Audi wins at Le Mans

After the much hyped return of the factory Porsche team to Le Mans, an strong showing ended in disappointment. Toyota on the other hand was very strong from the beginning and amassed a significant lead while maintaining a consistent pace until it suffered electrical problems. In the end, the four ringed marques won again, their 13th overall win, but this time Prof Ullrich expressed respect for the Porsche camp.

98th running of the Le Mans (2014) race results and number one post race commentary.

Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1):
1. Audi R18 e-tron, Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer
2. Audi R18 e-tron, Kristeensen/Gene/di Grassi
3. Toyota TS040 Hybrid, Davidson/Lapierre/Buemi
Tom Kristensen: "Like all the others, we hade some issues. The injectors had to be changed out, we had a flat tire. Though a wheel ended up turning, it was necessary to return to the pit to change out the turbo. We are part of a big team, it's as simple as that. Lucas and I would like to give a nod to Loic Duval, who could not compete in the race with us after the incident at practice. It had to be difficult for him to watch the race at home. We would have liked to give him a fairy tale victory but we are happy with what we have accomplished".

Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2):
1. Jota Zytek Z11SN Nissan, Dolan/Tincknell/Turvey
2. Thiriet TDS Ligier, Thiriet/Badey/Gommendy
3. Signatech Alpine A450b Nissan, Rast/Charouz/Capilaire
Simon Dolan: "It's a very special result! It's the biggest race in the world. And we just won and we are having a hard time letting it sink in given our situation last night. We never backed down and our strategy ended up working at the end of the race. Wonderful driving by Harry and Oliver, no one made a mistake. Victory came into view during the last stints, with a gap of 20 seconds to make up, we managed to do.."

GTE Pro:
1. AF Corse Ferrari 458, Bruni/Vilander/Fisichella
2. Corvette Racing C7 R, Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor
3. Porsche Team Manthay 911, Holzer/Mackowiecki/Lietz
Toni Vilander: "Our strength is that our team is very solid. It's our third Le Mans together. We won in 2011 and again this year. AF Corse put a fast, reliable car in our hands. Gianmaria[Bruni]is one of the fastest GT drivers, Giancarlo[Fisichella] is very fast and consistent, and I think we make up the three of us a good combination".

GTE Am:
1. Aston Martin Racing Vantage, Poulsen/Heinemeier, Thiim
2. Proton Porsche 911 GT3, Ried/Bacheler/Al Qubaisi
3. Corse Ferrari F458, Perez/Cioci/Venturi

For a pretty good recap of the race, by the folk of GT Spirit.com, please click here, and to read up on some interesting statistics on the race, please click here.

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Source: LeMans.com, PistonHeads.com, Crashnet.com, GTspirit.com.
Photo credit: Marshal Pruett