2008 24 Hours of Le Mans Review

For the third time in a row, the Audi R10 TDI of Audi Sport Team Joest took the checkered flag at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scoring a thrilling victory over their diesel rivals from France, Peugeot. It came down to the final hours of the race at a rain soaked Circuit de La Sarthe where the Audi R10 TDI of Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish was unmatched in the wet weather and crossed the finish line to take the victory.

The number 7 Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP had been the car to catch all race until the early morning hours when the rain set in. With a one-lap lead, the Peugeot started to fall back in the rain and allowed the No. 2 Audi of Kristensen to catch and pass the Peugeot, a lead they would not relinquish.

“We did a perfect race thanks to our engineer Howden (Haynes) and all the people in the background including Ralf Jüttner and Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. They all made the right calls in terms of the right tyre choices during this crazy showers.” Said Kristensen.



However, as the closing hours came, the track began to dry and the Peugeot made a valiant effort to catch the leading Audi, pulling within two minutes of the leader. With an hour remaining though, the rain came back on part of the circuit causing headaches for all. The Peugeot of Minassian opted to stay on slick tires and see if he could gain an advantage over the Audi that chose to go to intermediate tires. He was able to close the distance some and then made a final stop for rain tires as the rain intensified, as did the Audi. Unfortunately, a problem with the final set of tires on the Peugeot required them to make an additional stop, which put them a lap down to the Audi and sealed the fate of the French team. While they did gain the lap back to the Audi, it was simply not enough and Kristensen took the checkered flag after completing 368 laps during the 24 hours.

While Kristensen just added to his already stellar list of Le Mans victories, it was only Allan McNish’s second ever, his last ten years prior. Following the victory he said, “"I’m overjoyed to have finally won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Audi. 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, and unpredictable weather, I’ve finally done it – my thanks to everyone at Audi Sport and Team Joest. I didn’t take risks at the start and was happy to follow the Peugeots. But they soon 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 would have crashed off and out of the race.”

Dindo Capello took his third Le Mans victory and was equally as overjoyed as his teammates, saying, "It was a great race, a perfect race. I’m totally happy and proud to be part of this team. The only possibility for us to beat the faster Peugeots was a race without mistakes. The team did an incredible job. Our Audi did not have the slightest problem. We did not lose a single second in the pits. Like this we were able to beat Peugeot. Audi has the right people to win races even if for once we do not have the fastest car. We’ve showed that.”



It was a bit disappointing for the Peugeot team that had entered the race as favorites against the perennial powerhouse, Audi. The 908 HDi-FAP showed more speed all week and through the first, dry portion of the race. Audi simply could not match the speed of the Peugeot and they looked to be off to their first diesel victory. However, the wet proved to be a tough thing for the Peugeot to overcome and ultimately lead to Audi being able to take the victory.

However, it was not a total loss for the team as they took both of the other spots on the podium, finishing in second with the Minassian, Gene, and Villeneuve and third with Montagny, Klien and Zonta.

"We knew it would be difficult, but I'm disappointed not to have won," Minassian said. "It has to be said, though, that our opponents did a remarkable job. At the very end of the race, we did everything we could to catch them. We stayed out on slicks in the rain and then gambled on rain tires because we were still some way back and we had to try something. We will now have to analyze everything that happened this weekend to come back even stronger than ever."

Additionally, even their No. 8 car, which had continuing problems throughout the race, was credited with the fastest lap, but multiple trips to the garage with gearbox and other issues kept it from ever making a charge for the podium. It did, however, still finish in 5th position, though 13 laps down from the winning Audi.

As good of a performance as it was for the No. 2 Audi that took the checkered, the R10 TDI did show that it was not perfect as its two sister cars faced problems all race long, finishing in 4th and 6th. Not the normal ultra reliable performance that so many are used to seeing from the Audi Sport team. Following the race Luhr said, "Our race was okay, but we lost some time at the beginning," Luhr said. "At the end we had to come twice into the garage ending our battle with the No. 9 Peugeot prematurely. We just missed the podium with our fourth place. But we have the chance for improvements next year."

With the ’08 race being the battle of the diesels, it is easy to forget the rest of the P1 cars that battled for 24 hours at La Sarthe. The “winning” petrol car was the No. 17 Pescarolo Sport Judd of Pimat, Tinseau and Treluyer, finishing in 7th position overall.



"This is a great day for us because we knew there were two races within the LMP1 class, one for the diesels and one for the petrol cars," team owner Henri Pescarolo said. "We have been victorious in the latter against Lola, Oreca, Creation and Dome which is a great achievement. The three drivers were fantastic because the conditions have been so difficult. They have all driven perfectly and I am absolutely delighted for them."

In the P2 category, the Van Merksteijn Motorsport Porsche Spyder took the win with a 10th overall finish. They led 90% of the race in a convincing performance while battling the other Porsche Spyder in the field of Team Essex. However, with the Van Merksteijn Porsche on Michelin tires and the Essex one on Dunlops, the die was cast in the favor of the Michelin car. The Essex team suffered several punctures during the race and could never mount a real challenge to the Dutch entry even though they were fairly closely matched in speed.

"In the beginning, the Essex team was very strong," van Merksteijn said. "We had the strategy for Jos to drive four stints and that kept a little bit of pressure on those guys. Jos has sometimes driven even better than Audi and Peugeot drivers and you saw it in the rain and dry. It's unbelievable what he's done and it just put more pressure on the team."

It was an impressive debut for the Porsche prototypes in their first 24 hour race. Both cars came home 1, 2 on the podium with the closest competitor a full 13 laps down behind the second place Essex Spyder.



In GT1, the battle again came down to Corvette and Aston Martin, with the Aston Martin of Brabham, Garcia and Turner taking the second straight victory for the British manufacturer with less than five minutes over its rival after 24 hours. Dressed in the famous Gulf Oil livery made so famous at Le Mans, they took the lead early on in the race, but battled closely for the entire 24 hours, with the lead being as small as four seconds about halfway through the race.

"I've competed at Le Mans 15 times, but this is the closest race I've ever experienced. That's exactly how I thought it would be from the start of the year, and of course it makes our second win here even more satisfying." Said Brabham.



However, the Corvette team made another strong showing even if coming up just a bit short in the end. The two yellow Covettes took both the second and third positions on the podium, showing how strong the cars truly are. Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing program manager said, "Once again, we saw one of the epic battles in all of sports car racing. When you can take two cars, run them for 24 hours, and have them finish just minutes apart, it's an incredible achievement for both teams. We had a brake issue with the No. 63 Corvette and overcame a problem with the alternator in the No. 64 Corvette, and both cars finished on the podium. When we look at Corvette Racing's overall record and performance here at Le Mans, Chevrolet can be proud."

Ferrari dominated the GT2 battle this year, with a 1, 2, 3, 4 finish in class, headed by the Risi Competizione F430 driven by Bruni, Salo and Melo. With two of the favored Porsches colliding early on in the race and taking each other out of contention, the Ferraris took over lead by the Risi car. The Performance Matmut 911 RSR and the Flying Lizard Motorsport RSR collided while fighting for position, putting the Matmut car out of the race and putting the Lizard car far down the field after repairs were made. This handed the lead to the Risi car.

Risi’s competition, in the form of the Virgo Motorsport Ferrari, went out late in the race, which then gave the Risi car a comfortable lead over the BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari of Malucelli, Ruberti and Babini. Finishing out the podium was the Farnbacher Ferrari of Ehret, Kaffer and Nielsen. The JMB Racing Ferrari took fourth position and the only two remaining Porsches, the Team Felbermayr-Proton and Flying Lizard cars, took home fifth and sixth respectively.



Again, the 76th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans provided thrilling racing throughout the entire race. While it will be definitely known as the battle of the diesels, the other battles through the day cannot be ignored. GT1 was stellar the entire 24 hours, while the GT2 battle held on for a very long time. The petrol P1 cars had their own battle going on behind the diesels and the Porsche Spyders in P2 were out to prove that the cars could handle the endurance event even though it was their first time. Audi, once again took the victory, but the taste in Peugeot’s mouth is now even stronger and you can bet they will be out for revenge come June of 2009.