Peugeot ended Audi’s five-year reign at Le Mans last month by winning the famous 24 hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Clinching their first victory for 16 years, the diesel Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP also claimed the second step of the podium, with Audi’s R15 TDI in third place.

The winning car, driven by David Brabham, Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz, took a runaway lead as soon as the French flag fell to signal the start of the race, and went on to complete 382 laps with its V12 twin-turbo diesel. Peugeot’s result takes its Le Mans score to three wins, with its previous success being in 1992 and 1993. In 2007 and 2008, Peugeot took pole position for the race, but the cars were beaten by the more reliable Audi R10. This year, the 908’s pace saw off the Audi teams in a battle that often looked like it was more of a sprint than an endurance race.

‘We faced a huge challenge and we succeeded in rising to it,’ said Peugeot Sport Director, Olivier Quesnel. ‘We were here as challengers, and our mission was to try to topple the favourites. And that is exactly what we did, essentially by steering clear of the different pitfalls in our path. It turned out to be a terrific race.’

The first third of the race was the most action-packed, as one of the three Audis went off at the Indianapolis corner, and a second at the Porsche Curves. The third R15, and Audi’s number one car, faced mechanical problems towards the end of the race and had to change their steering wheel.Peugeot also had its share of bad luck when one of the factory cars hit a competing team’s Peugeot, with another needing repairs.

Further down the field, entry number 007, a Lola Aston Martin, came in fourth, claiming the highest position for a petrol-powered car. Wurz, the youngest driver ever to win the endurance classic (in 1996), commented on the clean drive he and his Peugeot team mates had: ‘What made the difference? The fact that we kept it on the track without picking up any damage. We also had a great team behind us, and a phenomenal car. It’s a fantastic feeling to have won in France in a French car.’