AND WRAPS UP 2007 LE MANS SERIES TITLE
Second place for the No 8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Pedro Lamy and Stéphane Sarrazin in this weekend’s 1000 Milhas Brazil at Interlagos, Sao Paulo, was sufficient to wrap up the 2007 Le Mans Series title for Peugeot Total. The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Marc Gene and Nicolas Minassian took victory in the 1000 Milhas to hand Peugeot Total its second one-two result of the year to round off the 2007 season in style.
With Pedro Lamy and Stéphane Sarrazin the only drivers in a position to take the LMS championship for Peugeot Total, Stéphane secured pole position by just two tenths of a second from the No 7 car driven by Marc Gene.
The race which started at noon on Saturday was, however, not without incident. The No 8 pole position car, driven by Pedro Lamy, was forced to start from the back of the grid due to problems with the clutch on the formation lap. An outstanding drive nonetheless saw Pedro fight his way back to second by his first refuelling stop on Lap 37.
The No 8 car was then called into the pits by the stewards on Lap 198 when the right-hand rear light was seen to be flashing on and off. Three laps were lost, but the car managed to re-join in second place.
Then, on lap 326, Pedro Lamy picked up a slow right-hand front puncture and stopped to change all four tyres.
On Lap 338, the team chose to call the car back into the pits to inspect the front suspension after observing sparks coming from the front right-hand corner, although nothing serious was found.
The No 7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Marc Gene and Nicolas Minassian enjoyed a near perfect race after leading from the start and came through all the potential pitfalls of the race which proved particularly punishing for the drivers and cars alike. The nature of the Interlagos track and the abrasive and bumpy surface saw many competitors experiencing punctures and suspension failures.
In the end, after 374 laps and more than 1,600 km of racing, the two Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs took the chequered flag side by side in the dark to claim the team’s second one-two finish of the year after monopolising the top two places at the Nurburgring.
Stéphane Sarrazin: “Towards the end, we preferred to make a number of precautionary pit stops in order to ensure we weren’t stopped as we were at Silverstone. Our result with what was a new car is incredible. This team is fantastic; it’s like a dream come true!”
Pedro Lamy: “We were under pressure during the race because of problems like our clutch trouble at the start. I can hardly believe we’ve won the title after such an eventful race, but we are the champions!”
Marc Gene: “It’s incredible that the team succeeded in producing such a strong car in such a short time. The team is really fantastic; I’ve rarely seen anything like it. This whole adventure has been extraordinary and unimaginable!”
Nicolas Minassian: “I would like to congratulate Pedro and Stéphane on their title. They have put in a first class season, but so has the entire team which has become a second family for me. It’s tremendous to have ended the year with a win and a one-two finish for the team. That makes it three wins each for the No 7 and No 8 cars.”
Michel Barge, Peugeot Sport Director: “It’s a marvellous result for Peugeot and for everyone who has worked so hard at Peugeot Sport since the beginning of our endurance programme, not to mention for all the guests of Peugeot’s Brazilian, Argentine and Chilean subsidiaries who were here today to watch the race.”
1000 Milhas Brazil – final positions:
1 – Gene/Minassian Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (1,611 km in 8h 58 m 21.822s) 2 – Lamy/Sarrazin Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (+12 laps) 3 – Campbell/Ortiz/Hall Creation-Judd (+16 laps) 4 – Collard/Boullion/Primat Pescarolo-Judd (+20 laps)
2007 LMS Driver’s classification – final positions:
1 – Lamy/Sarrazin 40.0 points 2 – Boullion 36.5 points 3 – Gene/Minassian 33.0 points 4 – Collard 32.5 points
2007 LMS Teams’ classification – final positions:
1 – Team Peugeot Total No 8 40.0 points 2 – Pescarolo Sport No 16 36.5 points 3 – Team Peugeot Total No 7 33.0 points
