LMS/ILMC: Peugeot wins the 6 Hours of Silverstone

Greaves Motorsport wins in LM P2

By Franck Drui

11 September 2011 - 19:07
LMS/ILMC: Peugeot wins the 6 Hours (...)

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.

Pos#TeamDriversCarCatTime / Gap
1 7 Peugeot Sport Total S. Bourdais / S. Pagenaud Peugeot 908 LM P1 190 laps - 6h00m13.255s
2 1 Audi Sport Team Joest T. Bernhard / M. Fässler Audi R18 TDI LM P1 +1m27.963s
3 24 Oak Racing J. Nicolet / A. Premat / O. Pla Oak Pescarolo - Judd LM P1 +5 laps
4 13 Rebellion Racing A. Belicchi / J. Boullion Lola B10/60 Coupé - Toyota LM P1 +40.746
5 15 Oak Racing M. Lahaye / G. Moreau / P. Ragues Oak Pescarolo - Judd LM P1 +27.684
6 16 Pescarolo Team E. Collard / C. Tinseau / J. Jousse Pescarolo - Judd LM P1 +0.328
7 2 Audi Sport Team Joest T. Kristensen / A. McNish Audi R18 TDI LM P1 +6 laps
8 8 Peugeot Sport Total F. Montagny / S. Sarrazin Peugeot 908 LM P1 +9 laps
9 007 Aston Martin Racing A. Fernandez / C. Klien / H. Primat Lola Aston Martin LM P1 +11 laps
10 41 Greaves Motorsport K. Ojjeh / O. Lombard / T. Kimber-Smith Zytek Z11SN - Nissan LM P2 +12 laps
11 40 Race Performance M. Frey / R. Meichtry / M. Rostan Oreca 03 - Judd LM P2 +13 laps
12 45 Boutsen Energy Racing D. Kraihamer / T. Ebbesvik Oreca 03 - Nissan LM P2 +14 laps
13 36 RML T. Erdos / M. Newton / B. Collins HPD ARX -01d LM P2 +1m00.658
14 43 RLR Msport B. Gates / R. Garofall / W. Hughes MG Lola EX265 - Judd LM P2 +19 laps
15 35 Oak Racing J. Yvon / F. Da Rocha / P. Lafargue Oak Pescarolo - Judd LM P2 +1m23.792
16 26 Signatech Nissan F. Mailleux / L. Ordoñez / J. Vernay Oreca 03 - Nissan LM P2 +20 laps
17 95 Pegasus Racing M. Schultis / P. Simon / J. Schell Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09 FLM +21 laps
18 93 Genoa Racing B. Kronfli / A. Mitchell / J. Grogor Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09 FLM +20.235
19 99 JMB Racing K. Marcelli / C. Ducote / L. Moro Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09 FLM +22 laps
20 51 AF Corse G. Fisichella / G. Bruni Ferrari F458 Italia LM GTE Pro +41.050
21 59 Luxury Racing S. Ortelli / F. Makowiecki Ferrari F458 Italia LM GTE Pro +23 laps
22 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton M. Lieb / R. Lietz Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro +6.694
23 56 BMW Motorsport A. Priaulx / U. Alzen BMW M3 LM GTE Pro +21.843
24 75 Prospeed Competition M. Goossens / M. Holzer Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro +17.902
25 42 Strakka Racing N. Leventis / D. Watts / J. Kane HPD ARX -01d LM P2 +17.354
26 55 BMW Motorsport A. Farfus / J. Müller BMW M3 LM GTE Pro +5.019
27 76 IMSA Performance Matmut P. Pilet / W. Henzler Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro +12.112
28 89 Hankook Team Farnbacher D. Farnbacher / A. Simonsen Ferrari F458 Italia LM GTE Pro +14.278
29 66 JMW Motorsport R. Bell / J. Walker Ferrari F458 Italia LM GTE Pro +24 laps
30 58 Luxury Racing A. Beltoise / F. Jakubowski / N. Marroc Ferrari F458 Italia LM GTE Pro +26 laps
31 67 MSA Performance Matmut N. Armindo / R. Narac Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Am +43.435
32 79 Jota S. Dolan / S. Hancock / C. Buncombe Aston Martin Vantage LM GTE Pro +0.232
33 63 Proton Competition P. Long / G. Roda Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Am +27 laps
34 92 Neil Garner Motorsport J. Hartshorne / S. Keating / P. Keen Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09 FLM +28 laps
35 62 CRS Racing P. Ehret / T. Mullen / R. Wills Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am +38.300
36 50 Larbre Competition P. Bornhauser / J. Canal / G. Gardel Corvette C6-ZR1 LM GTE Am +6.024
37 61 AF Corse P. Perazzini / M. Cioci / S. Lemeret Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am +6.606
38 88 Team Felbermayr-Proton C. Ried / H. Felbermayr Jr. Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Am +55.157
39 57 Krohn Racing T. Krohn / N. Jönson / M. Rugolo Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am +29 laps
40 65 Lotus Jetalliance J. Rossiter / J. Mowlem / K. Wendlinger Lotus Evora LM GTE Pro +32.638
41 60 Gulf AMR Middle East F. Giroix / R. Goethe / M. Wainwright Aston Martin Vantage LM GTE Am +37 laps
42 82 CRS Racing K. Hummel / A. Christodoulou / P. Quaife Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am +57 laps
--------- Not classified ----------- ---------- ---------
43 70 Kessel Racing M. Broniszewski / P. Peter Ferrari F458 Italia LM GTE Pro 118 laps
44 64 Lotus Jetalliance L. Lichtner-Hoye / M. Rich / D. Heinemeier Lotus Evora LM GTE Pro 114 laps
45 39 Pecom Racing L. Perez-Companc / M. Russo / P. Kaffer Lola B11/40 - Judd LM P2 103 laps
--------- Retired ----------- ---------- ---------
46 12 Rebellion Racing N. Jani / N. Prost Lola B10/60 Coupé - Toyota LM P1 159 laps
47 71 AF Corse J. Melo / T. Vilander Ferrari F458 Italia LM GTE Pro 92 laps
48 46 TDS Racing M. Beche / P. Thiriet / J. Firth Oreca 03 - Nissan LM P2 23 laps

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