Peugeot takes pole at 24 Hours of Le Mans for third straight year
It's mid-June and that means it's time for the 24 Hours of Le Mans again. If the past decade is anything to go by, the number one contenders will again be the factory Audis, which have won eight of the last nine races (all nine if you count the 2003 as the Audi it truly was). For the past two years, the big battle for overall glory has been between the diesel-powered Audi R10 and Peugeot 908, and this year looks to be no different aside from Audi having an all new car, the R15, still with TDI power.
While the Peugeots have shown superior speed the last two years, the Audis have had better reliability and pit work. This year, the R15s appear to have made up the speed deficit, and the Germans look set for victory again if the crew can keep them running. Unfortunately for Audi, the race won't start with one of its cars in the lead, as Stephane Sarrazin has once again captured the poll in his Peugeot 908 for a record third straight year. Alan McNish managed to qualify one of Audi's three R15s right behind Sarrazin, but the other two cars managed to qualify only sixth and seventh on the starting grid. Three other Peugeot 908s will start from third, fourth and fifth, respectively, which means diesel power penetrates all the way back to the fourth row on this year's starting grid.
For those interested in following Audi's progress this weekend, the automaker is following up up its Sebring Facebook coverage with even more social media stuff this weekend. You can find photos, videos and news at AudiR15TDI.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Our own Damon Lavrinc will also be reporting live from Le Mans this year, so keep an eye on Autoblog and make sure to follow our Twitter feed all weekend long.
[Sources: Yahoo Eurosport, Audi, AutoCar | Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty Images]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
matt 8:17AM (6/12/2009)
ooh this is going to be just as good a race as last year.. hoping audi will win! any word on a live internet stream?
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ckellyusa 8:20AM (6/12/2009)
+1 on live stream!
+1 on audi winning too!
This should be great!
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adrian 8:28AM (6/12/2009)
Come on Peugeot. Send Audi a message and win.
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Redline 9:48AM (6/12/2009)
Yes yes come on Peugeot, kick some ass this year.
zamafir 10:29AM (6/12/2009)
Audi? no. no you don't get it. Send their customers and the world a message, not simply Audi. That's the point of LeMans. Peugeot already sent Audi a message two years in a row, forcing them to step up their game even further.
PuBeLeSs 10:48AM (6/12/2009)
i hope the Peugeot's win. but i will always rout for my main man mcnish. anyways, i want Peugeot to win, only if they stay in the sport :-/ i dont want them to win, then leave. i cant take another wam bam thankyou maam
Joe K. 11:46AM (6/12/2009)
@P---less: First off, that name, seriously?
2nd. How can you call that a "i cant take another wam bam thankyou maam" that would imply that it was an in-win-out... At this point it's more like the persistent geek that is chasing his crush. If he is successful, does it ever live up to the chase?
Jeff 8:45AM (6/12/2009)
Pole Position in this race is pointless. The biggest issue is that going all out for qualifying can put some wear on the tires, which is detrimental for the actual race since those same tires have to be used again once the actual race starts. Better to save some tread?
Le Mans Radio:
http://rlm08.0157.org/#
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Kiiks 9:42AM (6/12/2009)
Exactly. Who had pole the last two years? Who won?
Kitko 10:00AM (6/12/2009)
The only reason Audi won last year was heavy rain. Jacques Villeneuve was driving his ass off posting the fastest times of all Peugeots in the rain but Audis proved to be much faster in those conditions.
sparrk 10:05AM (6/12/2009)
Audi went through the same rain as Peugeot. I wonder what excuses Peugeot will have this year.
zamafir 10:31AM (6/12/2009)
"The only reason Audi won last year was" their team. No one brings a better combination of drivers, engineers, and vehicles to LeMans. Rain is pointless, that’s tire choice, if Peugeot still can’t get that right after losing the year prior for damn near the same reason, they’re plain incompetent.
Aki 12:41PM (6/12/2009)
Kitko: Eh, it rains, A LOT in Le Mans. Blaming it on the rain would be a sad excuse.
There were more reasons why Audi had the edge. Audi had better reliability. The drivers quadruple-stinted. The drivers like McNish were really consistent. Audi's engineering team knew how to pace their cars, and the right times to pit them in. Peugeot got outplayed, quite simple as that.
Bert 9:04AM (6/12/2009)
You should be able to find feeds on justin.tv . I found the qualis there yesterday.
If Peugeot can't win this year, I think it may be the end of them at Le Mans, for now. 3 years for a top-flight team should be more than enough. Though Audi have done everything right and they have deservedly won, nothing was gifted to win.
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Kiiks 9:53AM (6/12/2009)
I doubt it. I think they'll try again next year with the 908. Their best bet is for 2011 with the new regulations. They'll be on even footing with Audi in terms of development of a brand new car. That's if Audi even races at that point (Porsche's coming to battle we hear, and they're merging, we hear)
Peugeot really needs to get their driver line-ups right. They don't have a single trio to go head-to-head with Audi. Minassian/Sarrazin/Brabham for a start and Montagny/Wurtz/Lamy or even Pagenaud. Get Bourdais out of there.
WSDsmurf 9:05AM (6/12/2009)
God bless Radio LeMans.
Possibly a vid stream here: http://www.atdhe.net/7219/watch-24-hours-of-le-mans
And MYp2p has a listing for it here: http://www.myp2p.eu/competition.php?competitionid=&part=sports&discipline=motorsports
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Soccer Mom 9:18AM (6/12/2009)
All the best to Audi!
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kfj 9:25AM (6/12/2009)
I love me some spoilers!
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Joe K. 9:33AM (6/12/2009)
I will be amazed if Peugeot pulls off a win. Just like the last two years...
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Kobla Fiagbedzi 10:08AM (6/12/2009)
Both sides are pulling out all the stops in this race. It will be a major blow to Peugeot to lose, yet again. If 12 hours Sebring is any indicator of Audi's potential at Le Mans you can expect a very long and hard fight. Peugeot's outright speed was erased and with aggressive drivers like Alan McNish and the all conquering Tom Kristensen its fair to say the scaled are tipped in Audi's favor. But 24 hours of all out racing is brutal and anything, I mean anything can go wrong for either side! As Dindo Capello said, "Its easy for a lion to jump thru one ring, maybe even two, but four is a very different matter!" -quattrovideos.com
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