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LE MANS: Mission Accomplished for Audi
Written by: RACER Staff   http://www.racer.com
06/16/2007 - 07:00 PM
Le Mans, France
 
The rich spectacle of Le Mans has to be seen to be appreciated. (LAT photo) » More Photos

Audi has extended its remarkable Le Mans record with a comprehensive win at the 75th edition of the world's premier endurance race. Marco Werner had the honor of taking the No. 1 Audi R10 that he co-drove with Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela across the line for the finish.

History was made in GT1, as Aston Martin finally managed to break Corvette's stranglehold on the class by getting the No. 009 David Brabham/Rickard Rydell/Darren Turner across the line in first place.

Much of the final hour had been run behind a safety car due to heavy rain that left rivers of water running along the track. But although the downpour continued, the race returned to green flag conditions for the final 10 minutes. Common sense among the drivers prevailed to the point where the Audi was so determined to get to the finish in one piece that it was overtaken by two GT1 cars at a single corner!

"The last nine hours have been especially difficult," admitted Pirro. "It was a tough race with some rain at the beginning which made the tire choice complicated and heavy rain at the end. There was a great battle with Peugeot. To beat such a competitor makes our victory even sweeter.

"Personally I'm on the podium with Audi at Le Mans for the ninth time in a row – this is great!"
What rain? The Aston Martin team and their fans celebrate. (LAT photo) » More Photos

"I think this was the most difficult race we ever did at Le Mans – even more difficult than the rain-soaked race in 2001," declared Audi Motorsport director Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "This was topped this time due to the strong competition, the many incidents and the rain in the final hours. We managed to get one car to the finish in these difficult circumstances winning against strong competitors. This was a fantastic achievement of the whole team. We wanted to prove that we have the best technology with Audi TDI Power, the best drivers and the best teams. We achieved that. This triumph shows one more time the meaning of Vorsprung durch Technik."

For Werner, the initial reaction was more relief, although he knows the scope of his triumph will sink in later.

"Of course it is a great feeling to win, but tomorrow for sure I will feel even better because there was gigantic pressure on our shoulders until the very end of the race," he said. "In the closing stages, this Le Mans 24 Hours was more like a boat race. It was incredible that the race went green again under these conditions. I was more than relieved when I had crossed the finish line."



Catch up on the developments in Formula 1 each month in RACER. Steve Cooper gets the scoop on the decline of the Renault F1 team this season, and its efforts to turn the tide in our July issue, on sale now.


Sebastien Bourdais managed to get the No. 8 Peugeot across the line in second to give the French marque a podium in its Le Mans comeback campaign. The 908 stopped at the final chicane at the beginning of the last lap so that it could follow the lead pack across the line.

The car had spent part of the final hour in the garage, but returned to the track with 20 minutes remaining. At the end, Bourdais delayed steering his car into parc ferme to climb out and give his hometown grandstand an impromptu salute. Pescarolo scored one for gasoline by taking third place.
The Binnie Motorsports Lola-Zytek persevered through a nerve-wracking final hour to claim the LMP2 crown. (LAT photo) » More Photos

Binnie Motorsports claimed the LMP2 win, but despite a massive margin over the only other LMP2 car left running at the finish, the final
hour was anything but relaxing for the team. The car was brought into the pits for a touch of soldering when water began seeping into the radio, but while it was there the team discovered that they actually had a major electrical problem. The car had to be virtually rewired in the final hour, but the Binnie squad managed to get Chris Buncombe back out onto the circuit with just two minutes remaining.

Porsche returned to the top of the podium in GT2 with a victory by IMSA Performance and the trio of Raymond Narac, Richard Lietz and American Porsche factory driver Patrick Long. The trio ran a conservative pace and outlasted entries from Ferrari, Panoz and Spyker.

It was the second career Le Mans win for Long and third podium in four tries as the IMSA Porsche finished six laps ahead of the Risi Competizione/Krohn Racing Ferrari F430 GT of Nic Jonsson, Tracy Krohn and Colin Braun.

24 Hours of Le Mans results:

Pos. # Class Drivers Team Car Laps
1. 1 LMP1 Biela, Pirro, Werner Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI 369
2. 8 LMP1 Sarrazin, Lamy, Bourdais Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 359
3. 16 LMP1 Collard, Boullion, Dumas Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo-Judd 01 357
4. 18 LMP1 Short, Barbosa, Hall Rollcentre Racing Pescarolo-Judd 01 347
5. 009 GT1 Turner, Brabham, Rydell Team Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9 342
6. 63 GT1 Fellows, O'Connell, Magnussen Team Corvette Racing Corvette C6-R 6:08.031
7. 008 GT1 Bouchut, Gollin, Elgaard AMR Larbre Competition Aston Martin DBR9 341
8. 15 LMP1 Charouz, Yoong, Mucke Charouz Racing System Lola-Judd B07-17 337
9. 007 GT1 Herbert, Enge, Kox Team Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9 1:46.406
10. 54 GT1 Prost, Groppi, Belloc Team Oreca Saleen S7R 336
11. 100 GT1 Babini, Davies, Malucelli Team Aston Martin BMS Aston Martin DBR9 1:26.391
12. 72 GT1 Alphand, Policano, Goueslard Team Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6-R 326
13. 17 LMP1 Primat, Tinseau, Treluyer Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo-Judd 01 324
14. 67 GT1 Pergl, Vasiliev, Kostka Convers Menx Team Ferrari 550 Maranello 322
15. 76 GT2 Narac, Lietz, Long Imsa Performancec Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 320
16. 55 GT1 Ortelli, Ayari, Lapierre Team Oreca Saleen S7R 318
17. 59 GT1 Garcia, Fittipaldi, Menten Team Modena Aston Martin DBR9 1:11.406
18. 31 LMP2 Binnie, Timpany, Buncombe Team Binnie Motorsports Lola-Zytek B05-40 5:04.070
19. 99 GT2 Jonsson, Krohn, Braun Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT 313
20. 19 LMP1 Berridge, Evans, Owen Team Chamberlain - Synergy Lola-AER B06-10 310
21. 93 GT2 Ehret, Erik Nielsen, Simonsen Team Autorlando Sport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 309
22. 78 GT2 Macari, Aucott, Newey Team AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT 308
23. 82 GT2 Dean, Tomlinson, Bell Team LNT Panoz Esperante GTLM 307
24. 73 GT1 Vosse, Andre, Blanchemain Team Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C5-R 306
25. 14 LMP1 Lammers, Bleekemolen, Hart Racing For Holland BV Dome-Judd S101 305
26. 12 LMP1 Frei, Cochet, Besson Courage Competition Courage-AER LC70 304
27. 33 LMP2 Kurosawa, Fernandez, Kerr Team Barazi Epsilon Zytek 07S/2 301
28. 70 GT1 Gosselin, Peter, Smet Team PSI Experience Corvette C6-R 288
29. 006 GT1 Fiskin, Bornhauser, Berville AMR Larbre Competition Aston Martin DBR9 271