3pm on Saturday 12th June 2010 saw the start of the 78th Le Mans 24 Hours. Having dominated in qualifying it was no surprise to see the 3 leading Peugeots begin to pull away. The first lap attack of Allan McNish’s Audi was repelled by Nicolas Lapierre in the 4th placed Oreca Peugeot and the race settled down with the Peugeots always quicker than the Audis, and the Aston Martin Lolas steady as the fastest petrol powered cars behind them.

The Autocon Lola had the dubious privilege of being the first of the 55 starting cars to retire, before the first major accident of the race brought out the safety car. Much publicity had followed the Beechdean Mansell Ginetta-Zytek, but just 17 minutes in to the race Nigel Mansell lost control and hit the barriers near Indianapolis. Fortunately Nigel sustained only cuts and bruises but it ended his team’s race.

One hour in to the race the Peugeots had pulled more than a minute ahead of the rest of the field and were consistently lapping quicker than their rivals. Audi did manage to pass the Oreca Peugeot but the factory team still held a 1,2,3.
The LMGT2 battle was close throughout the first few hours of the race. The Ferrari of Risi Competizione battling the two Corvettes for the lead. Equally close were the opening exchanges in the LMP2 class with the Strakka Racing team just keeping ahead of the car from Highcroft Racing, both teams running in HPD cars. In the LMGT1 class the Ford GT was just edging the 2 Corvettes for the lead in class.

Around 4 hours in the Audi No 7, driven by multi-Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, nearly ran in to the back of the limping BMW M3. The Audi ran in to the gravel avoiding the BMW, and hit the barrier. Fortunately the experienced Dane managed to recover the car and return to the pit lane, but lost approximately 3 laps on the leaders.

7 hours in to the race and Peugeot still held a 1,2,3 although they were not pulling away from the Audis. The Peugeots appeared comfortable and were not racing hard. However, only the other Peugeot of Team Oreca could match them for speed when required. The Ferrari challenge in the LMGT2 class came to a swift end as the Risi Ferrari was pushed back in to the garage for work on its gearbox. It was now a fight between Corvettes and Porsches. In LMGT1 the Ford GT was still ahead of the Corvette, but the Larbre Competition Saleen No. 50 car had moved up to third.

The lead of LMGT1 race changed again after 10 hours, when the Ford GT collided with the Oak Racing LMP2 car resulting in the re-appearance of the safety car. This enabled the Larbre Competition Saleen to catch up with the Ford GT and ultimately made a pass to take over the lead in LMGT1.

In the early hours Anthony Davidson managed to spin his Peugeot while trying to pass around traffic, allowing an Audi in to the top 3 for the first time, and by half way in the race Peugeot were still in the lead but Audi held second and third.
As dawn broke over the Le Mans circuit it was noticeable that there was less traffic out on circuit, but Audi had avoided many of the overnight problems experienced by others and looked steady.

With one Peugeot already retired with a suspension problem, fans of Peugeot become worried when the leading Peugeot, with Montagny at the wheel, suffered engine failure after a routine stop. This allowed the No. 9 Audi of Timo Bernhard, Mike Rockenfeller and Roman Dumas, a team inexperienced at Le Mans, to take the overall lead. In the LMGT2 class the Corvette also suffered an engine failure allowing the Porsche of Team Flebermayr Proton to obtain the lead.

18 hours in to the race Audi were in the first two positions, but Anthony Davidson began some flying laps intent on taking back the lead for Peugeot. In his haste Davidson made contact with the No. 64 Corvette, causing the Corvette to hit the barrier and cause major damage to the rear of the car. This caused the safety car to return briefly again.

Morning sunshine brought great driving conditions at Le Mans. The Larbre Saleen had built up a significant lead in the LMGT1 class, which was just as well as the car spun and required work in the garage. It still returned to the track a full 6 laps ahead of the second place Aston Martin DBR9. In LMP2 the Strakka Racing car also extended a significant lead, and with the Felbermayr Proton Porsche leading the LMGT2 class all eyes turned to the fight for the overall lead in LMP1.

Pressure was being applied to the leading Audis by Alexander Wurz in the Peugeot, and after Andre Lotterer overshot Arnage in the second placed Audi, there was less than 20 seconds between them. But 2 hours from the end of the race this aggressive racing took its toll and the Peugeot team suffered their second engine failure and this marked the end of the Wurz’s challenge.

Finally all Peugeot hopes were pinned on the No 4. Oreca Peugeot car driven by Loic Duval. Although now in 4th place behind three Audis, the Peugeot was lapping significantly quicker and was catching the 3rd Audi driven by Allan McNish. Duval successfully reduced the gap to just 10 seconds when the same problem that halted the charge of the other Peugeots returned and the engine blew after another routine pit stop.

So in the end the story of the Le Mans 24 Hours 2010 became one all about Audi. Never as quick as the Peugeots, but they had a good strategy, stayed out of the pits and continued grounding out the laps, to in fact set a new distance record for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Still quick enough not to be troubled by the petrol cars, the Audis lined up in formation more than 30 minutes before the end of the race, knowing they could not be challenged.

So after the full 24 hours, the Audi No. 9 car, with Timo Bernhard behind the wheel, took the chequered flag ahead of the other two Audis, giving them a clean sweep on the podium. The Oreca AIM car finished 4th collecting the unofficial prize for 1st petrol engine car. The LMP2 title went to the British team of Strakka Racing, LMGT1 went to the Larbre Saleen car and the LMGT2 win went to the Felbermayr Proton Porsche.

So the Le Mans 24 Hours 2010 may have started with great expectations for Peugeot, but it certainly finished with great celebrations for Audi. Peugeot may have had the fastest car but Audi showed that their cars were quick enough and the most durable. Ultimately that is what wins endurance races.

Congratulations to all at Audi.

Le Mans 24 Hours 2010 Facts:
This year’s winners, the No. 9 Audi completed 397 laps (a new Le Mans distance record) at an average speed of 225.23 k/h. Audi cars No. 8 and 7 were second and third respectively. The first petrol engined car was was the No.6 Oreca AIM team in 4th place overall.
In LMP2 the winner was the No. 42 Strakka Racing HPD car, completing 367 laps and finishing 5th overall. Second was the No. 35 Oak Racing Pecarolo-Judd and third was the No. 25 Lola of RML.
In LMGT1 the winner was the No. 50 Larbre Competition Saleen S7R. Second was the No. 72 Corvette from Luc Alphand and third was the No.52 Aston Martin DBR9 of AMR Young Drivers.
In LMGT2 the winner was the No. 77 Porsche of Team Felbermayr Proton. Second was the No. 89 Ferrari from Hankkok and third was the No. 97 BMS Porsche.

The fastest lap was set by Loic Duval in the No. 4 Oreca Peugeot with a lap time of 3.19.074.
There were 27 classified finishers.

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Photos from our friends Neil Chapman, Pete Devine and Dave Davies.