2009 24 Hours of Le Mans

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The race will be held on June 13th and 14th and the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe, part permanent race circuit, part temporary street circuit, over 8 miles of high speed racing per lap for twenty-four hours. It's where manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche, Ford, Audi, and Chevrolet, among many others, have been driven by legends like Mario Andretti, AJ foyt, Derek Bell, Tom Kristenssen, and Jacky Ickx claimed overall victory. Since 1923, it has been the race manufacturers want to win.

Today's Le Mans race will involve 55 cars from 4 different classes (LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2) competing for overall and class victory.

Invites (by class):

LMP1

#1 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R15 TDI

#2 Audi Sport North America, Audi R15 TDI

#3 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R15 TDI

#4 Creation Autosportif, Creation CA07-Judd

#6 Team LNT, Ginette-Zytek 09S

#7 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

#8 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

#9 Peugeot Sport Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

#10 Team Oreca Matmut AIM, Oreca 01-AIM

#11 Team Oreca Matmut AIM, Oreca 01-AIM

#12 Signature Plus, Courage-Oreca LC70E-Judd

#13 Speedy Racing Team Sebah, Lola B08/60-Aston Martin

#14 Kolles, Audi R10 TDI

#15 Kolles, Audi R10 TDI

#16 Pescarolo Sport, Pescarolo 01-Judd

#17 Pescarolo Sport, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

#23 Strakka Racing, Ginetta-Zytek 09S

#007 Aston Martin Racing, Lola B09/60-Aston Martin

#008 AMR Eastern Europe, Lola B09/60-Aston Martin

LMP2

#5 NAVI Team Goh, Porsche RS Spyder

#24 OAK Racing, Pescarolo 01-Mazda

#25 Ray Mallock Ltd, Lola B08/86-Mazda

#26 Bruichladdich Bruneau Team, Radical SR9-AER

#30 Racing Box, Lola B08/80-Judd

#31 Team Essex, Porsche RS Spyder

#33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah, Lola B08/80-Judd

#35 OAK Racing, Pescarolo 01-Mazda

#40 Quifel ASM Team, Ginetta-Zytek 09S/2

#41 GAC Racing Team, Zytek 07S/2

#44 Kruse-Schiller Motorsport, Lola B07/46-Mazda

GT1

#55 IPB Spartak Racing, Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT

#63 Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

#64 Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

#66 Jetalliance Racing, Aston Martin DBR9

#68 JLOC Isao Noritake, Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT

#72 Luc Alphand Aventures, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

#73 Luc Alphand Aventures, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

GT2

#70 IMSA Performance Matmut, Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

#75 Endurance Asia Team, Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

#76 IMSA Performance Matmut, Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

#77 Team Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

#78 AF Corse, Ferrari F430 GT2

#80 Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

#81 Team Seattle/Advance Engineering, Ferrari F430 GT2

#82 Risi Competitzione, Ferrari F430 GT2

#83 Risi Competitzione, Ferrari F430 GT2

#84 Team Modena, Ferrari F430 GT2

#85 Snoras Spyker Squadron, Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R

#87 Drayson Racing, Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2

#89 Hankook Farnbacher Racing, Ferrari F430 GT2

#92 JMW Motorsport, Ferrari F430 GT2

#96 Virgo Motorsport, Ferrari F430 GT2

#97 BMS Scuderia Italia, Ferrari F430 GT2

#99 JMB Racing, Ferrari F430 GT2

Reserve Entries

1st, LMP2, Barazi-Epsilon, Sytek 07S/2

2nd, LMP2, Gerard Welter, WR LMP2008-Zytek

3rd, GT2, Team Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

4th, GT2, Snoras Spyker Squadron, Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R

5th, GT1, Larbre Competition, Saleen S7-R

Wikipedia page

Last year, in LMP1, we saw the final Le Mans win for the venerable Audi R10 TDI, the best diesel powered car to lap the circuit, and Audi has returned to defend their title, this time with the new R15 TDI, which won its first time out at the 12 Hours os Sebring in March. Hot on their heels will be the French mark Peugeot with their 908 HDi FAP, another diesel powered car. The French nearly took the win from Audi, but the German team beat them out with strategy and good old fashion reliability. Can the R15 keep Audi's Le Mans winning streak going?

In LMP2, the Porsche RS Spyder, of Van Merksteijn Motorsport, claimed its class victory over the other Porsche RS Spyder of Team Essex by 7 laps. Van Merksteijn Motorsports did not accept their invitation for this year's race, so can Team Essex give the RS Spyder another class victory? Will previous race winner Team Goh take that honor from Team Essex in the same Porsche? Or will one of the other LMP2 cars spoil their party?

GT1 saw Aston Martin Racing take another Le Mans win from the factory Corvettes. With the Le Mans race being the last of the GT1 Corvettes, can they finish out its illustrious run with the top step of the podium, or will the Lamborghini or Aston Martin put a damper on it?

GT2 sees the defending race winner, Risi Competizione, take on 5 Porsches, 9 Ferraris (including their other car), an Aston Martin and a Spyker, all fighting to be the top of their class. With 15 other cars in their class, it will be a tall order for the Risi boys to see victory again.

Qualifying will be on June 11th. SPEED Channel will carry live coverage of the race, but not the full 24 hours. I'll post their schedule as soon as it comes out.

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Qualifying results for tomorrow's 24 Hours of Le Mans race (bold are class leaders):

Color code: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, GT2

1) #8 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

2) #1 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R15 TDI

3) #7 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

4) #17 Pescarolo Sport, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

5) #9 Peugeot Sport Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

6) #2 Audi Sport North America, Audi R15 TDI

7) #3 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R15 TDI

8) #007 AMR Eastern Europe, Lola B09/60-Aston Martin

9) #008 Aston Martin Racing, Lola B09/60-Aston Martin

10) #13 Speedy Racing Sebah, Lola B08/60-Aston Martin

11) #23 Strakka Racing, Ginetta-Zytek 09S

12) #16 Pescarolo Sport, Pescarolo 01-Judd

13) #15 Kolles, Audi R10 TDI

14) #14 Kolles, Audi R10 TDI

15) #10 Team Oreca Matmut AIM, Oreca 01-AIM

16) #11 Team Oreca Matmut AIM, Oreca 01-AIM

17) #009 Aston Martin Racing, Lola B09/60-Aston Martin

18) #6 Team LNT, Ginetta-Zytek 09S

19) #4 Creation Autosportif, CreationCA07-Judd

20) #31 Team Essex, Porsche RS Spyder

21) #5 Navi Team Goh, Porsche RS Spyder

22) #12 Signature Plus, Oreca 01-Judd

23) #33 Speedy Racing Sebah, Lola B08/80-Judd

24) #25 RML, Lola B08/86-Mazda

25) #40, Quifel ASM Team, Ginetta-Zytek 09S

26) #30 Racing Box, Lola B08/80-Judd

27) #41 GAC Racing Team, Zytek 09S

28) #35 OAK Racing, Pescarolo 01-Mazda

29) #32 Team Barazi Epsilon, Zytek 07S

30) #39 KSM, Lola B07/46-Mazda

31) #63 Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

32) #64 Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

33) #26 Bruichladdich Bruneau, Radical SR9-AER

34) #66 Jetalliance Racing Gmbh, Aston Martin DBR9

35) #72 Alphand Aventures, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

36) #24 OAK Racing, Pescarolo 01-Mazda

37) #73 Alphand Aventures, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

38) #80 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3-RSR

39) #77 Felbermayr Proton, Porsche 997 GT3-RSR

40) #82 Risi Competizione, Ferrari F430 GT2

41) #99 JMB Racing, Ferrari F430 GT2

42) #97 BMS Scuderia Italia, Ferrari F430 GT2

43) #76 IMSA Performance Matmut, Porsche 997 GT3-RSR

44) #78 AF Corse, Ferrari F430 GT2

45) #92 JMW Motorsport, Ferrari F430 GT2

46) #87 Drayson Racing, Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2

47) #89 Hankook-Farnbacher, Ferrari F430 GT2

48) #85 Snoras Spyker Squadron, Spyker C8 Laviolette

49) #84 Team Modena, Ferrari F430 GT2

50) #83 Risi Competizione, Ferrari F430 GT2

51) #70 IMSA Performance Matmut, Porsche 997 GT3-RSR

52) #75 Endurance Asia Team, Porsche 997 GT3-RSR

53) #96 Virgo Motorsport, Ferrari F430 GT2

54) #81 Advanced Engineering, Ferrari F430 GT2

55) #68 JLOC, Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT

Here in the states, pre-race for the 24 Hours of Le Mans is on at 7:30 EDT AM on SPEED Channel, with the race starting at 8:30 AM EDT or so. SPEED will broadcast the race from 8:30 AM to 12 PM EDT, when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at MIS will air. SPEED will return with the coverage of the race at 4:30 PM EDT until 10 PM EDT, and back on at 12 AM EDT until the end, I guess. For those outside of the US, check your programing guide for information on race coverage.

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The Peugeots finally win a race at Le Mans! They've spent the past 2 years trying to beat the Audis, but through either stupid mistakes or reliability issues, they've failed to get the top spot on the podium. Now, the Peugeots, in a 3 year old design (with upgrades), beat out the vaunted Audi teams (in the new R15 TDIs), with their superior aerodynamics and Audi's reliability issues of their own (had to blow out their radiators several times over the 24 hours). The diesels still reign supreme at Le Mans, but the petrol (gasoline) cars are closing in (with help from the ACO).

Several cars have had big problems over the race. The #2 Audi R15 TDI spun out at the entry of the Porsche Curves, terminally damaging the car at about 6 hours in. The #009 Lola-Aston Martin smacked into the side of the #26 Radical at the entrance to pitlane, causing severe damage to the car. Stuart Hall, the driver of the Lola-Aston Martin at the time, was excluded from the race as a result of the crash (the Lola-Aston Martin would later crash heavily in the Porsche Curves about 6 hours from the end of the race). The #17 Pescarolo-run Peugeot 908 HDi FAP car crashed in a big way at the 13 hour mark, causing the driver to take a trip to the hospital to be checked out (he was okay). The final big moment was when the #5 Porsche RS Spyder lost it under braking for the first chicane, smacked the right-side guardrail, then deranged one of the tyre rows in the runoff area. The driver was fine; the car, not so much.

Narain Karthikeyan, driver of the #14 Audi R10 TDI car entered by Kolles, fell off of the pit wall before the start of the race and dislocated his shoulder. He went to the hospital to have it relocated. The doctors at the hospital cleared him to drive, but the ACO doctors said he couldn't race, so the car was ran by only two drivers, a big feat.

Below are the class winners:

LMP1: #9 Peugeot Sport Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, driven by Marc Gene, Alexander Wurz, and David Brabham

LMP2: #31 Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder, driven by Casper Elgaard, Emmanuel Collard, and Kristian Poulsen

GT1: #63 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, driven by Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen, and Antonio Garcia

GT2: #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT2, driven by Jaime Melo, Pierre Kaffer, and Mika Salo

Below are the final class results (from the Le Mans website, in .pdf format):

http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/chron...Race_clah24.pdf

And the overall results (again, in .pdf format):

http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/chronos/24h.pdf

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Happy to see that Salo's team and Johnny O's team both won! I didn't watch more than an hour of the race, but I always try to catch the ALMS when it's on.

Hopefully Acura will make it over there next year. I'd love to see de Ferran's team win it.