2009 24 Hours of Le Mans: Late night/early morning
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans - Click above for a high-res image gallery
We managed to snag just over an hour's worth of sleep underneath the stairs of the Audi Arena after bouncing around the track in the early hours of the morning. Before dawn broke, two massive strings of racers were caught behind the safety cars for over 40 minutes after the No. 17 Pescarolo Peugeot shunted into the wall in one of the most violent crashes in recent Le Mans history. Reports about the driver's condition haven't been forthcoming, with the ACO only saying that he was conscious when the medical crew arrived. We haven't heard anything new, so if you have, let us know in the comments.
The Pescarolo joins 14 other cars that are officially out of the race, including the No. 2 Audi R15 from last night, the LMGT2 Lamborghini and the Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
With just under six hours left, the Peugeot Total team is continuing to hold off the Audi R15 currently piloted by Mr. Le Mans, Tom Kristensen, with the 007 Lola Aston Martin coming in six laps behind the R15, followed by the No. 11 Oreca AIM and the No. 14 R10. The two R10s are holding slots in the top ten, further proof that the older TDIs are still competitive in the field. The official timing is available at the Le Mans website, and we've posted another sizable batch of photos from late last night/early this morning. Our apologies for the photo quality (we're getting a bit loopy), but they should give you a feel for what Le Mans is like at night and what the next several hours hold for the competitors. We're off to acquire colossal amounts of carbs and coffee. More to follow.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
downhill.specialist 3:45AM (6/14/2009)
They got news right around 8:40 Alaska time (too tired to make conversions) that the Pescarola driver was "okay" and in stable condition at the hospital.
Reply
BLS 5:43AM (6/14/2009)
Story about Pescarola driver http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76169 says he is ok.
Ganplosive 3:46AM (6/14/2009)
Great coverage guys, keep up the wonderful work!
Reply
Chase 1:19PM (6/15/2009)
Terrific photos too! I like that there were some shots of the atmosphere.
Tom Winch 4:21AM (6/14/2009)
Less than 5 hours left as I write this, and even though I'm a die-hard Audi/McNish fan, I have to be impressed by the job the #9 & #8 Peugeots are doing. I just wish Audi had decided to race in either the ALMS or LMS this year. I really think that they would have worked out the issues they are having beforehand if they had raced. Oh well, I can keep my fingers crossed that the Peugeots finally have some mechanical issues. If one of the Peugeots must win, I like to see the #8 with Sebastian Bourdais get around the #9 car. I always liked him in Champ Car and I'd like to see him do well in F1 and Le Mans.
Reply
Tom Winch 4:50AM (6/14/2009)
And I just saw McNish make an excellent, aggressive pass on Sarrazin in the #8 car to get a lap back with 4:15 left. Go on Alan, make 'em work for it!
AC0 4:29AM (6/14/2009)
Thanks for the coverage, and there are plenty of nice photos despite the sleep deprivation, i think photo no. 46 is an instant classic.
Reply
Javanese 4:46AM (6/14/2009)
Peugeot FTW!!!!
But that being said, somewhere near the le mans someone said on eurosport it's raining, if it rains... Audi will claw that 2 laps deficit pretty quickly.
Just as i about to post this, the #3 audi just went off... again.
Let us hope that this is a valuable lesson for audi, no matter how much experience you have, running a brand new unproven car on the biggest race on the calender is not smart.
Reply
Tom Winch 4:51AM (6/14/2009)
And I just saw McNish make an excellent, aggressive pass on Sarrazin in the #8 car to get a lap back with 4:15 left. Go on Alan, make 'em work for it!
Javanese 5:47AM (6/14/2009)
Oh dear the #1 audi is the garage and it looks like they're having huge problems with the rear suspension or engine, and to make matters worse, the aston is just 2 laps behind. It's all gone horribly wrong, i thought audi still have shot but not any more now. The might wound up being beaten by aston.
Their 1st mistake is not doing quadruple stint believing it's quick enough and now reliablity woes start to kick it... wow... just wow.
Oh btw, justine is gettng more and more attractive to me right now. Must be the fatigue of watching the telly 16 hours straight.
Jason 4:48AM (6/14/2009)
Thanks for the great coverage, guys!
Reply
Gio 6:10AM (6/14/2009)
ehm... guys, just a tip: it's not the "pescarolA"! it's "pescarolO"!!!!
you can't spell wrong the name of one of the most important private teams in the 24hdlm!!! it's like "oreo" instead of "oreca"!!
Reply
Javanese 6:42AM (6/14/2009)
watch the excellent eurosport coverage on justin.tv
http://www.justin.tv/xone2011
Reply
listlaptopmobile 7:10AM (6/14/2009)
i like this car.
wellcome to blog.
http://listcarworld.blogspot.com/
Reply
Juggernaut 8:28AM (6/14/2009)
barring a catastrophic engine failure in the 908... I'd say you might as well hand the ring to Peugeot..... now...
Vive France!!! Vive Peugeot!!!
Gene, Wurz and Brabham ( Spaniard, Austrian, Australian)
Reply
Ganplosive 9:01AM (6/14/2009)
I take it that Peugeot won this year? At 1 & 2nd place too, not a bad job at all. Hopefully this will teach Audi not to be over confident
Reply
Javanese 9:22AM (6/14/2009)
had the pescarolo didnt crash into the #7 car.. it would be a 1-2-3. The peugoet got a heavier car than the audi, stop in the pits more than ANYONE else in the field (not just in LMP1) and yet still manage to win.... amazing how good their car actually is. Last year audi got a chance because of the rain... not so this year.
skitch 9:11AM (6/14/2009)
did anyone else hear that this would be peugeot's last Le Man?
Reply
why not the LS2LS7? 4:01PM (6/14/2009)
Peugeot has made no such announcement. This racing program has ended though, it'll likely be turned over to privateers while they work on their next racing program which has already started. It's a hybrid race car, supposedly a Diesel.
The Real David 9:33AM (6/14/2009)
Having spent much of the last two days and watching with great excitement, Peugeot wins the overall 24 Hours Of LeMans. If I was to ever have my final sporting wish, it would be to attend this race, and it is without question the greatest race in the world. Countries, Companies, Teams and Cars expend the greatest effort to win this event, and it isn't for money (winners receiver very little).
Reply