There are two adages that are very true about all motorsport, be it F1, WRC, or sports car racing. One goes like this, ‘when the flag drops (or lights go out nowadays), the bullshit stops,’ which basically means that all the big talk, showmanship (including qualifying) before a race starts really counts for nothing once the race actually gets underway. The other adage, which is self-explanatory really, is that to finish first in a race, you have to first finish.

Both adages held true for the 2010 version of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Peugeot got all the eyeballs and cornered the newsprint by being blisteringly fast through practice and qualifying. But the French team forgot one very important element of the 24 hour race – endurance and reliability. So, while it’s very good to be fast, it’s really of no use if your car breaks down and fails to finish.



This year’s race saw a few interesting entries. The Swiss Matech Competition team entered a Ford GT driven by an all-female team – made up of Natacha Gachnang, Cyndie Allemann and Rahel Frey. It was the first time in 19 years that an all-women’s team started this classic race. Since the inaugural race in 1923, 22 all-female teams have competed at the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Multiple Le Mans champion Jacky Ickx’s daughter, Vanina, was competing too as part of the Aston Martin team. There was a famous rookie driver as well – one Nigel Mansell, former F1 and Indycar champion of ‘Red 5’ fame, making his Le Mans debut for Beechdean Mansell Racing (making him a rookie). Along with his two sons Greg and Leo, they ran in the LMP1 category with a Ginetta-Zytek car – hoping to give both Peugeot and Audi a run for their money. Also, in a lower category, there was a Ferrari campaigned by ex-Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella and Jean Alesi.

As mentioned before, all the talk was on the French conquering Le Mans, and everything that came in their way. It seemed that would actually happen with three works Peugeots, and a French privateer (ORECA) Peugeot, dominating the early part of the race. However, the pole sitting No.3 Peugeot of Pedro Lamy / Sebastien Bourdais / Simon Pagenaud hit trouble very early in the race and retired. Strike number one. This put the No.1 car of Anthony Davidson / Marc Gene / Alex Wurz into the lead, but as the race wore on, it too had to spend time in the pits to sort out a problem, and got lapped in the process. Strike two. That put the Franck Montagny / Stephane Sarrazin / Nicolas Minassian driven No.2 car in the lead. While the leaders did see daylight, their hopes crashed and burned, literally, early in the morning as Montagny, driving at the time, saw his car in flames. Strike three. At long last, the Audis were in the lead with the Number 9 car of Mike Rockerfeller / Romain Dumas / Timo Berhard.



The French manufacturer fired its last arrow, getting one car ready for a final attempt, and giving the Brit, Anthony Davidson, orders to win back the honours. And Davidson obliged, as did the Austrian Wurz. Unfortunately, the adage came into play again – to finish first, you have to first finish – and thanks to some hard driving, which did result in Wurz clawing back second place from Audi, the car expired. Was it going to be Audi all the way to the finish? Not if the French privateer ORECA team had something to say about it. Ordered to keep the French flag flying high, Loic Duval in his ORECA Peugeot set about bringing honour and glory to France – he did manage to set a fast lap time, but the end result of his efforts was another Peugeot lying stricken by the side of the road. Strike four. Four Peugeots down, three Audis cruising well within themselves – that was the picture at the end of the race.



The Audi Sport North American entry, with drivers Mike Rockenfeller (DEU), Timo Bernhard (DEU) and Romain Dumas (FRA), came in first in the Audi R15TDI, with a one-lap margin over teammates Fässler / Andre Lotterer / Tréluyer in car # 8, and two laps ahead of the experienced team in car # 7 with Rolex Testimonee driver Tom Kristensen, and fellows Allan McNish and Dindo Capello.

The winning Audi completed 397 laps, and averaged 225.2 kilometers an hour. In doing so, they set a new record – eclipsing the 1971 record set by Gijs van Lennep and Dr. Helmut Marko in a Porsche 917. It was also a 1-2-3 victory for Audi. The 2010 version was not about winning a race, but more a lesson in how to lose one – reminiscent of the Hare and the Tortoise fable.

The Strakka Racing team of Leventis / Watts / Kane took 1st place in LMP2, finishing 5th overall. In the GT1&2 classes, the Larbre Competition of Roland Berville / Julien Canal / Gabriele Gardel, and Team Felbermayr-Proton of Wolf Henzler / Richard Lietz / Marc Lieb took the honours respectively.