Audi wins at 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans

 

2011 24 Hours of Le Mans race start

The greatest racing extravaganza of the year, the 24 Heures du Mans (24 Hours of Le Mans) was held at the world famous Circuit de la Sarthe race track in France. In the premier class, Audi and Peugeot were the main contenders for the title. Audi had high hopes from its R18 TDI and similarly, hopes were riding high on Peugeot 908. In the end after losing two R18s, Audi managed to clinch the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours title by just 13 seconds.

Le Mans 24 Hours race

Audi lost two of its cars earlier in the race. Allan McNish crashed heavily into the barrier when his R18 TDI clipped a Ferrari 458 Challenge while going passed it. Allan’s R18 rolled multiple times before resting on the barrier. Fortunately, McNish did not suffer any serious injuries. Mike Rockenfeller in his #1 Audi R18 TDI was also involved in an unfortunate incident when he T-boned a stationary car during qualifying and then a clash with a Ferrari 458 Challenge during the race ruined his chances of completing the race.

Le Mans GT and LMP class cars

With two of its cars out of contention, the #2 Audi of Andre Lotterer was the only Audi left on track. Still by the end of 24 hours the #2 Audi took the checkered flag ahead of Simon Pageneaud in the #9 Peugeot 908. Although, the rest of the top 5 spots were dominated by Peugeot. In the LMP1 category, Toyota-powered #12 Rebellion Racing Lola was the top petrol powered finisher. While, in the LMP2 class, the #41 Greaves Motorsport entry took the top honours ahead of #26 Signatech Nissan and #33 Level 5 Motorsports Lola HPD coupe.

In the GTE Pro category, the Corvette C6.R of Olivier Beretta, Tommy MIlner, and Antonio Garcia rose to the top of the podium. The #41 AF Corse Ferrari was second while BMW Motorsport #56 BMW M3 GT was third. In the GTE Am category, #50 Corvette C6.R of Labre Competition took the top spot while the #70 Porsche 911 RSR of the same team clinched the second podium place. The #68 Robertson Racing Ford GT was final podium finisher.

Via Autoblog