At the heart of the Audi-Peugeot duel

Sketches and adjustment tables to help mechanics working on German prototypes. Hasty and approximate gestures... And above all, faced with this unusual spectacle at Audi, the face of Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich pouting... Obviously, the boss of Audi Sport is not starting this 77th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as he would have liked.

To the complaint, then to the appeal filed by Peugeot Sport calling into question the legality of its cars, followed by problems of development and reliability. Starting with the No. 3 of Alexandre Prémat, ready to set off for qualifying, but which was soon brought back to its stand. The Frenchman no longer has power steering. The front cover is hastily removed. The men in red and gray overalls bearing the four rings logo are busy around the mechanical elements responsible for this first setback. The n°2, then the n°1 stopped in the pit lane and went inside. Front and rear covers are removed. The Audi Sport engineers are trying to maintain calm and coordinate interventions.

Ullrich paces around the back of the stand, but doesn't let anything show. The clock is ticking. The first qualifying session finally ended with McNish?s best time, who took provisional pole position in the final minutes. Ullrich and his drivers had nevertheless insisted that qualifying would be a work session in preparation for the race and in no case a hunt for pole position. This nevertheless brings a smile back to a team surprised by so many unexpected events and suddenly assailed by doubt.

At Peugeot

Life is such that it reserves tears for misfortune, but also for happiness. The three official Peugeots have barely started their last lap when mechanics, engineers, girlfriends and big bosses are already letting their emotions flow. The outpourings of joy and tears testify to the intensity involved by everyone in this grueling human and mechanical adventure.

The flags flap in the wind, the foghorns camouflage the roar of the engines and the public salutes the performance of the French manufacturer. The show offered for 24 hours was epic. The Marseillaise chanted by several thousand people has a stimulating effect on the body and helps to forget the lack of sleep and stiff muscles. The moment is historic and has not been experienced since 1993, the date of Peugeot's final victory at Le Mans. But apart from the champagne, the bravos and the satisfaction of a job well done, the podium ceremony reveals the crestfallen expression of crew no. 8 (Montagny-Sarrazin-Bourdais) and reminds us that this happy ending retains a bitter taste for some.

If this 77th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans marked the triumph of Peugeot, the Sochaux firm was not spared from doubts and blunders. A flashback is required. Apart from the controversy surrounding the conformity of the Audi R15, the week started rather well for Peugeot. The rain which fell on the Sarthe route on Wednesday was not in vain because it was rich in lessons. The delay previously shown by the 908 during difficult weather conditions seems to have been overcome. Qualifying on Thursday was devoted to scanning the final configurations and testing the endurance of the tires. No stress emanated from the behavior of the engineers, and only the nervous gestures of Franck Montagny in the throes of adjusting his mount briefly animated the French stand.

At the end of the session, shortly before midnight, Stéphane Sarrazin was authorized to start the clock. The Cevennes driver achieved the feat of placing a 908 in pole position for the third year in a row. However, this risky exercise was of no importance to Peugeot, whose media lynching suffered last year following the defeat was still fresh in our memories.

Find the full article in AUTOhebdo N°1705, on newsstands June 17