This years Le Mans 24 Hours produced a one-two-three finish for Audi, while Peugeot hasn’t drawn such a blank in the French race since 1991.

Peugeot’s first attempt at Le Mans (with the exception of its pre-war entries) ended in disappointment when its two 905s were sidelined after a few hours only.

This weekend, the French carmaker suffered its biggest setback in endurance racing in almost 20 years, with its three factory cars and the single customer car failing to reach the finish. Prior to this year’s event, only one Peugeot 908 HDI FAP had suffered the same fate (in 2007).

Peugeot Sport didn’t really deserve such a beating. Not only was the 908 faster in testing and for a big part of the race, but it was also the most consistent. One of its three cars spent 274 laps in the lead, and its build-up to the race included eleven 30-hour test sessions, plus participations in this year’s 12 Hours of Sebring and 1,000km de Spa.

The N°2 Peugeot led from 10:33pm until 7:02am, which amounts to 7 hours and 29 minutes (i.e. 30 per cent of the race). From the early hours of Sunday morning, Montagny, Minassian and Sarrazin had been lapping in 3m24s/3m25s, which is between three and four seconds slower than the car’s potential permitted.

For Audi, finishing first, second and third was a practically unhoped for result, and was obtained thanks only to the single weapon it had in its arsenal this year: the reliability of its car and drivers. The German team didn’t suffer the slightest mechanical problem, and its drivers steered clear of trouble on the track, with the exception of Kristensen’s tangle with his mate Andy Priaulx. Only one of the three Audi R15s had to be wheeled into its garage for work during the race!

Following the Ferrari/Ford decade between 1960 and 1970, and Porsche’s domination of 1980s, Audi has left an indelible mark on the first decade of the 21st Century with a score of nine wins (plus another under the Bentley name with a disguised Audi R8C) between 2000 and 2010.

24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi, Peugeot