Le Mans 24 Hours

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Current page

173

Current page

174

Current page

175

Current page

176

Current page

177

Current page

178

Current page

179

Current page

180

Current page

181

The image of a Toyota prototype flipping through the air and slamming hard into a tyre barrier will be the lasting image of the 80th Le Mans 24 hours. That Anthony Davidson escaped with ‘only’ two cracked vertebrae was remarkable given the accident’s violence. once again the focus will fall on amateur drivers and their ability to race on the grande dame of all tracks. In an accident reminiscent of Mike Rockenfeller’s last year, Davidson was sideswiped when Italian Piergiuseppe Perazzini failed to spot the Toyota TS030 hybrid as it sliced down the inside of his ferrari 458 italia at the fast kink on the approach to mulsanne Corner.

As Perazzini crawled away from his wrecked car, Davidson worked his way out of his cramped cockpit, but then slumped back in shock and pain. after a long wait, there was relief all around when news filtered back that his injuries were not as serious as they might have been. He was tweeting from his hospital bed long before the race was run.

At the time of the accident, at 8pm on Saturday, the race between Toyota and the Audi e-tron quattro hybrids had come alive. The Audis had led from the start, but now the Japanese cars – making their race debuts, of course – were gaining ground despite running for a lap less during their stints.

Nicolas Lapierre closed in on Benoit Treluyer and sensationally took the lead with two wheels on the grass. The pair duelled and swapped positions during a lap that recalled for real what Steve McQueen faked on the cinema screen.

But it all ended abruptly as the TV pictures switched to Mulsanne Corner and Davidson’s horrific smash.

After an hour and a quarter behind the safety car, Kazuki Nakajima attempted to take up where team-mate Lapierre left off and fight for the lead, but instead elbowed the experimental ‘garage 56’ Delta Wing entry into a concrete wall out of the porsche Curves. Satoshi Motoyama worked valiantly to repair the innovative Nissan-powered racer, but eventually had to admit defeat after toiling for an hour and a half by the side of the track. Still, the point of the Delta Wing had been made and the project gained huge respect for the promise it showed during Le mans week.

Toyota’s challenge was also over. After repairs, Nakajima pitted again for a new alternator. The car returned to the track late on Saturday night, only for the engine to fail. Even without the accidents, a debut victory was always a long shot for the new car, whatever its pace. At least it looks as though Audi has a fight on its hands for the rest of the inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship – and on this evidence next year’s Le Mans could be an all-time classic. One regret? Peugeot. If only the 908s could be part of the story, too.

At dusk on Saturday night, some wondered whether this race would now be the anti-climax so many had feared. But they hadn’t counted on Audi’s admirable policy of allowing its drivers to race. And race hard, too.

Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello – celebrating his 48th birthday as Saturday turned to Sunday – had been delayed early on by a handling imbalance. During the night, though, the veterans got stuck in and worked their way back to second place, behind the sister R18 e-tron quattro. When Marcel Fassler suffered a couple of on-track incidents, they were ready to benefit.

On Sunday at 9am, Fassler’s attempt to reclaim the lead from Kristensen ended with a gravel excursion, but the decisive error would come just after noon – and it was McNish who made it. The Scot removed the nose of his R18 against a Porsche curves barrier as he tried to lap a GT car, and the advantage swung back to Treluyer, Fassler and André Lotterer. The trio would score their second consecutive victory at the ‘big one’. The non-hybrid ultra of young Briton Oliver Jarvis, Marco Bonanomi and Mike Rockenfeller suffered early delays, but then enjoyed the most trouble-free run of all the Audis to complete a four-rings 1-2-3, ahead of Rebellion’s Lola which, as expected, claimed ‘best of the rest’ honours. Neel Jani, Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost delivered the perfect tribute to those at Lola who are looking for new jobs following the constructor’s fall into administration.

The secondary LMP2 class was claimed by Le Mans newcomer Starworks Motorsport, as Britons Ryan Dalziel and Tom Kimber-Smith led the american team to seventh overall.

Aston Martin took on Corvette and Ferrari in a thrilling GTE class, the Prodrive-run Vantage taking the fight to the American muscle car in the early stages. Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and Adrian Fernandez would take a respectable third in class, while the wheel fell off the chevy challenge – literally – as Richard Westbrook took over the lead car in the 11th hour. Class honours fell to AF Corse’s Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander.

Damien Smith