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AP Photo/ David Vincent
Circuit de la Sarthe, FRANCE- French auto manufacturer Peugeot made its country proud last weekend winning the legendary Le Mans 24 hour endurance race for the first time in sixteen years. What was expected to be a close battle between the top LMP1 class challengers turned into a route as the French manufacturer team claimed the top two steps of the podium. Audi, the dominant force in the race’s recent history, was able to salvage third place, six laps down from the leaders.
David Brabham, Alex Wurz and Marc Gené drove the #9 car 382 laps around the 8.5 mile Sarthe circuit in flawless fashion to claim P1 and a spot in the history books of motor racing. All three drivers have experience in Formula 1, showcasing the rare driving talent it takes to compete in the championship series long considered racing’s highest echelon. In second place was the all French lineup of Sebastien Bourdais, current F1 driver, Franck Montagny, ex F1 driver and Stéphane Sarrazin.
Last year’s Le Mans race proved Peugeot had the speed to challenge Audi and its diesel engine expertise. However, race strategy proved to be the deciding factor and Audi gained the upper hand. Fate would not be so kind in 2009 for the Germans; the acclaimed R15TDI was never in a position to win. Accidents and mechanical troubles would spell their defeat. Alexandre Premat began the team’s series of woeful blunders by spinning the #3 into the tire barriers shortly after the start. Allan McNish later pitted the #1 with a damaged front end. Lucas Luhr crashed the #2 to forfeit third position about eight hours into the race. The team would deal with mechanical problems in its cars including a faulty steering wheel, overheated turbo, broken ECU and ultimately a damaged ego.
Peugeot suffered its share of setbacks as well. Not long after the start, the #7 factory car was exiting the pits as the #17 Pescarolo Peugeot was entering its stall just ahead. A collision ensued, later causing the #7 car to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix a tire, damaged bodywork and other mechanical issues. Late into the night, it was the #17 Pescarolo who made an unscheduled pit stop- while being towed by a flat bed. The car was left in shambles after a huge crash with Benoit Treluyer at the wheel. He was lucky to escape serious injury as the car snapped sideways into a tire barrier at high speed. The cause of the shunt is still unclear, but may have had to do with a faulty nosecone which had just been fitted prior to the incident.
In the LMP2 class, it was Porsche, the undisputed champions of Le Mans, who took victory. Porsche, with more wins at the fabled race than any other car manufacturer in history, was able to stave off the competition from the Lola Judd with its RS Spyder to add the German marquee to the winner’s list.
The GT1 class saw the works Chevrolet team take the number one spot in what may be the last major victory of the factory C6.R Corvette, known for its winning history. Its privately entered counterpart finished second, followed by an Aston Martin DBR9.
Risi Competizione of the American Le Mans Series took top honors in GT2 in what would be a great race for Ferrari. Porsche was a no show as the Italian cars swept the field, despite the Porsche of Flying Lizard qualifying on pole. The Spyker team from Holland, proving just how difficult Le Mans can be, recorded their first finish ever with sixth place in class after ten previous attempts.
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