So it is in the books: Another 24 hours have been logged at the Circuit de la Sarthe and, most importantly, a new marque leaves its mark on the opening decade of the 21st Century.
The four rings of Audi have been replaced by the roaring Lion of Peugeot as the automaker of note in this classic endurance race. Audi's brand new R15 TDI could not hold sway against the sheer speed and efficiency of Peugeot and their 908 HDI-FAP. The major hindrance to a Peugeot victory in last year's event was the lack of strategy and coordination in the pit lane -- something that the ruthlessly efficient Germans with ruthlessly efficient Wolfgang Ullrich in command had never lacked. The Peugeots were fast last year, but the crew was not.
For this year, Peugeot obviously rectified that issue, because they were extremely smooth on race strategy and the cars performed magnificently. Only two issues struck the Peugeot factory effort during the entirety of the race: the robotic efficiency of the pit crew bit the #7 when it was released into the path of Pescarolo Sport's own 908 when it should have been held for a moment longer, and the left-rear of the #8 had to be completely replaced as day turned to night. The #9 car, however, was bulletproof. When the #8 sat in the garage, the #9 shot into the lead and never looked back.
Audi, on the other hand, looked almost human in this year's race. The lack of on-track testing at the Le Mans circuit obviously hurt them, as none of the drivers seemed to be content with the car until daylight broke on Sunday. Also, uncharacteristic human error became a problem for two of the cars. The #3, under the direction of Alex Premat, lost control on the approach to the Indianapolis corner and hit the wall, dropping that car deep into the field early on. The #2 seemed to have some sort of mechanical issue or puncture as it entered the Porsche Curves and Lucas Luhr was unable to prevent the car from spearing the tire barrier. The #1 car was the only one that remained in one piece, but the speed simply was not there to catch the Peugeots.
The scary moment in P1 came deep into the darkness, when the Pescarolo Peugeot carrying Benoit Treluyer ended up parked against the barriers at the Esses. There was no camera replay of the incident, but accounts say the car got unstable after hitting a bump, dug into the grass, and flipped into the barriers. The car was so entirely destroyed that the only things distinguishing the car were the white bubble top and the fact that the only remaining body panels on the car were painted the lime green and light blue of Pescarolo Sport. The moments following the accident were frightening; after the safety crews made their initial assessment of the situation, they brought out tarps to block photographers from getting close to the incident -- which could have been interpreted as keeping cameras from seeing a bloody mess inside the cockpit or something. Fortunately, after a tense hour of waiting, word was received that Treluyer was awake and alert.
One fine story that came out of P1 was the introduction of the Aston Martin-Lola to the world. First of all, the cars looked absolutely spectacular, finished off in the light blue/bright orange of the Gulf Oil Company -- colors that have graced such notable machines as the Ford GT40 and the Porsche 917. Second, the cars were very fast, propelled by the only proper power plant an Aston can really have: a roaring, gasoline-powered V12. Considering the dominance that diesel-fueled cars have enjoyed for the last several years and the semantics that Henri Pescarolo used to go through because of the disadvantage provided to his Judd V8-powered cars, it was interesting to see a gasoline-powered car running with the diesels. Apparently, the trap speeds for the Astons were easily higher than those of the diesel cars, but the diesels have immense levels of torque that could not be overcome. The next few years could see a return of gasoline to the victory stand, though.
In the Prototype 2 category, things did not turn out quite as I predicted. Team Goh, the only Japan-based team to ever take an overall victory at Le Mans, looked very strong with its Porsche RS Spyder as it battled on and off with Team Essex's Porsche. However, as Sunday progressed along, problems began to crop up and the car spent some time in the garage. The stamp was put on Goh's day when the car seemed to malfunction under braking for the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight, sending the car into the aluminum barriers on the side of the road, then through a tire wall on the inside of the chicane. Driver Seiji Ara escaped in one piece, but it is safe to say the car did not.
In GT1, the final year before the unified GT class takes effect, it was a dominant farewell for the class' most prolific team, Corvette Racing. The two 'Vettes were the class of the GT1 field the entire race, and they even battled each other throughout the day on Sunday. It looked for a time like the excellent-looking black #64 might take the win, but a broken transmission with just over an hour to go ruined their day. Luckily, the #63 was there to take the reigns and, after the crew pitted the car to clean the accumulated grime off the nose, a bright yellow Corvette crossed took the checkered flag for the final time in the forseeable future.
In GT2, there was more American dominance, though the vehicle-of-choice was of Italian make. Houston, TX-based Risi Competizione's two-car effort shot rosso corsa-colored flames in the face of the Porsches and other Ferraris to take a well-deserved victory. Unfortunately for the competition, it looks like Giuseppe Risi and his F430 GTs are going to be the team to beat in the American Le Mans Series and in the 24-hour race for some time to come. Porsche's dominance seems to have definitively ended and the only thing that will probably beat the F430 is Ferrari's next rear-engined coupe, the F450.
So there you have it. I made predictions and, as always happens with races like this one, I was made to look a fool. My P2 and GT1 predictions were almost right, but an untimely smash for Team Goh and a broken transmission for Corvette #64 made me a solid 0-4 on picks. However, it was a spectacular win for Peugeot and, as we roll into the near-future of Le Mans, the Peugeot-vs.-Audi-vs.-the world matchup should prove to be an interesting one.
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