DTM 2008 – Ekstrom wins rain lottery at Le Mans

 

By Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com

Mattias Ekstrom and his Audi Abt Sportsline crew won what truly was a rain lottery today on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit. The one major variable in the German Touring Car Masters series (DTM) race in France was the ever changing rain in the area — from light showers to driving rain — adding to the usual action in the German series.

Ekstrom inherited the lead when Audi factory teammate and points leader Timo Scheider dived into the pits on lap 11 and remained on slicks. Soon the track was starting to form rivers along the circuit and the usual mandatory two pit stops became four or more.

Even with a case of the flu, the Swede was able to take his third race win this season by over four seconds to second place Paul di Resta from the Mercedes camp.

“This wasn’t bad for a sick racer. After I was frustrated with a bout of flu all weekend I’m now totally happy about victory,” said Ekstrom. “The race was great and my Audi A4 was running perfectly from the start to the final lap. I couldn’t wish for more than this except, of course, that I would have liked still being in the race for the title. The decision has been postponed to the finale. There, we’ll be giving everything to clinch the title with Timo for Audi.”

While Ekstrom celebrated his 13th career victory, di Resta was also pumped about his podium finish. Placing his AMG Mercedes second in the penultimate round forces the championship battle to the season finale in Hockenheim on October 26th.

“It was not the right decision to start with rain tyres, but in conditions like today, it is difficult to make the right choice,” di Resta said. “It’s super that I finished second despite my extra pit stop and that I am only two points behind Timo Scheider — we knew that it would rain in the final third and my team had the perfect timing for the change; that was crucial. My speed was good despite the handicap weight which we now got rid of for the final race.

“I look forward to Hockenheim and I want to win in the great finale and thus clinch the championship title,” he added.

Frenchman Alexandre Premat for Audi Sport Team Phoenix ended third in the 2007-spec on his home turf. He was one of only four drivers who did just the required pit stops and ran the entire race on slicks.

“A fantastic weekend! Standing on the podium at my home race makes me very proud,” smiled Premat. “My team and I gave everything in qualifying and the race and were rewarded by third place. My team did everything right in terms of strategy so that I was able to attack at any time during the race.”

Scheider finished sixth and holds a two point lead over di Resta. The German now needs to stay in front of the Scotsman in the DTM finale. “It was the right decision to go into the race with slicks. Advancing from fifth to first is definitely something special. Unfortunately, we timed our second stop two laps too early, that’s too bad. We’ll chalk this up to experience now and concentrate on the finale,” he said.

Race results 

Standings after Le Mans 

See DTM race videos at Power Sport 

 

Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

 

The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is a sports prototype racing car built by the French automobile manufacturer Peugeot to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, starting in 2007.^[1] This effort, in development since 2005, was publicly unveiled on 15 June 2006. It competes with the Audi R10 TDI, being the second diesel engined sportscar from a major manufacturer. This was Peugeot’s first Le Mans effort since the end of the Peugeot 905 project in 1993.

Chassis

In preparation for new rules released by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) on 16 June 2006, which would require all LMP1 cars to be closed cockpits by 2010, Peugeot unveiled the 908 with a closed cockpit, the first Le Mans Prototype (LMP) since the Bentley Speed 8 to race with such a design. Peugeot’s choice to use a closed cockpit was likely intended to allow easier compliance with the 2010 rules, as well as allowing Peugeot to run a larger air restrictor due to the closed cockpit design mandating the use of air conditioning.^[2]

An early 908 design model shown in 2006

Peugeot also felt that weight, centre of gravity, and operational drawbacks were able to be overcome by better chassis rigidity and aerodynamics with using a closed cockpit design. The cockpit uses a unique 2 part door system with the upper part of the door (the window) swinging forward and out with a hinged plate (part of the sidepod) forming the lower part of the door that can be either swung out or removed completely, this was reportedly done to allow the car to conform to current regulations regarding door size. The body is a carbon fibre monocoque instead of a conventional open structure to offer better rigidity and lower weight.^[3] Front and rear suspension are linked, steering is electrically powered, magnesium wheels come from BBS. The car measures 4.65 m (183 in) × 2 m (79 in) and weighs 925 kg (2039 lb) minimum.

Peugeot announced they would build the 908 chassis themselves, instead of relying on another manufacturer to build it for them. The decision by Peugeot to build the chassis themselves has left Henri Pescarolo, who was looking for involvement in the Peugeot project, feeling that his future at Le Mans will be in doubt. The Pescarolo Sport team had been strapped for cash since Peugeot initially dropped their engine program in 2003, and Pescarolo was looking to possibly run the factory squad, similar to the way Reinhold Joest runs the factory Audi effort.

The 908 name is also shared with a Peugeot concept saloon/sedan, named the 908RC, which shares the diesel V12 engine from the 908 sportscar.

The Peugeot 908 is not to be confused with another sportscar of the same number that successfully raced from 1968 to 1981, the Porsche 908.

Racing history

 

The #7 Peugeot 908 being driven by Jacques Villeneuve at the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans test session.

The Peugeot 908 made its race debut at the opening round of the 2007 Le Mans Series season, the 1000km of Monza. The twin 908s were very quick in qualifying, managing to take the top two spots by over a second from the nearest competitor. During the race the Peugeot lead nearly the entire race, although the #8 car of Lamy and Sarrazin suffered numerous difficulties with its doors, leaving them to finish third. However the #7 908 of Gené and Minassian held on to take victory in the 908’s debut. At the next round at Valencia, it would be the #8 Peugeot’s turn to take the win, while the #7 car suffered late difficulties and did not finish.

On the 3rd of June 2007, Peugeot managed to best the Audi R10 TDI diesel, setting a Le Mans test day lap time of 3:26.707. This was followed by Peugeot earning pole position on Le Mans qualifying with a 3:26.344 set by Stéphane Sarrazin, again beating Audi – although it is believed Audi did not go as fast as they could, unlike Peugeot (in the race, where the cars were faced directly for the first time, the Audi R10’s were obviously faster than the Peugeots on the straights and much more stable and less forcing on the corners). In the race itself the #8 Peugeot managed to finish second to the Audi R10 after covering 359 laps. The #7 Peugeot sister car had to withdraw from the race in the final hour due to engine failure.^[6] When the stricken car reached the pits for the second time, Peugeot mechanics made no effort to resolve its problems and simply withdrew it from the race.

Following the break for Le Mans, the Peugeots returned to the Le Mans Series. Peugeot #8 would take two straight victories at Nürburgring and Spa before the #7 908 took the last two wins of the season at Silverstone and Interlagos. Winning three races andfinishing in five out of six, 908 #8 won the LMP1 teams’ championship, while the #7 car would suffer some reliability issues and would settle for third in the championship, behind Pescarolo Sport.

For 2008, Peugeot expanded their 908 program to include the 12 Hours of Sebring. Although the sole 908 led early, mechanical problems dropped the car from contention. However, the 908 completed the event, serving in preparation for a return to Le Mans. Back in the Le Mans Series, the two team 908s now had to face newcomer Audi, as they too entered two R10 diesels. The 908 however opened the season with a victory in Catalunya, marking the first time a 908 has beaten an R10, as well as winning the Spa 1,000 km. For Le Mans they are running 3 cars, and at Spa and for Le Mans for two of the cars have added former F1 drivers Jacques Villeneuve to partner Gene and Minassian in the no 7 car and Austrian Alexander Wurz in the no 8 car with Sarrazin and Lamy. Although the Peugeot 908 started on pole position in 2008 Le Mans, it was soon to be beaten by the Audi R10 in the rain during the race when the R10 just kept pounding it round the circuit. The R10 put up the fight and won in the end.

Source Wikipedia

 

Le Mans 2008

View this video of Le Mans 2008

See more at http://www.peugeot-sport.com/ 

and http://www.peugeot-sport.com/EN/endurance/peugeot908.htm

Peugeot race report

Racing series	LEMANS
Date	2008-06-15

 

VICTORY ESCAPES PEUGEOT WHICH PUTS TWO 908 HDi FAPs ON THE PODIUM AT LE MANSThe 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours produced one of the most exciting finishes in years and ended with Team Peugeot Total securing its second consecutive second place with the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP in the famous endurance race. The No.7 car shared by Marc Gene/Nicolas Minassian/Jacques Villeneuve emerged from the rainy early morning as the team’s best chance for victory and the trio never gave up the chase. The No.7 car was joined on the podium at the finish by the No.9 sister car of Franck Montagny/Ricardo Zonta/Christian Klien, while the third Peugeot 908 HDi FAP made it three cars in the final top-five. Inevitably, however, there was a sense of frustration within the team for not having succeeded in pulling off what it saw as its principal challenge of the 2008 season.Despite the disappointment of not reaping the rewards of all the effort and energy invested in what was always seen as the highlight of Team Peugeot Total’s 2008 programme, the Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs lost no time in revealing their competitive potential by qualifying on the first three places of Saturday afternoon’s grid. The Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs then went on to practically dominate the first 14 or so hours of the race.The No.8 Peugeot of Lamy/Sarrazin/Wurz emerged as the early pace-setter during the first two hours, but it then fell back after suffering a gear selection problem which took six laps to resolve. The No.7 car briefly inherited top spot before allowing the No.9 Peugeot of Montagny/Zonta/Klien to move into the lead following an incisive quadruple stint from Franck Montagny. As night began to fall, however, then leader Christian Klien (Peugeot No.9) was nudged into a gravel trap while overtaking a slower competitor. The No.7 sister car profited from the incident to ease into the provisional lead shortly after 10pm.Marc Gene, Nicolas Minassian and Jacques Villeneuve consequently led the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours for much of the night, even when rain began to fall over the French venue shortly after 4 o’clock in the morning, although this change in the conditions gave their rivals a new lease of life. By 5.17am, the No.2 Audi was in front, and it then profited from the wet weather to gradually extend its advantage. Meanwhile, Franck Montagny (Peugeot No.9) succeeded in stealing third place back from the No.3 Audi.The ferocity of the race became more intense when rain started to fall again over certain portions of the track with one hour remaining. With nothing to lose, Nicolas Minassian decided to stay out on slicks while the No.2 Audi stopped to fit rain tyres. It was a gamble but, in the end, the gap between the top-two cars remained basically unchanged all the rest of the way to the chequered flag.

Team Peugeot Total nonetheless left Le Mans with a spectacular record to its credit: that of the fastest ever race lap in the 24-hour classic which was the work of Stephane Sarrazin on his 102nd lap of the 13.629km circuit which he covered at an average speed of 246.068kph in the No.8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. In doing so, he also came within a whisker of the benchmark lap- time of Jackie Oliver which stands since 1971 (a 3m 18.4s, but posted without the Hunaudières Straight chicanes!) thanks to a 3m 19.394s on Saturday evening!

Source: Peugeot Sport

 

 

Images

From Silverstone, Le Mans, Spa and Monza 2008

Le Mans 24 Hours 2008 Race Finish – Audi wins!

Last minutes of the race

Audi wins thrilling Le Mans 24 Hours

Racing series	LEMANS
Date	2008-06-15 (Le Mans, France)

By John Dagys - Motorsport.com

The 76th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will go down in the history books as the battle of the diesels. And it went right down to the dramatic rain-soaked final hour. In the end, Audi Sport Team Joest pulled through to score their third straight Le Mans victory with the venerable R10 TDI. The No. 2 machine of Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish shined in the wet, defeating the strong challenge put forth by the Peugeot 908 HDi-FAPs.   

#2 Audi Sport North America Audi R10: Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello. Photo by Eric Gilbert.

 

The turning point in the twice-around-the-clock French classic came in the early morning hours when rain began to fall around the 8.5-mile Circuit de La Sarthe. Up until then, the No. 7 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP of Nicolas Minassian, Marc Gene and Jacques Villeneuve had been the pacesetters, holding a one-lap lead over the No. 2 Audi. However, as the rain fell in the 14th hour, the Peugeots began to slip back and the Audis started to shine. One hour later, Kristensen was out in front.

“We had the weather forecast and were making the right calls, which was always giving us a little bit more, especially during the night,” Kristensen said. “It was really when we took the lead. That was very important to put more pressure on. And then later on as well, taking the right calls on the tires and gaining some seconds. I’m sure that was tiring on our competitors.”

The battle for the lead intensified in the closing hours as the track dried up, giving the Peugeot the advantage. But with an hour remaining, the race was thrown upside down with the return of the rain, spicing up the strategy with the two leading contenders. With only about one-third of the circuit wet, Minassian opted to stay on slicks while the Kristensen took on intermediates. The two-minute gap between the two rivals began to shrink, but Minassian later pitted for rain tires, ten minutes before Kristensen’s final stop for rains as well.

However, Minassian’s set of tires appeared to be unbalanced and he was forced to make an additional stop for a new set, dropping him one lap down. Once on track in the closing laps, Minassian gained his lap back, but it was all too late as Kristensen crossed the line, completing 368 laps and winning his record eighth 24 Hours of Le Mans crown.

While “Mr. Le Mans” celebrated another career milestone, co-drivers Allan McNish and Dindo Capello were just as thrilled with their victories. For McNish, it was his second Le Mans triumph, the first coming ten years ago, driving a Porsche 911 GT1-98.

 

	LM P1 podium: class and overall winners Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello, Allan McNish with Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Photo by Eric Gilbert.

 

“It’s very different to the first, but also very similar,” McNish said, comparing his two Le Mans victories. “In 1998 we didn’t have the fastest car, but we had a very good team, good reliability and we had to fight 100 percent to win the race. It was also very similar because it was also only one hour before the end that was finally decided. But I have to say that this one probably the hardest race I’ve every lived through. The competition was strong. We knew we couldn’t make a mistake. We knew that if we had any technical problem, we’d be out. Also in the pit stops and the driving and everything just had to be perfect or we didn’t have a chance.”

Sunday’s win was Capello’s third in the “Grand Prix of Endurance,” after victorious with Bentley in 2003 and Audi Sport Team Goh in 2004. But this year’s success had broken a superstition that has haunted many teams and drivers in the past.

“Our theory before this race was that the car in the [official event] poster never wins the race,” Capello said. “This time, fortunately, this theory is broken. In 2004, Mr. Goh paid a lot of money to have his car on the main poster of the event. Tom [Kristensen] and myself thought, ‘hmm, the car on the poster never wins the race.’ So [Mr. Goh] decided not to take it. We won in 2004 and from that moment, we really believed in this theory. And today this theory is broken. Now we’d like to be on the poster again next year.”

Audi Sport Team Joest has now achieved a hat trick of victories for the second time, the first coming in 2000-2002 with the legendary Audi R8. History keeps on rewriting itself, now with the three-peat with the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI.

“The 2008 Le Mans 24 Hour race will become part of history as a unique race,” said Audi Head of Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “It was a tense race for the whole duration of 24 hours. We didn’t enter the race as the favorite, but our success was the result of good performances and a faultless showing – and we achieved that against strong opponent.”

 

#7 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Marc Gene, Nicolas Minassian, Jacques Villeneuve.Photo by Eric Gilbert.

 

Peugeot entered the race as favorites, and Kristensen even admitted that if it had been a dry race, he probably wouldn’t have won. Audi had focused on setting up its three cars to suit dry and wet conditions, unlike the Peugeots, which excelled only in the dry. But the Michel Barge-led team scored a double podium with the No. 7 car of Minassian, Gene and Villeneuve coming home second and the Franck Montagny, Christian Klien and Ricardo Zonta in third.

“We knew it would be difficult, but I’m disappointed not to have won,” Minassian said. “It has to be said, though, that our opponents did a remarkable job. At the very end of the race, we did everything we could to catch them. We stayed out on slicks in the rain and then gambled on rain tires because we were still some way back and we had to try something. We will now have to analyze everything that happened this weekend to come back even stronger than ever.”

The French Lions didn’t walk away with problems of their own ,though. The team’s quickest car, the No. 8 of Stephane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy and Alexander Wurz, turned out to be the one with the most issues. It soldered home to a 5th place finish overall, but 13 laps back on the winning Audi. Early gearbox problems coupled with frequent trips in and out of the garage prevented it from improving. Yet, Sarrazin has been credited with the race’s fastest lap time, a 3:19.394 run on Saturday evening.

“We go away with much that was positive, too,” said Peugeot Sport Director Michel Barge. “We came exceedingly close to pulling off an exploit and I believe we produced a first class overall performance. It was towards the end of the night that we lost all chance of winning but we managed to finish hard on the heels of a very worthy opponent. That’s something I won’t forget in a long time.”

 

	#3 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R10: Mike Rockenfeller, Alexandre Prémat, Lucas Luhr.Photo by John Dagys.

 

The other two Audis also faced setbacks, as the No. 3 machine of Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and Alexandre Premat finished seven laps back in fourth after having to replace the oil filterwith two hours remaining. Defending race winners Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela lost a clutch late in the race as well as other issues, finishing 14 laps down in sixth.

“Our race was okay, but we lost some time at the beginning,” Luhr said. “At the end we had to come twice into the garage ending our battle with the No. 9 Peugeot prematurely. We just missed the podium with our fourth place. But we have the chance for improvements next year.”

Harold Primat, Christophe Tinseau and Benoit Treluyer in the No. 17 Pescarolo Sport Judd came out as best of the gasoline-powered runners, finishing seventh overall.

“This is a great day for us because we knew there were two races within the LMP1 class, one for the diesels and one for the petrol cars,” team owner Henri Pescarolo said. “We have been victorious in the latter against Lola, Oreca, Creation and Dome which is a great achievement. The three drivers were fantastic because the conditions have been so difficult. They have all driven perfectly and I am absolutely delighted for them.”

Team Oreca Matmut’s No. 5 Courage-Oreca LC70 Judd driven by Soheil Ayari, Laurent Groppi and Loic Duval finished eighth. The No. 10 Charouz Racing System Lola B08/60 Aston Martin of Stefan Mucke, Jan Charouz and Tomas Enge made a great recovery following an early race accident to finish ninth overall and in the LM P1 class.

 

LM P2 podium: class winners Jos Verstappen, Peter Van Merksteijn, Jeroen Bleekemolen.Photo by Eric Gilbert.

 

Van Merksteijn Motorsport celebrated the LM P2 class victory, bringing its Porsche RS Spyder home in 10th overall. The trio of Jos Verstappen, Jeroen Bleekamolen and Peter van Merksteijn led a remarkable 90 percent of the race while battling for the lead with the similarly prepared No. 31 Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder of John Nielsen, Casper Elgaard and Porsche factory driver Sascha Maassen.

The only major difference between the two RS Spyders was its tires. The Van Merksteijn example ran on Michelins whereas Team Essex had Dunlops. The Danish-entered Porsche led early but suffered two punctures and an electrical problem, dropping it seven laps behind the Dutch entry. The problems for Nielsen and company cost them cost them valuable time, eliminating the exciting duel seen early in the race.

“In the beginning, the Essex team was very strong,” van Merksteijn said. “We had the strategy for Jos to drive four stints and that kept a little bit of pressure on those guys. Jos has sometimes driven even better than Audi and Peugeot drivers and you saw it in the rain and dry. It’s unbelievable what he’s done and it just put more pressure on the team.”

Verstappen, who made his Le Mans debut, was delighted with his maiden win. The former Formula One veteran said most of the advantage was gained in the nighttime hours and also when the rain came in the morning.

 

	#34 Van Merksteijn Motorsport Porsche RS Spyder: Jos Verstappen, Peter Van Merksteijn, Jeroen Bleekemolen. Photo by Tom Haapanen.

 

“It’s important for the team,” Verstappen said. “This was our main goal this year, and the LMS races of course to prepare everything. The team is new to long distance racing. We have a fantastic car; otherwise it’s hard to have a result like this. It’s important to win this, especially for Peter who set the team up in such a professional way. We have fantastic support from Porsche. That’s why we can do something like this.”

In its first 24-hour race, Porsche’s RS Spyder successfully made it to the finish line with both of its cars, a feat some thought wouldn’t have been possible considering the car’s past lack of reliability in endurance races. Instead, the Weissach brand proved naysayers wrong, with claiming an impressive 1-2 in class.

“The car is just brilliant to drive. It’s a lot of fun,” Bleekamolen said. “It’s easy to drive and doesn’t take a lot of energy. It’s really fantastic for long distance racing. Of course we have to thank Porsche for this win because they built this car to be able to do this.”

The Team Essex RS Spyder finished 13 laps ahead of the third-placed No. 35 Saulnier Racing Pescarolo Judd of Pierre Ragues, Mathieu Lahaye and Cong fu Cheng, the first-ever Chinese driver to start a Le Mans, yet alone finish on the podium.

 

 

Final Results