LeMans: Audi R10 TDI leads after the rain at 21 Hour mark

The battle between Audi and Peugeot keeps thrilling the spectators at the Le Mans 24 Hours. During the night, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish remained in contact to the leading Peugeot before they retook the lead in the early morning hours when it started to rain.

On the wet track, the Audi R10 TDI cars were a class of their own on early Sunday morning. Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish were able to put almost a full lap on the second placed Peugeot 908. Shortly after 9:30 a.m. Dindo Capello lapped the Peugeot.

The two other Audi R10 TDI prototypes threatened the third placed Peugeot in the rain. Five hours before the end of the race, the top five was covered by just two laps.

The overnight rain is almost a distant memory as the track dries quickly and slicks begin to replace the full wet and intermediate tires that were used for most of the morning's action. With the exception of the N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Lamy/Sarrazin/Wurz) which has moved into the top-five, the positions at the sharp end of the leaderboard are unchanged. However, the drying conditions have given the Peugeot team hope that it can retrieve the supremacy it enjoyed before heavy rain began to fall shortly after four in the morning. The N°7 908 HDi FAP is back on the same lap as the leading N°2 Audi. What will surely be remembered as one of the most fiercely fought Le Mans 24 Hours ever is heading for a cliff-hanger ending.

Audi Sport Team Joest’s three Audi R10 TDI cars continued to run without any technical problems throughout the whole night. All pit stops were perfect, and the Audi drivers were almost faultless in the difficult conditions.

When the rain started, it paid off that Audi had opted for a set-up which was a good compromise for both a dry and a wet track and that the Audi R10 TDI is good to drive in the rain. The Audi drivers also enjoyed a better view in their open cockpit compared to the competitors in the closed cars.

21 Hour Standings