This is where the analysis kind of falls apart -

Granted the Diesels will be fast, but that’s more because of the top level drivers, not so much speed. I’ve never known Allan McNish to twist his words but he said the Aston’s where the fastest in the speed traps at Spa.

I don’t think its a total forgone conclusion that a diesel will be the fastest. I think they will be and race pace will dictated by the #8 908 or the all French car.

The best of the Audi’s might be the #3 R15 and not the 2nd or lead car, funny how that works.

Its the job of all the top petrol cars to get on the podium, I don’t think an overall win is possible as long all the factory cars are still around at the 23 hour mark, but 2nd or even 3rd is MORE than possible.

This WILL be good!! Peugeot will be all out to get there on back on Audi from last year not only for beating them at Le Mans but taking all the championship for the LMS, petit Le Mans, this years & last years Sebring 12 hours (Peugeot must hate the sight of Allan McNish, every time is gets in the Audi it just seems to go faster & faster). Sorry Anthony I disagree with you about the battle of diesel v petrol in so much that I don’t thinks it’s all down to the drivers but more the performace of the chassis (would hardly call Enge & Turner slow) it’s going to be realy interesting now that Turner has got 2 team mates who are going to be a least as fast as him (no disrespect to either Miguel Ramos or Harold Primat but they are not as fast as Anthony Davidson or Jos Verstappen) think the #008 Aston will give the diesel a run for there money

Anthony
Allan McNish is correct that the Astons were fastest through the speed trap at Spa, they were clock at 299kph & 294kph during free practice 2, they were join by the Kolles Audi R10 & the Oreca at 299kph during qualifying the 2 Peugeot were clock at between 290 & 292kph

As old as the R10s are the car is still possible of posting a 3:26 qualifying time at LeMans or a 3:30 race pace.

However the Kolles team simply doesn’t have all the gof-fast hardaware Audi had last season.

Their lack of speed is not due to the age of the car or the speed of the drivers. The drivers are competitive. It’s the team that can’t quite set the thing up. And Audi prefers to focus on its own program instead.

Whether the #2 or #3 Audi have the pace or not (they do) Audi would simply prefer their more famous lineup to take the victory. The trio in the #1 car is very recognizable and charismatic.

The Biela/Werner/Pirro trio didn’t get the same publicity even though they won 2 of the 3 R10 24h races. Sure it was by default, but they still won.

Romain and Timo are used to being the lead car and having teammates support them.

Marcel is that all you could dig up on those 2 Porsche aces? They weren’t hired for their nurburgring or GT2 experiences.

ALMS 06, 07, 08??? The two men most responsible for boosting ALMS ratings???

Here’s my predictions:
1st: #8 Peugeot
2nd: #1 Audi
3rd: #9 Peugeot
4th: #7 Peugeot
5th: #2 Audi
6th: #3 Audi
7th: #17 Pescarolo Peugeot
8th: #008 Aston
9th: #16 Pescarolo
10th: #007 Aston
11th: #11 Oreca
12th: #12 Oreca
13th: #009 Aston
14th: #15 Speedy Lola Aston
15th: #14 Kolles Audi
16th: #13 Kolles Audi
17th: #23 Strakka Ginetta Zytek
18th: #12 Signature Courage Oreca
19th: #4 Creation
20th: #6 LNT Ginetta Zytek

here are my predictions
1st: #1 Audi
2nd: #7 Peugeot
3rd: #8 Peugeot
4th: #3 Audi
5th: #2 Audi
6th: #008 Aston

Hmm… no shocks here but in my honest opinion I think Pug will finally do it this year which is why I’m on No.7 to win followed by 1, 8, 9, 2, 3 then 008 as first petrol home. Sorry Henri!

The R10 was 3 sec/lap slower than the 908 last year. I don’t expect to see that deficit significantly rectified. They’ll just be lap traffic for Pug and Aston, helping hands for the factory Audis.

Audi should not have won last year. I think Peugeot have missed their one and only chance to catch Audi with their trousers down in a slower car. Peugeot now has no advantage in terms of pace, though their reliability seems to have improved. I think the battle will boil down to perfect driving, perfect pitwork and omniscient strategy. We all know Audi Sport possesses these things where Peugeot hasn’t quite been there.

The #3 car’s Porsche drivers bring a wealth of LMP2 championship experience. These guys are used to beating the R10 on a regular basis. I think they have an equal chance as the #1 save maybe for Premat.

I think the #1 will probably win this year, but I’m a sucker for upsets. Did Peugeot do enough homework to topple the giant?

I think Aston is the outside chance here. The team can beat (and has beaten) Corvette, which is no small feat. They’ve proven themselves to be a well-oiled machine and though they have a ton of racing experience, they haven’t nearly as much prototype experience as Pug, and precious little next to Audi.

Germans, Frenchmen and Brits all fighting on French soil. Where have I heard this before? Man this is going to be GOOD!

As much as I’m looking forward to an upset, as much as I want to see an Aston or any French car on the podium, I have a horrible feeling that the #1 Audi is going to walk it, with the #3 in second place about 1 or 2 laps behind.

However, Le Mans is all about upsets. And seeing either the #8 or the #008 up there in 7 days’ time would be AB-SO-LUTELY FAAAAAAAABULOUS!

The Peugeots (drivers and car) are just snakebit at their home race.

Audi always builds the perfect mousetrap for this race, regardless of its chief rival.

My interest early will be whether or not we will see another sub 3:20 qualifying time on Thursday. 150 mph average on a 8.5 mile track must be an exciting ride.

As for the Petrol cars, my money is behind the new Oreca. I think they can give the factory Astons a run for their money in qualifying trim, question is how long will it last?

All looks set to be a great race!

Anyone know a website I can visit to place a bet on this years race or even review odds?

D

#1 to win, #3 to throw in a suprise with the peugeots on the other steps of the podium.

From watching at Spa, the Astons will be nowhere near the pace of the diesels – good pic for top petrol cars though!

I’m a bit surprised to see so much confidence in Peugeot’s attempt to catch Audi and in the fact that they have better pace than the Audis. I really think the R15 can outpace the 908, not to mention the other factors that favor Audi for the win. Peugeot and Aston Martin’s excessive concern for proving the R15 illegal – which it isn’t – pretty much shows they were truly scared to see what the new Audi is about. And let’s not forget – the R15 has already won its debut race (Sebring) against the Peugeot 908 and, in my opinion, without showing all of its speed potential.

I agree with those that say drivers win out over speed. Peugeot’s had the speed without question the last few years, but every time I see an Audi beat a Peugeot, it’s because the Peugeot driver made a mistake. As much as I’m a big fan of Sebastien Bourdais, his gaffe in the first S curve a couple of years ago really set the tone for Peugeot. That said, I think too many people are jumping on the McNish bandwagon; Luhr and Werner are an accomplished team, and I think Audi North America will take it this year. (And even though those Astons look cool, something tells me they won’t be a factor.

@ kiki, Premat had the fastest lap of all Audi drivers last year, so the potential is there, but consistancy could be another story, i don’t think Pug have a chance in a much older 908, against the new r15

Didn’t Audi at Sebring need more tyre stops then the Peug though? Is that solved and was that due to Audi not knowing if they could double stint, or is it a problem and is it still there? If it is still there then it might lose Audi quite some time like it did at Sebring.

@ Mike – that’s what I meant. He has the pace for sure, but the experience/consistency?

@ Byron – from the sound of it, Audi will be double stinting tires as well. IMSA didn’t follow ACO’s lead in the 2 mech/1 gun rule, but since at Le Mans tire changes will come at a significant time penalty, I’d say that tire wear should be relatively even. If you recall though, the Pugs struggled heavily near the end of the second stint on the same set of tires. I wonder if Audi will play the same gamble, or if they devised some clever suspension setups to reduce wear? Probably split strategies as well. I can’t remember if they double stinted the tires on the other (non-winning) R15 at Sebring.

Some odds for the race race here guys!

http://www.skybet.com/skybet?action=GoEvClass&id=10000053

008 will win the race.
diesel stinks

Hi All,

Sorry but the #1 Audi will take the victory this weekend, Audi dit not show there full speed at Sebring, Audi were still learning to drive the new R15 and learn to find the right setup.

but anyway lets hope we get at super race.

man i hate how my exams keep clashing with this race, but atleast i finally get some live coverage for the first time i can remember.

i think last year was Peugeots chance, i don’t think they can win this year unless something happens to the #1 Audi.

“Driving the #10 at Le Mans are Bruno Senna, Stephane Ortelli and FIA WTCC driver Tiago Monteiro. While Ortelli is fast and has tons of Le Mans experience his two team mates are new at Le Mans, which could be this car’s biggest handicap.”

Monteiro has driven a Larbre Viper in 2001 (finished 20th).

The lead car for oreca should be the #1. Though it seems the #10 would take them on pure speed.

I’ll take the #16 Pescarolo or the #13 Lola Aston for top petrol cars.

the odds maker on Skybet.com give the two Zyteks better chances at winning the 24h than the Orecas and the Speedy racing Lola Aston.

I don’t think they’ve done their homework as far as the driving crews.

It’s interesting that they picked the Prodive Lola Aston over the Pescarolo 908.

I tend to agree with much of what has been said so far by your collective comments but the chance of prolonged or heavy rain could certainly change everything.
I was always impressed with any Aston in the rain !