24 heurs du Mans: Peugeot comes through with a 1-2 Le Mans victory

Racing series	LEMANS
Date	2009-06-14 (Le Mans, France)

By Tom Haapanen - Motorsport.com

With the French newspaper headlines demanding "Now go win Le Mans" after Team Peugeot won the pole at the Le Mans 24 Hours on Thursday, it was clear that the pressure was on, with the entire country expecting the French team to win the race over its arch-rival Audi this year, the third of its Le Mans program.

#9 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Alexander Wurz, David Brabham, Marc Gene.Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

There would be no disappointment this time. David Brabham, Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz drove a strong race in the #9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, with Marc Gene crossing the finish line to lead a 1-2 victory for the French marque, its third victory in the June endurance classic, and the first since the Peugeot 905B took the spoils in 1992 and 1993.

"We won, but (the #8 car) deserved it just as much as we did," said Gene. "I felt terribly emotional over the closing laps, like I have felt never before. Personally, I was expecting a little bit more opposition from Audi, but mechanically, with a new car I did expect them to have some problems".

The all-French teaming in the #8 sister car -- Sebastien Bourdais, Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin -- seemed to be the initial favourite, and certainly the local one, having started from the pole position. The trio of drivers demonstrated their speed, building a substantial lead after passing Allan McNish's Audi in the opening minutes of the race. However, a problem with loosened components in the left-rear brakes caused a 10-minute delay in the pits for the #8, allowing Wurz to slip by and take the lead. Bourdais would eventually take the chequered flag second, one lap down to his teammate.

"It's a great day Peugeot, we had a double," said Bourdais. "And if it hadn't been for a rather stupid mistake in the pits, it would have been a triple."

The #9 may not have been the absolutely fastest of the three works Peugeots, but it suffered neither a mechanical problem nor a driver error in its clean 24-hour run to the chequered flag. Le Mans demands respect and requires reliability, clean driving and a bit of luck, and the Brabham-Gene-Wurz trio cam up with all three to take the honours -- the first for Brabham and Gene, and the second for Wurz, who already had a victory from 1996, when he won with Joest Porsche.

	#8 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Stéphane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny, Sébastien Bourdais. Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

Meanwhile, the #8 suffered from the brake problem, and the third team car, the #7 fell back first after the pit lane collision that Bourdais referred to, in the first hour of the race, as the team released Pedro Lamy from the pit box while Team Pescarolo's customer Peugeot was driving by. Extensive repairs were just the start of a bad day, and in spite of its speed, the #7 finished the race in only sixth place, 13 laps adrift of the winners.

Team Pescarolo's 908, factory-supported but privately run, was a threat for the podium for much of the race, in spite of the early damage from the pit lane incident. However, the team's hopes were extinguished when Benoit Treluyer crashed heavily into the barriers in the Esses, after losing control on the downhill segment.

For Audi, this was the German marque's first defeat at La Sarthe, surely a huge disappointment for motorsports chief Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who was present to oversee the drive for a ninth victory, along with team principal Reinhold Joest. However, the team's most experienced driver combination, McNish, Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen in the #1 R15 TDI, was only able to finish third, seven laps down.

Kristensen, an eight-time Le Mans winner in his own right, Capello and McNish drove a clean, incident-free race, but lost ground rapidly to the Peugeots in the early going, and then fell victim to mechanical delays in the second half of the race.

"Peugeot have raised their game, there is no doubt that," said Kristensen. " We had some issues, we were not happy with the balance of the car, especially in hot conditions. "

#1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 TDI: Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen. Photo by Tom Haapanen.

In general, the race pace of the marque's new R15 disappointed, after the brief flicker of hope lit by McNish's strong qualifying performance on Thursday night. The car appeared to suffer from poor handling and driveability, limited testing opportunities possibly hampering its development.

"We agreed to cancel the test day, and it was the same for everybody," Dr. Ullrich summarized the issues with limited track time for the R15. "And if we couldn't make the best of it, it's in our hands."

It was only after the installation of some new front bodywork in the night-time hours that the Audi drivers were able to post competitive lap times. By then, the two top Peugeots had taken a decisive lead -- and multiple subsequent visits for the #1 car to the team's garage to cool it down put paid to any hope of catching the 908s.

Adding to the lack of outright speed were the handling problems: experienced drivers Alexandre Premat and Lucas Luhr both had spins, the latter writing off the #2 Audi in a heavy shunt at the Porsche Curves. Premat, Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard fought on in the #3, but extended repairs in the pits dropped the car way back; it eventually finished 18th overall, 50 laps behind the winners.

With only a single Audi in contention, and the single Pescarolo Peugeot eliminated, the door was open for the petrol-powered cars to make a move. Aston Martin Racing did exactly that: its lead driver combination of Jan Charouz, Stefan Mucke and Tomas Enge hustled the Lola B09/60-Aston Martin combination with speed and care throughout the 24 hours to cross the line fourth, nine laps off the pace of the winning Peugeot.

"If we can finish in the three it will be a dream result, but top five would be great as well," Enge summed up the team's hopes prior to the race. "We'll try to beat as many diesels as possible and be the first petrol car."

Behind Aston Martin, notable was the achievement of Team Kolles. Running a pair of year-old ex-works Audi R10s with limited factory support and a team of six Le Mans rookie drivers, the German team was going into the race with a tall mountain to climb. Things got worse when Narain Karthikeyan sprained his shoulder on the grid, leaving the #15 with just two drivers. Charles Zwolsman and Andre Lotterer did yeoman work to bring the #14 home in seventh place, having driven about twelve hours each in their first Le Mans appearances.

"It's funny I haven't spoken to (Lotterer) but I can just tell he's doing well," said Zwolsman an hour before the end of the race. "Always when Andre is in the car, I'm not and vice versa!"

	#31 Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder: Kristian Poulsen, Casper Elgaard, Emmanuel Collard.Photo by Eric Gilbert.

In the LM P2 category, the Porsche RS Spyders were unmatched in terms of performance, and it looked like a 1-2 Porsche finish was in the offing for most of the race. Team Essex, with drivers Casper Elgaard, Kristian Poulsen and Emmanuel Collard, did go on to win the class, 10th overall and 24 laps behind the overall winners.

"It's perhaps better to win in a category (rather than overall), as (a category win) is very much for the driver," said Collard. "This year Porsche asked me to drive for Essex, and I know I would be driving for a class win. For a driver it is always motivating to drive for victory!"

The victory is the first at Le Mans for each of the three Team Essex drivers, Collard finally making it to the top step of the podium in his 15th consecutive year at Le Mans. Poulsen, on the other hand, already takes home the silverware in his first attempt.

However, the other RS Spyder, that of NAVI Team Goh just barely failed to make it to the 23-hour mark, with Seiji Ara losing control of the car at the second chicane on the world-famous high-speed Mulsanne Straight, and destroying much of the car running into the barriers.

Instead, the joint Swiss-British effort, Speedy Racing Team Sebah, took second in class with the Lola B08/80-Judd, with Jonny Kane, Benjamin Leuenberger and Xavier Pompidou driving a steady race. The team could not match the pace of the works-supported Porsches, but they were easily fastest of the non-Porsche brigade.

#33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola Judd Coupe: Xavier Pompidou, Benjamin Leuenberger, Jonny Kane. Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

With the attrition at the front, the French OAK Racing team moved up into a podium position with their #24 Pescarolo 01-Mazda. They were 11 laps behind the second-placed Lola, but it was a remarkable result for the small team nevertheless.

"It's superb to finish in third," said Yvon. "I work in wood, oak is strong and solid, and we have a great team, solid, in OAK Racing!"

The third-place class finish was actually the second in a row for the team: before being renamed OAK Racing this year, they finished third in P2 in 2008 as Saulnier Racing, with drivers Cong Fu Cheng, Mathieu Lahaye and Pierre Ragues.

This time it was a team of three gentlemen drivers though: company president Jacques Nicolet, Richard Hein and Jean-Francois Yvon, all over 50 years old.

"Even if these gentlemen are not in their first flush of youth, we have really achieved something special," Richard Hein summed up.

See also Corvette, Risi earn historic Le Mans GT wins.

Results

ALMS Mosport 2008

DTM 2008 - Hockenheimring II: Audi preview

Audi enters DTM finale with head start

Ingolstadt -- It was the most extensive factory programme in AUDI AG motorsport history to date. On

 Sunday, 26 October it could become the most successful ever: If Timo Scheider clinches the DTM title for Audi at Hockenheim, then the brand with the four rings will have won everything there was to win this season.

In June Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish scored the third successive victory for the Audi R10 TDI in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner won the American Le Mans Series title with the diesel sportscar, Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller in the European based Le Mans Series.

Audi has also been on the road to success from the very beginning of the 2008 DTM season. The new Audi A4 DTM made a perfect debut in Hockenheim by taking a spectacular one-two-three finish. Since then Audi has not relinquished its hold on the championship lead of the most popular touring car series.

Now, Audi has the chance to successfully defend a DTM title for the second time since 1990/1991. Like Mattias Ekstrom before him, Timo Scheider comes this time to the final race of the year at Hockenheim with a two point advantage. Two different drivers also won the title for Audi at the Hockenheim finale in 1990 and 1991: 1990 with Hans-Joachim Stuck, 1991 with Frank Biela.

This time Audi's hopes rest on the shoulders of Timo Scheider, who already boasts an impressive record this season: He celebrated two victories with his GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM. The 29-year old started four-times from pole position, and mounted the podium seven times. Without a jump start at Mugello and an unfortunate tyre choice at the Nurburgring and at Le Mans the German, who lives on the shores of Lake Constance, would have long been champion.

The fans can look forward to a thrilling finale. Advance tickets sales have exceeded 60,000 and, as a result, last year's record crowd (152,000 spectators throughout the weekend) could even be beaten.

Timo Scheider took pole position at Hockenheim at the start of the season. The championship leader also has good memories of the final race: In 2006 he was the best driver of a year-old car. At the 2007 finale he claimed his first ever DTM podium finish. Now he aims to win his first DTM title and, in front of his home crowd, fend-off Paul di Resta's attack in the Mercedes-Benz.

Timo Scheider has a two point advantage over his rival. This means that di Resta must finish in front of Scheider -- a small but not unimportant psychological advantage for the Audi driver.

As usual ARD broadcasts qualifying and the race live on "Das Erste". Free practice is shown by www.dtm.tv in the Internet. Audi.tv shows the highlights and background reports. Whoever prefers to watch the eagerly awaited finale at the track can still order tickets from the Audi Ticket-Hotline +49 (0)841 / 8947777 or online at www.audi-dtm.de.

Quotes before the DTM finals at Hockenheim

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "At the last race at Le Mans we already had the title in our hands until halfway through the race. Unfortunately, we couldn't fix it. This means there is now a big showdown at Hockenheim. The atmosphere will be fantastic. I'm convinced that the grandstands will be full. We'll do everything to bring the championship home for Audi."

Timo Scheider (GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM #10): "We scored a memorable one-two-three at the start of the season at Hockenheim, and history shows that the final races at Hockenheim have always gone well for me. I've actually always finished my years positively there, which is why I'm particularly pleased that the finale is held at Hockenheim. It definitely won't be plain sailing with just a two point lead over Paul (di Resta), but in fact a battle royal. The many German fans in the stands will certainly act as extra motivation for me."

Mattias Ekstrom (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #1): "I'm really looking forward to the finale. We won at the start of the season at Hockenheim, which also happens to be my goal for the last race."

Martin Tomczyk (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #2): "It's great to finish each season at Hockenheim. The atmosphere is always excellent there. I hope that it stays dry and we will see an exciting championship battle that obviously goes in favour of Audi."

Tom Kristensen (Audi A4 DTM #9): "Without a shadow of a doubt Hockenheim will be very interesting. There'll be hoards of spectators there. The championship battle between Timo (Scheider) and di Resta is very close. I personally hope that I can finish the season with a good result. We were always quick this season. My team always gave me a good car; unfortunately we had more than our fair share of bad luck in the races."

Alexandre Premat (Audi Bank/Shell Helix Audi A4 DTM #14): "It'll be hard for us at Hockenheim because we'll have heaviest 2007 car in the field. I want to do a good job again. We'll see what the weather does. My goal is to take ninth place and therefore be the best driver of a 2007 Audi."

Mike Rockenfeller (S line Audi A4 DTM #18): "A long season comes to an end for me. The weather at Hockenheim can also be very unpredictable. I would like to continue my run of good form that we've seen in the past races, which was particularly good more recently in qualifying."

Markus Winkelhock (Playboy Audi A4 DTM #19): "Hockenheim is a race where there is always loads going on. It is also my home race and Hockenheim is a circuit that really suits me. I hope that we can win the title with Audi there."

Oliver Jarvis (Best Buddies Audi A4 DTM #15): "It's great to be returning to a circuit that I already know. Things ran well for me there at the season opener, I got into the top-eight in qualifying. I hope that I can score a few points."

Christijan Albers (Audi A4 DTM #21): "We'll have a pretty tough time with the 2006 cars at Hockenheim. However, it'll be an exciting final. I hope that Audi can win the title."

Katherine Legge (Audi A4 DTM #20): "I drove my first DTM race at Hockenheim, which means we'll be able to see just how we have improved during the season. It'll be a great final. The spectators can look forward to a really fantastic race."

Hans-Jurgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): "The DTM will see one of the most exciting final races ever. Travelling to Hockenheim with a two point lead is a small cushion, but not really reassuring. As a team we'll have to try to deliver an absolute top performance. The car can do it. I believe that Timo (Scheider) is also well capable of keeping his cool. It goes without saying that I hope things turn out well for us."

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): "It's a shame that the season is already nearly over again! Our team is extra motivated for Hockenheim after the great result at Le Mans. We'll do everything within our power so that Timo (Scheider) can take the title at the finale and score a few points ourselves as team."

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): "Hockenheim will certainly be very tense for all concerned. I hope that we can help to bring the championship home. Le Mans went a little disappointingly for us as team, which is why we hope to turn the tide at Hockenheim."

-credit: audi

Actual Standings

ALMS - Audi ends 2008 with one-two Laguna Seca finish

Racing series	ALMS
Date	2008-10-18 (Monterey, CA)

By Barret Bumford - Motorsport.com

Audi Sport North America closed out the 2008 racing season by taking the final overall victory in the American Le Mans Series. To top it off, they finished one-two after charging to the front on the final restart. Then the battle began between Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner for the final bragging rights.

Two of the Acura teams finished 3rd and 4th overall, giving the marque a 1-2 in LM P2, however

 Porsche won the manufac- turers' title.

 

#9 Patron Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01B Acura: David Brabham, Scott Sharp leads #66 de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-01B Acura: Gil de Ferran, Simon Pagenaud, #7 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder: Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard and #15 Lowe's Fernandez Racing 

The last race of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca had everyone talking about Acura, who needed to sweep the podium to win the LM P2 manufacturers' championship. They nearly pulled it off, with Andretti Green Racings's Tony Kanaan crossing the line just 0.054 seconds ahead of rival Acura driver Simon Pagenaud of de Ferran Motorsports. A failed battery left earlier Acura contender Lowe's Fernandez Racing a lap down to finish ninth overall. Driver Adrian Fernandez had set fastest lap with a 1:11.156 (113.23 mph).

The race began with David Brabham in the Highcroft Racing Acura on pole position alongside Fernandez

 Racing's Luis Diaz. By the first turn, Gil de Ferran had sped past the Penske Porsche RS Spyder of Timo Bernhard, locking out the top three spots for the American constructor ahead of the manufacturers' title leaders, Porsche.

A series of yellows interrupted the racing throughout the first two hours, mixing up the field as cars from both the prototype and GT classes ran off into the sand, but the dust finally settled as the sun sank behind the hills of the Monterey Peninsula. Pirro, leading LM P1, led a string of P2 Acuras after Romain Dumas ran wide in turn six in his Penske Porsche RS Spyder. de Ferran Motorsports' Pagenaud harangued the more powerful Audi R10 TDI diesel down the corkscrew and around the legendary 2.238 mile circuit, with the Acuras of Fernandez and Franck Montagny in tow.

After yet another series of back-to-back caution periods, the track went green around the three hour mark, until the then-leading #6 Penske of Sascha Maassen coasted down into the sand at the bottom of the

 Andretti hairpin, bringing out the 11th caution of the race. Kanaan inherited the lead in the for Andretti Green Racing, but the two Audis were right behind.

At the restart, Pirro, in what was his last race in the R10 TDI, wanted to get by race leader Kanaan in his Acura ARX-01b. Kanaan slid to the inside, expecting the faster Audi to pass on the outside, but Pirro surprised him and shoved Kanaan out of the way. Eight tires have more grip than four, and Kanaan slid helplessly toward the outside of turn two as Marco Werner followed his teammate's inside line. "Restarting with the two Audis behind is not fun," Kanaan said. He called the contact "a race pass."

It was at the three hour and 34 minute mark that Werner took the lead from Pirro. "It would have been nice if he could go out with a victory," Werner commented.

#6 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder: Sascha Maassen, Patrick Long

Ten minutes after the Audis swapped places, Pagenaud out-braked Kanaan into turn eleven and took the lead in P2. Kanaan passed him back in traffic up the hill into turn six, and held off a gutsy charge by the determined Pagenaud for the class victory. An unlucky attempt to charge down the outside of the corkscrew was thwarted by lapped traffic. On the last lap, Pagenaud tried to carry a drive out of turn eleven and just missed the P2 class victory by 0.054 sec.

The Penske Porsche RS Spyders of Bernard and Helio Castroneves claimed third and fourth places in P2, securing the class manufacturer's title by a single point, with 214 to Acura's 213.

P1 co-champions Werner and Lucas Luhr claimed the P1 and overall victory ahead of 2nd place teammates Pirro and Christian Albers. Third in the P1 class fell to the Corsa Motorsports team of Johnny Mowlem, Gunnar Jeanette, and Stefan Johansson, whose Zytek 07S put in one of the team's strongest first stints of the season. An unlucky wiring problem during a driver change ended hopes of a top-five overall result.

In the LM GT2 class, Tafel Racing's Dirk Mueller in his Ferrari 430 took the lead from Jamie Melo of Risi Competizione after the midway point, with Dirk Werner and the Farnbacher Loles Porsche following in third. The trio would finish in that order, but Mueller's team was excluded by IMSA for a ride height violation, gifting third place to the Panoz Team PTG and drivers Tommy Milner and Joey Hand.

The LM GT1 Corvettes also swapped places after the three-hour mark, giving the victory to Olivier Bertta and Oliver Gavin ahead of Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell. Corvette will switch to the GT2 class next year following the final running of the C6.R at Le Mans.

A total of 12 caution periods, often coming back-to-back, befell the race. At the post-race press conferences, many drivers complained about the lack of speed of the pace car. The low grip surface of Laguna Seca, and the cold ambient temperatures of the evening race compounded the problem.

Race Results

Porsche race report

DTM 2008 - Ekstrom wins rain lottery at Le Mans

By Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com

Mattias Ekstrom and his Audi Abt Sportsline crew won what truly was a rain lottery today on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit. The one major variable in the German Touring Car Masters series (DTM) race in France was the ever changing rain in the area -- from light showers to driving rain -- adding to the usual action in the German series.

Ekstrom inherited the lead when Audi factory teammate and points leader Timo Scheider dived into the pits on lap 11 and remained on slicks. Soon the track was starting to form rivers along the circuit and the usual mandatory two pit stops became four or more.

Even with a case of the flu, the Swede was able to take his third race win this season by over four seconds to second place Paul di Resta from the Mercedes camp.

"This wasn't bad for a sick racer. After I was frustrated with a bout of flu all weekend I'm now totally happy about victory," said Ekstrom. "The race was great and my Audi A4 was running perfectly from the start to the final lap. I couldn't wish for more than this except, of course, that I would have liked still being in the race for the title. The decision has been postponed to the finale. There, we'll be giving everything to clinch the title with Timo for Audi."

While Ekstrom celebrated his 13th career victory, di Resta was also pumped about his podium finish. Placing his AMG Mercedes second in the penultimate round forces the championship battle to the season finale in Hockenheim on October 26th.

"It was not the right decision to start with rain tyres, but in conditions like today, it is difficult to make the right choice," di Resta said. "It's super that I finished second despite my extra pit stop and that I am only two points behind Timo Scheider -- we knew that it would rain in the final third and my team had the perfect timing for the change; that was crucial. My speed was good despite the handicap weight which we now got rid of for the final race.

"I look forward to Hockenheim and I want to win in the great finale and thus clinch the championship title," he added.

Frenchman Alexandre Premat for Audi Sport Team Phoenix ended third in the 2007-spec on his home turf. He was one of only four drivers who did just the required pit stops and ran the entire race on slicks.

"A fantastic weekend! Standing on the podium at my home race makes me very proud," smiled Premat. "My team and I gave everything in qualifying and the race and were rewarded by third place. My team did everything right in terms of strategy so that I was able to attack at any time during the race."

Scheider finished sixth and holds a two point lead over di Resta. The German now needs to stay in front of the Scotsman in the DTM finale. "It was the right decision to go into the race with slicks. Advancing from fifth to first is definitely something special. Unfortunately, we timed our second stop two laps too early, that's too bad. We'll chalk this up to experience now and concentrate on the finale," he said.

Race results 

Standings after Le Mans 

See DTM race videos at Power Sport 

ALMS - Petit Le Mans - AUDI STORMS TO ANOTHER PETIT VICTORY

The battle that everyone expected at Petit Le Mans powered by the Totally New MAZDA6 lived up to its billing. Audi remained unbeaten at Road Atlanta as Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Emanuele Pirro spotted the field two laps at the start of the race but came back for a stunning victory in the 11th annual 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic.

McNish and his Audi R10 TDI crossed the finish line 4.512 seconds ahead of Peugeot's Christian Klien and the Peugeot 908 HDi that he drove with Stephane Sarrazin and Nic Minassian. A record weekend crowd of 113,000 witnessed the week-long fight between the top two powers in sports car racing.

The victory was sweet redemption for McNish, who crashed the car on the grid formation lap prior to the race. The team got the Scot on track two laps behind the field but was back on the lead lap after a two-hour, 45-minute stint.

"It was more than a good race," said Pirro, who won at Petit Le Mans for the first time since 2005. "Allan would not have been happy with a normal win. He had to crash the car to make it extraordinary. With team strategy and the yellows we were able to bring the car back. It was a real treat and I was pleased to share the car on this day. It really was a dream race and a lot of people deserve this race."

Pirro and Capello continued to chip away at the lead before McNish's final stint. He passed Klien with about 40 minutes left and continued to drive away from the Peugeot. Even getting in position to contend for victory seemed doubtful early on. Capello had a problem with his seat insert, and the car ran hot as the temperature increased during the afternoon in Capello's stint.

"I didn't think this afternoon when it got so hot that we had a chance," he said. "Sometimes you need luck. We didn't get much luck at the Le Mans Series but we had luck here."

The climatic moments came as darkness enveloped Road Atlanta. The Audi crew called for two stops late - one for fuel and another for tires. McNish came back in during a late-race caution for more fuel and tires, a move that gave him an advantage during the late-race push.

"This race belongs to the team," McNish said. "To get 16-17 people from both crews on that and get it repaired when I thought we were out, they did something I didn't think was possible. No one in our team does the work to finish second. There's no question in my mind that when we got in the position at the end that I was going to do everything I could do to win this race. If it took us to the top step, then it was just desserts for the team.

"I got a run on Christian out of Turn 5 and he got caught up in traffic," McNish said of the winning pass. "You get one opportunity to overtake and you have to take it. I was able to dive in at seven and he couldn't get a clean line to pass me on the straight."

McNish and Capello became the first drivers to win at Petit Le Mans for three consecutive years. Audi's Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr, newly crowned LMP1 champions finished third.

Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe won in LMP2 for Penske Motorsports in their Porsche RS Spyder. Castroneves is the first driver to have won both Petit Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500. He finished 21 seconds ahead of Penske teammates Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, who won their second straight drivers championship.

"I have to thank Roger and Tim for letting me be in the car," said Castroneves, who won in his second Series start. "These guys did an incredible job. Timo and Romain did a great job, and Ryan was awesome. This is a very challenging track and very difficult. It turned out to be a great race for all three cars."

Saturday marked the first time Briscoe and Castroneves - teammates in the IndyCar Series for Team Penske - shared a car together. It obviously worked out well with Briscoe setting class records in qualifying and the race. The pairing also led overall five times.

"It was a great opportunity given to us by Penske and Porsche," Briscoe said. "We've been really working closely together. It was a great result and great for the whole team. We managed to be the sole P2 cars on the lead lap for a long time before Timo and Romain made a lap up. As we saw last year, the P1 cars are quicker but we can stay with them on the lead lap."

Penske swept the Petit P2 podium with Sascha Maassen, Patrick Long and Emmanuel Collard finishing third. The victory also gave Penske its third straight team championship in class.

"The year was very special," Dumas said. "It is an honor to win this championship again. From my point of view, this is the biggest moment for me with Porsche and the RS Spyder. The competition with Acura has not been easy. A lot of people were thinking before this race, 'What is happening with Penske?' We worked very hard during the month to increase the level of the car."

Bernhard and Dumas benefitted from an early retirement of the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b. After having the car being completely rebuilt following a crash Thursday, Sharp spun the car coming out of Turn 10B and smacked a concrete wall, damaging the rear end beyond repair.

"I felt bad for them but it was only one hour into the race," Bernhard said. "There was a long race ahead of us and the same could happen to us. With the traffic here, sometimes you need some luck. I really wanted to try to stay focused and bring this home."

Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows won in GT1 for Corvette Racing by six laps to take their second endurance victory of the season. They also won in class at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The win Saturday gave O'Connell and Magnussen the class championship with their eighth victory.

"It's a very special win because we won the championship," said Magnussen, who won his first title. "The race today was hard between the two cars. We were pushing hard on the track and in the pits and everywhere. In the first half of the race we had to push like crazy to stay ahead of the No. 4 car. It was difficult in the daytime and in the nighttime."

Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis finished second in class. The two Corvettes exchanged the lead twice in the pits before misfortune again befell the No. 4 car. A malfunctioning throttle linkage left Gavin crawling around the track before the six-hour mark. It was eerily similar to Sebring where the trio lost laps to a broken driveshaft early on.

"Winning Petit Le Mans is very special. For some reason, this race has never gone our way," O'Connell said. "For Ron and I, this is our eighth Petit Le Mans and only our second win. We lost the lead on one pit stop but we got it back on the next one. We kept building gaps and I felt like we had things in hand."

Jaime Melo and Mika Salo followed their GT2 endurance victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with another hard-fought endurance win Saturday in their Ferrari F430 GT. Salo finished just 2.317 seconds ahead of Flying Lizard Motorsports' Joerg Bergmeister and his Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The result with Marc Lieb was enough for Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler to wrap up the class championship.

"It was really hard," Melo said of the race. "To win Le Mans and Petit Le Mans is great for the whole team. It was a very difficult race. We had to move to the back of the field at one point and we had to push hard to get back on top. The car was working very well and comfortable to drive. It made it easier for us to do it."

Tafel Racing's Dirk Mueller and Dominik Farnbacher placed third in their Ferrari.

Salo had to weather a stuck throttle and a broken drink system during his stint. It was a refreshing change considering some of the horrible luck Risi has had this year. After winning eight times last year, this was only the second victory in the Series for the team.

"Yes we won but it doesn't completely make up for the bad luck this year," Salo said. "We knew since the first day how quick the Flying Lizard guys and the Porsches were. Our car worked very well and we had to work hard. It was a really nice fight."

Henzler and Bergmeister have finished on the GT2 podium in every event this year except St. Petersburg in March. Four class victories helped give Bergmeister his third championship and Henzler his first.

Flying Lizard also won its first team championship.

"This is unbelievable," Henzler said. "I can't describe it. Flying Lizard has tried for so many years. With the support of Joerg, the team and Porsche, we never had any issue throughout the year."

Bergmeister also won championships in 2005 and 2006 with Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing.

"It's the first time for the Lizards, so it is like a first time," Bergmeister said. "The team was really ready to win the championship. To have it both the team and driver makes it doubly special."

In the debut of the Green Challenge, the Penske entry of Long, Maassen and Collard were the prototype winners. In the GT category, the Corvette of O'Connell, Magnussen and Fellows were victorious for General Motors.

The cars had the best scores for overall performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact.

The final round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series is the Monterey Sports Car Championships from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The four-hour race into darkness is scheduled to start at 2:45 p.m. PT on Saturday, October 18. NBC Sports will air the race from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 19. XM Satellite Radio will air the race from 4 to 8 p.m. ET on the same day. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage on americanlemans.com, which also will feature Live Timing & Scoring.

-credit: alms

Final results 

ALMS petit le mans 2008 part1

See the rest of the Petit Le Mans here 

DTM - Paul di Resta keeps up title chase with Catalunya win

By Tom Haapanen - Motorsport.com

Paul di Resta needed a victory to keep his DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) championship hopes alive, and it's the first-place trophy that he will be taking home from today's race at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona.

Paul di Resta, Team HWA AMG Mercedes, AMG Mercedes C-Klasse. Photo by xpb.cc.

"I probably had the fastest car in the field," di Resta reflected. "It was (part of) my goal to avoid too many risks as I didn't want to drop back in the points' standings."

di Resta started his Mercedes C-class from the second row, behind teammate Bernd Schneider and the championship leader, Audi's Scheider. The two title chase rivals took the lead from the start, dropping Schneider to third before the first corner, and the fight was on from there.

"Unfortunately, I had wheelspin at the start," Schneider rued his start. "I really had to battle for third place in the first corner."

In the lead, Scheider made his Audi A4 look as wide as the rules would allow, and while di Resta could hound him, he was unable to make his way past. Through the first pit stops, the gap never grew to a full second.

"I was having a great fight with Timo (Scheider)," di Resta recounted. "At some parts of the circuit, he was faster, but at other parts, I was. The overtaking manoeuvre was absolutely clean and Timo played along perfectly. I knew that I would have to be very close to him all the time in order to being able to start an attack at all."

With Mattias Ekstrom choosing a different strategy, he took the lead after the the leaders made their first stops on lap 15, with Scheider and di Resta slotting in behind him. On the second stint, though, di Resta had the measure of Scheider, the young Scot making his move stick with a pass into the La Caixa turn at the end of the back straightaway.

And that was it for Scheider: the German could do nothing but watch di Resta's taillights disappear into the distance, as his rival stretched out his lead, eventually getting the gap up to about five seconds, and 4.531 seconds at the finish.

"I am not at all disappointed with second place," said the Scheider after his second-place finish. "My start was good and I was able to overtake Schneider before the first corner. After that, di Resta put me under quite some pressure. He was a little bit faster and made good use of a slight gap. Being on the podium today was our goal!"

	Start: Timo Scheider, Audi Sport Team Abt, Audi A4 DTM and Paul di Resta, Team HWA AMG Mercedes, AMG Mercedes C-Klasse battle for the lead. Photo by xpb.cc.

The gap between Scheider and di Resta shrank down by two points with today's race, and there are now seven points separating the two, with two races remaining. Scheider needs a second and a third place to guarantee the championship, were di Resta to win the last two remaining races -- a tough task in itself, with DTM adding another 5 kg of weight to the winning car after each race.

Meanwhile, Paul Green and Stefan Ekstrom are now effective out of the hunt; the two tangled hard and repeatedly on the final lap in their struggle for fifth place, and the end result was that Ekstrom received a 50-second penalty in lieu of a drive-through one.

After Audi protested the penalty, the stewards upped it to a disqualification, and assigned a 30-second penalty to Green as well, dropping him to eighth place. Green and Ekstrom are now 16 and 18 points behind Scheider, a daunting task given the German's consistency in scoring points this season.

Outside the championship fight, Schneider drove a steady, quiet race to finish third, moving up the field toward the end of the race. 7.2 seconds separated Scheider and Schneider at the finish.

"I couldn't really keep up with di Resta and Scheider out in front," the Mecedes-Benz veteran admitted. "I had hoped to be able to fight with Timo for second place. But unfortunately, we had a slight problem during the pit stop which cost us some time. After that, I could work with my tyres quite well and I was running pretty much on my own. For a man of my age, it is quite comfortable not having somebody right behind me all the time."

Bernd Schneider, Team HWA AMG Mercedes, AMG Mercedes C-Klasse. Photo by xpb.cc. Results Standings after Catalunya

Martin Tomczyk took fourth for Audi, 4.2 seconds adrift of Schneider, followed by the 2007-spec Audis of Mike Rockenfeller and Alexandre Premat.

After Tom Kristensen's grid penalty and Ralf Schumacher's fines for pit lane violations in qualifying, the stewards were kept busy in the race as well. Apart from Ekstrom's and Green's last-lap antics, Susie Stoddart, Katherine Legge and Oliver Jarvis were all penalized. Gary Paffett, who finished 11th, raced under appeal after being initially excluded for a parc ferme violation.