic Act No. 9054 was passed for the expansion of the region by including the areas which initially rejected inclusion and the provinces which were carved from them. However, only the city of Marawi and the province of Basilan, with the exception of Isabela, opted to be integrated in the region.


2001 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao expansion and inclusion plebiscite, Results, Rules
Each province, and their component cities, has their own separate plebiscite. In order for the plebiscite to be approved, a majority of the people who voted is needed, if it fails to surpass the majority of valid votes, the plebiscite is defeated in that province or city.


2001 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao expansion and inclusion plebiscite, Results, Rules
Provinces and cities that approved expansion (for already members) and inclusion (for non-members) are highlighted:


2001 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao expansion and inclusion plebiscite, Results, Summary
Support from within the ARMM was overwhelmingly in favor, with all four provinces having at least 70% of those who voted in favor of expanding the region. Those which were asked for inclusion, on the other hand, were overwhelmingly opposed, with most provinces and cities having more than 90% of those who voted opposing inclusion, with the exception of Basilan (91%), which voted overwhelmingly for inclusion (its capital Isabela City voted not to be included) and Marawi (which is part of Lanao del Sur which already within the ARMM).


2001 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao general election
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao general elections are held for the first time in the newly expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. In 2001, Republic Act No. 9054 was passed for the expansion of the ARMM to include the areas which initially rejected inclusion and the provinces which were carved from them, however only Marawi City and Basilan with the exception of Isabela City opted to be integrated in the region. Special ARMM Elections for the regional governor and vice-governor posts happened on November 26, 2001.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash
On March 29, 2001, a chartered Gulfstream III business jet operated by Avjet from Los Angeles, California, to Aspen, Colorado, crashed into the ground while on final approach. All three crew members and 15 passengers on board perished.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash
The subsequent investigation  by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the cause of the accident was the captain's premature descent below the minimum descent altitude, carried out without having the runway in sight.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash
The accident's investigation also brought into focus several generic safety issues, such as pressure applied on charter pilots by customers, night flight into airports near mountainous terrain, and the ambiguity of some Federal Aviation Administration rules.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Flight history
Captain Robert Frisbie (44) and First Officer Peter Kowalczyk (38) reported for work at Avjet's Burbank, California facility around noon on the day of the accident. After checking the weather and the aircraft, they embarked on an 11-minute repositioning flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to pick up their passengers. The flight was originally scheduled to leave LAX at 16:30 MST, but departed after a 41-minute delay for late passengers at 17:11 MST.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Flight history
Earlier in the day, an FAA specialist had informed the crew that it would be illegal to land at night in Aspen under instrument flight rules. In addition, the crew were aware that due to noise abatement restrictions, their jet aircraft was required to land at Aspen by the 18:58 MST night curfew. Following the delayed departure from LAX, their estimated arrival time was 18:46 MST, twelve minutes before the curfew took effect.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Flight history
As the flight approached Aspen–Pitkin County Airport, it became evident that some of the other inbound flights were performing missed approaches, as they had been unable to complete an instrument approach to the airport's runway. The airport is surrounded by high terrain on all sides and a fairly steep descent is required in order to land.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Flight history
At 18:56:06 MST, the flight was cleared for the VOR/DME-C instrument approach to the airport, whereupon it proceeded to the Red Table VOR, executed a sequence of designated step-down maneuvers and began final approach to the runway. As it continued its descent past the missed approach point – where the runway must be in sight to continue – the pilots had still not visually located the runway in the increasing darkness and snow showers. At 19:01:57 MST, while in a steep left bank, the aircraft crashed into the terrain, killing all 18 persons on board.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
Following the crash, the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder was recovered from the wreckage and the data recorded found to be intact and usable. Under Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 Air Taxi rules, no flight data recorder was required for this type of flight and one had not been installed.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
Part of the subsequent NTSB investigation focused on the fact that the instrument approach at the destination airport was not legal for night landing, and the overall pressure applied on the charter company and flight crew by the charter customer to complete the flight into the original destination. According to witnesses, the charter customer, upon learning that the flight might have to be diverted to an alternate airport due to the night landing restriction, had his business assistant call Avjet management, to "let them know that the airplane was not going to be redirected".


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
In addition, witnesses claimed that when the charter customer learned that the captain had discussed the possible diversion with some of the passengers waiting for the late arrivals, he had his assistant call Avjet to instruct the captain to "keep his comments to himself".


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
The Avjet charter department scheduler subsequently testified that "the captain felt that it was important to land at [Aspen] because of the substantial amount of money that the [charter] customer spent for a dinner party".


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
Based on information obtained from the cockpit voice recorder, the flight attendant had escorted an unidentified male passenger to the flight deck's jump seat during the approach sequence. According to the NTSB's analysis, "the presence of this passenger in the cockpit, especially if it were the charter customer, most likely further heightened the pressure on the flight crew to land at [Aspen]".


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
The NTSB issued its final report on June 11, 2002, with the following probable cause:


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crew's operation of the airplane below the minimum descent altitude without an appropriate visual reference for the runway.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Investigation and final report
Contributing to the cause of the accident were the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) unclear wording of the March 27, 2001 Notice to Airmen regarding the nighttime restriction for the VOR/DME-C approach to the airport and the FAA's failure to communicate this restriction to the Aspen tower; the inability of the flight crew to adequately see the mountainous terrain because of the darkness and theweather conditions; and the pressure on the captain to land from the charter customer and because of the airplane's delayed departure and the airport's nighttime landing restriction.


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Aftermath
After the accident, Avjet decided to prohibit airport operations at Aspen and three other mountainous airports between sunset and sunrise. It also issued the following memorandum to its flight crews and schedulers:


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Aftermath
"if you cannot accomplish a landing and be on the ground at one of these airports before sunset you must divert to a suitable alternate. All passengers for one of these destinations must be informed of this policy. Flight crew members must report any violation of this policy or pressure from passengers to violate this policy to the Director of Operations or Chief Pilot."


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Aftermath
Avjet also added the following policy to its operations manual after the accident:


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Aftermath
"Only an Avjet assigned crewmember, check airman, or FAA observer may occupy the observer's seat (jump seat) in any Avjet aircraft. Charter passengers shall never be allowed to occupy the observer's seat at any time."


2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash, Litigation
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the families of three of the victims in Los Angeles. After a jury found the captain and Avjet Corporation negligent, an out-of-court settlement was reached, where Avjet agreed to pay the plaintiffs a total of US$11.7M in damages. There were reportedly also other settlements for other victims.


2001 Azad Kashmiri general election
General elections were held in Azad Kashmir on 5 July 2001 to elect the members of seventh assembly of Azad Kashmir.


2001 Azor attack
On 14 February 2001, a vehicular attack took place near Azor, Israel. A Palestinian man from Gaza drove a bus into a group of Israeli soldiers who stood at a bus stop at Azor junction, killing 8 people—7 soldiers and one civilian, and injuring 26 further. The Islamist militant organization Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.


2001 Azor attack, Attack
The attacker, 35-year old Khalil Abu Alba from Gaza, was a bus driver who used to drive Arab workers in the morning from his city toward Tel Aviv. He had been an Egged bus driver for five years before the attack.


2001 Azor attack, Attack
On 14 February, after dropping off as usual the Arab workers at Lod and Ramle, he drove toward Holon. When arriving Azor junction, he noticed a group of Israeli soldiers waiting at a bus stop. The attacker accelerated the bus, and sharply swerved to the right, hitting dozens of people. He killed 8 people, 7 soldiers and one civilian, and injured 26.


2001 Azor attack, Attack
After the attack he accelerated again the bus and drove quickly southwards, in direction of Gaza. The bus was stopped only after crashing into a truck, 30km away, after police officers had shot at the bus' wheels.


2001 BBC bombing
The 2001 BBC bombing was an attack on the BBC's main news centre within BBC Television Centre, on Wood Lane in the White City area of West London.


2001 BBC bombing, History
At 12:30 am (0030 UTC) on Sunday 4 March 2001, the Real IRA, a dissident Irish republican group, detonated a car bomb outside the BBC's main news centre within BBC Television Centre, on Wood Lane in the White City area of West London.


2001 BBC bombing, History
Between ten and twenty pounds of high explosive had been placed in a red taxi that had been purchased on the morning of 3 March in Edmonton, north London, and abandoned yards from the main front door of BBC Television Centre at 11 pm. Police officers were attempting to carry out a controlled explosion on the bomb with a bomb-disposal robot when it went off. Staff had already been evacuated after police received a coded warning that had been given to a London hospital and charity one hour before the explosion. There were no fatalities, though one London Underground worker suffered cuts to his eye caused by glass debris.


2001 BBC bombing, History
BBC cameras caught the moment of the explosion and the resulting damage—which included numerous smashed windows in the front entrance—was seen as day broke.


2001 BBC bombing, History
As the explosion happened just after midnight, some reports of the incident say that it happened on 3 March rather than 4 March.


2001 BBC bombing, Conviction
The bomb was part of a Real IRA bombing campaign which would also include the Ealing bombing of 3 August 2001 and an attempted bombing in Birmingham city centre on 3 November 2001. Later in November, three men—Noel Maguire, Robert Hulme, and his brother Aiden Hulme—were arrested in connection with all three bomb attacks. They were convicted at the Old Bailey on 8 April 2003, together with two other men—James McCormack, of County Louth, and John Hannan, of Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, both of whom had already admitted the charge at an earlier hearing.


2001 BBC bombing, Conviction
The Hulme brothers were both jailed for 20 years; Maguire, who the judge said played "a major part in the bombing conspiracy", was sentenced to 22 years; McCormack, who the judge said had played the most serious part of the five, also received 22 years; and Hannan, who was 17 at the time of the incidents, was given 16 years' detention.


2001 BC Lions season
The 2001 BC Lions finished in third place in the West Division with an 8–10 record. They appeared in the West-Semi Final.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship
The 2001 BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 6 to 14 January 2001 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It was the 24th staging of the competition since the 1978 event and the 16th time it took place at the Lakeside Country Club. The tournament was the first of 44 British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments in 2001. The host broadcaster was the BBC and the competition was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship
The 2000 Winmau World Masters winner John Walton defeated the reigning world champion Ted Hankey 6–2 in the final, becoming the 15th BDO world champion. He joined Eric Bristow and Raymond van Barneveld as the third player to follow their success in the Winmau World Masters with the world championship. Walton defeated Ritchie Davies, Mervyn King, Marko Pusa and Wayne Mardle en route to the final. Steve Coote achieved a 167 checkout, the highest of the competition, in his first round match against Mardle. A women's world championship was held for the first time. It was won by Trina Gulliver, whitewashing Crissy Howat 2–0 in the semi-final and defeating Mandy Solomons 2–1 in the final.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Background, Men's competition
The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was formed in 1973 by the managing director Olly Croft; the BDO World Darts Championship was first held in 1978. The 2001 tournament was held between 6 and 14 January in Frimley Green, Surrey and was the first of 44 BDO-sanctioned events that year. It was the 24th edition of the tournament and featured a 32-player main draw that was played at the Lakeside Country Club.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Background, Men's competition
27 players automatically qualified for the main draw with the top 8 seeded according to their final position in the BDO rankings. Mervyn King was seeded first overall and the tournament's reigning champion Ted Hankey was seeded seventh. The remaining five places were decided via an play-off round at the Lakeside Country Club on 30 November 2000. Steve Alker, Shaun Greatbatch, Jez Porter, Davy Richardson and Gary Robson were the five players who progressed from the qualifying rounds to the main draw.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Background, Men's competition
The maximum number of sets played in a match increased from five in the first and second rounds to nine in the quarter and semi-finals, leading up to the final which was played as best-of-11 frames. Sponsored by the cigarette brand Embassy, it had a total prize fund of £189,000 and the host broadcaster was the BBC.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Background, Men's competition
Bookmakers considered the two-time champion Raymond van Barneveld the favourite to win the tournament. Hankey said he was optimistic he could win the tournament for a second time, "I've kept my practising up and played in enough tournaments. I haven't let exhibitions take over."


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Background, Women's tournament
In November 2000, the BDO announced the creation of an independent women's world championship tournament; it was established to celebrate the BDO's 30th anniversary of staging and promoting darts competitions. The tournament was staged between 6 and 11 January 2001, and allowed women players to avoid having to compete with men in the International Play-offs, which they had done since 1995. It featured the world's top three ranked players with one unseeded player and a total prize fund of £8,300. Trina Gulliver was seeded first overall, Francis Hoenselaar was the second seed and Crissy Howat was the final seeded player. The only non-seeded participant was Mandy Solomon. All matches were played to the best-of-three sets.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 1
The first round of the competition, in which 32 players participated, took place from 6 to 8 January and was held to the best-of-five sets. In this round, King came from 2–0 behind Chris Mason to win three sets in a row and a 3–2 victory; Mason missed two consecutive game-winning opportunities on the double 18 ring in the fifth set. Afterwards, he said "Lady Luck shone on me today." John Walton took the opening two sets against Ritchie Davies before his opponent won the third set.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 1
After Davies lost two legs in the fourth set, he won the third leg to return to contention; Walton won the match 3–1 in the fourth leg. Porter defeated fellow Englishman Richardson 3–2 in a closely contested match. Number five seed Co Stompé beat Andy Smith 3–1 to prevent a requite from Smith. On his debut appearance at the BDO World Darts Championship, Marko Pusa overcame the eighth seed Colin Monk 3–2. Pusa took the first two sets before Monk won the next two. Monk claimed the first two legs of the fifth set; Pusa forced a tie-break by taking the third and fourth legs. Pusa compiled two scores of 41 and one maximum score (180) to win the match on the double ten ring with his final dart throw.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 1
Wayne Mardle, the winner of the 2000 Dutch Open, defeated Steve Coote, who achieved a checkout of 167, 3–2. In the first match of the second day, Martin Adams. the England captain, achieved three maximum scores to lead Erik Clarys 1–0. Clarys responded with the same scores in the second set. Adams then won the following two sets to claim a 3–1 victory. Two-time finalist Ronnie Baxter defeated world number 26 Mitchell Crooks 3–1. during which the two competitors averaged over 30 points per dart. Steve Beaton registered the tournament's first whitewash with a 3–0 victory over Bob Aldous.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 1
Van Barneveld won three successive legs in the first set of his match against Robson; he attempted a nine-dart finish in the second leg. Robson produced a 100 checkout to take the second set. A maximum score in the fifth leg of the third set gave Van Barneveld the lead, who took the match 3–1 in the fourth set.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 1
Peter Hinkley took a 3–1 win over Nick Gedney. The match between Hankey and debutant Greatbatch was interrupted by the first streaker in darts history. It caused a twenty-minute stoppage to allow security to remove her from the Lakeside Country Club. Hankey achieved six maximum scores and averaged 31.34 per dart thrown to whitewash Greatbatch 3–0. Both Hankey and Greatbatch spoke of their annoyance over the interruption after the match. Of the other four first round matches, all of them ended in 3–0 whitewashes. Sixth seed Kevin Painter produced three maximum checkouts to defeat Andy Jenkins, 1996 quarter-finalist Matt Clark beat qualifier Alker, and world number 22 Tony David lost to the third seed Andy Fordham, who had back pain. The final match saw Bob Taylor lose to Wayne Jones.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 2
The second round was held from 9 to 10 January. Mardle became the first player through to the quarter-finals when he took 24 minutes to whitewash Stompé 3–0. Walton took an early lead over King and averaged 32.95 per dart thrown. A checkout of 121 from King prevented Walton from winning four legs in a row; Walton won the second set 3–1. He took the first leg of the third set with a 148 checkout. Walton then completed a 3–0 whitewash of King with a checkout of 121. Pusa achieved an average of 33.77 points per dart thrown to defeat Porter 3–1. Baxter was the highest seeded player to enter the competition's next stage with a 3–1 victory over Adams.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 2
The fifth match of the second round saw Van Barneveld win 3–2 over Beaton. It began with Beaton winning the first set and Van Barneveld responded to claim the second and third sets and lost one leg in the process. Beaton won three consecutive legs in the fourth set to level the score at 2–2, which Van Barneveld responded to claim a 3–2 victory over the former in the match's final set. Hankey achieved five maximum scores and whitewashed Hinkley 3–0. The result set-up a match with Van Barneveld in the quarter-finals.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Round 2
Painter achieved a 164 checkout and multiple maximums in defeating Clark 3–1 with a match-finishing dart on the bullseye ring. In the final match of the second round Fordham and Jones equalled each other's performance in the first set until Fordham took the set. Fordham compiled two maximum scores and won two sets in a row to whitewash a faltering Jones 3–0.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Quarter-finals
The four quarter-finals were played to the best-of-nine sets between 11 and 12 January. Walton won the first set of his match against Pusa and then missed the chance to attain a nine-dart finish on his penultimate throw in the second. He then took three consecutive sets and completed a 138 checkout before Pusa produced two maximum scores as he won two legs in a row. Pusa could not convert this form and Walton completed a 5–0 whitewash. Later that night, Mardle took an early lead of 3–1 over Baxter, who came back to level the score at 3–3. Baxter could not maintain this form and Mardle won two sets in a row with a 124 checkout completed on the bullseye to win 5–3. This ensured that one of the two players in the final would not be seeded.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Quarter-finals
Hankey overcame Van Barneveld 5–4 in a closely fought 1 hour, 40-minute match. The first two sets were won by Hankey by maintaining his composure and Van Barneveld levelled the score at 2–2. A fifth set whitewash returned Hankey to the lead; Van Barneveld twice levelled the score to 3–3 and then 4–4 to force a final set decider. Hankey took a 5–4 victory and progressed into the semi-finals with a 25 checkout after Van Barneveld was unable to convert a double. Against Painter, Fordham opened up a lead of 3–0. Painter reduced Fordham's advantage to one set ahead in the next two sets; he could not go any farther as Fordham took two consecutive sets to win 5–2 and was the final player to enter the semi-finals.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Semi-finals
Both of the semi-finals were played on 13 January. Walton overcame Mardle to win 5–3 and enter the final. He compiled finishes of 11 and 12 darts to claim the first set and Mardle took the second to level the score at 1–1. This prompted Walton to respond with victories in the following two sets to lead 3–1 at the mid-session interval. A second finish of 11 darts provided Walton with another set. Mardle then won the sixth and seventh sets to lower Walton's advantage to 4–3.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Semi-finals
Walton produced a 121 checkout and finished the match in the eighth set by throwing a dart on the double nine ring. Afterwards, Walton admitted to have calmed in the final set, "I had to get off to a good start, having the arrows in the first set, and just told myself to keep winning my legs, and I managed to nick a few of his as well."


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Semi-finals
The other semi-final game saw Hankey enter the final of the tournament for the second year in a row with a 5–2 victory over Fordham. Hankey registered one maximum score en route to taking two consecutive sets and lead 3–1 before the mid-session interval. After the interval, Fordham drew to within one set with an finish of 11 darts. Hankey responded to win the match with victories in six of the next seven legs.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Semi-finals
Hankey reiterated afterwards that he sought to mirror Van Barneveld and Eric Bristow and win the tournament for the second time, "It will mean everything to me to win again because I don't just want one or two Embassy titles, I want four or five." Fordham said Hankey pressured him from the commencement of the match, "Ted played very well and although i didn't play badly it's very hard to stay in it when he's averaging over 33 for a dart."


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Final
The final played between Hankey and Walton on 14 January was held to the best-of-11 sets. The match began with Hankey achieving a score of 22 with the first three throws of his darts pack. Walton achieved a maximum score on his first try of the match, and he went on to secure the first two sets 3–2; the first of which he won with a Shanghai. The third set was won by Hankey by the same scoreline as both players produced two maximum scores.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Final
Walton won the fourth set by achieving two further maximum scores, a 100 checkout and a 12-dart finish. Hankey secured the fifth set to enter the five-minute mid-session interval 3–2 behind. After the interval, Walton won the sixth set. He followed up with victory in the seventh set by throwing 31 darts, and it coincided with Hankey's form declining. Walton and Hankey exchanged the first two legs of the eighth set before Walton achieved a 76 checkout in the third leg. Hankey missed a shot to secure a 121 checkout and Walton finished the match with a 25 checkout to win the tournament.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Final
Walton's victory made him the 15th player to win the competition; he had won the Winmau World Masters in December 2000. He became the first player since Bristow and Burnett to follow his success in the World Masters with the World Championship. Walton was awarded the championship trophy by Kate Hoey, the Minister for Sport, and earned £46,000 for winning the tournament. He said of his triumph, "This means the world to me. It's an unbelievable feeling. When I hit the double eight I just wanted to fly. I'm absolutely delighted." Hankey praised his opponent's playing style, "He was buzzing.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Men's tournament, Final
I hit 180s all the time but I just couldn't get away from him. I knew I had to win the sets in which I threw first but he hits so many 140s and 180s. When you go 4–2 down it's always hard to come back in a best-of-11 match. I missed a couple of doubles but I've no complaints."


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Women's tournament
In the first semi-final match, Gulliver produced four maximum scores and an average score of 31.63 per dart to whitewash Howat 2–0. Howat did not win any legs; she achieved an average score of 27.28. Solomons defeated Hoensellar 2–1 in the second semi-final match. Hoensellar responded to Solomons winning the first leg by taking the second. Somlons took the third and fourth legs to win the first set. Hoensellar produced a maximum score, maintaining her form to claim set two and force a final set decider. Solomons achieved a 66 checkout to provide her with an early advantage before the final set was tied at 2–2. Hosensellar missed the double 16 ring; a 96 checkout from Solomons secured her a berth in the final.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Women's tournament
Solomons took the first set of the final with a score of 3–1. In the second set, Gulliver produced the game's first maximum score as Solomons won the set. The final set saw Gulliver hit the triple 14 and double 16 rings to move into a position of advantage. She compiled scores of 94, 100 and a maximum to lower the points she needed for victory to 127. Gulliver required six darts to claim the title and she converted four of them to win the match and the tournament. This made Gulliver the inaugural BDO Women's World Darts champion.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for 2001 is shown below.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Draw, Men's draw
Numbers given to the left of players' names show the seedings for the top eight players in the men's tournament. The five qualifiers are indicated by a (q). The figures in brackets to the right of a competitor's name state their three-dart finishing averages in a match. Players in bold denote match winners.


2001 BDO World Darts Championship, Draw, Women's draw
Numbers given to the left of players' names show the seedings for the top three players in the women's competition. The figures in brackets to the right of a competitor's name state their three-dart finishing averages in a match. Players in bold denote match winners.


2001 BFL season
The 2001 season of the Belgian Football League (BFL) is the regular season played in the Belgium. The Izeghem Redskins won Belgian Bowl XIV against the Brussels Tigers by a score of 22-0.


2001 BMW Open
The 2001 BMW Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Munich, Germany and was part of the International Series of the 2001 ATP Tour. The tournament ran from 30 April through 6 May 2001. Unseeded Jiří Novák won the singles title.


2001 BMW Open, Finals, Doubles
Petr Luxa /  Radek Štěpánek defeated  Jaime Oncins /  Daniel Orsanic 5–7, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)


2001 BMW Open – Doubles
David Adams and John-Laffnie de Jager were the defending champions but they competed with different partners that year, Adams with Andrei Olhovskiy and de Jager with Jason Weir-Smith.


2001 BMW Open – Doubles
Adams and Olhovskiy lost in the first round to de Jager and Weir-Smith.