Source: Peugeot Sport
The 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours kicked off this evening with the first of the week's two qualifying sessions, and the three Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs were immediately on the pace to collect the top three places on the provisional grid.
Stéphane Sarrazin was the fastest man on the track today, posting a blistering 3m 18.513s for Team Peugeot Total with the N°8 car. That's almost four seconds quicker than his best effort during the preliminary practice day earlier in the month (3m 22.222s), as well as a stunning improvement of 7.831s over his pole-winning time for Peugeot in 2007.
Team Peugeot Total made its intentions clear from the outset this evening when Pedro Lamy bettered last year's pole time with the No 8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP just two laps into the session, and the French squad's three cars soon emerged at the top of the timesheets.
The star of the first two hours - before darkness fell over the French circuit - was Stéphane Sarrazin who followed up an early 3m 20.099s with a 3m 18.513s with just over half an hour remaining before the break. That's the fastest anybody has been round the French track since 1989. Back then, though, the celebrated Hunaudières Straight had not yet been divided into three sections by the addition of two chicanes! The three 908 HDi FAPs were also all faster than the Peugeot 905's best lap at Le Mans in the hands of Philippe Alliot in 1992 (3m 21.20s).
"My car is incredibly competitive and I was fortunate to find a lap that was relatively free of traffic," reported Sarrazin after setting his fastest lap at an average speed of 247.160 km/h on medium compound Michelin tyres. "I had a bit of understeer early on but we soon succeeded in curing that, and I think we were especially quick through the faster portions"
Twenty minutes later, fellow Frenchman Franck Montagny (No 9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP) eased into second place with a 3m 20.203s before shaving a further 1.5 seconds off that score next time round (3m 18.682s) to close to within 0.169s of Sarrazin's time. "My Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is just fantastic, and so easy to drive" enthused Montagny. "I hit traffic during my first flying lap on fresh tyres and I asked the team to find me a clearer slot before going out again. Even then, my run wasn't totally free of traffic - Le Mans rarely is - but it came together nicely."
The Team Peugeot Total mechanics had been forced to build a brand new Peugeot 908 HDi FAP for Marc Gené/Nicolas Minassian/Jacques Villeneuve after the original No 7 car was destroyed in a spectacular crash at the Courbe Corvette with Gené at the wheel during the preliminary test-day earlier in the month. Minassian rewarded their work with the evening's third best time (3m 20.451s), less than two seconds behind the two sister cars.
photo:Peugeot Sport
The 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours kicked off this evening with the first of the week's two qualifying sessions, and the three Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs were immediately on the pace to collect the top three places on the provisional grid.
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| The No. 7 Peugeot 908 in action |
Team Peugeot Total made its intentions clear from the outset this evening when Pedro Lamy bettered last year's pole time with the No 8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP just two laps into the session, and the French squad's three cars soon emerged at the top of the timesheets.
The star of the first two hours - before darkness fell over the French circuit - was Stéphane Sarrazin who followed up an early 3m 20.099s with a 3m 18.513s with just over half an hour remaining before the break. That's the fastest anybody has been round the French track since 1989. Back then, though, the celebrated Hunaudières Straight had not yet been divided into three sections by the addition of two chicanes! The three 908 HDi FAPs were also all faster than the Peugeot 905's best lap at Le Mans in the hands of Philippe Alliot in 1992 (3m 21.20s).
"My car is incredibly competitive and I was fortunate to find a lap that was relatively free of traffic," reported Sarrazin after setting his fastest lap at an average speed of 247.160 km/h on medium compound Michelin tyres. "I had a bit of understeer early on but we soon succeeded in curing that, and I think we were especially quick through the faster portions"
Twenty minutes later, fellow Frenchman Franck Montagny (No 9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP) eased into second place with a 3m 20.203s before shaving a further 1.5 seconds off that score next time round (3m 18.682s) to close to within 0.169s of Sarrazin's time. "My Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is just fantastic, and so easy to drive" enthused Montagny. "I hit traffic during my first flying lap on fresh tyres and I asked the team to find me a clearer slot before going out again. Even then, my run wasn't totally free of traffic - Le Mans rarely is - but it came together nicely."
The Team Peugeot Total mechanics had been forced to build a brand new Peugeot 908 HDi FAP for Marc Gené/Nicolas Minassian/Jacques Villeneuve after the original No 7 car was destroyed in a spectacular crash at the Courbe Corvette with Gené at the wheel during the preliminary test-day earlier in the month. Minassian rewarded their work with the evening's third best time (3m 20.451s), less than two seconds behind the two sister cars.
photo:Peugeot Sport