Audi Recaptures Le Mans 24 Hour, Peugeot close behind

Its time for the greatest test of an automobile manufacturers overall endurance, with the annual 24 hour race from Le Mans, France. Once again, Audi captured the win although it wasn't ever a done deal.After finishing the 2010 24 Hours of Le mans 1, 2, 3, Audi returned this year to defend it's title, with full knowledge that anything can happen...and it did- roughly one hour into the race for lead driver, champion Allen McNish. Whether the slower traffic caught him off guard, or he was forced into a compromising situation, McNish flew of the track in the Dunlop curves after contacting a Ferrari and floated sideways over the gravel trap, contacting the armco barrier and exploding into a jillion pieces, showering corner workers, emergency personnel and photographers and casting a pall over the team watching from their garage. McNish, the wiry Scot and veteran lead driver for AudiSport walked tenderly from the wreckage with the aid of a medical worker to a waiting ambulance to be whisked off to the trackside medical facility. He was examined and was, for the most part uninjured except for cuts, bruises and scrapes. The car, Audi's new enclosed cockpit R18 TDI was a complete loss.

It was the first of two of the championship teams' entries that would leave the race early, due to slower traffic and collisions. Later that night, Mike Rockenfeller would attempt to pass another Ferrari on the Mulsanne straight, but right at the slight right-handed kink before the braking zone for the Mulsanne turn, and the Ferrari didn't see him coming. The closing speed of these LMP's is stunning. Forced off track into the grass, Rockenfeller was relegated to just a passenger when he lost control of the R18 at top speed, an estimated 200+ mph, crossed over the track and struck the barrier on the opposite side, flattening the car and destroying a section of the barrier causing an almost two hour delay while crews worked to repair the gap

ing hole. Rockenfeller also was taken to the medical facility on site, and was amazingly not seriously injured, although he was transported to a local hospital for further examination. He walked away from the brutal crash, but Audi's three car team was now down to one.









Three was the charm for Audi, though, and aside from a hard charge at the end making it close (the gap at the finish was a mere 13 seconds), Audi won it's tenth overall victory at Le mans over Peugeot and it's diesel powered 908 driven by Frenchmen Simon Pagenaud and Sebastien Bourdais, Bourdais being a native of Le Mans.

The LMP 2 class was won by Greaves Motorsport Zytek nissan driven by Olivier Lombard.

Team Corvette finished first in the GTE Pro class, with Antonio Garcia at the wheel for the checkers, while the other Team Corvette entry driven by Jan Magnussen wrecked out early.

Another Corvette won the GTE Am class, fielded by Larbre Competition and driven by Gabriel Gardel at the finish.

Notably present was Michael Waltrip, competing in his first 24. Michael along with two co-drivers, competed in the GTE Pro category driving a Ferrari 458 Italia and finished over half the race before falling by the wayside. There wasn't an explanation for their dnf, but I'm sure it was the experience of a lifetime for the American racing legend. Guess it's back to the roundy-rounds in Michigan next week.

As an aside, it was a fascinating weekend of racing which saw Jeff Gordon win at Pocono, tying him for 3rd on the all time Nascar win list.

In the Canadian Grand Prix, weather was the story with rain interrupting the race. After the worst was over, the cars took to the track and Sebastian Vettel continued to lead until a streaking Jensen Button, recovered from a drive through penalty for avoidable contact with Fernando Alonso (which put Alonso out of the race), a puncture from that contact and another brush with a competitiors car to storm up behind Vettel on the last lap. Whether it was his pressure or a rare lapse in judgement by Vettel, Button passed the defending champion when he went wide on a corner, running out of the dry line into a still-wet area of the track. Button's McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton went out early in a collision, and Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa had a great handling car at the end and finished strong. Michael Schumacher had a great race but suffered at the end and was passed on the last lap by Button and Webber for the final podium spot.

-Katykarter
ps Love those F1 grid girls from Turkey! Homina Homina!