Audi took a commanding lead at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after taking advantage of rival Peugeot’s reliability concerns.
The German manufacturer had two cars in front early yesterday after 17 hours of racing, with German driver Timo Bernhard leading ahead of the R15 TDI driven by Marcel Fassler of Switzerland.
“The 24 Hours of Le Mans can be very hard,” Audi Sport director Wolfgang Ullrich said. “We also had our share of bad luck in the first hours of racing. Everything went fine afterward, but we need to avoid mistakes.”
PHOTO: AFP
PROBLEMS
Peugeot, considered a huge favorite after securing the four top spots on the starting grid, had clearly the fastest cars, but ran into problems during the race.
The leading No. 2 Peugeot 908 HDI driven by Stephane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny and Nicolas Minassian retired at dawn with a turbo failure and Peugeot’s only remaining hopes of victory where in the hands of Anthony Davidson, Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz.
After building a two-lap lead with his teammates, Montagny was forced to pull on the side of the track and retire after smoke and flames poured from his car following a pit stop.
“We broke something and oil started to pour,” Montagny said. “It stopped all of a sudden and there was nothing we could do. I now hope the No. 1 Peugeot will move back to second place and maybe higher.”
DAMAGED SUSPENSION
Peugeot problems started quickly as the car driven by former Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, which had started from pole, retired because of suspension damage after less than three hours on Saturday.
The Peugeot of Gene, Wurz and Davidson then had to pit for 12 minutes with electric problems and subsequently dropped from first to seventh place.
The three drivers, however, started a phenomenal comeback and moved back to third two laps behind the leaders, with Gene and Davidson alternatively improving the best time.
“As long as we have a chance to win, we are going to go for it, even if we break everything,” Peugeot Sports director Olivier Quesnel said.
Peugeot ended Audi’s five-year domination at Le Mans last year when they claimed their first win since 1993.
SETBACK
Audi suffered a serious setback during the fifth hour when Tom Kristensen went off while trying to pass a BMW driven by Andy Priaulx.
Kristensen, the most successful driver at Le Mans with eight wins, slid off into the gravel and hit the barriers. He returned to the pits and the car continued the race, but lost three laps to the race leaders.
Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello where fourth after 17 hours, two laps back.
Just 18 minutes into the race, former Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell crashed.
Mansell spun in his Ginetta-Zytek and hit the security barrier before the Indianapolis turn. He spent several minutes in his car, but was conscious when evacuated in an ambulance.
Mansell was taken to the circuit’s medical center and escaped with “a bump on the head,” organizers said.
The 56-year-old British driver was racing for the first time at Le Mans, with his sons Greg and Leo.
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