Before the start of the historical 78th endurance race of 24Heures DuMans anyone could easily predict that Team Peugeot Sport TOTAL would dominate the race after proving their speed with an astonishing 1-2-3-4 qualification. However the race is not a speed race but an endurance race and Audi prototypes proved to be much more reliable than Peugeot prototypes who lost their "running breath" during the final 8 hours of the race and yet not a single 908 HDi-FAP managed to finish the race. Audi triumphed the race in the most amazing way after completing an all podium 1-2-3 finish that was beyond even their own belief.
The No9 Audi R15 TDI of Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas of Audi Team North America was the victorious team, followed by No8 Audi of Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer of Audi Sport Team Joest and No7 car of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello of Audi Sport Team Joest who finished 3rd.
It was a real Waterloo for the Peugeot Team as one by one French manufactured prototypes started retiring due to mechanical problems. First it was the pole-sitting No.3 car of Pedro Lamy, Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud which retired early with suspension failure in the second hour.
Then, as darkness fell on Saturday night, the No1 car of Marc Gene, Alexander Wurz and Anthony Davidson who was leading the race, took to the pits with an alternator problem that took 4 laps rectify and dropped the trio to 7th.
Then, It left the all-French trio of Franck Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin and Nicolas Minassian to carry the fight into the small hours in the No2 Peugeot before misfortune struck 16 hours into the race, a fiery engine failure leaving Audi to take over at the front for the first time in the weekend.
Despite its earlier problems, the No1 Peugeot remained in the class of the field, and after the retirement of the Montagny/Sarrazin/Minassian car it retained an outside chance of victory, with Davidson in particular taking chunks of time out of the leading Audis.
But Peugeot's drama of mechanical woe was destined to have last more during the morning, as Wurz forced to retire the No1 car after after nearly 22 hours of racing. It spelled the end of the French squad's hopes of repeating last year's victory, leaving the Audis to fill the podium. moreover, another miserable engine blow up stroke the customer Peugeot entry of Team ORECA of Olivier Panis, Nicolas Lapierre and Loic Duval while chasing the Audis, put the final nail in the coffin for the French manufacturer.
There will nevertheless be a tinge of disappointment down at Audi after the manufacturer's leading car, driven by 2008 winners McNish, Kristensen and Capello, saw its hopes of victory ended in a costly incident four hours into the race as eight-time Le Mans winner slid off at the Porsche curves trying to pass the ailing BMW 'Art Car' driven by three-time World Touring Car champion Andy Priaulx.
With Priaulx slowed by a damaged wheel but still on the racing line, Kristensen was left with nowhere to go and span out. The car was recovered by the marshals but a stop for repairs dropped them down the order.
Audi recovered from that setback by going on to demonstrate bulletproof reliability as all three R15s came home safe and sound.
Audi Motorsport boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich commented:
"Peugeot looked like they had beaten Audi for the second straight year, but the 908s all suffered failures... At the beginning it was a little unlucky for us, but at the end it all worked fine. It's a great reward for all the work that everyone has done. I think this has to be the hardest Le Mans we've ever done."
Britain's Andy Mayrick took an unexpected 4rth place for Team Oreca, while the high attrition rate in the LMP1 class meant 5th place overall went to the LMP2 category winners in the number 42 Strakka Racing car, driven by Britons Nick Leventis and Danny Watts and Irishman Johnny Kane.
Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller scored Audi’s third-ever 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans, setting a new distance record of 3,362.19 miles along the way in the relatively trouble-free run for the German factory squad.
Timo Bernhard commented:
"To come here and drive for a factory team like Audi with such a long history of victories - now nine in the last 11 years - is something special to be here as a driver. I felt very strong team spirit from the beginning of the weekend. We shared every bit of information and improved the car. It was a combined team effort and we put it all together. All three cars ran perfectly."
The win also marks Rockenfeller's second major endurance victory of 2010, having won the Rolex 24 in January who commented:
"I've been on the podium once when I won the GT class, but my dream was always to be here and drive for the overall victory. When I came to Audi, everyone knows the first year was the worst race of my life. It was a bad start, but the team gave me the trust to come back. I think we can all be proud, all nine drivers. We all didn't believe that we could have all been on the podium in the end. It's a great team effort."
Audi crushed its competition, finishing a whopping 28 laps ahead of the 4rth-placed Team ORECA Matmut Oreca 01 AIM of Andy Meyrick, Didier Andre and Soheil Ayari. The Hughues de Chaunac-led squad overcame a late-race gearbox change to be one of only five finishers in LMP1, as many prototypes were in self-destruct mode in the closing hours.
In addition to the Peugeots, Sam Hancock's No. 009 Lola-Aston Martin blew up with less than an hour to go, while the sister No. 007 AMR entry limped home in 6th overall, behind the LMP2 class-winner. The Mansell entry had a unfortunate retirement in the 2nd lap after a blown tyre that caused Nigel Mansell to crash heavily into the barriers without any unpleasant consequence for the British "Lion". It had appeared to be a class nobody wanted to finish, unless you driving a factory Audi.
