The 24 Hours of Le Mans: Final 3 Hours
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy ACO.com
LA SARTHE, France (June 15, 2008) — We are now in the home stretch. Three hours to go, and to Allan McNish and his team it seems like an eternity. There have been 18 retirements so far; however, all four classes are still running a competitive race. Rumors are that there are sprinkles of rain falling again.

The No. 35 Saulnier Racing Pescarolo had a big spin at the Ford Chicane, during which he hit the innocent bystander No. 90 Farnbacher Racing Ferrari, heavily damaging both cars. The Ferrari made it back to the pits and the team replaced the door (that’s the green one borrowed from Krohn Racing) and sorted out the damage to the rear bodywork. Things were more serious for the No. 35 Pescarolo because the impact destroyed the rear end of the car and debris got scattered all over the track. The car did eventually make it back to the pits but the team has a lot of work to do if they want to get the car back into the race.

The No 32 Zytek went straight on at the Playstation chicane, and the flapping tread of its left rear tyre damaged the body on the rear and the tail. Stuart Moseley came back slowly to the pits for repairs and was back on track shortly in 27th place.

The No. 2 Audi continues to lead, with Tom Kristensen aboard setting very quick times when the track opens up in front of him. So far the Peugeots are not picking up their pace enough to catch him. Along the pitlane paces Allan McNish.

The No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari comes onto pit lane for regular service and exits still in the lead, having more than a lap lead over the following GT2 car. Mika Salo, who confesses to having only 4 hours of sleep in the night, is to take the car to the chequered flag.

The No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari, however, is not so fortunate; the car pulls into the garage out of second place, and Tim Sugden confirms that the engine has gone and the car is finished for the race.

The crowd is getting louder as the time grows short; every time the British cars go by, you can hear the air horns. Look for the orange smoke bombs soon as the Dutch show their faith in their teams!

No. 8 Peugeot has arrived in the pits with the unusual problem of having hit a bird out on the track. The team had to quickly remove the remains of the poor thing from the sidepod and the car goes back out. Meanwhile the No.14 Creation Aim is still in the pit garage for a change of the oil pump.

Both the No. 7 Peugeot and the No. 2 Audi came in for routine stops, and exited in the same order after perfect stops.

No. 8 Peugeot has speared itself into the tire wall, possibly because of a problem with the right rear tire; Pedro Lamy got turned around with the help of the marshals and drove back to the pits, where Nic Minassian got into the car and once the car was serviced and the door closed, they decided to change the rear bodywork and replace it with the bodywork they took off last time. Then they started having trouble with the nose.

Meanwhile, the No. 2 Audi was tagged by the No. 32 Barazi Epsilon which flew off into the gravel trap; Kristensen kept going and appears to be undamaged, but Allan McNish looked ready to faint. The Audi crew is keeping a close eye on the situation. While this was happening, the No. 7 Peugeot got back on the lead lap and now is 2 minutes 58 seconds behind.

The drama is not over yet, but the rain is. Kristensen stays out and appears to be at full speed.

As the No. 7 Peugeot passes the front straight, the windshield wiper is going like mad.

Meanwhile the No. 32 made it back to the pits and after a quick look-over by the crew, and a little tank tape, the car goes back onto the track. The hit does not appear to have been that hard.

At the end of Hour 22, there is no change at the top of the tree.

The No. 3 Audi came in for what looked like a standard pit stop but the car was wheeled into the garage. Lucas Luhr stayed on board while work was done at the back, perhaps replacing a fitting. Meanwhile the No. 1 car came in and Frank Biela replaced Marco Werner on board. Shortly thereafter, out went the No. 3.

The No. 55 Spartak Racing Lamborghini Murcielago is currently running 35th out of 36 runners. The team is taking things very carefully to try and make absolutely certain that they reach the finish in about two hours time. However it is very borderline whether the car will actually qualify as a finisher even if it does get there.

The No. 009 Gulf Aston Martin is due in and David Brabham will take over to drive it to the flag. And that’s what happens.

The No. 2 Audi has been in and exits with the same driver, with sticker tires on the front and scuffs on the back. He will need at least one more regular stop before the end of the race and might need a splash besides.

There still has been only one full course yellow in this race; no one has said whether this is a record, but it must be close to one.

The sky is darkening again, and a tiny sprinkle has been detected, but hopefully that will be all that falls. Alas. The No.1 and No. 2 Audis both come in for intermediates and get back on the track without incident. Meanwhile Nic Minassian has gone out on slicks! Now that is a gambler.

At Hour 23 – one hour to go – there is no change at the front of any class. Still No. 2 Audi, No. 34 Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder, No. 009 Aston Martin, No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari.

As Minassian gets down the Dunlop Bridge area, the rain is falling like mad and the slick tires are looking very poor right now; it is taking everything he can do to keep himself on the track until he gets back to a dry spot. He has lost 17 seconds to Kristensen on that lap, and he needed to take out at least 5 seconds a lap in order to catch the Audi. There are 40 minutes left to go. The gap is 3 minutes 47 seconds and Minassian has 12 laps to make it up. The rain is moving down the track. Frank Biela has brought the No. 1 Audi in and traded the wets for intermediates, and the intermediates are not badly worn so the track must be pretty wet overall. He gets as far as the Playstation chicane and skids off into the gravel having lost the back end on cold tires; he got the car started and back on the track, no serious damage evident.

Jacques Villeneuve stands in the Peugeot pit breathing deeply and probably saying his prayers that the Triple Crown will not escape him. As the sun comes out, the Peugeot crew brings out wet tires, but he goes past the pitlane and as he goes through the Dunlop again, he skids again but he kept the car in the road. Then he misses the Playstation chicane again! The rain has moved to the part of the track that used to be dry. Minassian is earning his paycheque now, for sure.

Now the No. 7 Peugeot comes in and puts on full wet tires, although it is not raining very hard even where it is raining. What is the meaning of this?

Now it looks as if Minassian has a puncture. The car is moving slowly; every time he puts his foot on the throttle the car goes everywhere but straight ahead. The No. 9 Peugeot stays on intermediates and goes back on track.

Tom Kristensen is in the pitlane now. He takes only a splash of fuel and leaves the tires alone, and back he goes on track. Minassian is in the pitlane now and with 11 minutes to go; he takes tires and goes back on track. Allan McNish is standing on the pitwall.

Under 10 minutes to go. The No. 009 Gulf Aston Martin stops for a splash of fuel and the Aston Martin flags wave wildly. Off he goes to bring it home.

The 08 Peugeot is in but no one is rushing to look after it; finally they put on wet tires and let him go back out.

The last lap seems to last forever, as Kristensen times his finish to the chequered flag –and as it waves, Tom Kristensen breaks the record set by Jacky Ikyx and scores his 8th victory … and Allan McNish gets his second victory exactly ten years after he scored his first.

The podium will be all diesel; but the victory belongs to Audi.

And in the other classes, while Porsche wins in LM P2 and Aston Martin defends their title in LM GT1, Ferrari takes a beautiful revenge on Porsche by scoring a fabulous 1-2-3-4 in LM GT2 class.

Stay tuned for the final wrap-up, coming soon.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: Seventh 3 Hours
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy ACO.com
LA SARTHE, France (June 15, 2008) — We are entering Hour 19, and so far there are no surprises. Bruichladdich Radical sustains damage to the rear and to the left front corner after Gunnar Jeannette spins into the guardrail at Porsche curves. The No. 40 Quifel ASM Lola has lost its paddle shift and Guy Smith has to shift by hand. Fortunately he is not finding this difficult.

One thing that is very noticeable now that the sun is up is how grubby the cars look. After a long night of rain on a crowded track, it’s sometimes hard to see the numbers on the cars anymore. Nevertheless, Allan McNish continues to drive as if this were his first stint; he’s the only one dropping below 4 minutes at present.

Unfortunately they won’t let him drive for eight hours, so he pulls the car in and Dindo Capello jumps in to take the car to the finish. “We saw in the pre-test that when the track was wet the advantage came to our favour”, said McNish, “but it ebbs and flows. We knew we had to push as hard as we could because if the track dried out they would drive away from us.” McNish looks as if he has been driving all night, for the first time since he started the race, as he goes off to a well earned rest.

The No. 31 Essex Racing Porsche Spyder is running well now, but it is in third place in LMP2. Sascha Maassen is working hard to make up as much time as he can, now that the track is clear – and if anybody can do it, he can. Nobody knows this car as well as he.

The No. 90 Farnbacher Ferrari comes in for its pit stop; yes, that is Farnbacher even though the car has a lime green driver door that says Krohn Racing on it. Tracy Krohn departed the race early, but nobody who knows him would call him anything but generous, even to sharing car parts.

Audi No.1 heads for pitlane after Pirro had a spin on the track, and Marco Werner will take over the car. Although no damage was done to the car, a quick look will doubtless be given. Werner stalls the car before he can get it away; behind him, Rockenfeller in the No. 3 Audi does the same.

Hour 19 ends as it began; no change at the top of any class.

The Luc Alphand Corvette No.73 hit the fence at 8:44 and the car suffered slight damage that was rapidly repaired in the pits. The car got back on track with Pasquali at the wheel but he spun a few minutes later on the wet track.

Three more cars have retired during the past hour. The No. 33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah retired on its 193rd lap after contact in the pitlane with the No. 69 Corvette C6.R. The No. 45 Zytek retired a little later after it went off the track at the Michelin chicane; and the No. 16 Pescarolo Judd retired as well because of the engine overheating.

The Village and the grandstands are beginning to fill up again as those who have gone off to their camp sites for a bit of rest, a shower and some dry clothes come slowly back to find good vantage places to watch the finish. There are still almost five hours to go, but the good spaces fill up quickly.

Now the track is beginning to dry, and Nic Minassian is fighting Dindo Capello to try to get back on the lead lap; anyone who had seen either Road Atlanta or Laguna Seca last year knows how tough Capello can be, but Minassian finally gets past and sets out to try and catch him up again for position. Jacques Villeneuve is waiting his turn to get back into the car, dressed as always in overalls big enough for himself and a friend.

The No. 80 Flying Lizard comes in for a pit stop, and Jörg Bergmeister approaches the car to jump aboard, walking like a duck to keep his boots dry. (Capello admitted that after the 2001 race he threw his boots away – they simply could not be dried.)

Both the No. 7 Peugeot and the No. 2 Audi come in for service; Jacques gets into the No. 7 and Dindo stays in the Audi, which takes intermediate tires and gets out before Jacques.

As the race entered its 19th hour, the Larbre Competition Saleen S7R has run without incident during the night and early morning and currently sits in 30th position overall and 7th in the GT1 category, having passed the Team Modena Ferrari for position.

Audi No.3 pulls in with a shredded left rear tire and takes on a set of intermediates, rolling the dice that it will stop raining. Alex Primat stalls the car again on the way out but does get under way and back on the track.

The No. 11 Dome Judd makes it back from the gravel trap and back into the race, grimy but game.

Marco Werner brings the No. 1 Audi in and gets intermediate tires, but halfway around the track he spins the car and takes out two green marker cones. He spins the car away from the cones but drives back to the pits slowly enough to get flags as he heads back. Back onto the wet tires for the Audis, although there is a bit of sunshine trying to come through; it is clearly too soon for intermediates yet. The car crawls back into the pits and is pushed into the garage with clutch problems that will likely take him right out of the reckoning even when he gets back on track.

The No. 11 Dome goes off the track again at and hits the tyres after the Michelin curve. It suffers damage on the front and comes back to the pit for repairs; when it gets back to the pits the crew cannot get it through the doors of the garage and have to back up and try again.

Meanwhile Jacques Villeneuve is lapping the No. 7 Peugeot quickly along the dry line, making up time against Capello in the No. 2 Audi; he catches and passes him to unlap himself and with four hours to go, he’s on a mission to get back the lead. Now it is a question of when Capello will come in to get his tires changed.

At the end of Hour 20, the lead cars in class remain unchanged. But stay tuned.

Werner comes back onto the track after 30 minutes in the garage; he will rejoin the race in 6th. Next, in comes Alex Primat for different tires; Audi have learned their lesson. But what will they put on his car?

Piccini and his Aston Martin No. 007 get a warning for Ford chicane 'cutting' transgression. Note that this is the same transgression which Marc Gene in the Peugeot did twice, one time deliberately, with not a murmur from race control.

In comes the No. 64 Corvette and changes drivers and tires – to Oliver Gavin and slicks. Doug Fagin says they have gone to slicks because they are out of all the others.

The great run of the No. 23 Autocon Creation Judd comes to an end, as Bryan Willman breaks the gearbox at the second Mulsanne chicane and the car retires. For their first Le Mans ever, the team has run an excellent race and no doubt have both learned a lot and enjoyed the show.

In comes race leader Dindo Capello, and Tom Kristensen jumps into the car; slick tires go on and the car heads out.

At the end of Hour 21, the top of the classes remains the same – but stay tuned.

Back for the finish.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: Fifth 3 Hours
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy ACO.com
LA SARTHE, France (June 15, 2008) — We are halfway through the race, and not much is changing on the track. Driver changes are made and pit stops cycle through, and Dindo Capello continues to keep in striking distance of Jacques Villeneuve and waits for opportunity to knock. The Peugeots have reduced their pace in a prudent desire, one suspects, to thwart this plan. Only these two cars are still on the lead lap. If the Peugeot could lap the Audi, it would have lapped the entire field.

The No. 31 Essex Racing Porsche Spyder has developed a misfire; the driver brings the car in, data is downloaded, and out he goes again. Technology is wonderful.

The No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche is 22 laps down from the next closest car, the No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche, and 38 laps down on the No. 82. Johannes van Overbeek is currently behind the wheel, and will drive a double stint before turning it back over to Jörg Bergmeister to finish out the night stint, and then over to Seth Neiman for the sunrise.

The No. 4 Saulnier Racing, Pescarolo comes into the pits and straight into its garage. The Team then sets about changing the front left wheel bearing. This is a big job and it is 40 minutes later that they get the car back out.

The No. 21 Epsilon Batmobile has completed half the distance that the race leaders have completed, due to a series of difficulties. It is still being scored in 54th place, but at ¾ distance cars that have no chance of making the 70% required to be scored will be excluded. So far they are continuing as they have nothing to lose, and the experience is good for them. It must be very frustrating though.

The No. 26 Radical has been in the pits for around twenty minutes with two problems: the car is overheating and it also picked up some body damage after a puncture. Gunnar Jeanette is normally a driver for AF Corse Racing; his car may be in the pits, but if he was in the Corse he would be home in bed. I wonder which he would prefer?

The No. 7 Peugeot goes into the garage to have some work done on it including continuing to pour cooling stuff on the radiator and have the windshield cleaned off; Jacques had about a minute lead over Dindo and he may have lost most of it by his stop, but he re-takes the lead coming down the Mulsanne Straight and they are now 5 seconds apart.

At the end of Hour Thirteen the leaders in class are unchanged.

The Radical is back on track, with Gunnar on board. Ben Devlin, who drives the BK Mazda in the ALMS, is enjoying his first Le Mans. “Driving at night,” he said, “you can smell the campfires and the barbecue, and even from the car you feel a real part of the whole Le Mans experience.”

Dindo Capello takes the lead of the race briefly, for the first time in hours, but he has to go into the pits and then he will go back to second place. He stays in the car and does not take tires; this is his fourth stint so he and the tires will be changed next cycle round. This is his 10th Le Mans and he has won twice. Likely he is not thinking of this now. As Ben Devlin suggested, he may be thinking of barbecue.

Rain has begun to fall, just sprinkling so far but definitely showing up on the windshields and creeping down the pitlane. The Audi team has its own meteorology section and had said it would be coming, and as always they were right. Stefan Sarrazin is still setting qualifying laps in the No. 8 Peugeot, but this will likely have to come to an end lest his day do the same.

Now the rain has arrived in earnest. Cars begin to come in for rain tires. Things about to change wholesale now.

Jaime Melo has climbed into the No. 82 Risi Ferrari, currently leading GT2; however, he is out on new dry tires. The No. 7 Peugeot has come in for wet tires and heads out again. Capello came in and Kristensen goes out on wet tires. The beat goes on.

The No. 9 Peugeot came in again, deciding to take full wets instead of the intermediates, and out it goes again; the Corvettes take the intermediates too so it will be interesting to see how they go.

Johnny O’Connell bumps into the 33 car on the way into the pits; the marshals have told the driver of the 33 he can’t go further than 10 feet from his car and so the marshals are pushing the car down pitlane, which is soaking wet and dark and crowded with people and cars, and seems it would be dangerous. The car is a mess. Once they get into the pitlane, the driver gets it going again but its crabbing its way and isn’t much safer than it was when it was being pushed. They finally get it into the garage and set to work. It proves to be in vain; the car is retired.

The Audis are now driving six seconds a lap faster than the Peugeots, a function of experience one would suspect. Rockenfeller in the No. 3 Audi has caught and challenged Ricardo Zonta in the No. 9 Peugeot already, and he has taken third place; Kristensen is the quickest driver on the track at present and gaining time every lap in his quest to catch the No. 7 Peugeot.

The No. 31 Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder with Elgaard at the wheel spun at the Playstation chicane and damaged the rear end of the car. Elgaard is able to bring the car back to the pits, where the team fits a new rear diffuser and rear wing.

In comes the No. 64 Corvette to exchange its intermediates for full wets; and the No. 23 Autocon Courage Judd is in getting serviced including cleaning stuff out of the grille. They are still running, which is their sole plan at this time, and enjoying the ride even in the rain.

The 007 Aston Martin has come in for service but it cannot refire on its own; they have it on the jacks and are pushing it into the garage. The GT1 cars are separated by 15 seconds so the battle on track has gone to 1 on 1.

Meanwhile at the front, Kristensen has dropped the gap between himself and Villeneuve to 20 seconds. This could be down to visibility or it could be that the Peugeots are stiffer than the Audis. Or it could be that Kristensen is a better driver than Villeneuve.

As the Fourteenth hour ends, the leaders in class are unchanged. But stay tuned.

The No. 11 Dome has been off course, but it made it back to the pits and damage appears to be minimal. It has been wheeled into the garage for an inspection just to be sure.

Kristensen has lowered the gap to first place below 10 seconds. Now Villeneuve can see him growing larger in his mirrors. Villeneuve will be coming in for his pit stop soon, but it looks as if TK will pass him on the track. Meanwhile Rockenfeller has put almost a minute between himself and Ricardo Zonta in the No. 9 Peugeot.

As both the leader and the challenger come in for their stops, the gap has dropped to 2 seconds. Kristensen takes no tires; Villeneuve jumps out of the car and Marc Gene jumps in – plus tires. Kristensen takes the lead and will have about 10 seconds lead when he crosses the line. And Rockenfeller is going faster than both of them. It doesn’t take long for Kristensen to raise the gap to nearly a minute between Gene and him, as he is still pulling out four seconds a lap on the Peugeot. The rain continues to fall but the sky is lightening as dawn begins to look more like a reality than a promise.

We are just finishing up Hour fifteen and the leaders in class are now No. 2 Audi (Kristensen), No. 34 Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder, No. 009 Aston Martin and No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari. Back at dawn.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: Third 3 Hours
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy ACO.com
LA SARTHE, France — It’s 9:00 p.m. in France and the racing has settled down in anticipation of a quiet evening. Believe it or not, there have so far been absolutely no full course cautions in this race, and we are on pace to break the 1988 record for distance run in 24 hours, if this trend continues.

The cooler temperatures this year are perhaps making the cars happier than either the cold temps of last year or the heat of the year before. It’s also making it possible for drivers to change tires less often and to do triple stints if required.

The No. 64 Corvette has fallen off the pace and pits with an alternator problem. This costs them six minutes, which causes Mad Max Papis to growl and drops them to 4th in LMGT1. However, as it would perhaps not be wise to mention to them, this is still a better deal than last year, when Ollie outbraked himself in the second hour and ended his day in the gravel…..

The No. 44 Kruse Lola Mazda is suffering from goblins in the works. It seems that there is a serious vibration and they can’t trace where it is coming from. It feels as if a wheel has worked loose so the driver, wisely, keeps bring the car back for the team to check it out. It has stopped eleven times, which is about five unscheduled stops so far, the result being that the car is running 41st overall.

Tom Kristensen whips the No. 2 Audi in for fuel only, and heads out on his second stint. It appears that Audi’s schedule is to limit the number of driver changes, which gains time on the faster Peugeots. Likely over the night hours when it is cooler and the trend is to hold station, this will become the SOP. Peugeot continues to drive faster, which seems a curious MO considering how long the race still has to go, but as they used to say on Hollywood Squares, this may work out.

The Essex Racing Porsche Spyder, which has been exchanging the lead with the No. 34 Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder all day, has had a tire go down at the Porsche Curves (oddly enough) and limps into the pitbox where the tires and the driver are changed; John Nielsen replaces Elgaard and off they go.

Meanwhile in the No. 8 Peugeot, Stephane Sarrazin breaks the lap record of the race with a lap time of 3'19.394'. Although the car is still many laps down, the thinking is that the gearbox gremlins may strike the other two Peugeots and in that case Peugeot would still be in with a shout. Besides, Sarrazin likes to drive fast. He has worked his way up from 28th place to 9th, although he is still six laps back.

After 22 minutes in the pits, the No. 24 Terramos Courage Mugen is back on the track. The team replaced the rear brake discs, the rear wheel bearing and the front left headlight. They have had a fraught race but good for them for sticking it out.

At the end of Hour 7, the class leaders are No. 7 Peugeot (Villeneuve), No 34 (12th place overall) Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder (Verstappen), No. 009 Gulf Aston Martin (Garcia) and No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari (Melo).

The temperature has dropped as the clouds are moving in, with rain expected within the hour; tomorrow’s high is predicted to be 16C (64F) and showers, which will continue for the Channel Dash on Monday, or so they say.
The No.9 Peugeot Sport Total which had been leading, Klein at the wheel, has spun into the gravel at the Ford Chicane then rejoined but has now dropped into 3rd behind the No. 2 Audi. His exit from the lead has put the No. 7 Peugeot back up front. And the retirement of the No. 94 Speedy Racing Team, Spyker C8 Laviolette due to engine failure, has now been confirmed; this makes five confirmed retirements.

The No. 25 MG Lola of RML has gone into the gravel trap at the Porsche Curves. When it limps back to the pits, there is extensive damage to the right side and has one wheel up in the air which indicates suspension damage. “I was approaching the Porsche Curves and way short of the normal braking point and the car turned and lifted on the left side,” said driver Mike Newton. “The floor was the direction the car was going and all I could see was the tarmac; the car dug into the dirt and that dropped it down so thankfully I landed right side up. We have raced this car for 4 years without a problem and now suddenly the cars go airborne. I don’t understand it.”

At Hour Eight the leaders in class are No. 7 Peugeot (Gene); No 34 Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder (Verstappen); No. 63 Corvette Racing (O’Connell) and No.82 Risi Competizione Ferrari (Melo).

Michel Vergers pushes his No. 32 Barazi Epsilon, Zytek 07S all the way back to the pits where the team works feverishly on an electronic problem. The car is now back in the race, with another driver behind the wheel.

Rumours are everywhere about Acura taking part in the 2009 Le Mans. Gil de Ferran has been seen in conversations, and although his driver Simon Pagenaud was a late addition to replace Stefan Ortelli, it is not thought this is reason enough for his presence.

Disaster in the No. 64 Corvette pits, as the car was dropped for some reason off the jack before the left rear wheel was on. The wheelman is described as “incandescent with rage,” as he gave no inkling of a signal that the car was ready to be dropped. Lucky for them that Papis was not in the car at the time, although Olivier Beretta is probably not very happy either.

The No. 78 AF Corse Ferrari has been stopped for 30 minutes in La Chapelle descent from Dunlop Bridge, although the engine is running. Three mechanics from the team are going on scene to inquire about the situation. The car has suffered a broken driveshaft and may be retired. It joins the No. 19 Chamberlain Synergy Lola, the one that Amanda Stratton so gamely got back to the pits earlier on, and brings the total retirements to seven.

At the end of the Ninth Hour (Midnight French Time), the leaders in class are No. 7 Peugeot (Minassian), No. 34 Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder (Verstappen), No. 63 Corvette Racing (Fellows) and No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari (Salo).

The Lamborghini Murcielago was forced to return to its pit to change a mirror and rear left hub, as a result of a contact between Peter Kox and another competitor. The car vibrated badly as a result of this contact. It is very far back in the struggle for LM GT1 The car is now in 45th place, 43 laps behind the leader. Meanwhile, No. 8 Team Peugeot Total comes in with its windscreen smothered in oil (possibly from the No. 11 Dome, which according to Hindy was spewing more oil than the Exxon Valdez). It is quickly cleaned and sent out again.

The first yellow flag of the race has come out for an accident at the Porsche Curve, where Marc Gene had gone into the wall for his spectacular crash earlier this week. The car in the wall is the No. 6 Team Oreca Matmut, and the driver, Marcel Fassler, has been put on a stretcher and removed to an ambulance. There is no official explanation yet but it appears a rear wheel fell off. The track hospital relayed the information that Fassler was not hurt; apparently he may have hit his head, though, so he is under observation.

After 30 minutes the yellow lights finally went out on the safety cars and racing began again; McNish, back in the No. 2 Audi, lost 50 seconds on the restart but he will quickly make that up. The No. 63 Corvette has lost first place and No. 009 Aston Martin is now leading GT1. In GT2, only one Porsche, the No. 77 Felbermayr-Proton Porsche remains in contention against the Ferraris.

We have reached Hour 10 and the leaders in class are No. 7 Peugeot (Minassian) [with the No. 2 Audi 30 seconds back]; No. 34 Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder (Bleekemolen); No 009 Gulf Aston Martin (Turner); and No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari (Salo).

The temperature is now 14C (68F) and the track has settled down. Back in 3 hours.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: First 3 Hours
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy ALMS.com
LA SARTHE, France (June 14, 2008) — Welcome to Le Mans! As is our custom, we will be bringing you updates on the course of the race every three hours throughout the 24, with a wrap-up at the end. So sit back and prepare to be entertained by some of the best driving and the most beautiful cars out there racing today! At 9:00 a.m. for the warm-up, the air temperature was 16°C (64F), track temperature 18°C (68F). The spectators are filling the grand-stands along the track, all the way up to the Dunlop Bridge. Let’s hope the sun stays with us for this legendary race.

It’s a clean start this year and before they clear half a lap, the No. 2 Audi of Allan McNish has grabbed P3; yes, the Peugeot got it back but Audi have served notice that this is not going to be a stroll in the park for the French. (McNish pointed out on the grid that the French had lost at Eurocup last night, so he is not conceding anything.) All through the grid the start was good, and we hope that is a good sign. As the cars streamed off on the opening lap of the race the #97 BMS Scuderia Italia Spa, Ferrari F430 GT driven Malucelli joined the race from the pit lane. The team had missed the start while sorting out a problem with the front suspension on the car. They are now in the race and looking fine.

After 2 laps the field has begun to settle down. In P2 it’s the Essex Racing Porsche Spyder leading the way, their first race at Le Mans although the marque has been impressive in the American Le Mans Series with Penske and Dyson Racing teams. (The Essex car is not the purple one.) Team Essex had an engine change just before grid formation. In GT1 the Corvettes lead with the Aston Martins close behind; in GT2 its Jörg Bergmeister and the Flying Lizards Porsche leading Jaime Melo in the Risi Ferrari No. 62 (familiar territory for both drivers). (The No. 76 Imsa Performance Matmut, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, the class leading LMGT2 car has been penalized and sent to the back of the grid. Apparently one of the team mechanics infringed the regulations.)

The first crash of the race came early as the No. 25 RML Lola (Erdos aboard) went off the track at the Playstation Chicane and was hit by the No. 12 Charouz Racing System Lola (Pickett commanding); the RML car came off worst and headed back to the garage for repairs. No yellow flag was needed, as the Peugeots began to come in for their first of about 30 pit stops in the race. Numerous other cars dived in, and Lucas Luhr (No. 3 Audi) stalled on the way out of the pits but got it going again and continued without further incident. Out on the track the No 53 Vitaphone Aston Martin had a spin, but continued, and the No. 25 RML Lola rejoined the race 12 laps down.

Clear the track – Tracy Krohn is now behind the wheel of the No. 83 limeade coloured Risi Ferrari 430! Back on the circuit the No. 41 Trading Performance Zytek limps back toward the pits; it appears to be the right front suspension.

In GT2 the No. 76 Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche has stormed its way through the grid and once again assumed class lead, with the No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche (Jörg Bergmeister commanding) and the 77 Felbermayr-Proton Porsche (Henzler on board).

At the end of the first hour the leaders are No. 8 Team Peugeot Total; No. 31 Team Essex Porsche Spyder; No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette C6R; and No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche.

In comes the No. 19 Chamberlain Synergy Lola AER with a flat tire; no other problems and the car is serviced and heads back out. Meanwhile, the No. 55 Interprogressbank Spartak Racing Lamborghini Murcielago has sheared the bolts in the differential and they expect the repairs will take some time.

Tracy Krohn has propelled the No. 83 Risi Competizione Ferrari off at Corvette Curve. There is serious damage to the rear end of the car and they are the first team out of the race. What a shame they will not be repeating their podium finish of 2007.

Although the Peugeot continues to lead, Allan McNish in the No. 2 Audi is a full 2 seconds faster than the sister Audis and has clearly not been listening to those who have awarded Peugeot the win in the second hour. McNish and Capello were on pace to win last year when Dindo had tire trouble in the rain and speared the car into the wall. Audi are running one lap longer than Peugeot on fuel, and are hoping to stretch their distance driving farther as time goes on. Peugeot No. 7 has had a driver change and Jacques Villeneuve is now on board; this is the car Zonta wrecked in qualifying but it seems to be running fine so far. Villeneuve aims to be only the second driver in history to win the F1 Championship, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hour Le Mans (Graham Hill was the only one to do it so far; Mario Andretti tried several times but never got the last jewel in the crown.)

The No.44 Kruse Schiller Motorsport Lola Mazda whips in for a pit stop and driver change. This is the car that had the spectacular crash in Wednesday night qualifying, but they are running smoothly now.

Another accident on track – the 10 Charouz spun off at the Dunlop and went backwards into the wall damaging the front and rear; the wing has come off the Lola and as it flies off the track it collects the No. 31 Essex Racing Porsche Spyder. Both drivers are fine.

Disaster in the GT2 class; the No. 80 Flying Lizard and the No. 76 Imsa Performance Porsches have come together at Indianapolis corner. The No. 76 has lost a front wheel and is finished; Seth Neiman has dragged the Lizard Porsche back onto the track and is crawling toward the pitlane with a broken wheel and radiator, doubtless saying his prayers all the way, and he makes it. This will be a long stop, as there is considerable bodywork damage around the broken wheel.

At the end of Hour 2, the leaders in class are No. 8 Peugeot Total, No. 31 Team Essex Porsche Spyder, No. 63 Corvette and No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari.

For the first time in GT1 we have a lead change: the 009 Aston Martin Gulf has passed the No. 63 Corvette and takes flight. The times for Corvettes and the leading Aston Martin are very close; both the works Aston Martins and both the Corvettes are running in the 3:51’s. Incidentally, Gulf (sponsor of the leading GT1 car) is celebrating its 40th year of racing this year.

The No. 8 Peugeot has pulled into the pits unexpectedly and Alex Wurz remains in the pits; no announcement made but appears to be gearbox related. No. 9 Peugeot having done one lap comes in for a stop and go penalty; Villeneuve brings in the No. 7 after 7 laps complaining of handling problems and Christian Klein takes over. This catapults Allan McNish into P1 overall for the first time today. Wurz in the No. 8 Peugeot is pushed out of the garage and rejoins the race 8 laps down. At this point, McNish is a minute ahead of the chasing Peugeot, and while Peugeot has changed drivers 3 times, Nishy is doing his third stint. Almost 3 hours gone and now we have a fight on our hands at the front. Meanwhile the other two Audis come in and change drivers.

And as we come up on the third hour, McNish comes into the pits and jumps out, looking fresh as a daisy, and Dindo Capello hops in. McNish has just driven the equivalent of an entire American Le Mans Series race. “I have noticed,” said McNish, “that [Peugeots] second drivers are not quite as quick as their guys who are used to it, so we may have an advantage there. I expected the Peugeot problems to come later in the race; I have been concentrating on keeping it clean and tidy at this point. I am going to have a shower and get something to eat – my job is done for awhile!”

At the third hour, then, the lead in classes is No. 2 Audi, No. 34 Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder, No. 009 Gulf Aston Martin and No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari.

Clouds are forming in the Le Mans skies. See you in 3 hours. Stay Tuned.

Vitaphone Aston Martin within the Comfort Zone
News from Vitaphone
LA SARTHE (June 13, 2008) — The Vitaphone Aston Martin DBR9 will line up ninth in class for the start of Saturday’s 76th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, and it’s a position that satisfies all three drivers; Peter Hardman, Nick Leventis and Alexandre Negrao. The car’s fastest time was set late on Thursday evening by Peter Hardman, who lapped the 13.6 kilometre circuit in 3:53.475. “The reality is, with a few more laps and fresh qualifying tyres, we could have found another couple of seconds, perhaps more, but we’d just fitted the new race engine and saw no need to risk pushing harder,” said Peter.

Competition within the GT1 category is very tight amongst the privateer teams. The two seconds that Peter predicts would have been within the car’s capabilities might have seen the #53 Aston Martin DBR9 through to sixth in class, but the Vitaphone squad has its sights set firmly on the race itself, not brief glory in qualifying. “Endurance racing is about picking a sensible pace that you, and the car, can run at lap after lap. This isn’t a flat sprint,” observes Nick Leventis, making his Le Mans 24 Hours debut this year. “My pace is increasing with every lap, but this is a long race, and I’m going to be staying well within my comfort zone. There’s no room for error here, not through sections like the Porsche Curves, so I know it’s better to maintain a conservative pace, within my limitations, and keep safe.”

Although Peter Hardman has considerable experience, and has raced in the 24 Hours before, his two co-drivers are both Le Mans ‘rookies’. “In some respects, it’s as if we’ve never been to Le Mans before, and we’re still learning,” says Hardman. “All the other teams have run the same cars and largely the same set of drivers for several years. They all know the track very well, and they’re all going to be quick round here. By contrast, we’re all very green to this circuit and with every lap we do, we’re learning more.”

The team is, in Peter’s own words, one of the “underdogs” in what has become an intensely competitive class battle between the works Corvette and Aston Martin. That leaves the Vitaphone trio with a very realistic prospect. “We’re not racing with the factory Astons or the Corvettes – I don’t think we can expect to compete on equal terms with them, but we’re on the pace with all the rest. We’re being realists and just looking for a good finish, and if we’re still there at three on Sunday afternoon, we could be in good shape for a result. We just need to look after the car, treat it nicely, and steadily pick up the pace.”

All three drivers confirm that the Vitaphone DBR9 feels excellent and inspires their confidence, and while it may not yet have reached its full development potential by any means, they are well set up for a twenty-four hour race, and looking forward to the start on Saturday afternoon.

Rear wheel drama costs Larbre an hour
News from Larbre Competition
LA SARTHE, France (June 14, 2008) — The Larbre Competition Saleen S7R suffered a difficult start to the Le Mans 24 Hours after losing a wheel three hours into the race.

The left rear wheel detached as Christophe Bouchut braked for Tertre Rouge and pitched him off the track and deep into a gravel trap. After being hauled out by a service vehicle, Bouchut limped back to the pits for repairs.

The team had to replace the transmission, brakes and suspension and also lost time removing a considerable amount of gravel from the American built car. Despite a superb job by the mechanics, around one hour was lost in total, and the #50 car plummeted down the order to 45th overall and ninth in class.

Bouchut started the race from second on the grid, but couldn’t compete with the works Corvettes and Aston Martins straight line speed during his double stint. Patrick Bornhauser and David Hallyday then did a single stint each in the car, before the problem with the wheel occurred on Bouchut’s out lap upon his return to the cockpit.

Bouchut said: “The car just snapped sideways into the gravel and I knew I was in trouble when my rear wheel overtook me and crashed into the door! It was impossible to compete with the works cars at the start and the slower LMP2s caused me a lot of problems. The leading GT1 cars are quicker than some of the gentlemen drivers in LMP2, but it’s hard to pass them as they don’t always concentrate! The car seems to be running fine again now, but obviously we’ve lost a lot of time.”

Bornhauser, who returned to the car after six hours said: “We lost a lot of time in the pits, but it was necessary as there were so many stones in the car and they could cause a lot of damage if they’re not cleared properly.”

Peugeot take top 3 grid positions for the 24 hours of Le Mans 2008
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy Jean-Philippe Boye, Christian VIGNON and Arnaud Cornilleau
LA SARTHE, France (June 13, 2008) — Peugeot have taken this years qualifying by storm and when the chequered flag fell they occupied a very impressive 1st, 2nd and 3rd in LM P1. The Audis did begin to speed up towards the end of the session but pole is safe for the #8 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot driven by Lamy, Sarrazin and Wurz, who never came under serious threat through two days of qualifying; however it is interesting to see that at one point when both Audi and Peugeot were running in ‘race trim’ they were both putting in steady 3:26/27 laps. So maybe they are in fact rather more evenly matched than it looks on the time sheets. However Peugeot are facing some problems rebuilding the #9 Peugeot that Ricardo Zonta crashed heavily at the Corvette Curve in the first hour of practice. The team will now be under pressure to ship more spare parts down to Le Mans to virtually rebuild the car. After the #7 Peugeot was written off during testing, the team is facing a tense build up to the race despite their seeming outright speed advantage. This, you may remember, is what happened last year too, and what Audi hope to use to their advantage in the duel of the Diesels. The fastest petrol powered car was the #10 Charouz Racing System, Lola Aston Martin which was eventually 6th overall ahead of the #1 Audi Sport North America, Audi R10 driven by Biela, Pirro and Werner. Autocon, the American Le Mans team making its Le Mans debut, moved up in the first half of the evening from 41st to 30th and finished a respectable 32nd on the day, having had an uneventful session and doubtless enjoyed their first look in motion of the carnival that is Le Mans by night.

In LMP2 the Team Essex and Van Merksteijn Motorsport Porsche Spyders (other teams of this marque have been thrilling the crowds in the American Le Mans Series since their debut in 2007) have been swapping times all the way through qualifying. It has been an impressive show and they are placed 14th and 16th overall. Next up in 19th place is the #32 Barazi Epsilon, Zytek 07S driven by Barazi, Vergers and Moseley. They are almost two seconds behind the two Porsches but nevertheless clearly came to play.

In LMGT1 the quickest car is (no surprise) the #63 Corvette Racing, Corvette C6.R of O'Connell, Magnussen and Fellows which has been at the top of the sheets most of the day. Some may be surprised to see the #50 Larbre Competition, Saleen S7R of Bouchut, Bornhauser and Smet lying second ahead of the powerful lineup in the #64 Corvette Racing, Corvette C6.R of Beretta, Gavin and Papis; however, Larbre have been confident since their excellent showing on Test Day, and have vowed that they mean to “scare” the favourites in this class. Perhaps they have not succeeded quite to that degree, but you can bet the Two Ollies (not to mention Mad Max) are somewhat surprised! After a slow start the #009 Aston Martin Racing, Aston Martin DBR9 of Brabham, Garcia and Turner has moved into a more encouraging 4th in class. So there is a very interesting mix of cars in LMGT1 and they all seem pretty evenly matched.

In LMGT2 today an American driver took this crown from the Germans. Patrick Long, driving the #76 IMSA’s Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR went faster than 4 minutes (3:58.152) and broke last years lap record by over 6 seconds. Second in class was the #77 Team Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Antony Davison, Wolf Henzler and Horst Felbermayr sen. Third was the #96 Virgo Motorsport, Ferrari F430 GT driven by Bell, Sugden and Mullen. This was a bit of a surprise since the Ferraris were expected to be quicker than the Porsches. Speaking of Porsches, the Flying Lizards had some difficulties but stayed cool, and rather than trying to strike back, they closed the store for today, having achieved the goals that had been set for the session.

The track will remain cold tomorrow, but don’t think that means the drivers and crews get to sleep late and indulge in fine French cuisine. On Fridays the Le Mans paddock, generally closed to all but those with special access passes and the hard-working media (who hardly ever leave), is open to the general ticket holders and is thronged with ardent fans looking for photographs and autographs or just a chance to soak up the atmosphere. The crews work with all the garages open to full view at least from the front (no one is allowed to go in without permission of course) and may be questioned and addressed when they are willing. Rain has been hovering in the forecasts (when not actually bucketing down) and it is well to keep in mind that a nice view down into the pit lane from the covered grandstands above. Radio Le Mans will be presenting a full program too, and if form follows will also be giving updates on the Eurocup 2008 games too. (Forza Azzurri! Um, sorry.) Track action will resume with the warm-up on Saturday morning, followed closely by the pre-race festivities and the Green Flag at 4:00 p.m.

Don’t miss a minute, rain or shine. And meet us back here during the race to see how it all plays out!

Larbre third after Wednesday qualifying
News from Larbre Competition
LA SARTHE, France (June 11, 2008) — Larbre Competition’s Saleen S7R set the third fastest GT1 time in Wednesday’s first qualifying session for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

However, the team missed the chance to defeat the factory Corvettes and take provisional pole position after a gear selector problem lost them time in the pits during the fastest section of the session and then red flags spoiled Christophe Bouchut’s later flying laps.

Bouchut, who took pole position for the team in the race last year, set a best time of 3:50.920, just a few tenths off the pace of the second placed works Corvette and a whole 1.3 seconds faster than the leading works Aston Martin.

He was immediately quick during the session and topped the GT1 timesheets after the first two hours, before the #63 Corvette took provisional pole position in the second part of qualifying while Larbre’s Saleen was in the pits. Patrick Bornhauser also showed good consistent pace during his short stint, but David Hallyday was unfortunate to only manage a single lap at the wheel before the session was ended by a red flag.

Team Principal Jack Leconte said: “We showed we were competitive during the Test Day and we proved it again at the end of the first part of the qualifying session by holding the quickest time. Unfortunately a problem with the gear selector lost us time and saw both Corvettes set quicker laps. After that we had non-stop disruptions due to red flags and oil on the track which prevented us going quicker.

“We still have two sets of qualifying tyres left and have a plan to beat the Corvettes on Thursday, but we’ll wait and see what the track conditions are like first. What’s certain is we’ve made a step forward from last year as our Saleen is ahead of all of the Aston Martins, which we ran in 2007.”

Christophe Bouchut was philosophical about missing provisional pole: “It’s one of those things that you really want to achieve, but at Le Mans, if it doesn’t happen, it’s better to just forget about it and prepare for the race. Third fastest isn’t bad for a privateer team and although we’ll try to improve tomorrow, it will be much harder as the forecast is for rain.”

Patrick Bornhauser explained the team’s strategy during Wednesday’s session: “The idea was to dedicate most of Wednesday to Christophe so he could set a quick qualifying time while David and I planned to do four or five laps in each two hour session. I was happy with my times because they were all within the same second, and that consistency is crucial for the race.”

David Hallyday was unfortunate to miss out on any significant track time due to an incident packed second session. “Well I managed a single warm up lap, and the car felt fine, but apart from that there isn’t much for me to say! Thursday should see me have much more time in the car and so I’m looking forward to that.”

Their First Le Mans: Autocon Motorsports
Photos: Regis Lefebvre
BRASELTON, Georgia (June 9, 2008) — This is the first race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Autocon Motorsports but not the first for Bryan Willman and Chris McMurry. The two, who will drive the Autocon Creation-Judd prototype with team owner Michael Lewis, made their Le Mans debut in 2002 with Jeff Bucknum in a Team Bucknum Racing Pilbeam-Nissan but only lasted six hours before an engine failure. Nevertheless the Le Mans experience is one both are eager to relive this year.

Bryan Willman
"2003 didn't go very well but it was a great experience. There are three memories that come to mind. We showed up the morning of the test, and Chris (McMurry), Jeff (Bucknum) and I were going for a walk along the front straight. We walked 100 meters and it just hit me, '(Wow), I'm standing on the front straight at Le Mans...'

"No. 2 is we were out for a walk at the Porsche Curves and a guy in a white suit comes up, and I'm thinking I'll be thrown off the track. But he came up to me and said, 'Excuse moi, are you a pilot?' I said 'yes', and he asked 'What is your car number?' I said '23' and he said 'That's the Pilbeam - McMurry, Bucknum and Willman. Bucknum has hair, are you McMurry or Willman?' I was amazed. They knew every car, and a lot about drivers who they'd never seen or met before.

"And the thing that makes you want to drive in it, and you prepare months and months for this, is the drive down Mulsanne, then Mulsanne to Indianapolis. Those are both just magical. You're whipping along at 190 mph and there are these houses going by, and trees and farms and all this stuff from another world. You're racing on what are normally public roads, at tremendous speed.

"At driver tech, Andy Pilgrim was telling me to be prepared for people wanting autographs, and I'm thinking, 'Yeah, you're Andy Pilgrim with Corvette and I'm Bryan Willman.' But there was a guy who had a picture of me in a Formula Mazda in Worldspeed colors from '96 or so. And it wasn't a digital print; it was an RA-4 (from film.) I still wonder where he got that."

Chris McMurry
"The first memory is that my wife Bobbi regularly asks me prior to a race weekend, 'So are you excited?' I'm not a terribly excitable type, and typically I say something like, 'I'm looking forward to it.' When I got to Le Mans in 2003, I walked onto the front straight, with cell phone in hand, goose pimples on my arms, called Bobbi and said, 'I'm excited.' Le Mans feels similar to how Indy has been described to me by others, in that you can feel the heritage and importance of the place as soon as you set foot in it."

The 76th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans runs from 9 a.m. ET (3 p.m. local time) Saturday, June 14 to 9 a.m. ET Sunday, June 15 from the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. Forty-two drivers will represent the American Le Mans Series, whose teams have captured seven overall victories and 22 class championships since 1999. SPEED will televise the event live, and Radio Le Mans will have flag-to-flag coverage of the race as well as practice and qualifying on June 11 and 12.

Audi relies on efficiency for Le Mans anniversary

News from Audi Motorsports

INGOLSTADT (June 6, 2008) — On 14/15 June Audi starts for the tenth time in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. For AUDI AG it is much more than just claiming a possible eighth overall victory in the French endurance classic: Quite probably the world’s hardest car race acts as test bench for new technology later used in street cars.

The inventor of TDI engines is currently forcing the development of future generation diesel engines with help from the Audi R10 TDI. At Le Mans Audi has proven that sporting dynamic and efficiency are not necessarily contradictory. The TDI version of the TT and TT Roadster are a logical step from the Le Mans programme. The 500 hp Audi R8 TDI Le Mans is the world’s first Super Sportscar with TDI Power.

Audi lines-up at Le Mans this year for the third time with the R10 TDI which was unveiled at the end of 2005, and scooped the headlines worldwide. The brand with the four rings wrote an important chapter in motorsport history with the first win for a diesel car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi repeated the triumph in 2007. Therefore, on 14/15 June 2008 Audi Sport Team Joest has the chance to do the hat trick – a feat that was already successfully accomplished with the preceding Audi R8 model in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002. "We have seen from the results in both the LMS and ALMS that we can expect one of the most exciting Le Mans race in 2008,” said Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. “The competition is very strong and is preparing itself meticulously for this 24-hour race. This is a huge challenge for us. The main aim is to win the race again. It will probably be the toughest Le Mans race in which we have competed up to now. However, the bigger the challenge the greater the motivation."

Audi relies on efficiency and reliability for its tenth appearance in Le Mans. The Audi R10 TDI, now in its third year of service, is no longer the fastest prototype on the grid – at least over a single lap. However, over the distance Audi Sport Team Joest has a good chance of winning because in Le Mans it’s all about losing as little time as possible in the pits. That the more than 650 hp V12 TDI engine is particularly efficient and economical is well-known. The same goes for the reliability of the R10 TDI: A 30-hour endurance test in April ran without problems. In addition, the car is designed so that it can be repaired in the shortest possible time after collisions or accidents. "Le Mans will certainly be a very, very exciting race,” said . Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest). “Many expect it to be one of the most exciting of the decade. I’m afraid that these people will be right. The main opponent is Peugeot, but there are also other very quick cars. We’ve already had the pleasure of competing against Peugeot in the LMS, and we know that this opponent is very fast. However, we’ve seen in the somewhat shorter LMS races that we were always in-with-a-shout at the end with our marginally slower cars. On this track we have to stay concentrated during the race. If so, then we also have a good chance of winning the race. It is exactly this that is our goal, nothing else."

Team and drivers are tried and trusted: With nine victories to date, the team around Reinhold Joest is the most successful Le Mans team ever. The driver squads are the same as last year and can claim a total of 23 Le Mans victories. Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #1), said "It will be a very tough race – one of the hardest. When you take the LMS races into consideration we have, in Peugeot, a very strong opponent. However, Audi Sport has worked hard and will give everything possible. Even though it’ll be difficult the target is obviously to win Le Mans again. If we manage this, in many ways we’ll have written a historical chapter. Maybe people will still be talking about it in 20, 25 or even 50 years time – like today with the big battles from the seventies."

Audi has already won the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times. If you include the win in 2003 scored by the Bentley Speed 8, which was fitted with an Audi Sport developed TFSI engine, then Audi Technology is unbeaten at Le Mans since 2000. The team under Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich will leave no stone unturned to ensure this remains so.

The schedule at Le Mans

Monday, 9 June
14:30 – 18:00 Technical scrutineering

Tuesday, 10 June
08:30 – 17:00 Technical scrutineering

Wednesday, 11 June
14:00 – 15:00 Meet the Audi Team (Audi Team & Media Hospitality)
19:00 – 21:00 Qualifying 1, part 1
22:00 – 24:00 Qualifying 1, part 2

Thursday, 12 June
14:00 – 15:00 Meet the Audi Team (Audi Team & Media Hospitality)
19:00 – 21:00 Qualifying 2, part 1
22:00 – 24:00 Qualifying 2, part 2

Friday, 13 June
14:00 – 15:00 Audi Press Conference (Audi Racing Arena)
18:00 – 19:00 Driver Parade

Saturday, 14 June
09:00 – 09:45 Warm-up
15:00 Start

Sunday, 15 June
15:00 Finish