Motorsports - Cloud 9 for Peugeot
Peugeot finally tastes victory again at the 24 Hour of Le Mans race after 16 years
By Andrew Hamilton
OF THE TEN last 24 Hours of Le Mans races, Audi have taken eight wins. The race, held annually in Le Mans, France, finally saw Peugeot achieving the winning title which they have had worked hard for. It’s worth noting that it has been 16 years since the French manufacturer has won at this race.
The #9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, piloted by David Brabham, Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz (all ex-Formula One drivers), took the chequered flag after a total of 382 laps around the circuit. This is the third year of Peugeot’s 908 HDi FAP programme. Peugeot also came in second, with an all-French driver team of Stephane Sarrazin, Sebastien Bourdais and Franck Montagny, and a third team finishing in sixth place.
Audi’s R15 TDI, driven by eight-time winner Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello, finished the race in third, and completed 376 laps. Lola-Aston Martin took fourth place in their maiden LMP1 outing, while Team Oreca finished fifth.
In an intense race where the safety car was out for a total of 2 hours and 42 minutes, the dominant Germans had two of their three cars taken out of contention when an accident and mechanical failure occurred. On top of that, Peugeot had lodged a complaint prior to the race about the legality of the R15’s front wing. However, after an inspection, the Audis were given the green light.
In the LMP2 class, Team Essex’s Porsche RS Spyder took a clear victory, completing 357 laps in total – 15 laps ahead of the Speedy Racing Team’s Lola.
The GT1 class saw Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs taking the first two places, while Jetalliance Racing finished a distant 48 laps behind the winner in their Aston Martin DBR9.
Ferrari dominated the first four positions of the GT2 class, finishing ahead of the Snoras Spyker Squadron and their Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R.
