Panis: My last 24 Hours of Le Mans

Olivier Panis achieved a good result with fifth place at the end of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But the Oreca driver no longer wishes to enter the Le Mans event, after having seen the accidents of the Audi drivers.

Published on 12/06/2011 à 17:51

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Sharing the wheel of the Peugeot 908 n°10 of Team Oreca with Nicolas lapierre et Loïc duval, Olivier Panis can be satisfied with his performance, as well as that of his former teammate at Oreca Marcel Fässler, who today became the first Swiss to win the 24 hours of Le Mans.

However, the Frenchman's joy at being at the finish is disrupted by the images of the accidents of the two Audi drivers, Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller, who both pulverized their R18 TDI.

Following these accidents, which could have had much more serious consequences for the drivers involved, Olivier Panis told us exclusively that he would no longer participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “The accidents of Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller yesterday were a real blow to me”, admits the Oreca pilot. ?I no longer want to force myself to do things and I spoke to the team about it. The time has come to say congratulations to them. Now for the young people! »

Find the complete report of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (42 pages) in an exceptional issue, on sale from Wednesday on all newsstands.