Peugeot wins at Petit Le Mans

Peugeot se méfiait des conditions de course. Malgré le doublé des 908 HDi FAP en qualifications, Olivier Quesnel redoutait la pluie sur le circuit de Road Atlanta, l?écurie française n?ayant pu tester ces conditions avant le Warm up. Les craintes de la marque au Lion se sont révélées justes puisque, dès le départ de la course, le doublé Peugeot s?est effacé devant le show McNish. L?Ecossais, au volant de l?Audi R15 TDi n°2, s?envole littéralement et sème les deux 908 dès le premier virage. Sur piste mouillée, les Peugeot sont à la traine. Des positions 1 et 2, elles reculent progressivement, dépassées par les Audi et même par l?Acura de Ferran et la Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2).

But the rain is not there and the track dries as the minutes pass, restoring speed to Lamy and Sarrazin to achieve acceptable times. Meanwhile, the Acura Highcroft (Brabham, Sharp, Franchitti), which started from the back of the grid after being completely overhauled, returned to the top 10, a stone's throw from its rivals. The other Acura is less fortunate, Gil de Ferran is harpooned coming out of the corner by Jon Field and his Lola. The Brazilian has to return to the pitlane and loses precious minutes. In the fight for the general classification, Ferran Motorsport sees the ALMS title slip away.

But, contrary to pre-race estimates, still no neutralization. The first comes after debris litters the track, due to the loss of the hood of the Doran Ford GT-R. The positions are tightening but Allan McNish is still firmly at the front of the race. The restart was barely given when, a few minutes later, Scott Dixon, who had taken over from Gil de Ferran, sent the No. 66 Acura into the protective tires. The leader of theIndycar Series condemns his teammates and returns to the pits.

In the lead, it is still the No. 2 Audi which dominates the race. Rinaldo Capello replaced Allan McNish but the data does not change. However, they are improving for Peugeot, which sees its two 908s return to the race for victory by moving up to 2nd and 3rd places, taking advantage of the weather conditions. Meanwhile, in GT2, the duel is close between Ferrari, Porsche and Corvette.

Taking advantage of a new neutralization before the three hours of racing, the Peugeot n°07 of Minassian comes back to the Audi n°2, at the head of the pack. But, at the restart, Capello took off again, confirming the excellent behavior of the Audi R15 on the Georgian track. After another neutralization, the Peugeot no. 08 gained the upper hand over the sister car and launched an attack on the Audi no. 2 but Allan McNish, who was back behind the wheel, did not lose his lead. .

As is often the case during ALMS races, yet another neutralization affects the course of things. Allan McNish made a mistake while trying to keep his tires warm while following the safety car. He had to return to the pits and left control of the race to the Peugeot n°08 of Montagny and Sarrazin.

But the rain comes to the party and Peugeot fears losing its efficiency. Finally, it was Allan McNish who made a mistake again and left the two Peugeots to monopolize the first two places in the race. The rain increased and the drivers were forced to put on rain tires. But, a few minutes later, it was too much: the rain disrupted the race and the organizers brought out the red flag, just before the halfway mark. For tens of minutes, a restart was announced but as the rain did not stop, the decision was made: the race would not restart.

The positions before neutralization are therefore definitive and it is Peugeot which does the "good" thing by achieving a new double against Audi, three months after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But this time, the race didn't even last five hours. Sarrazin and Montagny (Peugeot n°08) are therefore ahead of Minassian/Lamy (Peugeot n°07), McNish/Capello (Audi n°2), Werner/Luhr (Audi n°2) and Stone/Panis/Dumas (Oreca 01).

In LMP2, it was a disaster and the first car, the Lola of Leitziger, Franchitti and Devlin, finished thirteenth, behind five GT2s. In this category, it was ultimately the Ferrari 430 Berlinetta of Melo, Kaffer and Salo which won, with a one lap lead over four cars separated by a short time. Behind the Ferrari, the #92 BMW E3 M92 took second place, ahead of the #911 Porsche 3 GT87 RSR.

In terms of the general classification of the different categories, this race changes nothing. Drivers having completed less than half of the race (4h48 out of 10h), no points are awarded for the championship. Next meeting in two weeks, for the final round of the ALMS, at Laguna Seca.