Petit Le Mans 2010 race notes

Petit Le Mans 2010 - Epic and memorable ALMS finale.

It was a clean start in the autumn sunshine as the snake of cars began to carve their way through the sinuous circuit of Road Atlanta that is bordered by trees and cut from the red Georgia clay. The (probably record breaking) crowd lined the circuit to watch history being made. Audi have been forced to play the part of under-dog since the might and money of Peugeot finally paid off in 2009. Audi's response in the shape of the evolved R15 'plus' is only just able to stay in touch, even with the driving talent of Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish. The scene was set for an epic battle, and we were not disappointed.

With such a huge grid and such a technical circuit full of blind crests and invisible apexes it was sure to be traffic that would be the deciding factor. In the first few hours there were a catalogue of bumps, nudges and taps that gave rise to several American-style ALMS safety car periods. Forgive me, but although safety should always be at the forefront in racing, it does not need a full course caution and safety car just to deal with a stricken car limping back to the pits, or for a small bit of carbon fibre to be rescued from the surface of the track. Rant over; we did see at least 9 safety periods at my count and they lasted at least 15 to 20 minutes each. The strategy of Peugeot during those periods has been widely praised, but it could so easily have gone against them. They guessed right and they took advantage. There were four major turning points in the race. The first was the misadventure of the #9 Audi when passing traffic, Andre Lotterer left the track in the esses and lost the Audi's nose. Repairs cost them 15 laps. The second came in the 4th hour when Stéphane Sarrazin made an impossibly optimistic passing move on Dindo Capello. The Peugeot dream could have turned to nightmare in that moment. Sarrazin was lucky, his penalty for the suicidal manoeuvre was a harmless spin and loss of a few seconds of track position. Later, during a safety car period, when McNish was mid-stint and splitting the Peugeots, only one of the Peugeots pitted so that the Audi could not inherit the lead, risking a green flag pitstop later for the leading Peugeot. The gamble paid off and they kept McNish at bay. The most bizarre turn of events was when Capello was at the wheel of the R15 #7 and holding off Franck Montagny. Something broke inside his helmet allowing part of his headset to fall in front of his eyes. He managed to get to pitlane with minimal vision and McNish took over, but the unplanned stop under green flag conditions put an end to any realistic hope of victory. The Peugeots made a 1-2 finish and it was well deserved. Audi had the consolation prize this time, but showed that they are still snapping hard at the heels of the Peugeot Lion.
The real battle was in the LM GT2 class with Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette and BMW all on the same lap for much of the 1000 miles. BMW looked like they could run away with it, but were stricken with a jammed starter in the pits that sent them to the back of the pack. A catalogue of problems hit all the leading GT2 cars as the BMW climbed back up the order and the reliable but slightly off-pace Flying Lizard Porsche lay in wait to take advantage. In the end it was another strange turn of events that decided the result. Victory seemed sure for the Bruni / Vilander Risi Competizione Ferrari #62, but on the final lap and almost able to coast to the finish it ran dry of fuel and was stranded on the track. To everyone's surprise, it was the Corvette of Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen and Emmanuel Collard who took the flag and LM GT2 victory.

GF