1….2…..3…..4……5 oh! here comes the audi! jajaja good bye R15ppppppPlus.

…didn’t pray enought for an engine blow out, I guess!

@ Enduro

You are an Idiot. That was very obviously a cheap win by the Pugs & any respect I HAD for them is offically gone. Audi would have won the race, this FACT was very apparent to Peugeot, so what did they decide to do? Play kindergarden games, instead of fighting head to head & giving the FANS a good show, they denied & purposefully slowed down the competition with a car that was running 2+ Laps behind. But, they are french, this is well within their character and doesnt surprise me one bit.

So, let them have their cheap win. Audi still won 24hr Du Mans 1.2.3, I dont remember seeng any cheap moves by Audi when they won. The MEN racing @ Audi are dignified sportsman with a good attitude.

Peugeot were criticised for not being upto speed in the tactical and strategy dpt. when they first arrived.

Looks like they have Audi covered now.

Totally agree Roger. Backed the audis up at the start, tried to put capello into the wall at one point and had to resort to cheap tactics to win. Audi are class compaired to peugeot.

agreed!

And Audi wouldn’t have done the same if the situation was reversed ? I think they may have, and in races gone by over the last few years McNish’s driving in particular has been just as questionable as Bourdais’. We call his style ‘committed’ and ‘determined’ – we respect him – but we slag the French off. Odd world isn’t it ?

Both manufacturers understandably wanted PR bragging rights for the huge Chinese car market, so pity poor BMW. Their car just gets better, they won GT2, but they lost the bragging rights to Porsche – which is allowed to run an unhomolgated car.

More of this next year please. More races, more cars, more ‘tactics’ – and more TV coverage please Santa.

@XJ8 Spot on mate! This is what breeds rivalries and make the sport that much more competitive.

The MEN racing @ Audi are dignified sportsman with a good attitude.

What?? are you OK dude??

Play kindergarden games, instead of fighting head to head & giving the FANS a good show, they denied & purposefully slowed down the competition with a car that was running 2+ Laps behind. – Wao, quite a statement !!!

Where have you been since 2007???

Men with class, specially McNish. I like that one too.

Check McNish and Kristensen interview after the race.

Better stay in school. boy!

Enduro, all name calling aside, in 4 years the 908 has the same number of lemans victories as the R15 plus has in one year.

Are there no blue flags in LMP?
Normally this should have been a drive through penalty after holding up the Audi for 3 corners, not for 3 laps!
This was not a fair victory, shame on Peugeot.
@Enduro:
This is a forum for exchanging opinions and information about sportscar racing and not a place for insulting other people.

I knew it! XJ8 was just a cover – we all know your true colours now…
@Kw – TOTALLY agree whole heartedly with the blue flag issue and although it could be argued that it is a team sport afterall it was BLATANTLY obvious Pug and Bourdais set out to slow Audi, period!
BTW Enduro – you talk of kindergarden and staying in school yet from the amateurish jibes coming from ones direction I’d hazard a guess you’re barely out of them?

To sum it up – I guess one word we can all agree on is CONTROVERSIAL!

Hi “Planet Audi” readers.

Were you one of the guys crying in the sidelines at Petit LeMans when Audi lost?? or was is also a cheap win when Audi finished two laps down?? Perhaps Roger wasn’t there.

Oh I forgot. Maybe if it wasn’t for Capello’s helmet, Audi would have won too.

Or maybe you didn’t see the part of the 24 Hrs of LeMans when Dr. Ulrich said that his team was hoping for the Peugeots to break because he knew that otherwise Audi had no chance? Or maybe I was not seeing right when Peugeot totally dominated the race up until they broke.

I guess that for all of Audi fanatics, when Peugeot strategy works, is a cheap win.

Whatever you call it, Audi DID NOT WIN one race of the first Intercontinental LeMans Cup.

usually the french drive clean, cleaner than borderline driver Allan McNish. I didn´t watch the race at Zhuhai but from what I understand, Kristensen would likely not have been able to pass Sarrazin. Peugeot lost at 2010 Le Mans but pretty near won everywhere else. It is my opinion that the superb Peugeot 908 HDi FAP was a better effort than the Audi TDI15 : which only had arrived at its final development stages at Zhuhai. Previous to that it was always a bit of a mess, and struggled.

@ Everyone. ~ I think its unanimous, most feel that the win by the Pugs was won cheaply. I have no problem saying that there is much talent @ Peugeot, they dont need to resort to these types of tactics of ignoring blue flags & using uncompetitive cars to block competition, they HAD the faster car before, Audi Tuned & tweaked the R15+ to where it was really competitive, they should have had a chance to prove themselves, not get shut out. YES, we all understand that this is motorsport, YES, its a dog fight out there, BUT, there must always be respect & class for the sport, What Peugeot did was plain cheap & diminshes the sport. This isn’t Nascar, this is real competition.

And one last word @ “Enduro”:

Where have I been since 2007? Well, let me see, How about Live at most all the ALMS Races, Sebring,Petit,Lime Rock,Laguna Seca,Mosport,Mid-Ohio. Take your pick. Where were you?

And Yes, McNish is a good sportsman, mature & respectable. I have met & spoken with him personally many times. In addition,I have seen the interviews with all the drivers of Peugeot,they show little respect for the competition. To answer your question: I read the interviews after the race the other day, & Mr.Lemans/McNish said nothing wrong or insulting, they told the truth.

In Conclusion: Stop repeating everything I say, it doesnt reflect any type of common sense or intellect on your part.

Stay in School? Im sure YOU Just got Schooled.

Later.

Interesting debate, but it brightens up a grim northern morning. Not interested in abusing people or their view’s.

Watched both teams at Ricard, Spa, Le Mans and Silverstone this year – sadly no race at the Ring and entry poor elsewhere in Europe. Also watched the posturing of the ‘good’ Dr Ulrich last winter about the injustice of having to redesign the R15 because those inner nose wings were [so clearly] out of line with the reg’s. That didn’t look too ‘manly’ to me – more like a cash strapped manufacturer’s whinge. The point is that both teams seem to play the same game, and so do their drivers. I don’t care which wins if the racing is good. I don’t think either team has been a paragon of sporting virtue over the last three years but I still watch.

And @ Tommy – sorry, no Pug fan here – honest. Wouldn’t have one if they paid me, too heavy and pug ugly. Prefer ‘childish’ Jag money sponges and an honest Ford diesel for work – never goes wrong despite the old adage ‘Fix Or Repair Daily’.

Well, seems I have a different opinion to everyone else. I think the Peugeot tactic was an inventive one, that made good use of the slower car. And surely if the Audi was quick enough, it would have passed the slower Peugeot to get a shot at the leading Peugeot.
Agreed, Peugeot can be a bit reckless sometimes (Anthony Davidson in particular), but Audi are really no better. The rather amusing display of temper when Dr Ulrich stormed down to the BMW garage at Le Mans this year just shows my point. Both teams are highly competitive, and will put in a lot of effort to get that win. Have people forgotten LMS Silverstone 2008? Twice, a Peugeot was taken off track by an Audi, once on the first lap and then again later in the race. Thus, both teams are clearly just as competitive, and it’s hardly a fair call to label one as ‘cheap’.

Think dr ulrich had every right to storm down to bmw at le mans, he had just seen his number 1 car taken out of contention by one of the bmws. ignoring the blue flags and not getting a drive through also makes the aco look bad and slightly bias. Still audi won the big race, hopefully the same next year.

The BMW was not ignoring the blue flags, it was trying to get out of the Audi’s way. It was the wrong time to do so however, which caused the incident.

I fail to see how the ACO are biased, seeing as they’ve handed Audi the trophy several years running now, excluding 2009.

To be honest, I don’t really like the Audi, it’s a hideous car. As a team, they don’t really impress me, they just seem to use their huge financial resources to get results. Peugeot may do the same, but to a lesser extent, and really seem to have a better team spirit than Audi.

I’d rather a Peugeot win at Le Mans next year than an Audi, but then again, it’s probably time for someone else to take the trophy. The diesels have been overpowered for far too long, and it’d be more interesting if a petrol car stood a chance of winning.

Holding a balanced position requires a Rosbif to ask – wouldn’t it be good to see Aston Martin racing next year with a genuine chance of victory against Audi and Pug ?

But as with the strategies / behaviours of the current big two, it is not difficult to see further controversy if the diessel / petrol equivalency fails to match AMR’s expectations. Too much money rests on manufacturer success for off track lobbying and on track tactics not to exist.

There’s also the return of Henri. He fell out with Pug two years ago and the ACO three years ago. The LMS will need teams like his even if the ILMC may not. Bon Chance Henri now that you have the keys to the kimgdom back, let’s see a smile just once in the season though eh ?

Didnt write my last comment very well, i meant the peugeot on sunday was getting shown the blue flag but didnt move over not the bmw at le mans. sorry for the confusion

henri or aston would be a welcome win in anyones eyes i would imagine. i would certainly like to see the big two get a worthy challenge

The peugeot ugly…? this is the first time I heard that. It’s beautiful. And Audi cash strapped? It’s bigger than all the current F1 manufacturers put together.

As far as P1 manufacturers now would have been the good time for Acura to start a P1 program. Hopefully they can back up highcroft or Strakka for a full fledged P1 attack. If Acura decides to jump in with both feet that would be the prodding that the ACO would need to make petrol and diesels equivalent since they would not want to lose such a big manufacturer. Toyota, Acura and Aston martin should get together and lobby for an equivalence.

The only problem is that Audi’s huge commitment to lemans is hard to resist. The ACO does not want to lose that commitment at the expense of half hearted manufacturers who simply want to while away their time until their next F1 foray.

908 is not just ugly. It’s hideous. This car has everything I hate on modern LMPs.

@RJR

Your funny. Yea, I was there buddy, apparently we were watching 2 different races, what I witnessed was Audi winning the leading the race in the dry & lost due to some stupid issue with Cappello’s helmet.

And about Dr. Ulrich’s comment @ Lemans, its an endurance race, thats why its called the 24 HOURS of lemans, what dont you understand?, Audi had a brand new car that hadnt been properly tested that open top with a smaller V10TT, vs a well tested 3 year old car that is a coupe with a bigger V12TTmotor??? Why wouldnt he say that?

Who cares if Audi didnt win any races of the Intercontinental Championship, They won LeMans 1.2.3, which was the goal.

Period.

Think before you speak.

Considering all the activity the result has drummed up, it shows there is potential for growth in the fan-base. Hopefully Peugeot and Audi continue this for a few more years to come. :)

@jimmy – WHHHHHOOOAAAAAAA!!!!!
The 908 is hideous?!
Are you serious?
Have you been to Specsavers recently?
I suggest you do, as much as I dislike Pug even I have to admit it’s been the best looking Prototype out there for while but hey, that’s your opinion!
Whatever, I take it you’re comparing the ‘modern’ LMP cars to Group C or older? Unsure, please explain…

i just have one thing to say on this matter.

Pug’s have normally had good drivers (Montany, Paginuad …)however this time they blew it! Audi should have won the race and if i were the ACO i would have given them the victory!

congrats to BMW and Porsche AG for their class victories and KK competition )or whatever the name is) for the Gt3 win!

and p.s. any one who says McNish is a borderline driver is the most innacurate and missinfirmed “fan” in the entire world! i agree w/ Enduro! Go back to school!

and yes… if you didn’t figure it out… i am an audi fan!

@Tommy.

Yeah, I compare it for example to Group C cars but also to 90s protos. LMPs today are like F1s with fenders, it has gone too far IMHO, these cars lost too much of their ‘sportscars image’ or ‘attitude’.

@jimmy

“This car has everything I hate on modern LMPs.”

I don’t mean to be a troll, but most modern LMPs don’t have roofs, like F1 cars, while the 908 does have a roof, like group C cars, so i don’t see what you mean by that.

Don’t you see the difference? Roof does not matter, aerodynamics is utterly different, an open-wheel like. Take off the roof, take off fenders and you have an open-wheeler. On the other hand I like philosophy of R15, it’s quite different – air flowing ‘through’ the car rather than over…

e logico o peugeot 908 hdi fab e mais rapido do que o r15.eu gosto de prototipo assim com teto e nao sem teto e feio demais”"”"sou fa da peugeot sport!!!!!!!!!

I finally got to see some highlights of the race and the start should have been as controversial as the finish. With Seabass blocking the Audi’s, the lead Pug opened up a safe gap in moments. An unbalanced start like that probably would have been flagged off in an ALMS race.