PARIS — Peugeot will try to stop Audi’s four-year winning streak at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend. Audi, however, remains confident it can still go the distance in the world’s most famous endurance race.
Peugeot dominated the first qualifying session for the race late Wednesday, with its three cars clocking the three best times ahead of the trio from Audi.
Stephane Sarrazin of France had the fastest lap of 3 minutes, 18.513 seconds on the nearly 8.5-mile circuit — beating the lap record by 7.8 seconds. Audi’s fastest lap was set by Allan McNish of Britain, who went around in 3:24.105 for the fourth-best time.
“We are quite confident for the upcoming race after this good qualifying session,” said Sarrazin, who finished second last year.
But speed isn’t everything at the fabled race, which is won by the team that completes the most laps in 24 hours, with up to three drivers alternating. The endurance of the car — and the drivers — is equally important.
“We cannot do a better lap time than Peugeot,” said Audi’s Danish driver, Tom Kristensen, who is chasing a record eighth victory at Le Mans. “That’s the reason why we focus mostly on the preparation of the race.”
The 76th edition of the race starts Saturday. Last year, Peugeot also beat Audi in qualifying but was no match for the German team during the race.
“Even if Audi is 6 seconds behind Peugeot, the race will be very different and we are expecting Audi to be a strong opponent,” Sarrazin said.
The driving trio that won last year for Audi, Emanuele Pirro of Italy, Frank Biela and Marco Werner of Germany, clocked the sixth-best lap in 3:27.580.
“This year, it looks like the fight for the title will be much harder than in previous years,” Biela said.
Jacques Villeneuve of Canada, whose Peugeot No. 7 had the third-best lap, is attempting to become the second driver after British-born Graham Hill to complete the Triple Crown of auto racing.
Villeneuve won the Formula One championship in 1997 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995.
His car was in second place for much of the race last year but had to retire in the 22nd hour because of an engine failure.
“The Peugeot 908 has been significantly improved over the last 12 months,” Villeneuve said. “It’s much more competitive now, and a real pleasure to drive.”
The second, and last, qualifying session was to be held late Thursday.
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