The battle for endurance racing dominance continues on Motors TV

2008 will be remembered for one of the biggest motorsport duels of all time. For Ferrari v McLaren in F1, read Peugeot v Audi in endurance racing, a fight which has been just as exciting. The two works giants didn’t skimp on their budgets as they looked to win some of the sport’s most prestigious races, while making huge technological advances with their innovative diesel engines.

It is irrefutable that Audi have had the better of the season by winning the things that matter; the Le Mans 24 Hours the Le Mans Series triple of the drivers’, teams’ and manufacturers’ championships. Nevertheless, Peugeot, with its beautiful 908, has undoubtedly had the quicker car as pole position at La Sarthe and four LMS victories prove.

The final meeting between the two in 2008 takes place next Saturday, 4 October, at the 11th round of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the Petit Le Mans. The 1000-mile (or a maximum of ten hours) race is, after the Le Mans 24 Hours and 12 Hours of Sebring, the most prestigious endurance race that bears the stamp of Le Mans and the ACO. Peugeot will face further competition from the works teams of Porsche and Acura (Honda), neither of whom they face in Europe, but both of whom are capable of outright victories in the US, despite their P2-class status.

A plethora of British stars will be in action (Allan McNish, Dario Franchitti, Jamie Campbell-Walter, Guy Smith, Rob Bell, Johnny Mowlem, Darren Turner and Oliver Gavin) while international stars from a number of different motorsport disciplines (Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon) are also on duty. The rumour mill also suggests that ex-F1 World Champion Nigel Mansell and his two sons could also be on the starting grid!

The Petit Le Mans will be screened Live, exclusive and un-interrupted on Motors TV on Saturday 4th October from 4pm.