JRichter

Audi takes 1st and 3rd with desiel powered R10 race cars in LMP1 class. Prescolola takes 2nd overall and in LMP1 class. Chevrolet Corvette C6-R takes 1st and 3rd in GT1 class with Aston-Martin taking 2nd in GT1. Panoz takes its first win at Le Mans in GT2 class. Lola takes 1st in LMP2 class.





http://www.crash.net/news_view~t~Res...~id~132304.htm

Overall

1. Biela/Pirro/Werner Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R10 380 laps LMP1
2. Montagny/Helary/Loeb Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo Judd 376 laps LMP1
3. Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R10 367 laps LMP1
4. Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R 355 laps GT1
5. Collard/Minassian/Comas Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo Judd 352 laps LMP1
6. Enge/Turner/Piccini Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9 350 laps GT1
7. Policand/Goueslard/Alphand Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C5-R 346 laps GT1
8. Newton/Erdos/Wallace RML MG Lola EX264 AER 343 laps LMP2
9. Piquet Jr/Garcia/Brabham Russian Age Racing Aston Martin DBR9 343 laps GT1
10. Sarrazin/Lamy/Ortelli Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9 342 laps GT1
11. Mowlem/Borcheller/Fittipaldi ACEMCO Motorsports Saleen S7R 337 laps GT1
12. Fellows/O'Connell/Papis Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R 327 laps GT1
13. Terada/Timpany/Binnie Binnie Motorsports Lola B05/40 Zytek 326 laps LMP2
14. Macaluso/Lally/James Miracle Motorsports Courage C65 AER 324 laps LMP2
15. Tomlinson/Dean/Kimber-Smith Team LNT Panoz Esperante GT-LM 321 laps GT2
16. Nielsen/Farnbacher/Ehret Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 320 laps GT2
17. Niarchos/Kirkaldy/Mullen Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari F430 GTC 311 laps GT2
18. van Overbeek/Neiman/Long Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 309 laps GT2
19. Field/Halliday/Dayton Intersport Racing Lola B05/40 AER 297 laps LMP2
20. Short/Barbosa/Moseley Rollcentre Racing Radical SR9 Judd 294 laps LMP2
21. Barazi/Vergers/Cunningham Barazi Epsilon Courage C65 AER 294 laps LMP2
22. Collin/Nishizawa/Yamaji Team Taisan Advan Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 291 laps GT2
23. Apicella/Hinoi/Yamanishi JLOC Isao Noritake Lamborghini Murcielago 283 laps-MechanicalGT1
24. Lambert/Lefort/Iannetta Ice Pol Racing Team Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 282 laps GT2
25. Nielsen/Elgaard/Andersen Zytek Engineering Zytek 06S 269 laps LMP1
26. Berridge/Evans/Owen Chamberlain-Synergy Lola B06/10 AER 267 laps LMP1
27. Pompidou/Thyrring/Ried Sebah Automotive Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 256 laps-Transmission
GT2
28. Macallister/Rostan/Pullan Pierre Bruneau Pilbeam MP93 Judd 244 laps-Running/NCFLMP2
29. Ortiz/Gabbiani/Campbell-Walter Creation Autosportif Creation CA06/H Judd 240 laps-EngineLMP1
30. Narac/Dumas/Riccitelli IMSA Performance MATMUT Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 211 laps-EngineGT2
31. Bleekemolen/Hezemans/Kane Spyker Squadron BV Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R 202 laps-EngineGT2
32. Gardel/Bornhauser/Blanchemain Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello 199 laps-ClutchGT1
33. Pergl/Kox/Vasiliev Convers MenX Team Ferrari 550 Maranello 196 laps-AccidentGT1
34. Yamagishi/Konopka/de Fournoux T2M Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 196 laps-FuelGT2
35. Amaral/de Castro/Hughes Chamberlain-Synergy Lola B05/40 AER 193 laps-TransmissionLMP2
36. Kiesa/Moller/Pickering Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm 192 laps-AccidentLMP1
37. Lammers/Yoong/Johansson Racing for Holland Dome S101H Judd 182 laps-AccidentLMP1
38. Hancock/Fisken/Frei Courage Competition Courage LC70 Mugen 171 laps-EngineLMP1
39. Bergmeister/Jonsson/Krohn Krohn White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 148 laps-AccidentGT2
40. Roussel/Hauchard/Briche Welter Gerard WR Peugeot 134 laps-FireLMP2
41. Primat/Fassler/Peter Swiss Spirit Courage LC70 Judd 132 laps-GearboxLMP1
42. Sugden/Vann/Smith Russian Age Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello 124 laps-EngineGT1
43. Bourdais/Cloet/Sharpe Noel del Bello Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 115 laps-AccidentGT2
44. Gosselin/Ojjeh/Ragues Paul Belmondo Racing Courage C65 Mecachrome 84 laps-Gearbox LMP2
45. Hahn/Morris/Leroch G-Force Racing Courage C65 Judd 47 laps-GearboxLMP2
46. Andre/Clairay/Bouvet Paul Belmondo Racing Courage C65 Mecachrome42 laps-AccidentLMP2
47. Crevels/Dumbreck/Coronel Spyker Squadron BV Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R 40 laps-EngineGT2
48. Nakano/Kurosawa/Gounon Courage Competition Courage LC70 Mugen 35 laps-Power SteeringLMP1
49. Maxwell/Jeannette/Milner Multimatic Team Panoz Panoz Esperante GT-LM 34 laps-FuelGT2
50. Babini/Gollin/Pescatori AMR BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBR9 3 laps Accident GT1

Bindon

This makes me sad that mazda can no longer compete with its 787B powerplant

lesper4

iTrader: (3)

i didnt see a mazda in the bunch nor did i hear about it while watching the race, did they race/place?

map

Now if only they could make a relialble road car.

mysql101

The first year they entered, they won 1st place. They were banned after that.

mysql101

video of their leman's winning rotary:

http://proxy.searchirc.com/787b.mpeg

Skip to 6:00 mins into the video. At 6:11 you'll hear what I'm talking about

CERAMICSEAL

Mazda has gone to LeMans probably more than 20 times. They have placed quite well and won their class on more than one occasion. In 90, it was known that they would not be allowed to participate in 92 so they made an all out assault for the overall win and did just that in 91 with the 4 rotor R26B powerplant making 700 ps @ 9000 rpms. The 2 other 787Bs also finished in the top ten. This was and still is the only overall victory at LeMans from a Japanese manufacturer.

Rasputin

Regarding the "diesel" powered Audis, I wish to make the following comments :

- the performance of these Audis strongly rely on the FIA regulations taylor-made to offer them competitiveness. If the Audis win everything, they will get smaller restrictors and loose their supremacy.
- the engine is a diesel-cycle engine, but does not run on diesel. It runs on a synthetic fuel. It's essentially a marketing thing.
- the Pesarolos could have won the race. One of them is second, before the second Audi.

This does not mean I think Audi does not deserve some recognition. Again, they came with a brand new car and engine, and won the first year they competed. It's a major achievement.

Fabricez

brillo

I'm just happy to see another unique type of engine win, gives people reason to experiment and try new things.

Clavius

Oh yeah Respect the Desiel hehe...
Sadly I was attempting to watch this on Speed Channel last night but everytime I tried to watch it they were having technical issues so all I could hear was the audio :;sigh:: Then I woke up and once more attempted to watch it only to wake up a hour late and see Audi win it like I turned on the TV and heard this "Audi has won with their Desiel engine...."

Now someone mentioned that they didnt run on actual Diseal, well thats true and if anything shows how flexible the engine is. Now if BioDiseal will just catch on beyond those in pickup trucks.

rotarygod

The 3rd place Audi was in the pits for almost a half an hour with a bad fuel pump. Pescorolo could have won. They were just as fast. In 24 hours, many things can happen. Look at Aston Martin. They led by about a lap over the Corvette for most of the race but suffered a clutch failure near the end.

The rules do favor diesel engines but that's in part because they want different types of engines to be used. I agree that if Audi wins everything, the rules will slowly get harder on them. An interesting thing that has happened is that at least 1 open cockpit car was running an air conditioner! This was due to a slight loop hole in the rules which states that all closed top cars need air conditioning. It allows larger air restrictors for air conditioned cars. The rule does not say that open top cars can't use air conditioning. The rule is only a guideline this year but mandatory next year. Since the open cockpit cars maintain below the max cabin temp according to the rules, they don't need air conditioning. However if you fit one to the car, you get a larger restrictor. Put a small, pathetic excuse for an a/c on the car and don't turn it on. We'll probably see this rule re-written for next season to be more inclusive.

Next year we should see 3 different diesel teams, Mazda is exploring hydrogen for the rotary and a return to LeMans (although I'm not confident that hydrogen can be made competitive), and Honda/Mugen are talking about a gas/electric hybrid race car for LMP1. Things are going to start getting more interesting and I'm sure many more rules are going to have to be written because of it.

rotarygod

Audi is running a diesel engine and it is in fact compression ignited. They are not running on regular pump diesel fuel and it isn't biodiesel. To say that they weren't running on diesel is like saying that high octane race cars running on 108 or 110 octane don't actually run on gasoline because it isn't the same stuff we guy at the pump. It's still gasoline. Biodiesel, vegetable oil, diesel fuel, are all diesel engine fuels. That doesn't make it any less a diesel than any other engine. A diesel won LeMans.

Clavius

If Mazda use's the Rotary even with Hydrogen and they place in the Top 3 at Lemans I sure hope we see some ad's on Speed and in print magazines stating this fact to EVERYONE.

Razz1

It was a great race.

rotarygod

I did some digging and found that the team that was running an "air conditioner" (although turned off) so they could run a larger restrictor plate and hence make more power was in fact Pescarolo. It got them 2nd place so it apparently worked. Keep in mind that car went off track into the gravel once. The winning Audi also took longer pit stops since diesel is thicker and flows slower and it got penalized in one pitstop so each car did have issues. The Pescarolo trick to use a nonspecific rule to their advantage worked. The rules favor diesels anyways so any advantage they could get was a good thing.

rotarygod

I'm going to go ahead and just call it right now and say we definitely aren't going to see a hydrogen rotary in the top 3 next year. They'll be lucky just to get it running on hydrogen at all.

DailyDriver2k5

I agree...

But kudos to Audi with there TDI car for making history! And my hats off to Team Corvette,what a race! I was watching when the number 64 or 63 car was in there and they had to drop the transfer case. What awesome owner/coach, he was getting his hands dirty with the other crew. He was very positive and i think it rubbed off on the other crew members. I like when he said, " Quit, there is no such word"....something to that effect. But it showed the world that team work and dedication comes through all the time. They represented that the Vette is not only a American icon , but that the corvette team will be the team to beat for many years to come!

I am glad the ALMS is alowing the Prodrive Aston Martins to participate next year, should make that series even better.

Gt2 class...wow...i am amazed of the dismal breakdowns this year , usually that is the class that outshines the other two.Hopefully better results next year......

Overall a great race, looking forward to the Nuringburg 24......that race is going to be brutal!

rotarygod

Nurburgring had it's own 24 hour race going on at the exact same time as the 24 hours of LeMans. I don't know what cars were in it though.

DailyDriver2k5

Really......Danm! That would have been awesome to see, that Nurburgring is one tuff track. I played it on GT4, watched actual footage from various cars thats been on it, and it seems like its one track that beats up the driver pretty good. One lap seems pretty tuff, let alone 24 HOURS!

rotarygod

They don't race on that section anymore as far as I know. There is a new modern MUCH shorter track built next to it where they race now.

The old course is where the first race by a rotary engine was won. It was 1968. Mazda was racing a pair of 10A powered Cosmo's. Rotary reliability paid off as they took first in an 83 hour endurace race! That's 3 and a half days!

DailyDriver2k5

3 and a half days!!!! Wow ...that's a endurance race!