Allan McNish
Jos Menten
Lola
Zytek
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Allan McNish
Allan McNish became the first Briton to drive a diesel engined sportscar to victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours today (15 June) when the Scotsman's Audi scored an emotional and hugely popular win.
The victory earned the 38-year-old Scotsman his second Le Mans career win -- 10 years after his previous triumph in the French classic -- and the German manufacturer's eighth victory since their debut in 1999.
McNish, co-driven by Italian Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen, the Dane chalking up a record eighth Le Mans win, swept their weather-stained Audi R10 TDI home over four minutes ahead of the second-placed car having completed 381-laps, 3,227 miles at an average speed of 149.34mph.
"I'm overjoyed to have finally won the Le Mans 24 Hours for Audi," said an ecstatic McNish. "I've come very close on numerous occasions in the past but despite fierce opposition from start to finish, some of the most demanding and difficult track conditions I've ever raced in, and totally unpredictable weather, I've finally done it".
Their success, in front of a record crowd of 258,000 -- including an estimated 70,000 British fans -- came despite a late scare when Kristensen was hit causing a spin with two hours remaining and changeable weather conditions causing a slippery track surface in the last hour which combined to make it a classic event.
The 76th Le Mans 24 Hours featured 55-cars battling for honours around the 8.47-mile circuit comprising of closed public roads and unfolded, as predicted by McNish, in to a twice-around-the-clock dogfight.
Dumfries-born McNish started his Audi fourth on the grid but grabbed the lead after 2.5 hours when the leading Peugeots were delayed with problems. Capello slipped to second on four hours then to third an hour later but Kristensen was back up to second place on seven hours.
A rain shower after 13 hours handed the initiative back to Audi with Kristensen sweeping into the lead an hour later, the Dane handing over to McNish just after 6am with a lead of 30secs over the Marc Gene/Nick Minassian/Jacques Villeneuve Peugeot, with light rain still falling.
With six hours to run and the rain falling harder, McNish led by two minutes, further stints by Capello and Kristensen enabled the Briton to chalk up a deserved win in arguably the world's toughest motor race.
Allan added: "I decided not to take risks at the start and was happy to follow the Peugeots. But after just over two hours, they encountered problems of varying degrees.
"The track was treacherous in the rain -- greasy and slippery -- like driving on ice. Thankfully the car was very sure-footed but driving in those conditions for over three hours required 100% concentration because if you made the slightest mistake, you just didn't go wide, you went off the track and out of the race.
"I then had to endure a nail biting three hours watching in the pits as Tom not only battled to keep the Peugeot behind but the weather elements too. My heart missed a beat when he was turned around by a backmarker which thankfully didn't cause any damage."
Youngsters Lucas Luhr (D), Alexandre Premat (F) and Mike Rockenfeller (D) were in contention for a podium finish until shortly before the end having occupied third place. In the penultimate hour of the race, however, the oil filter of their V12 TDI engine had to be changed and ultimately they finished fourth.
The Audi R10 TDI of 2006 & '07 Le Mans winners Frank Biela (D), Emanuele Pirro (I) and Marco Werner (D) started seventh and finished sixth despite a clutch change following a spin on Sunday morning -- the subsequent re-start in second gear causing the damage.
All three Audi R10 TDI prototypes were racing for the first time with the next generation of Biofuel. Biomass to Liquids (BTL) has now been blended into the Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel that Audi has used to win the annual French endurance race for the past two years (2006 & '07). This year's race marks the first time a second-generation biofuel has been used in the Le Mans race. Shell V-Power Diesel also includes synthetic GTL (Gas to Liquids) Fuel made by Shell from natural gas, which provides very clean and efficient combustion.
Jos Menten
After the difficult qualifying sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, the sun finally started to shine down on Team Modena on Saturday morning. But for the warm-up the British team still had a surprise up their sleeve for the drivers. A self developed aerodynamic pack and a more powerful engine should give Jos Menten, Christian Fittipaldi and Terry Borcheller wings. The revamped Aston Martin DBR9 immediately leaves a good impression, with Menten registering a fifth time in LMGT1 - just behind the works cars.
"The car feels perfect. The new rear wing gives less downforce, reducing the fuel consumption. Our race engine is somewhat more thirsty, but if we drive sensibly we should be able to save a full lap per stint", an optimistic Jos Menten comments just after the warm-up. The Team Modena- drivers are all tensed up awaiting the start of the 76th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, being flagged off exceptionally this year at 15:00hrs. The Brazilian driver, Christian Fittipaldi is at the wheel for the start of the endurance race.
Fittipaldi takes a good start and finds himself up with the leading pack. Some 50 minutes later the former F1-driver enters the pits, for the first scheduled pit stop, handing over the drive to Terry Borcheller. The American accomplishes his task perfectly and after a double relay hands the car over to Jos Menten. The Flying Dutchman puts in a couple of fast laps and battles for fifth spot, just behind the works cars. Unfortunately a flat left rear tyre makes him lose half a lap. After this unplanned pit stop the British car finds itself back in sixth place in its class, one and a half laps down on the Luc Alphand Corvette C6.R.
On the dot of 18:30hrs Fittipaldi once again climbs into the Aston Martin DBR9 bearing number 59. The drivers of the High Wycombe based team are definitely back in the groove. Following on from faultless and constant stints from both Fittipaldi and Borcheller it is once more the turn of the young Dutchman from Limburg to take to track: "During my last lap I checked to see what life was left in the tyres, and the outcome was a best time. We know that we still have a margin, and if necessary we can put in an attack later on."
Menten keeps to his word, because a little bit later the lead of the LAA #72 melts like snow in the sun. The Dutchman is lapping on average some seven seconds faster than his immediate competitor: "The car is perfect. Even after 10 hours of hard racing the Aston is handling perfectly. If we keep up this rhythm we should be breathing down on the rear wing of Alphand and co by 04:00hrs", Jos Menten told us after his third double stint.
But the claw back doesn't work out as planned. At around 04:00hrs a rain storm throws a spanner in the works and Fittipaldi is forced to come into the pits with a damaged gearbox. Repairs hold the car up for roughly two hours: "We then went back out with the Olympic spirit in the back of our minds. Achieving a top-five ranking in the class was out of the question, but all in all it is great to take the chequered flag in such a heavy wear and tear race as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team did everything they could to provide us with an ideal car. These last few weeks they have all worked extremely hard and it's a great pity that this result doesn't reflect our true potential. When you compare our laps times with those of the competition amongst the privateers you soon realise that in no way were we the underdogs. Nevertheless it was a great honour that I could drive the Aston under the chequered flag", a visibly disappointed Jos Menten remarks after the finish of this magical endurance race in La Sarthe.
Lola teams were competitive but in the end, had little luck
Lola
A landmark occasion for Lola Cars at the Le Mans 24 Hours
Charouz Racing System Lola-Aston Martin finishes 9th overall
Lola LMP2 Quifel-ASM Team finish class in 4th position
The 76th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours (14 / 15 June) provided Lola cars with a fitting occasion to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. During the build up to this year's race, Lola Cars landmark achievement was honoured when company owner and Executive Chairman, Martin Birrane received the prestigious 'Spirit of Le Mans' trophy. Off track tributes to Lola's golden anniversary also saw Great Britain's longest-serving manufacturer of racing cars featured as the central theme of the official parade, which took place in the town centre of Le Mans on the Friday before the race. On track, a grand total of seven entries; three in the LMP1 class and four entries in the LMP2 entries took the start of the world's toughest endurance race. This was the marque's largest entry since 1979.
All eyes were on the Charouz Racing System Lola-Aston Martin, which finished Thursday's qualifying session in 6th position to claim the highest place for a petrol powered entry and in so doing beating one of the Audi R10 diesel sportscars. The sleek Lola Coupe design took its impressive qualifying performance in to the race with Stefan Mucke lapping quickly in the opening hour. Holding 6th place in the early stages, the German handed over to Jan Charouz who suffered the misfortune of an accident early in his first stint at the Dunlop chicane.
The young Czech Republic driver managed to get the badly damaged Lola B08/60 Coupe to the pits where it lost significant time during repairs. Some terrific work by the Charouz team ensured that a tenacious fight back took place and by the chequered flag the blue and white Lola LMP1 Coupe finished a fighting 9th overall, in what was its first ever appearance at the 24 Heures Du Mans.
Also taking the chequered flag at 15.00 hrs on Sunday afternoon was the Quifel-ASM Lola of Guy Smith, Miguel Amaral and Olivier Pla. The AER engined Lola encountered paddle shift problems during the race but the well drilled ASM squad reverted to a manual shift system. This meant that the car fell back to 4th in the LMP2 class but the experience of former winner Smith paid off and the team demonstrated their resilience to hold on to the position for their first Le Mans 24 Hours finish in three attempts.
Undoubtedly the only challenger to the Porsche LMP2 Spyder on pace throughout the weekend was the all-new Lola B08/80 LMP2 Coupe of Speedy Racing Team Sebah. The Judd powered car was in a comfortable 3rd place in LMP2 after a relatively trouble free first half of the race, with only a puncture and some electrical issues hindering its rapid progress. At 04:30 hrs the rain was making the track conditions very tricky. With the greasy surface, Xavier Pompidou lost control of the Lola Coupe and crashed at Indianapolis corner. The 33 year-old managed to limp back to the pits but the car stopped just where the pit-lane leaves the main circuit.
Just after this the Corvette Racing C6.R driven by Johnny O'Connell tried to come into the pits, but failed to avoid the Speedy Racing Team Sebah. The Anglo-Swiss team finally made it to the pits, but the LMP2 Coupe's courageous assault of the Le Mans 24 Hours was over after the engine was damaged in the attempts to get the car back to the pit lane, having completed a thrilling 194 laps around the 8.72 miles circuit.
Additional Lola runners who encountered race ending problems included the Kruse Schiller Mazda Lola (lap 147 - transmission problem), Charouz Racing (Cytosport) Lola-Judd (lap 146 - engine failure), RML entered Lola-MG (lap 100 – accident damage), and Chamberlain Synergy (lap 87 - engine).
The Audi Sport team with drivers Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello were the overall winner's of the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours. Lola sportscars will next be in action in Europe at the Nurburgring 1000kms on August 17.In the US, the next American Le Mans Series event takes place at Lime Rock on July 12th.
Zytek
Fifth place in the LMP2 class of this year's Le Mans 24-hours was the best result for the three Zytek ZG348-engined contenders. Two of them ran as high as third in the early stages. However, the trio suffered a troubled race with only the Barazi-Epsilon Zytek 07S making it to the finish. The Trading Performance 07S, which last year was the class of the LMP2 category eventually finishing second, crashed out early in the event. The Zytek-engined Embassy WF01 had an accident much later in the race, which also brought an end to what had been a promising start.
32 Barazi-Epsilon Zytek-Zytek 07S (Juan Barazi/Michael Vergers/Stuart Moseley)
5th in LMP2 (304 Laps)
The Barazi-Epsilon Zytek 07S which qualified third in the LMP2 class was holding that position at the end of the second hour. However, the car fell back, initially with a clutch issue. Then, in the eighth hour, a fuel pressure problem halted it at the Corvette Curves. By the time driver Michael Vergers had brought the car back to the pits it had dropped out of contention.
In the early hours of the morning the car suffered rear suspension damage. Thankfully this happened as the car was exiting the Porsche Curves and Michael, who was again at the wheel, was easily able to bring the car back into the pits. The car fell further back as the suspension was replaced.
When the rain started Stuart Moseley was on a triple stint. "The car went pretty well in the wet," he reported. During this period he was able to make up a lot of ground on the competition, although unable to gain any places. The team's woes continued in the closing hours with a puncture on the Mulsanne Straight when Stuart was again at the wheel. Juan Barazi then took over. However, a coming together with the leading Audi at the Dunlop Curves with less than three hours to go meant more bodywork replacement.
41 Trading Performance Zytek-Zytek 07S (Karim Ojjeh/Claude-Yves Gosselin/Adam Sharpe)
Retired (22 laps)
After just 22 laps, the Trading Performance Zytek 07S, driven at the time by Claude-Yves Gosselin, came into contact with an LMP1 Lola at the Ford Chicane. He was forced off the road and out of the race.
45 Embassy-Zytek WF01 (Warren Hughes/Jonny Kane/Joey Foster)
Retired (213 laps)
The Zytek-engined Embassy WF01 was well up in the LMP2 class during the early hours of the race, running as high as third at the end of the first hour. However, a number of issues had dropped it down to sixth in class. These included a starter motor problem and damage to the right hand side of the car and radiator caused by debris following a Peugeot accident.
The Embassy WF01 moved up a place in class after midnight despite various electrical gremlins. At around 6.00pm Joey Foster brushed the Armco and the car had to be brought in to for nose damage to be repaired. The opportunity was taken to change the battery and alternator and fix the clutch. However, around 45 minutes later, with Joey still at the wheel, the car was pitched into the barriers at the second chicane on the Mulsanne. In the never say die spirit of Le Mans he manfully brought the badly damaged car back to the pits but no avail as it had to be retired.