Audi will start this weekend's Le Mans 24 hour race from pole with local driver Benoit Treluyer setting the quickest time in an exciting final qualifying session.
Treluyer, from the town of Alencon, 50 minutes north of the track, took advantage of a relatively clear track to record a time of 3m25.799s to take the coveted pole.
"I am very happy. I just really realise now that it is just fantastic for me." he said/
"I was born so close to here and the 24 Hours is such a challenge and I was not even thinking about the pole position and then I did and it is just fantastic."
Alongside Treluyer on the front row will be his team mate Romain Dumas who held out the Peugeot of
Simon Pagenaud, Sebastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy.
"The car was quick" said Dumas, "but unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a perfect lap. The first row for Audi - that is very nice and shows clearly that we are competitive. We were fast with new tires and old tires and that is a good sign for the race."
Pagenaud looked set to challenge for the pole but traffic held him up on for several laps and he was forced to settle for third place.
Wednesday's provisional pole winner Stephane Sarrazin was also hampered by traffic and could only manage fourth for and all Peugeot second row.
Dindo Cappello, Alan McNish and seven time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen were next in their Audi R18 alongside the Marc Gene, Alex Wurz and Anthony Davidson Peugeot.
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After playing second fiddle to the Peugeot factory team for most of 2010, the Oreca Peugeot team of Stephane Sarrazin, Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre have won the Algarve 1000 kms in Portugal, the third round of the 2010 Le Mans Series.
It was a dominant performance by the works assisted team, winning the race by five laps after starting from pole.
"It's good to win!." said Sarrazin after the race. "The team did a super job. We were under a little pressure but we did what we had to. The refuelling stops were excellent and we dove the right kind of race - a good pace and no mistakes. It's also worth underling the way the team's matured since the Le Castellet 8 Hours. I'm delighted to taste the joys of victory again."
Second place went to the Rebellion Racing Lola of Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani, It was a great performance by the team who drove their way through the field after starting the race in last place.
Aston Martin was third today with Team Signature coming back strong after the retirement at Le Mans. The third place was also a great result for Vanina Ickx who shared the drive with Pierre Ragues and Franck Mailleux.
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Friday, June 10, 2011
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