The Race

Source: Wikipedia

The race began at 3:00 pm local time (GMT+1), with the French Tricolour Flag being waved by a group of astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The three Peugeot 908s led the field into the first chicane, but Allan McNish overtook the #7 Peugeot of Nicolas Minassian at the exit of the Dunlop Chicane. Minassian retook the position on the Mulsanne Straight, and the Peugeots maintained the top three positions at the end of the first lap.

In the early hours, the Peugeot #8, Pole setter and only car to set a fast race lap under 3:20, by black flag had been ordered into the pits to repair the headlights. This car trailed the other Diesels by several laps. The GT2 class saw drama for the two Porsches which had been battling for the class lead, as #80 collided with the Pole setting Porsche #76. Only #77 could continue after lengthy repairs.

The situation after 12 hours was as follows: Peugeot #7 was leading, with the first five being within 2 laps, with Audi #2 in 2nd, followed by Peugeot #9, and the Audi #3 and #1. Due to the fast pace in close competition, and despite 34min of safety car neutralisation, the leaders had completed 200 laps after 12 hours, the laps and distances covered in 1971 and 1988 might have been topped despite the track having chicanes now. In the LMP2 class, the leader was 10th overall, the two Porsche being within a lap, leading the next car by 9 laps. In GT1, the leader was 15th overall, the Aston Martins and Corvettes racing head to head less than a minute apart, with six cars being within six laps. The GT2 class, the leading Ferrari was 26th overall, with no less than five Ferrari battling for the Italian class win which was to be expected after the two class leading Porsche had collided, and five other GT2 cars were already out.

The second half of the race was under wet conditions. In the end, Audi and Kristensen won once again, with the best Peugeot being in the same lap, but not in reach for overtaking. The six factory-entered Diesels dominated the LMP1 class, having no major problems. The Porsche RS Spyders dominated the LMP2 class, beating several LMP1 also in fastest lap times. In the GT1 class, the Aston placed 13th overall prevailed over a Corvette which also covered 344 laps, with three more GT1 chasing them. Of the five Ferrari which had led the GT2 class, three made it to the finish ahead of the remaining ill-fated Porsches which were capable of lapping slightly faster. Of the 35 cars still running after 24 hours, only one failed to cover 70% of the 381 laps of the winner. Despite the conditions, the distance record on the current track layout, 380 laps, set in 2006, was beaten by one lap by both the #2 Audi and the #7 Peugeot.

Provisional results

Class winners are marked in bold. Cars finishing the race but not completing 70% of the winner's distance or cars not finishing the race at the end of 24 hours (marked as DNF; regardless of distance) are listed as NC (Not Classified).

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre	Laps
					Engine
1	LMP1	2	Audi Sport North America	Allan McNish Rinaldo Capello Tom Kristensen	Audi R10 TDI	M	381
					Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
2	LMP1	7	Team Peugeot Total	Nicolas Minassian Marc Gené Jacques Villeneuve	Peugeot 908	M	381
					Peugeot HDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
3	LMP1	9	Peugeot Sport Total	Franck Montagny Ricardo Zonta Christian Klien	Peugeot 908	M	379
					Peugeot HDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
4	LMP1	3	Audi Sport Team Joest	Mike Rockenfeller Lucas Luhr Alexandre Prémat	Audi R10 TDI	M	374
					Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
5	LMP1	8	Team Peugeot Total	Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy Alexander Wurz	Peugeot 908	M	368
					Peugeot HDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
6	LMP1	1	Audi Sport North America	Frank Biela Marco Werner Emanuele Pirro	Audi R10 TDI	M	367
					Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
7	LMP1	17	Pescarolo Sport	Christophe Tinseau Benoît Tréluyer Harold Primat	Pescarolo 01	M	362
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
8	LMP1	5	Team Oreca-Matmut	Soheil Ayari Loïc Duval Laurent Groppi	Courage-Oreca LC70	M	357
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
9	LMP1	10	Charouz Racing System Aston Martin Racing	Jan Charouz Tomáš Enge Stefan Mücke	Lola B08/60	M	354
					Aston Martin 6.0L V12
10	LMP2	34	Van Merksteijn Motorsport Equipe Verschuur	Peter van Merksteijn Jeroen Bleekemolen Jos Verstappen	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	M	354
					Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
11	LMP1	18	Rollcentre Racing	João Barbosa Stéphan Grégoire Vanina Ickx	Pescarolo 01	D	352
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
12	LMP2	31	Team Essex	Casper Elgaard John Nielsen Sascha Maassen	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	D	347
					Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
13	GT1	009	Aston Martin Racing	David Brabham Antonio García Darren Turner	Aston Martin DBR9	M	344
					Aston Martin 6.0 L V12
14	GT1	63	Corvette Racing	Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen Ron Fellows	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M	344
					Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8
15	GT1	64	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Max Papis	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M	341
					Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8
16	GT1	007	Aston Martin Racing	Heinz-Harald Frentzen Andrea Piccini Karl Wendlinger	Aston Martin DBR9	M	339
					Aston Martin 6.0 L V12
17	GT1	72	Luc Alphand Aventures	Luc Alphand Guillaume Moreau Jérôme Policand	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M	335
					Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8
18	LMP2	35	Saulnier Racing	Pierre Ragues Mathieu Lahaye Cheng Cong Fu	Pescarolo 01	M	333
					Judd DB 3.4 L V8
19	GT2	82	Risi Competizione	Gianmaria Bruni Mika Salo Jaime Melo	Ferrari F430 GT2	M	326
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
20	LMP2	40	Quifel ASM Team	Miguel Amaral Olivier Pla Guy Smith	Lola B05/40	D	325
					AER P07 2.0 L Turbo I4
21	GT1	73	Luc Alphand Aventures	Jean-Luc Blanchemain Laurent Pasquali Patrice Goueslard	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M	325
					Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8
22	GT2	97	BMS Scuderia Italia	Matteo Malucelli Paolo Ruberti Fabio Babini	Ferrari F430 GT2	P	318
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
23	GT2	90	Farnbacher Racing	Pierre Ehret Pierre Kaffer Lars-Erik Nielsen	Ferrari F430 GT2	D	317
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
24	LMP1	14	Creation Autosportif	Stuart Hall Johnny Mowlem Marc Goossens	Creation CA07	D	316
					AIM (Judd) YS5.5 5.5 L V10
25	GT2	99	JMB Racing Aucott Racing	Ben Aucott Alain Ferté Stéphane Daoudi	Ferrari F430 GT2	M	312
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
26	LMP1	4	Saulnier Racing	Jacques Nicolet Marc Faggionato Richard Hein	Pescarolo 01	M	311
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
27	GT2	77	Team Felbermayr-Proton	Horst Felbermayr, Sr. Alex Davison Wolf Henzler	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M	309
					Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6
28	GT1	50	Larbre Compétition	Christophe Bouchut David Smet Patrick Bornhauser	Saleen S7-R	M	306
					Ford 7.0 L V8
29	LMP2	32	Barazi-Epsilon	Michael Vergers Juan Barazi Stuart Moseley	Zytek 07S/2	M	304
					Zytek ZG348 3.4 L V8
30	GT1	59	Team Modena	Terry Borcheller Christian Fittipaldi Jos Menten	Aston Martin DBR9	M	302
					Aston Martin 6.0 L V12
31	LMP2	26	Team Bruichladdich Radical	Marc Rostan Gunnar Jeannette Ben Devlin	Radical SR9	D	297
					AER P07 2.0 L Turbo I4
32	GT2	80	Flying Lizard Motorsports	Jörg Bergmeister Johannes van Overbeek Seth Neiman	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M	289
					Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6
33	LMP1	11	Dome Racing Team	Tatsuya Kataoka Yuji Tachikawa Daisuke Ito	Dome S102	M	272
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
34 NC	GT1	55	IPB Spartak Racing Reiter Engineering	Peter Kox Mike Hezemans Roman Rusinov	Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT	M	266
					Lamborghini L535 6.0 L V12
35 NC	LMP1	24	Terramos	Yojiro Terada Hiroki Katoh Kazuho Takahashi	Courage LC70	M	224
					Mugen MF408S 4.0 L V8
36 DNF	GT2	96	Virgo Motorsport	Rob Bell Tim Mullen Tim Sugden	Ferrari F430 GT2	D	289
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
37 DNF	LMP1	16	Pescarolo Sport	Emmanuel Collard Jean-Christophe Boullion Romain Dumas	Pescarolo 01	M	238
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
38 DNF	LMP1	23	Autocon Motorsports Creation Autosportif	Bryan Willman Michael Lewis Chris McMurry	Creation CA07	D	224
					Judd GV5 5.0 L V10
39 DNF	LMP2	45	Embassy Racing	Warren Hughes Jonny Kane Joey Foster	Embassy WF01	M	213
					Zytek ZG348 3.4 L V8
40 DNF	LMP2	33	Speedy Racing Team Sebah Automotive	Steve Zacchia Andrea Belicchi Xavier Pompidou	Lola B08/80	M	194
					Judd DB 3.4 L V8
41 DNF	LMP1	20	Epsilon Euskadi	Ángel Burgueño Miguel Ángel de Castro Adrián Vallés	Epsilon Euskadi EE1	M	189
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
42 DNF	LMP1	22	Tōkai University YGK Power	Toshio Suzuki Haruki Kurosawa Masami Kageyama	Courage-Oreca LC70	Y	185
					YGK YR40T 4.0 L Turbo V8
43 DNF	LMP1	21	Epsilon Euskadi	Shinji Nakano Stefan Johansson Jean-Marc Gounon	Epsilon Euskadi EE1	M	158
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
44 DNF	LMP1	6	Team Oreca-Matmut	Marcel Fässler Olivier Panis Simon Pagenaud	Courage-Oreca LC70	M	147
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
45 DNF	LMP2	44	Kruse Schiller Motorsport	Jean de Pourtales Hideki Noda Allan Simonsen	Lola B05/40	D	147
					Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4
46 DNF	LMP1	12	Charouz Racing System Team Cytosport	Greg Pickett Klaus Graf Jan Lammers	Lola B07/17	M	146
					Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
47 DNF	GT2	78	AF Corse	Thomas Biagi Toni Vilander Christian Montanari	Ferrari F430 GT2	M	111
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
48 DNF	LMP2	25	Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML)	Andy Wallace Mike Newton Thomas Erdos	MG-Lola EX265	M	100
					MG (AER) XP21 2.0 L Turbo I4
49 DNF	LMP1	19	Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport	Bob Berridge Gareth Evans Amanda Stretton	Lola B06/10	D	87
					AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
50 DNF	GT1	53	Vitaphone Racing Team Strakka Racing	Peter Hardman Nick Leventis Alexandre Negrão	Aston Martin DBR9	M	82
					Aston Martin 6.0 L V12
51 DNF	GT2	94	Speedy Racing Team	Andrea Chiesa Iradj Alexander Benjamin Leuenberger	Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R	M	72
					Audi 4.0 L V8
52 DNF	GT2	85	Snoras Spyker Squadron	Ralf Kelleners Alexei Vasiliev Peter Dumbreck	Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R	M	43
					Audi 4.0 L V8
53 DNF	GT2	76	IMSA Performance Matmut	Raymond Narac Patrick Long Richard Lietz	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M	26
					Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6
54 DNF	LMP2	41	Trading Performance	Karim Ojjeh Claude-Yves Gosselin Adam Sharpe	Zytek 07S/2	M	22
					Zytek ZG348 3.4 L V8
55 DNF	GT2	83	Risi Competizione Krohn Racing	Tracy Krohn Nic Jonsson Eric van der Poele	Ferrari F430 GT2	M	12
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8

Statistics

• Fastest Lap - #8 Peugeot 908 HDI - 3:19.394
• Average Speed - #2 Audi R10 TDI - 216.3 km/h

24 Hours of Le Mans

Auto racing originated as a way of testing the new vehicles for speed and endurance. In 1923, the Automobile Club of the Sarthe, which had established the first French Grand Prix, decided to organize a race that would test not only around-the-clock endurance but also auto headlights, which were still in their infancy.

The result was the first 24 Hours of Le Mans race, originally called the Grand Prix of Endurance. The first race began at 4 p.m. May 26, 1923, during a tempestuous rain storm accompanied by bursts of hail.

Thirty-five cars from 18 different manufacturers entered that race. When it ended at 4 p.m. the following day, the winner was a Chenard and Walcker "Sport" driven by Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard. The car covered 2,209.536 kilometers at an average speed of 92.064 kilometers per hour - about 57.2 miles an hour.

Although the reliability of headlights is now taken for granted, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is still a major test of the endurance of an auto, driven continuously at high speeds.

Teams originally included only two drivers. Since 1977, a team has been allowed, but not required, to have three drivers.

Pre-qualifying sessions take place in early May, with qualifying rounds a month later and the race itself on a weekend in mid-June.