WITH the countdown to the 24-Hours of Le Mans classic now well under way, first blood in the battle of the brand new LMP1 class went to Peugeot, as French brand grabbed the upper hand over Audi at Spa-Francorchamps.
Regulation changes see brand new cars head to Le Mans in just over five weeks’ time, and the six-hour rehearsal at the famous Belgian circuit saw the new machinery from the big two race teams lock horns for the very first time.
And when the chequered flag fell it was Peugeot which claimed the spoils, grabbing the first two slots with the number 7 car of Hemel Hempstead-born Anthony Davidson, Alexander Wurz and Marc Gené sealing victory ahead of the No 8 Peugeot 908 of Frank Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin and Nicolas Minassian, with a disappointed Audi No 3 car crewed by Scotland’s Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello a lap down in third.
What made the victory for Peugeot all the sweeter was that firm favourites Audi had qualified first, second and third, with the Peugeots back down the grid on rows six, nine and 24.
The three works French cars looked as if they were in for a torrid time against their red-hot German opponents who had made a huge impression in practice.
But driving a flat-out first stint from the off, Alexander Wurz, who started in 12th place, soon took the lead from the leading Audi.
His team-mates were inspired by his example and they all showed their exceptional ability over the complex, undulating 4.35-mile long Ardennes track, .
“It’s a fantastic victory,” said an overjoyed Anthony Davidson, one of the winning drivers.
“It’s a marvellous team performance and of course we hope to do the same again in six weeks!”
“When I saw the pace set by Alex, I realised we had a car that could win the race. It was very comfortable to drive and this is a track that I really like.
“My engineer asked me to push 100 per cent, which is what I did. We had a good strategy, and we didn’t have any issues. It’s very positive before Le Mans.”
Meanwhile, Audi were left licking their wounds after a race in which only bad luck went their way.
The third placed Audi, which finished a lap behind the winning Peugeot, knew it had not been their day when they had to pit for a puncture late in the race when challenging for second place.
A disappointed Allan McNish said: “A podium position is always a good result, especially for the championship, but it’s nevertheless frustrating only to get third place after starting one, two, three on the grid.
“It was a close fight at times but unfortunately, after encountering a few problems, the end result wasn’t in our favour.
‘We now go away and closely analyse the data of our new R18 TDI in time for Le Mans.”