The 77th running of the Le Mans 24hr race was a hot affair this year, both for those on and off the track. The #9 Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP and its ex-Formula One drivers, David Brabham, Marc Gené and Alexander Wurz took the chequered flag.
Aston Martin LMP1
Britain's favourite cars at Le Mans, the Aston Martin's had a storming first outing in the top flight LMP1 class, with the 007-numbered car finishing fourth. 009 wasn't so lucky, though, after Stuart hall drove another car off the circuit. He was subsequently banned from the race.
Bruichladdich Bruneau Radical-Zytek
You can just about see the Reical-Zytek of Tim Greaves in this photo, after it was punted off the track by the 009 Aston. It's a rather close-up shot...
Bruichladdich Bruneau Radical-Zytek
...and here it is, laid to rest just by the entrance to the pits after a mere 91 laps. They did better than the JLOC Isao Noritake Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT, though, which managed only one lap before calling it a day.
Drayson Racing Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2
Driven by gentleman racer/team co-owner Lord Drayson - you'll remember the papers outrage when he quit politics to go racing - this Aston got all the way to the 22nd hour on Sunday before pulling out following a technical problem on the Mulsanne Straight.
Kolles Racing Audi R10 TDI
Kolles Racing fielded a pair of ex-works Audi R10s, employing ex-F1 pilots Narain Karthikeyan and Christian Albers among their drivers. Karthikeyan dislocated his shoulder climbing over the pitwall before the start of his race, so teammates Andre Lotterer and Charles Zwolsman completed the full race between them. Ending an impressive 7th.
Endurance Asia Team Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
This Hong Kong based team was the first Chinese outfit to enter Le Mans, with their eye-catching Porsche, clad in an awesome dragon. The dragon didn't prove lucky tough, the team managing just 186 laps.
Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP
Finally, on their third attempt in recent times, the French outfit managed to win the biggest motorsport event held in their country, outclassing the might of Audi from the very first lap. They were hugely quick all weekend
Audi R15 TDi
It took Audi several hours to match the pace of their rivals Peugeot, with the number 1 car of Allan McNish, Tim Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello. Car 2 dropped out of the race, and 3 finished 17th. Will Audi return next year for another crack at the title?
Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT2
The Houston based Risi Competizione finished first in the GT2 class with a two-lap lead. You might also recognise the name of one of their drivers, Mika Salo
Track invasion
The ruling body of the Le Mans 24hrs, the ACO, keep trying to stop people running down the track after the race, with little success. Here's a few people who made it onto the asphalt.
It's all over
The sun goes down on Le Mans for another year. Who will be turning up for the 78th outing in 2010? |