3 Hours
6 Hours
9 Hours
12 Hours
15 Hours
18 Hours
21 Hours
24 Hours
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3 Hours
Team Peugeot Total has pulled clear at the top of the provisional leaderboard and fills the top-two places with the No8 and No9 908 HDi FAPs after the first three hours of racing. Their closest challenger (No1) is almost two minutes down. Peugeot runners even monopolised the provisional podium for the early part of the race. However, damage resulting from an unfortunate tangle between the No7 and No17 cars saw it lose almost half an hour and drop to the back of the leaderboard. The No7 Peugeot is nonetheless currently accredited with the fastest race lap (Lap 2).
Observations:
Franck Montagny leads the field away in the pole-winning No8 Peugeot and shrugs off pressure from No1 Audi through first corners to pull clear. Lamy then passes McNish down Hunaudi?res to take 2nd. On Lap 2, Wurz in turn passes the best-placed Audi. Just five minutes into the race, Team Peugeot Total monopolises the top three and pulls gradually clear. Lamy establishes a benchmark fastest race lap (3m25.028s, Lap 2).
The first round of stops turns this initial order on its head, however, when the No17 car hits the No7 Peugeot as the latter is pulling away. Lamy's car suffers rear-left damage but has to complete a full lap until it can pit again for repairs. Almost 5 mins lost on that lap. Debris from his car prompts the safety cars to be released.
The combination of pit-stops and positions of the safety cars sees No8 emerge with a lead of 1? mins over two Audis when action resumes some 15 mins later. Gen? (No9) is 6th, but regains 4th after Lap 19. No7 rejoins 26 mins after pitting (Minassian) in 51st place after repairs (rear-left corner, flat bottom, crash box, left-hand oil radiator, turbo, particulate filter, left sidepod). No9 moves to 3rd after 4.30pm pit stops, and gets past the No2 into 2nd place on Lap 31. Peugeot 1st and 2nd at 2-hour mark.
The two best-placed Peugeots (No8, No9) profit from the third hour to pull clear and are respectively 2m30s and 22s clear of their closest chasers at 6pm. The No7 car has meanwhile moved up from 51st to 31st place.
Quotes:
Olivier Quesnel (Director, Peugeot Sport): "There was a misunderstanding between the No7 car and the No17 car which should have pitted a lap later. We asked Pedro to stop but he didn't hear and he had to complete a full lap with the car very badly damaged at the rear."
6 Hours
The strong run of the No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP came to halt when the Sarrazin/Montagny/Bourdais car was forced to pit for a disc bell problem which has dropped it to sixth place with a quarter of the race completed Its place at the top of the order has been snapped up by the No.9 sister car (Gene/Wurz/Brabham) which is more than 40 seconds clear of the best-placed non-Peugeot runner.
The No.7 car (Minassian/Lamy/Klien) has carved its way back to 17th.
Pit stops and incidents:
No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Nicolas Minassian / Pedro Lamy / Christian Klien):
18.20: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Driver change: Klien takes over from Minassian.
19.05: pit-stop (fuel).
19.40: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Driver change: Lamy takes over from Klien.
20.31: pit-stop (fuel)
No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Stephane Sarrazin / Franck Montagny / Sebastien Bourdais):
18.05: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Driver change: Sarrazin takes over from Montagny
18:49: pit-stop (fuel)
19:32: pit-stop (fuel)
19.40: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Driver change: Bourdais takes over from Sarrazin.
20.34: pit-stop (fuel)
22:46: pit-stop (fuel, tyres and repairs).9m 26s spent in pits. Rejoins at 20:55.
No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Marc Gene / Alexander Wurz / David Brabham):
18.05: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Driver change: Brabham takes over from Gene
18:48: pit-stop (fuel)
19:31: pit-stop (fuel)
19:40: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Driver change: Wurz takes over from Brabham
20.30: pit-stop (fuel)
Observations:
Shortly after the 3-hour mark, Montagny hands over No.8 car to Sarrazin after driving since starting from pole position at 3pm. During his remarkable stint, the Frenchman completed 50 laps and built up a lead of 2½ minutes over the No.9 car, extending his advantage over the best-placed non-Peugeot to almost 3 minutes! Shortly before 7.30pm, the No.8 car passes the 1,000km mark with Sarrazin at the wheel, making the leading car's average speed since the start approximately 225kph. The No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP continues to tail its sister car in second place with Brabham at the helm. Meanwhile, the No.7 car (now with Klien in control) makes regular progress to recover a place in the top-20 after falling back to 51st overall shortly after the start. Soon afterwards, at 7.40pm, the safety cars are sent out again, and the team quickly revises its strategy and all three Peugeots see a driver change. When the safety car goes back in, it leaves No.8 car (now with Bourdais onboard) a full lap clear of the No.9 (Wurz).
Shortly before quarter distance, however, the No.8 car makes an unscheduled stop for a rear-left disc bell problem (centring studs). No.9 inherits the lead, while the early pace-setter spends 9½ mins in pits and falls to sixth.
Quotes:
Franck Montagny (No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP):
"I kicked off the race with a quadruple stint, which means I was in the car for a little more than three hours. That's a long time, not to mention the long, anxious minutes during the build-up to the start! It was a close-run thing at the start with McNish. I even think he crossed the line before me. The track was dirty to begin with and it wasn't easy. The safety car enabled us to pull a minute clear and, after that, I pushed as hard as I could to try to gain another minute. I'm exhausted."
David Brabham (No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP):
"I tried to keep it as consistent as possible, and I took it especially cautiously through the traffic. Our car is running fine, and I had no real issues. It would have been nice to carry on a bit longer but the tactical thing has to be done. If that means handing over to someone else, you hand over to someone else."
Bruno Famin (Technical Director, Peugeot Sport):
"The No.8 car had a problem with the rear-left disc bell, but Sebastien was able to make it back to the pits. Everything is OK now. Despite the traffic, the No.9 car is putting in a good, consistent run."
9 Hours
After nine hours of racing, and with the French circuit now well and truly engulfed in darkness, Peugeot continues to lead the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours, while the front-running No.9908 HDi FAP passed the 2,000km threshold on the stroke of midnight! The No.9 car is currently a lap clear of the most threatening Audi (No.1), and the No.8 car has also recovered a place on the podium after relinquishing the lead shortly before 9pm. The Pescarolo-run Peugeot (No.17) is running well in fourth place, and the No.7 Team Peugeot Total car is back in the top-10 again after falling back to 51st spot at the beginning of the race. Minassian (No.7) established a new fastest race lap (3m24.628s)
Pit stops and incidents:
No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Nicolas Minassian / Pedro Lamy / Christian Klien):
21.14: pit-stop (fuel)
21.56: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Minassian takes over from Lamy
22.40: pit-stop (fuel)
23.23: pits-top (fuel)
No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Stephane Sarrazin / Franck Montagny / Sebastien Bourdais):
21.41: pit-stop (fuel).
22.27: pit-stop (fuel)
23.12: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Montagny takes over from Bourdais. The stop takes 3m42s when a front cover change proved difficult.
23.59: pit-stop (fuel)
No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Marc Gene / Alexander Wurz / David Brabham):
21.14: pit-stop (fuel)
21.56: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). GeNo. takes over from Wurz
22:39: pit-stop (fuel)
23.23: pit-stop (fuel)
Observations:
The second quarter of the race began with the No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP in the lead, and the early pace- setting No.8 car looking to work its way back towards the sharp end of the leaderboard after falling to 6th due to a mechanical problem. As No.8 gradually gained ground with Bourdais at the wheel, the No.2 Audi crashed out of 3rd place, and out of the race, to give the Frenchman a footing on the provisional podium again at 9.30pm
Just before that, the leading car, driven by Wurz (No.9), completed its 100th lap at 9.11pm. As darkness began to fall over the circuit, the race seemed to be settling into cruise mode, but shortly before 10pm, the No.1 Audi made a long pit-stop (3m20s), enabling No.8 to retrieve second place (one lap down), with the No.17 Pescarolo-run Peugeot tailing the German machine in fourth.
Bourdais' run (3+ hours !) in the No.8 car came to an end at 11.12pm when he pitted to hand over to Montagny, but a lengthy front cover change -- necessitated by a collision with a backmarker -- dropped the all-French crew back down to third.
The No.7 car -- driven by Minassian -- made it back into the top-ten at 11.55pm, with the Frenchman establishing a new fastest race lap of 3m24.628s at 11pm.
Quotes:
Alexander Wurz (No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "I pushed hard to try to pull out a gap over the cars behind me, and then attacked a bit more when the No.8 car's stop handed me the lead. The low setting sun, made visibility quite tough, so I lifted slightly at the end of my triple stint."
Pedro Lamy (No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "We've lost a considerable amount of ground, and that has obviously changed the overall picture for us. The No.7 car is going well, although it did pick up a little understeer towards the end of my run."
Sebastien Bourdais (No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "My first stint was interrupted by a problem at the rear- left corner. After that, I was in a chasing role, which wasn't easy. With all the traffic, overtaking can get a bit delicate in the dark. I hit a GT2 car just before making my last pit-stop. It's a shame, because the No.8 car is going well."
12 Hours
With half of the race and 196 laps already covered, three Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs figure inside the provisional top-four. After inheriting top spot six hours previously, the No9 car (Gene/Wurz/Brabham) leads, more than two minutes clear of the No1 Audi. The No8 car (Bourdais/Montagny/Sarrazin) and the No17 Pescarolo-run 908 (Boullion/Pagenaud/Treluyer) are third and fourth respectively. After falling to 51st place following its pit-lane tangle shortly after the start, the No7 Peugeot (Klien/Lamy/Minassian) is up to seventh overall. (Conditions: clear. 22C 19C)
Pit stops and incidents:
No7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Nicolas Minassian / Pedro Lamy / Christian Klien):
00.06: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Klien takes over from Minassian. Front splitter change.
00.51: pit-stop (fuel)
01.34: pit-stop (fuel and tyres)
02.18: pit-stop (fuel)
No8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Stephane Sarrazin / Franck Montagny / Sebastien Bourdais):
00.41: pit-stop (fuel)
01.28: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Sarrazin takes over from Montagny
02.10: pit-stop (fuel)
02.50: pit-stop (fuel)
No9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Marc Gene / Alexander Wurz / David Brabham):
00.01: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Brabham takes over from Gene
00.44: pit-stop (fuel)
01.27: pit-stop (fuel)
02:10: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Wurz takes over from Brabham
02.53: pit-stop (fuel)
Observations:
Having taken over behind the wheel of No8 just before midnight, Montagny posts a series of ultra-quick laps (including a best for the car so far: 3m24.844s) and is less than 20s of the 2nd-placed Audi (No1) at the end of his first stint (0.40am). A little less than an hour later, he hands over to Sarrazin who also puts in a sequence of fast times to narrow the gap down to less than 10s (6.116s at exactly 2pm).
The No9 Peugeot, now with Brabham onboard, still tops the leaderboard, with the Pescarolo-run 908 HDi FAP providing rearguard cover for the French firm in 4th place. No7 keeps on picking off the LMP1 cars and Klien passes Oreca No11 to claim 8th just after the race tips into its 12th hour, and ultimately takes 7th at the race's mid-point.
The final hour before the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours' mid-distance continues with Sarrazin closing to within 5s of McNish in the No1 Audi, then 1.344s as the two cars cross the line for the 181st time (2.07am). Onboard camera footage follows the thrilling battle between the two cars on the next lap before Sarrazin pits. Half an hour later, it's the Audi's turn to pit and Sarrazin's constant pushing enables him to maintain the pressure as the German car rejoins. Perhaps a triple stint will give the Frenchman the edge...
Quotes:
Nicolas Minassian (No7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "It's going well... and not so well. I felt comfortable in the car, but it was tough being eliminated from the fight for first place barely an hour into the race. The main thing, though, is that the leading car is a Peugeot. Team Peugeot Total deserves to be in front. I have so much respect for this team."
Franck Montagny (No8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "It's not so good being the chaser. I don't enjoy pushing my car so hard and the last thing I want is to tangle with another car, especially since we haven't yet reached the halfway point."
David Brabham (No9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "So far so good. We're doing exactly what we wanted and my car handled really well. I didn't feel under any particular pressure from behind. Maintaining the gap wasn't a problem and that's the target."
Olivier Quesnel (Director, Peugeot Sport): "Halfway into the race, there are three Peugeots in the top-4. There's just one Audi splitting us, and that's the best one; the one that has a habit of winning... We intend to let No9 defend its lead without taking any undue risks, with No8 pushing to take 2nd spot, which would give us a little security with two cars in front. And No17 is there providing cover...
15 Hours
The first three-hour period following the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours' midpoint was marked by two lengthy safety car interventions, but that didn't prevent the No.8 car from passing the best-placed Audi to put two Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs at the top of the provisional leaderboard with nine hours of racing remaining. The No.7 sister car (11th) saw its fight-back stemmed when it was forced to spend a significant chunk of time (three separate stops) in the Peugeot pits for a variety of mechanical problems. Last but not least, the No.17 Pescarolo 908 crashed out spectacularly shortly after 4am.
(Conditions: clear.19o.C 18o.C)
Pit stops and incidents:
No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Nicolas Minassian / Pedro Lamy / Christian Klien):
03.02: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Lamy takes over from Klien. Front cover change.10 mins approximately.
03.26: pit-stop (fuel, flat bottom change, front section)
03.45: pit-stop (front-right corner assembly changed following broken suspension joint)
04.16: pit-stop (pedal box change) leaves at 04.24
05.05: pit-stop (fuel)
No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Stephane Sarrazin / Franck Montagny / Sebastien Bourdais):
03.33: pit-stop (fuel and tyres. Bourdais takes over from Sarrazin
04.06: pit-stop (fuel)
05.07: pit-stop (fuel and windscreen-wiper change)
No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Marc Gene / Alexander Wurz / David Brabham):
03.37: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Gene takes over from Wurz
04.09: pit-stop (fuel and tyres)
05.13: pit-stop (fuel and tyres)
Observations:
The second half of the race begins with the leading Peugeot (No.9) completing its 200th lap (at 3.13am), and with the No.8 sister car recovering 2nd place at 3.20am when Audi No.1 spends time in its garage. This puts two 908 HDi FAPs back on top.
Shortly afterwards, No.7's comeback takes a blow when Lamy is forced to pit twice in succession, first to change the front section of its flat bottom which had been rubbing against the ground, and then to change a broken suspension joint. It rejoins in 12th place.
The leading Peugeot (No.9) picks up a slow puncture and pits ahead of schedule for a driver/tyre change (Gene taking over from Wurz), but without its lead coming under threat.
Practically on the stroke of 4am, the No.17 Pescarolo Peugeot crashes heavily with Benoît Treluyer inside. Given the extent of the damage, the safety car is called out, but reports concerning Treluyer's health are encouraging. The No.7 makes another long stop, this time for a pedal box change, and falls back to 13th. When the safety cars peel off after 45 mins, Peugeot No.9 leads the No.8 car by 1½ mins, with the best-placed Audi (No.1) a lap down.
15 mins later, the safety car is sent out again, this time because of oil on the track. It stays out another 37 minutes, so there is little change to the leaderboard, although No.7 eases its way back to 11th and No.8 loses practically 1½ mins to the leader while it is out. With Bourdais at the wheel, the Sarrazin/Montagny/Bourdais machine nonetheless succeeds in pulling a further lap clear of Audi No.1 which it passes down the Hunaduières straight on its 236th lap (5.54am).
Quotes:
Alexander Wurz (No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "Everything was going well, but I picked up a slow puncture and I had to come in early, so the team put Marc Gene in the car. It is handling well, although I was starting to get some oversteer, so I tried to keep my driving smooth in order to look after my rear tyres. I was also a bit unlucky with the traffic, but that can happen here at Le Mans."
18 Hours
With a quarter of the race remaining, the No.9 and No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs continue to sit in first and second places respectively. Their closest chaser is still the No.1 Audi which is two laps down, but close enough to prevent the leading duo from easing off in any way. The relative coolness of the early morning produced several quick times from the front-runners, with Nicolas Minassian twice improving the fastest race lap in the course of the past three hours in the No.7 Peugeot (9th). (Conditions: bright and sunny, with increasing cloud cover. 18C)
Pit stops and incidents:
No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Nicolas Minassian / Pedro Lamy / Christian Klien):
06.13: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Minassian takes over from Lamy.
06.56: pit-stop (fuel)
07.39: pit-stop (fuel and tyres)
08.22: pit-stop (fuel)
No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Stephane Sarrazin / Franck Montagny / Sebastien Bourdais):
06.17: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Montagny takes over from Bourdais
07.04: pit-stop (fuel)
07.50: pit-stop (fuel)
08.37: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Sarrazin takes over from Montagny.
No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Marc Gene / Alexander Wurz / David Brabham):
06.15: pit-stop (fuel)
06.58: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Brabham takes over from Gene.
07.42: pit-stop (fuel)
08.25: pit-stop (fuel)
Observations:
As the sun rises over Le Mans, all three Team Peugeot Total cars pit a quarter of an hour after the 15-hour mark. Gene takes fuel and stays in the front-running No.9, Montagny takes over from a frustrated Bourdais (whose 2-hour stint saw him spend practically half that time behind a safety car), while the equally- frustrated Lamy (who spent a great deal of his night run in the pits for various repairs) hands over to Minassian who promptly establishes a new fastest race lap at 6.35am (3m24.512s). The race then settles into a rhythm as the No.8 Peugeot chips away at the No.9 car's lead, while the No.7 machine eases back into the top-10 as Minassian again improves on his own fastest race lap (3m24.352s) at 8.06am.
Quotes:
Marc Gene (No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "I spent much of the early part of my run behind the safety car, and the last stint was quite difficult because I was unsighted by the rising sun in certain places. Sure, we are in the lead with the No.9 car, but our cushion isn't that big, and there's still a long way to go..."
Franck Montagny (No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "My run was fine, Peugeot is first and second, and hope it stays that way. My car is going well and the early morning is a magical time to be on the track. That said, I didn't profit from it much because I couldn't see a great deal. There was oil in my line of sight on my windscreen and, with the low sun making matters worse, I was practically in automatic pilot mode..."
Olivier Quesnel (Director, Peugeot Sport): "The night went well for Team Peugeot Total, but the hardest part of the race is perhaps still to come. The safety car interventions enabled us to spare the cars, but Audi is still just behind us, forcing us to keep up a strong pace. We've got to keep it together... and hopefully cross the line in first position."
21 Hours
At midday, with only three hours of racing remaining laps, the two front-running Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs now enjoy a cushion of seven laps after the No.1 Audi spent almost 15 minutes in its pits. The No.9 Peugeot in the hands of Gene/Wurz/Brabham continues to represent Team Peugeot Total's best chances of victory, with the No.8 sister car (Sarrazin/Montagny/Bourdais) providing rearguard support in second place. The No.7 car of Minassian/Lamy/Klien has patiently worked its way back up the order following its spate of problems in the early hours of the morning and is up to sixth overall. (Conditions: bright and sunny, with increasing cloud cover, and even a few drops of rain. 18C/21C)
Pit stops and incidents:
No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Nicolas Minassian / Pedro Lamy / Christian Klien):
09.04: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Klien takes over from Minassian.
09.37: pit-stop (fuel)
10.28: pit-stop (fuel)
11.11. pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Lamy takes over from Klien
11.54: pit-stop (fuel)
No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Stephane Sarrazin / Franck Montagny / Sebastien Bourdais):
09.24: pit-stop (fuel)
09.40: pit-stop (fuel and tyres)
10.33: pit-stop (fuel)
11.19: pit-stop (fuel)
11.59: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Bourdais takes over from Sarrazin
No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Marc Gene / Alexander Wurz / David Brabham):
09.09: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Wurz takes over from Brabham.
09.44: pit-stop (fuel and tyres)
10.32: pit-stop (fuel)
11.14: pit-stop (fuel)
11.58: pit-stop (fuel and tyres). Gene takes over from Wurz
Observations:
The early morning picture essentially continues, with the No.9 and No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs still running first and second at the top of the order, and the No.7 car figuring just inside the top-10 as its drivers evaluate various solutions with a view to helping the two front-runners. Slowly but surely it picks its way up the leaderboard and is sixth at midday.
At 9.20am, the leading car (Peugeot No.9) reaches the 4000km mark (293 laps) Another crash (Aston Martin) at 9.36am prompts another safety car period and a round of unscheduled pit- stops to make full use of the neutralisation. Green flags are shown again at 9.53am, and battle resumes. The gap behind the top three (two Peugeots and chasing Audi) seems to have stabilized at around the 1m40s/1m50s mark, when the rumour breaks that rain is expected at around 11am...
Shortly before this time, at 10.45, the No.1 Audi passes the No.8 Peugeot to 'un-lap' itself. Three minutes later, rain is announced at Tertre Rouge and teams begin to prepare rain tyres, just in case. As the tension mounts, Sarrazin puts in a "quintuple" (4,5) stint in the No.8 car. Two unscheduled pit-stops (one very long) totalling almost a quarter of an hour for the No.1 Audi in the half- hours before midday will have taken some of the pressure off the two leading Peugeots.
Quotes:
David Brabham (No.9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "I basically just did what I was told to do, i.e. save the car, keep to a given pace and keep it clean. All the way from the start we've essentially stuck to a given plan." Nicolas Minassian (No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "My team-mates and I were obviously cruelly disappointment when our car was hit and we dropped out of contention very early on. But that's behind us, and our car is now essentially a laboratory car, validating solutions that might help the other two Peugeots. That's actually quite stimulating. It's true that I posted some quick times earlier this morning, but I've just been trying to keep to my own pace. It's my way of staying focused. Whenever I think that the team might just win this, it brings me out in goose pimples..."
Christian Klien (No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "That wasn't a bad stint, and the balance of the No.7 car is perfect. My tyres were very consistent, too, but my windscreen was quite dirty and there were few places where there was a little rain. We need to keep up this sort of pace to the finish."
24 Hours
Today saw Team Peugeot Total secure its first victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours with the diesel-powered 908 HDi FAP which contested the French endurance classic for the first time two years ago in 2007. This afternoon's result also takes the firm's Le Mans score to three wins following its previous triumphs in 1992 and 1993. The Peugeot squad monopolised the top-two places overall in this year's contest. And, with the exception of a short instant early in the race on Saturday afternoon, it led from flag to flag; initially with the No.8 car of Sarrazin/Montagny/Bourdais, then with the No.9 car (Gene/Wurz/Brabham) which inherited top spot just ahead of the five- hour mark, before going on to defend its advantage until the finish. The No.7 car (Minassian/Lamy/Klien) rounded off Peugeot's weekend by completing this year's thrilling Le Mans clash in sixth spot after collecting a series of minor setbacks during the night.
Peugeot Sport Director, Olivier Quesnel: "Before the start, I used a French cycling analogy to describe the crew of the No.8 car as 'sprinters', the No.7 crew as 'road sprinters' and the No.9 drivers as 'warriors'. Today, it was the 'warriors' who won. I really sense that the public and Automobiles Peugeot wanted this result. We faced a huge challenge and we succeeded in rising to it. We were here as challengers, and our mission was to try to topple the favourites. And that is exactly what we did, essentially by steering clear of the different potential pitfalls in our path. It turned out to be a terrific race, and Peugeot Sport is a truly magnificent team. I am so proud of all the people who were involved in this project. This win is Peugeot Sport's win."
The No.9 Peugeot's distinctly international line-up of Spaniard Marc Gene, Australia's David Brabham and Austrian driver Alexander Wurz owed their victory to a trouble-free run which saw them take over at the top when the other two 908 HDi FAPs were delayed during the first quarter of the race. After that, the experienced trio focused on driving as quickly and as consistently as possible in order to push home their advantage and force their rivals to do all the chasing...
"It's such a great feeling to have won," beamed David Brabham for whom victory comes at his 16th attempt and whose brother Geoff formed part of Peugeot's winning trio back in 1993. "Peugeot Sport did a tremendous job; they really did. It's a great team, they gave us a 100 per cent reliable car and the three of us drove a faultless race."
Alexander Wurz, the youngest driver ever to win the endurance classic (1996), notched up his second success in La Sarthe today: "What made the difference? The fact that we kept it on the track without picking up any damage. We also had a great team behind us, and a phenomenal car. It's a fantastic feeling to have won in France in a French car." "To have won a race this big is the best thing that has ever happened to me," concluded Marc Gene. "I've never experienced anything like it. It really is a very emotional moment for me."
The early pace was in fact set by the all-French crew sharing the No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, thanks initially to an assertive, quadruple opening stint from Franck Montagny who powered away from pole position before spending three hours building up a handsome cushion at the hottest moment of the race on Saturday afternoon (28o.C). The Frenchman's efforts were then relayed by crew-mate and pole-winner Stephane Sarrazin.
Soon afterwards, however, the No.8 car lost the ground that would later cost it first place and victory when Sebastien Bourdais, the third man in the car, pitted with a broken disc bell. That cost the trio almost 10 minutes in repairs. The Le Mans-born driver then collided with a backmarker, damaging the front of his 908, and the time required to replace the front part of the body cost a further lap. "It's a great day for Peugeot," underlined Sebastien Bourdais. "They have worked so hard for this success and they really deserve it. I have a personal challenge which is to one day win what is my home race. It was a close-run thing this year, but I will be back until I succeed!"
"Franck, Sebastien and I are all obviously disappointed not to have won, but how can I not be happy for the team which wanted this result so much?" recognised Stephane Sarrazin.
The third Team Peugeot Total car (No.7) suffered a knock-out blow after just 11 laps when it was hit by another competitor as it was leaving its pits after its first stop. Once the bitter disappointment of falling to 51st place so soon had been digested, Portugal's Pedro Lamy, Frenchman Nicolas Minassian and Austria's Christian Klien responded by providing assistance to their team-mates, evaluating and validating a number of solutions which were aimed at fine-tuning the front-runners' respective strategies.
Despite a cascade of minor troubles during the early hours of the morning, their consistency and determination were rewarded with a plucky sixth place at the flag.
With victory going to the No.9 car and pole-position to the No.8 machine, everyone went away with something to show for their efforts since Nicolas Minassian succeeded in posting the fastest race lap of the weekend: a 3m 24.352s which works out at an average speed of 240.097kph round the world-famous 13.629km circuit.
Pedro Lamy probably best summed up the feelings of his two team-mates when he observed that: "When I was hit by the other car in the pit-lane, I really couldn't believe it. It was so tough really tough to see all our chances of winning evaporate barely 40 minutes into the race. But that's racing, and I have to accept it."
Bruno Famin (Technical Director, Peugeot Sport): "We didn't have any technical problems this weekend; just a few racing incidents which upset certain gameplans. The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP has demonstrated its reliability by winning against Audi which has been an invincible force here for practically a decade. This is the result of not just one, but four years' hard effort."