- 1,238
- RocketPunch1221
- RRoD? no thanks.
Great race.
2008 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Thread starter The359
- 487 comments
- 27,616 views
McLaren
Premium
- 45,441
- Texas
Van Merkenstijn team, what a finish! Cheers to all of them drivers in that team as well
Don't forget Essex! It appears the RS Spyders have no problem at LeMans. But, it appears Penske has made the right decision keeping his cars out of this race.
- 278
- GTP_Sa11yz-Rage
Awesome race, once again..... Congrats Audi....
Nice to see JV up there. 👍
Nice to see JV up there. 👍
- 2,185
- Indianapolis
- GTP_ranhammerR34
- RadCoronet5651
Congrats to Audi, Aston Martin, and all the teams that finished this great race. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads on GT Planet! 
Brett
Premium
- 8,632
- Oklahoma
Great job by Audi to win overall! 👍 Just shows to go that outright pace does not always necessarily win and that Audi has effectively used their vast amount of recent experience.
Definitely a disappointment for Peugeot. Had they not spent eight more minutes in the pits when compared with Audi, then they would have likely have won the race. I expect Peugeot to come back and win next year after working their few problems out, though I also expect Audi to give them a fight.
It is not that surprising that a Porsche RS Spyder won LMP2. That car has been great in ALMS and for it to do well at Le Mans was just an extension of that excellence.
Yet another great battle in GT1! 👍 The Prodrive Astons and Corvette Racing Corvette cannot get much closer together in terms of pace and any time they are together in a race, then it is almost guaranteed to be a great race.
Great job by Risi to win GT2! 👍 They were the team I was rooting for in GT2 and pulled it out. Nice job!
And finally, great job to everyone participating at Le Mans!
Definitely a disappointment for Peugeot. Had they not spent eight more minutes in the pits when compared with Audi, then they would have likely have won the race. I expect Peugeot to come back and win next year after working their few problems out, though I also expect Audi to give them a fight.
It is not that surprising that a Porsche RS Spyder won LMP2. That car has been great in ALMS and for it to do well at Le Mans was just an extension of that excellence.
Yet another great battle in GT1! 👍 The Prodrive Astons and Corvette Racing Corvette cannot get much closer together in terms of pace and any time they are together in a race, then it is almost guaranteed to be a great race.
Great job by Risi to win GT2! 👍 They were the team I was rooting for in GT2 and pulled it out. Nice job!
And finally, great job to everyone participating at Le Mans!
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Well, I must say I'm disappointed. Firstly because neither Epsilon Euskadi finished, and secondly because Peugeot didn't win. I know it's an achievement in and of itself for them to finish so well, but I do confess that Audi winning each year is getting a bit tired. I'm not denying that they've done excellent work once again, but it's getting to be a case of the same old same and blunting my enthusiasm for the race, much like when Michael Schumacher was the only man capable of winning a Grand Prix race. Sure, he was great, but he single-handedly made the sport boring.
- 1,264
- coming soon
- Tezuka18
i was disappointed too. some how the DOME finished behind the Flying Lizard Porsche which was doing bad the whole race. Tokai University,Epsilon Euskadi and Bruichladdich Radical, a huge letdown.
and Peugeot didn't win overall.
GT1 really shined this year. that was great racing
and Peugeot didn't win overall.
GT1 really shined this year. that was great racing
- 793
8 for Tom Kristensen. That's unreal.
- 10,835
- Belgium
- bramturismo
Well, if Appie was right and Toyota may deliver engines to Dome next year, we could be in for a surprise result...
Indeed, it seems the Peugeot is more a race car than it is an endurance car. The radiators on the Peugeot were too small and too narrow anyway, hence the overheating. It's exiting to see how much time Audi have spent in the garage, training on replacing various components. Pitstop times from Audi were impressive 👍
Will Peugeot still continue to chase Audi for 2009? Or will Audi have a change of plans, and give it a shot in the LM GT1 class with a possible R8 roadcar, racing version?
My personal men of the race:
1. Allan McNish & C. Sarrazin:
Thumbs up to Sarrazin for smashing those lap records of last year. The lad was lapping the track so fast at times, that you nearly started to believe the car would take off! But what a performance from McNish. The scot saved Audi with his laptimes/downright speed, and that 4-stint session of him was impressive. For me, Allan was the man at Audi this year.
2. Minassian:
No more needs to be said, going out on a wet track with slicks, and still closing in on the Audi so much was incredible. What a drive!
3. Tom Kristensen/ Jos Verstappen:
Tom with his 8th victory, is there more that needs to be said? Congrats to Jos for his pace during the race, TV coverage should've followed the Van Merkenstijn car a lot more...
So you think that Audi is doing it to ruin the sport!! They are just raising the bar, and so far no one has been able to step up, and raise it even higher.
And the fact that Tom Kristensen really wanted this, had nothing to do with the fact that it would be his eight victory - he really has nothing left to prove. The reason was, that he would really like to win alongside Capello og McNish for some reason (can't remember what it was, he was talkin about it in an interview on danish tv)...
- 5,632
- Malaysia
- MuzaffarMusa
Okay, I'm lost. 
I had to go out for dinner just now when there was literally 1 hour left in the race!!! Argh, I hate it when that happens (just like last year!
) but since it was a family dinner for fathers day, I couldn't reject it. 
So as expected, Audi win the race for their *insert number here* time and has shown that outright pace is no match for reliability and fuel economy. 👍 Peugeot shouldn't have shown their early dominance as it really backfired for them when they had to pit more often than the Audi as well as mechanical problems mid race and that the rain really hampered their performance. But yeah, lets see if they get it third time lucky next year.
Also, good job for the Charouz AML and the Dome S102 for brining the car home. It was a good debut for both cars, and should be coming back stronger next year.
As for the LMP2, its a job well done for Van Merkenstijn and Essex for the 1-2 finish for the Le Mans debut of the Porsche RS Spyder. Also job well done for the Pescarolo team, probably one of the youngest teams in the race and a solid job of them brining the car home. Good job as well for AMR on their 2nd win in a row, brining home the win and make the Gulf name proud. As for the GT2, it was the Rizi Competizione that won it right? Yeah, they didn't put a foot wrong didn't they?
Since I missed the last hour of the race, could anybody bring up a summary of the last 1 hour of the race? Pretty please?
I had to go out for dinner just now when there was literally 1 hour left in the race!!! Argh, I hate it when that happens (just like last year!
) but since it was a family dinner for fathers day, I couldn't reject it. So as expected, Audi win the race for their *insert number here* time and has shown that outright pace is no match for reliability and fuel economy. 👍 Peugeot shouldn't have shown their early dominance as it really backfired for them when they had to pit more often than the Audi as well as mechanical problems mid race and that the rain really hampered their performance. But yeah, lets see if they get it third time lucky next year.
Also, good job for the Charouz AML and the Dome S102 for brining the car home. It was a good debut for both cars, and should be coming back stronger next year. As for the LMP2, its a job well done for Van Merkenstijn and Essex for the 1-2 finish for the Le Mans debut of the Porsche RS Spyder. Also job well done for the Pescarolo team, probably one of the youngest teams in the race and a solid job of them brining the car home. Good job as well for AMR on their 2nd win in a row, brining home the win and make the Gulf name proud. As for the GT2, it was the Rizi Competizione that won it right? Yeah, they didn't put a foot wrong didn't they?
Since I missed the last hour of the race, could anybody bring up a summary of the last 1 hour of the race? Pretty please?
- 1,238
- RocketPunch1221
- RRoD? no thanks.
#11 Dome Judd with drive shaft problem
Sunday 15 June 2008 - 01h12
The #11 Dome Racing Team, Dome Judd S102 driven by Tachikawa stopped just after the Corvette Curve and was being pushed to a place of safety. The car eventually made it back to the pits and was immediately inspected by the mechanics. After one hour lost in repairing a left side drive shaft problem, the car finally returned to the track at 1 o'clock in the morning.
Dome #11 off the track.
Sunday 15 June 2008 - 10h52
The #11 Dome Racing Team, Dome Judd S102 of Ito, Tachikawa and Kataoka goes into the gravel at 10:16 in the Ford curve and comes back to the pit afterwards for checking.
It goes off the track again at 10:46 and hits the tyres after the Michelin curve. It suffers damage on the front and comes back to the pit for repairs at 10:52.
Well I guess the other LMP teams need to rise to the occasion, don't they. You can't fault a team for being good.
- 35,190
- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
Man, the race was exciting! Last night the I had the video and the timing and scoring to keep up. Congrats to Audi. Just as I said before, Audi showed us that outright speed doesn't in Le Mans and just like with Toyota, Peugeot learned this the hard way. Also, I'm not sure exactly how Audi is ruining the sport by simply being better. As I stated in another thread, you can't stop domination. There's always a team that has it figured much better then the rest of the field and are gonna use that. In Nascar you've got Gibbs, In Grand Am its Ganassi. Congrats to the Aston. I hate that the corvettes didn't win because I felt like the ACO robbed them last year, but the Astons did deserve this one and great job by Brabham. And how about the RS Spyders? Not one car retired from the race despite that the Essex car kept going to the garage. And Congrats to Risi Competizione! They got the lead and never looked back.
- 10,835
- Belgium
- bramturismo
The Corvettes won last year as far as I can remember...
- 10,373
- Manchester
- Ardius_
Nope, the 009 DBR9 won last year too.
- 10,835
- Belgium
- bramturismo
- 3,657
- Cary, NC
- mrbabyboyd
Congrats to Audi for showing that they can win with inferior car (at least speedwise). When I went to sleep last night the Peugeots were winning but they had a slim lead but I wasn't sure if thay would hold it. When I woke up Audi had the lead I knew before I left for church they were going to win. I really wanted Peugeot to win but I not mad at Audi because they know how to win. Hopefully this will serve as a valuable learning exercise for the Peugeot folks and they' ll win next year. It good to see Dome finish. Overall I really enjoyed this year's race.
- 1,446
- MustangXS
- MustangXS
Yes because it's no longer surprising that they win. Their whole driver line-up includes like most drivers that has won Le Mans overall in the last like 8-10 years or so and as a overall team they are most likely spending considerably more money than Peugeot anyway. The Audi #2 car didn't go into the garage a single time and didn't really make any spinning mistakes because their drivers are too good for that kind of stuff, which means that the only way Peugeot are ever going to win it is by either hiring Audi's drivers or by being really lucky. For once I wanted to see the Audi have a problem while in the overall lead with like 4-2 hours to go to see how they react to it. The other main reason they won this year is because their drivers are clearly a lot better in the rain. /end rant
Joey D
Premium
- 47,375
- Lakes of the North, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
Wasn't Peugeot leading? Didn't they make a push at the end? Why on Earth would you wish problems on a team? Audi has built a good racecar, have a good team of drivers, and have had a little luck for the past 8 years. You can't fault them for that.
- 5,076
- GTPLoon
- D1 Loon
Thanks Bram.
- 36,640
- Scotland
- GTP_daan
What a load of rubbish. Admittedly, Kristensen, McNish & Capello are the "dream team", but Audi won by making fewer stops, and by having a better car for the rain.
McLaren
Premium
- 45,441
- Texas
Make a new thread Danny, and share the love!
First off, Peugeot could have easily taken this victory. However, they lost the race because they made too many errors. They shouldn't have set the car up where it would be hugely disadvantaged in the wet, and they shouldn't have been pitting so often. Every time the 908 would get under 30 seconds away, it would pit and become 2 minutes behind again.
And what's more is that at the final hours, they probably could have won had they not chosen to run slicks in the wet. Wth guys. They shot themselves in the foot there. The flat tire was just bad luck, though.
But Audi is not responsible for any of this, and I don't see how another win is ruining the sport. It's not like Peugeot handed them the win (until the end), because despite Peugeot's problems and errors, they still made Audi sweat.
Second off, if you wanted to see Audi have problems that could have cost them the win, then go watch the 2007 race again. Audi was incredibly lucky last year that their leading car was not one of the two that went out.
