Dumas: “I always believed in it”

The French driver now knows the joy that a winner can feel after having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. On an Audi judged before the race to be less efficient than the Peugeot 908, hope was slim. But the successive retirements of the 908s nevertheless allowed the No. 9 to finish Le Mans in the lead of the LMP1s.

« It was a bad start indeed, but I always had the feeling that something was going to happen. I'm not saying I thought we were going to win but I was sure the race was going to be lively. “, declared Romain Dumas after the race. “ They were so dominant that I thought they were going to trip over each other. Quite a few people, including at Peugeot, told me that their pace was very, very high? Maybe too high? »

The crew, unlike the 908s, did not encounter any serious problems, thus completing a race without incident? a dream situation for this event. “ We did not make the slightest mistake and we paid attention to everything », continued the winner of the event. “ We kept the rhythm each time best suited to the situation? However, in the first hour, we were not leading far ».

The Frenchman, however, maintains that he never doubted that a good result was possible in the face of tough competition. “ I always believed in it. Especially when we found ourselves in the top three for the first time. The symbiosis with my teammates was perfect. I know that in some teams this would have caused a problem between the drivers, but there, no. All three of us worked in the same direction and the atmosphere remained very relaxed and healthy until the finish. When the car crossed the finish line, I especially had the feeling of having done my job well, of having respected what I had been asked to do and also of having seized the enormous opportunity who offered himself to us ».