Sunday's Belgian race produced one of the most nail-biting races in several seasons to date, mostly because of changing weather conditions, but also because of the tough fight between Audi and Peugeot factory teams.
The pressure on Team Peugeot Total was massive going into the Spa weekend, and the team delivered in a style that suggests they still are highly competitive with a 1-2 victory.
The Team Peugeot Total trio of Pedro Lamy, Sébastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud scored an outright win in the second round of the 2010 Le Mans Series, taking the team's 908 HDi FAP from pole to checkered flag victory, for the great pleasure of 38,000 race-fans.
Team Peugeot Total and Quifel-ASM Team make the grade
Spa-Francorchamps seven-kilometer rollercoaster, which nestles into the wooded Hautes-Fagnes region, is famous for its capricious weather, and it honored its names and fames today during the whole race. The rain made the track very tricky and the race has been disturbed by several safety-cars after some cars went off.
Although the track is very demanding, the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 has crossed the line in first after a faultless six-hour race. As the second successive win – after the 12 Hours of Sebring - result for the Peugeot Total factory team this year, it once again proves the exceptional pace, reliability and durability of the marque's cars. This is the second victory in a row at Spa for the French driver Simon Pagenaud, who said: “The communication in the team is perfect, which makes life much easier. This is one of my best races in a while. The race was tough because the track was damp at some point. I am happy that I survived and I did everything to stay alive! This is a very good result for us.”
Team Peugeot Total made the grade with the 1-2 victory. The French team clearly showed to its main rivals that it will be once again one of the main contenders for victory at Le Mans in June. Stéphane Sarrazin and Franck Montagny started third and finished second after Stéphane Sarrazin passed Tom Kristensen in the last laps, as he explained: “My first stint was ok because I was able to push, but then the rain started. Soft tires were the good choice and at the end I was pushing hard to catch up. Traffic was difficult to handle because there were a lot of slow cars on the track due to the bad weather conditions. This is a good start before Le Mans.”
What Spa proved is that the Audi R15 Plus has speed, reliability and consistency to match the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. Following the surprising victory at the Paul Ricard track for the 2010 season opener, the German car-manufacturer demonstrated that it was not a lucky victory and that it will be a strong contender in Le Mans. The car had very low downforce as a test for Le Mans as Allan McNish confirmed: “Because of the low downforce, we suffered a little bit with rain and cold. The weather at the beginning was the same for everybody and I struggled to keep the car on the track. I had no interest in fight at that point, but after the red flag, we were reasonably quick.”
Strakka Racing and HPD were the clear favorite as the Le Mans Series moved to its second round in Belgium this weekend, but it failed and the reigning champion Quifel-ASM Team is back on the podium after Olivier Pla and Miguel Amaral took the checkered flag in first in the LMP2 class after a thrilling race. The French driver said: “It is good to be back on the podium because in France last month we had problems and we didn't have the pace. I was able to build a gap with my rivals and Miguel could keep it. This is a very good race for us.”
After spending the last season in relatively uncompetitive machinery, there was a mix of relief and elation on drivers' face on Sunday, after team RML finished second. Once again OAK Racing combined combative speed with impressive reliability, bringing #35 car home on the podium for the second race in a row thanks to Guillaume Moreau and Richard Hein, who also won the Michelin Green X Challenge.
The Formula Le Mans class prototypes had a hard time in Belgium, and three different teams climbed on the podium. Hope Polevision Racing started from pole, but won the race with the second car driven by Steve Zacchia, Luca Moro and Wolfgang Kaufmann. Boutsen Energy Racing and JMB Racing also climbed on the podium.
