Peugeot in the lead, Peugeot struggling

It was at the end of a flying lap that Luca di Montezemolo gave the start of this 77th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. From the first turns, the big fight begins. While Peugeot 908 HDi FAP n°8 of Franck Montagny escapes in the lead, the n°7 of Pedro Lamy gets the better of the n°15 Audi R1 of Allan Mc Nish, then overtaken by the third Peugeot, the n°9 by Alexander Wurz. Peugeot can then exult in placing its three 908 HDi FAP in the lead.

But the unthinkable happens. At 15:35 p.m., the No. 9 Peugeot comes into the pits first to fill up with fuel. Franck Montagny (n°8) and Pedro Lamy (n°7) imitate Alexander Wurz in the next round. The two 908s, wheel to wheel since the start of the race, are one behind the other on the pitlane. As he was about to leave, Pedro Lamy saw another 908 appear, that of Jean-Christophe Bouillon, from the Pescarolo team. This one, with its snout, hooks the left rear of the n°7. Lamy sets off again but quickly realizes that he has to return to the pits, his rear end becoming visibly damaged.

Meanwhile, the No. 15 and No. 1 Audi R2s are running together, holding each other, at 16:08 p.m., more than 1?45?? apart. de Montagny, who flies away. No. 3 is further away, Alexandre Prémat having made a mistake by shooting straight on in the second lap. The Peugeot n°9, which has changed drivers, sees Marc Gene return to the R15s. Behind, the Lolas Aston Martin n°007 and n°008 ranked 5th and 6th, showing themselves to be the ??essence?? the fastest. And during this time, the Peugeot n°7 was still in the pit?