Peugeot: Audi still car to beat

Audi is still favourite to win this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, according to Peugeot team manager Serge Saulnier.

“We are starting with the assumption that we will be chasing Audi,” said Saulnier, whose team has beaten Audi in each of the first three Le Mans Series races in Europe this year. “The LMS and Le Mans are two entirely different things.

“The circuit at Le Mans is very different to all others and we can be sure that the Audi will be competitive in qualifying and the race.”

Saulnier’s comments came after the Audi R10 TDi appeared to edge closer to the Peugeot 908 HDi in the final LMS race before Le Mans at Spa in May. Despite this, Audi driver Allan McNish believes the balance is still in the French manufacturer’s favour.

“I don’t think you are still favourite when you get beaten in three successive races,” he said. “We have known for some time that they have the performance and now they seem to have the reliability. It is Peugeot’s race to lose.”

Audi was closer to Peugeot’s race pace at Spa. A rear-end bodywork modification offered some improvement but was “not significant”, according to McNish. “It’s more a case of pushing the boundaries of the car’s set-up to the absolute limit,” he said.

Le Mans this year will be a straight fight between Audi and Peugeot, the only two manufacturers running in the LMP1 prototype division. Their petrol-powered privateer rivals argue that the regulations are stacked in favour of the diesels, leaving them little chance.

ORECA boss Hugues de Chaunac, whose Courage-based chassis notched up its first LMS podium at Spa, believes it is unrealistic for a petrol-powered car to make it onto the podium.

“Our target is to be in the top five,” he said. “We cannot expect more than that.”