DataGrange Motorsport

With the Demise of Peugeot Follows the Rise of Audi at 2010 Le Mans.

The great European diesels, the defender Peugeot 908 HDi and the Audi R15 TDI, again match up at the Sarthe for a Twice Around the Clock shootout and provide all with a memorable affair.

Brief Recount:

The Peugeots break out early at the start and all three cars lead the field in parade order.

The 3 Peugeot retires in the third hour due to front suspension failure. The 2 Peugeot still rides at the point as the Audi TDIs fail to match pace with the French.

The 1 Peugeot moves out front in the fourth hour.

The 1 Peugeot enters the garage in the eighth hour for purported electrical problems, yielding the point to the sister 2 entry.

The sole contending 2 Peugeot entry leads throughout the night and builds a two lap lead over its rivals, yet in a momentous blow during the postdawn seventeenth hour, the engine lets go at Tetre Rouge (see photo above), thus yielding the point to the 9 Audi.

The 1 Peugeot (drivers Anthony Davidson and Alexander Wurz) offers up one last desperate press during the twenty-first hour and rises through the field up to P2 before its engine gives up the fire and retires.

The 4 Peugeot entry, constructed by Oreca yet backed by the works, takes up the charge after the Teuton diesels and closes up before losing its engine at Indianapolis during the twenty-third hour.

After a steady drive that easily manages to outlast the French defenders, the Audis receive checkers in parade order, and the honors going to the 9 entry (9 Audi R15 TDI Plus 5.5L V10 Turbo, Timo Bernhard-GER, Michael Rockenfeller-GER, Romain Dumas-FRA).

The Winning Audi R15 TDI Entry (Bernhard, Rockenfeller, Dumas).

The Audi R10 Brashly Shrugs Off Peugeot During Diesel Wars at Sebring.

The first race of the Sportscar Triple Crown sets off at Sebring, Florida and features an early season showdown between the Germans (Audi), the French (Peugeot), and their diesel powered prototypes.  In a utter thrilling preview for the upcoming faceoff at the Sarthe later in June, the Peugeot 908s show tremendous speed on the Sebring airstrip straights, yet Teuton experience and engineering skill refuse to permit the French to break away during the once-around-the-clock sprint (we remember when the teams used to establish an early race pace speed at Sebring).  The Germans stay close by extending their rubber through longer stints, and as the race descends from gloaming to darkness, doomed race leader Frank Montagny (08 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP) agonizingly brings his chassis in for service with forty minutes remaining. In a finish befitting of Sebring, Audi and nonpareil racer Allan McNish (02 Audi R10 TDI, Allan McNish-Rinaldo Capello-Tom Kristensen) seize the night (carpe nox?), leapfrog dismayed Peugeot, and brilliantly hold off a desperate charge by the French to claim a thrilling twenty-two second victory.