LMS/ILMC: Peugeot wins the 6 Hours of Silverstone

1st hour: Audi and Peugeot in the wars!

The first hour of the Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone was a frantic one. Audi and Peugeot battled for the lead in the opening laps of the race. Sébastien Bourdas (no. 7 Peugeot 908) held on to his first place with Allan McNish (no. 2 Audi R18 TDI) crawling all over his gearbox.

The Scot forced his way past when the two cars fell upon the tail-enders after five laps. The first upset came after 15 minutes when Franck Montagny (no. 8 Peugeot 908) hit a car during a an overtaking manoeuvre and then slammed into the guardrail damaging the left-hand front end of his car.

He managed to restart, pitted for repairs and lost 8 laps before rejoining. After 30 minutes Bourdais and McNish were still at it hammer and tongs until the Audi driver collided with another competitor. He came in and changed a wheel but the German team soon realized that the front suspension on the no. 2 R18 had to be changed.

Another spectacular accident occurred in the first hour when Jody Firth (TDS Racing) hit the pit wall after 45 minutes bringing out the safety car. After it went in Bourdais went back into the lead followed by Timo Bernhard who then took advantage of the traffic to snatch first place from the Frenchman.

The other leaders after one hour : LM P2, Greaves Motorsport, FLM: Neil Garner Motorsport, LM GTE Pro: AF Corse, and LM GTE Am: Proton Competition.

2nd hour: Peugeot still in front

The second hour of the Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone flashed by almost as quickly as the first as the thrilling battle continued between Sébastien Bourdais’ no. 7 Peugeot and Timo Bernhard’s no. 1 Audi R18 TDI. The Frenchman fought his way past the German who then spun losing 14 seconds to the Peugeot driver, who was replaced by Simon Pagenaud while Marcel Fässler took over from Bernhard.

In LM P2, the Greaves Motorsport squad continues on its winning way with Olivier Lombard at the wheel. The leaders in the LM P2 ratings could open up the gap over Strakka Racing, which has been delayed.

In LM GTE Pro, the no. 51 AF Corse Ferraro with Fisichella at the wheel is still in front, and in LM GTE Am, the Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche has gone into the lead. In FLM, Pegasus Racing holds sway.

3rd hour: Audi’s victory hopes revived!

As the third hour began Peugeot had a good lead, but Audi is now back in the running for victory. After the first two cars pitted Marcel Fässler in the no. 1 Audi R18 TDI hunted down Simon Pagenaud in the no. 7 Peugeot.

The gap fell from 14 to a few tenths of a second. And at half distance, the Swiss sliced past the 908 to take the lead.

In LM P2, Karim Ojjeh took over from Lombard and is currently in first place in the category in front of the Boutsen Energy Racing and Race Performance Oreca 03s.

Ferrari still dominates in LM GTE Pro thanks to the nos 59 and 51 Luxury Racing and AF Corse F458 Italias.Nicolas Armindo took over from Narac in the lead in the GTE Am category, while in Formula Le Mans, Pegasus Racing is still in front.

4th hour: Audi and Peugeot neck and neck

After four hours’ racing the outcome of the Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone remains as indecisive as ever. Audi and Peugeot are still battling for victory with the no. R18 TDI leading the no. 7 908.

After taking first place at half distance Timo Bernhard opened up a gap over Simon Pagenaud who was then relayed by Sébastien Bourdais. The Frenchman closed the gap in the second half of the fourth hour. With two thirds of the race gone Bourdais was only 2 seconds behind the German car.

Change of leader in LM P2 as the Boutsen Energy Racing Oreca has gone to the front after the Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan dominated the first half of the event. In LM GTE Pro, the AF Corse Ferrari F458 has got the better of the Luxury Racing Italia.

No changes in LM GTE Am and Formula Le Mans still dominated by the Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche and the Pegasus Racing FLM 09.

5th hour: Peugeot closing in on victory

Peugeot is an hour away from winning the Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone. The no. 7 908 and the no. 1 Audi R18 TDI were involved in a scrap in which every tenth of a second counted until the German car lost over a minute in the pits as the fifth hour struck. This put Sebastien Bourdais into a comfortable lead and he kept up a searing pace. He also set the fastest lap and handed over to Simon Pagenaud to finish the job.

In LM P2, the Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan retook the lead from the Race Performance and Boutsen Energy Oreca 03s. AF Corse was still in front in the LM GTE Pro category, and the Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche 997 looked uncatchable in GTE Am. Pegasus Racing tightened its stranglehold in the FLM category victory chase.

Peugeot wins the 6 Hours of Silverstone

Sébastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud in the no.7 Peugeot 908 have won the Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone. The French pair beat the no. 1 Audi R18 TDI driven by Marcel Fässler and Timo Bernhard and the no. 24 Oak-Pescarolo of Olivier Pla et Alexandre Prémat.

The other winners: the Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN in LM P2, Pegasus Racing in Formula Le Mans, the no. 51 Ferrari F458 Italia entered by AF Corse in LM GTE Pro, and the no. 67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 in LM GTE Am.

More information to follow.