PARIS — Peugeot stands in the way of Audi’s bid for a sixth straight victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Defending champions Tom Kristensen of Denmark, Allan McNish of Britain and Rinaldo Capello of Italy were dislodged from pole position after Stephane Sarrazin produced a fast run Thursday to clinch pole position.
The Frenchman in his Peugeot No. 8 clocked the fastest lap in 3 minutes, 22.888 seconds, pushing the Audi No. 1 driven by McNish into second place on the grid ahead of the 77th edition of the race on Saturday.
Speed does not guarantee victory at the world’s most famous endurance race. Reliability matters just as much in an event won by the team that completes the most laps in 24 hours, with up to three drivers alternating.
Sarrazin beat McNish by more than 5 seconds in the qualifying session last year, but it was Audi that made the best of wet conditions to edge Peugeot and win the race.
“Last year, Audi ran a perfect race and the few problems we encountered cost us the victory,” said Nicolas Minassian of Britain who will start from third on the grid in his Peugeot No. 7. “The Wheel of Fortune is turning and things can change quickly.”
Minassian finished second last year, in the same lap as the winning Audi.
While Peugeot has made efforts to improve the reliability of its cars, Audi has developed a faster model, the R15, which is replacing the aging R10 this season.
Audi will rely on Kristensen’s experience to thwart Peugeot’s challenge.
“I’m sure that Peugeot improved from last year. They were really fast at Sebring,” said Kristensen, whose co-driver McNish had the second-best time of 3:23.650 in qualifying.
With eight victories at Le Mans, Kristensen is the most successful driver in the history of the race.
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