Peugeot destroys Le Mans lap record in qualifying
The 76th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place this weekend, and just like last year, Audi and Peugeot will be duking it out in front with their diesel-powered LMP1 cars. The Audi R10 is a proven race machine, both durable and fast, but the Peugeot 908 has often times proved faster. Late yesterday at the first qualifying session for the endurance race, the 908 proved to be the fastest by far when it shattered the lap record at Le Mans by 7.8 seconds! The car was being driven by French driver Stephane Sarrazin, who man-handled the 908 around the track in 3 minutes and 18.513 seconds. A truly amazing feat, though what's more incredible is that the next five fastest times also beat the previous lap record, two of which were Audi R10s. Unfortunately, the second and third fastest times behind the fastest Peugeot 908 were two more Peugeot 908s. The Peugeot cars are clearly faster than the Audis so far in qualifying, but that was the case last year and Audi pulled out a win just like it has the past four years in a row. Unlike the Le Mans Series races where Peugeot has won the first three races so far this year, Le Mans is about endurance and Audi has proven seven out of the last eight years that it can last longer than the rest.
[Source: Reuters, Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
RedBean 7:46PM (6/12/2008)
Why wasn't he shattering records when he was driving for the Subaru World Rally Team? Oh yeah, that's right. The car/team sucked at the time. Hopefully, with the new car Subaru can get back on top again.
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Harrison 7:45PM (6/12/2008)
Hmm...keep in mind that the 1999 Toyota GT-One was the car that was dominating the race, yet it ended up losing to the BMW LMP V12 in the last few hours.
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pmiddle5 8:20PM (6/12/2008)
Peugeot's team boss has publicly stated that he is unsure of their reliability.
Conor 11:45PM (6/12/2008)
I'm still hoping these things crash & burn during the race (Figuratively. I don't want people getting hurt.) I just really, really don't like Peuegeot. Way too many "e"s in that brand name.
Za 2:05AM (6/13/2008)
Conor, there's one less if you spell it right - so 2. Do you also hate Jeep for having 2 "e"s? Mercedes-Benz for having 4? You must REALLY hate them, right? Wow.
Temple 4:36AM (6/13/2008)
To be fair, the GT-One lost due to a tire failure, cars usually lose due mechanical failures in endurance races. Toyota shouldn't have bailed on their LeMans team so easily, they barely put in two years and it was a highly competitive team.
Regardless, the Peugeot has lost position due to mechanical issues last year, and they were also blisteringly fast in qualifying as well. But the Peugeot has really improve since last year, taking victories in spa, 12hr Sebring, etc. They definitely look to be more competitive this year and not just on raw speed.
Kiiks 9:21AM (6/13/2008)
And Toyota is now committed to F1 where they are extremely competitive.
Idiots.
David M 8:38PM (6/12/2008)
Uhhhh TiVO/DVR warning por favor?
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pmiddle5 8:21PM (6/12/2008)
Can anyone find what the top speed is for these cars? I'm having trouble finding the "speed trap" list this year and its annoying
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Michael 12:05AM (6/13/2008)
Oh, I bet they're geared differently for different tracks, and they also adjust downforce. I would guess 200mph for long straights.
pmiddle5 12:13AM (6/13/2008)
I was specifically mentioning the Mulsanne straight(s). They generally set up a speed trap among them giving the top speeds of the various classes cars. I'd hope the Peugeot would top a good bit over 200.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:22AM (6/13/2008)
I believe that ever since the chicanes were put in the Mulsanne straight, the highest speeds are reached after the Mulsanne corner, just before Indianapolis.
Walter P 8:42PM (6/12/2008)
I enjoy trying to stay awake for the entire race. However, this year I'll be working at the local drag strip and will miss Speed's Le Mans broadcast. :(
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Fooman 9:07PM (6/12/2008)
I smell a rat, LeMans has always favored via rulings and enforcement the French teams...
Just saying...
::breaks out the tin foil hat::
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overengineered 2:09AM (6/13/2008)
The R10 doesn't exhaust the LMP1 regulations. The 908 was developed to beat the R10 in terms of speed - and as you see, they did a good job. In race trim, the 908's will likely be 1-2 seconds faster per lap than the R10's.
But you have to keep in mind that the R10 is still more efficient and don't have to stop as long / as often as the 908. The R10 is also more user/mechanics friendly, you can repair that thing in no time. You may remember 12 hours of Sebring, where just a minor problem kept the 908 in the pits for a very very long time. Together with the susceptibility for failures the 908 had in the last time, the R10's can still hope for a win.
- Audi has a strong lineup, a balanced car and better efficiency
- Peugeot has the faster but more vulnerable car, they have the first three starting positions - but last year, they had that all too!
Kiiks 9:43AM (6/13/2008)
According to Audi, they were testing various adjustments at the race pace - they never intended to even configure a qualifying specification and instead work on stuff like tires, etc. to prepare for the 24h.
Peugeot has yet to prove that the 908 can run for more than a few hours at a time without suffering mechanical issues. While they may be a favorite to win a sprint race series, true endurance races are another matter entirely.
Audi is banking on reliability. If 3 out of 3 Pugs have to take time for repairs and 1 out of 3 R10s has a flawless run, they can still pull out a win. That works more in their favor, but on the off chance that one of the 908s has a problem-free race, Audi is in trouble.
Which makes me wonder - if Audi loses LeMans, what will they do next year? Replace the R10? Build a coupe? Keep tweaking it to keep up with the ALMS P2 field?
I think a Sebring repeat would be a very interesting scenario. If Audi isn't the fastest and isn't the most reliable, then what is it?
Fooman 12:30PM (6/13/2008)
I was pretty much joking with my comment, but I agree with both of you. The 908/r10 saga is shaping up to be like the Ferrari/Ford Gt40 saga of the mid late 60's. The Gt40 was the faster car esp on the straights, but reliability was an issue the first 2 years. While this battle was significant for the US vs Europe, this battle may be even more important as we start to see more and more diesel cars in racing.
What is interesting is that if History repeats iteslf, will we get a 3rd player that smokes these cars like the Porsche 908/917's that evolved to render the p3/4 and gt40 uncompetitive?
Mobius_1 9:23PM (6/12/2008)
If you want a reliable car, would you buy a French car or German car? It might not be exactly the same here, but surely the cultures do have a small effect on the way the machines are made
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why not the LS2LS7? 11:31PM (6/12/2008)
I can answer that. Neither.
Yaroukh 3:33AM (6/13/2008)
@why: just imagine you had some money