Audi and Peugeot at Le Mans by Roberto Motta

The fastest Peugeot, driven by Stephane Sarrazin, was six-hundredths slower, at 3 minutes, 27.876 seconds.

However, remember that top speed and fast laps are not so important because the race is a long 24 hours. The test days are useful to try to achieve the right set up under varying conditions, and finding troubles that could cause any possible disappointment in the car or in the team. Therefore, Audi and Peugeot ran continuously for eight hours on Sunday preparing for the race, to be held on June 11-12.

The Audi was the quickest car in both the morning and afternoon sessions. The German team must be happy, because the new R18 model is the first Audi sportscar in coupé configuration since 1999 and proved to be the best car on track.

For the Le Mans Test Day, the Audi Sport Team Joest had ten drivers: Capello, Kristensen, McNish, Bernhard, Dumas, Rockenfeller, Fässler, Lotterer, Tréluyer and the reserve driver Bonanomi. During the morning session the Audi took the first three positions, with the #2 car of Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer finishing just over 0.6 seconds behind, and the superstar line-up of the #3 car of Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish taking third place a further two seconds back. The #2 was delayed during the session when Fassler spun into the gravel at the Mulsanne corner.

In the afternoon, the Peugeot has broke the Audi domination in the last seconds of the afternoon session, as Stephane Sarrazin drove the #8 908 into third place overall, just 0.189 seconds off the fastest time, leaving the #2 car down in fourth place ahead of the other Peugeot cars, with the #10 Oreca car sandwiched by the #9 and #7 cars.

“It was a perfect day for the whole team with the new car”, says Tom Kristensen. “For me it was the first time since 2003 that I’ve sat in a coupe. The efficiency and the work of Audi have really impressed me. You can really feel the aerodynamics and the car is very comfortable. Already now we have gathered valuable information. As a driver, I very much appreciate the six-speed gearbox. It fits well to the engine with its down-sized cubic capacity.”

Each of the three Audi R18 TDI cars had two stickers on the rear wing that were styled according to Michele Alboreto’s helmet. They were in memory of the former Audi works driver who died on April 25 ten years ago. (read Motta’s stories about Michele Alboreto).

Three Peugeot 908s and ten drivers on track
The Team Peugeot Total continued its preparations for the world’s most famous endurance race, and was present at Le Mans with ten drivers; Sébastien Bourdais, Anthony Davidson, Marc Gené, Pedro Lamy, Nicolas Minassian, Franck Montagny, Simon Pagenaud, Stéphane Sarrazin, Alexander Wurz and Jean-Karl.

The new Peugeot 908, another Darth Vader coupe, completed its first ever laps on the 13.629-kilometre Le Mans racetrack. The split of the ten drivers in the three cars was changed a little in line with the work to be carried out on each Peugeot 908. Nicolas Minassian, for example, started the session in the no.7 car, Stéphane Sarrazin was on board the number 8 car and Alexander Wurz ventured out in car no.9.

“Our target was to work on endurance”, says Nicolas Minassian. “We successfully completed our program. We have spent a lot of time on the track and everything has gone as planned, which is perfect for recording the data we need for the race. Without particularly adjusting the set-up, we had a very efficient car.”

After this test session, all the teams will be moving on to Spa-Francorchamps in a few days, where the cars and the drivers will be taking part in the next round of the ILMC, the 1,000 kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps on May 6-7th.

The Peugeot Four

The Audi Four

Session 1:
1: Audi R18 TDI no.1, 3’27’’900, 50 laps
2: Audi R18 TD1 no.2, 3’28’’503, 38 laps
3: Audi R18 TD1 no.3, 3’30’’382, 45 laps
4: Peugeot 908 no.8 (Sarrazin, Davidson), 3’30”516, 43 laps
5: Peugeot 908 no.7 (Minassian, Gene), 3’32”549, 59 laps
6: Peugeot 908 no.9 (Wurz, Bourdais), 3’32”578, 32 laps
7: Peugeot 908 HDi FAP – Oreca no.10 (Lapierre, Duval), 3’34’’317, 46 laps
8: Pescarolo Judd no.16 (Collard, Tinseau, Jousse), 3’37’’640, 43 laps
9: Rebellion Lola no.12 (Jani, Prost, Bleekemolen), 3’38’’537, 34 laps
10: Rebellion Lola no.13 (Belicchi, Boullion, Smith), 3’40’’264, 19 laps…

Session 2:
1: Audi R18 TD1 no.3, 3’27’’687, 46 laps
2: Audi R18 TDI no.1, 3’27’’815, 29 laps
3: Peugeot 908 no.8 (Montagny, Sarrazin), 3’27”876, 37 laps
4: Audi R18 TD1 no.2, 3’27’’878, 32 laps
5: Peugeot 908 no.9 (Bourdais), 3’28”304, 21 laps
6: Peugeot 908 HDi FAP – Oreca no.10, 3’31’’141, 56 laps
7: Peugeot 908 no.7 (Lamy, Vernay, Pagenaud), 3’32’’860, 58 laps
8: Pescarolo Judd no.16, 3’36’’583, 42 laps
9: Pescarolo Judd no.12, 3’37’’809, 31 laps…
10: Pescarolo Judd no.13, 3’38’’716, 15 laps

Test day overall standings:
1 : Audi R18 TD1 no.3, 3’27’’687, 62 laps
2 : Audi R18 TDI no.1, 3’27’’815, 48 laps
3 : Peugeot 908 no.8, 3’27”876, 80 laps
4 : Audi R18 TD1 no.2, 3’27’’878, 70 laps
5 : Peugeot 908 no.9, 3’28”304, 43 laps
6 : Peugeot 908 HDi FAP – Oreca no.10, 3’31’’141, 78 laps
7 : Peugeot 908 no.7, 3’32”549, 117 laps
8 : Pescarolo Judd no.16, 3’36’’583, 65 laps
9 : Pescarolo Judd no.12, 3’37’’809, 60 laps
10 : Pescarolo Judd no.13, 3’38’’716, 26 laps