Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Le Mans

The heat is on…

Team Peugeot Total are ready for the challenge of the Le Mans 24 Hours

There are just a few days to go before the ultimate endurance race… Le Mans 24 Hours. And Team Peugeot Total are raring to go.

Held on June 14-15, the event is a crunch date in the racing calendar. And after narrowly missing out on victory last year, it is a race that Peugeot intends to win.

With three 908 HDi FAP cars on the starting grid, along with a team of nine world class drivers, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Earlier this month, Peugeot proved their mettle by dominating the track in the official Le Mans test day. The 908s finished 1st, 2nd and 4th fastest.

They have also shown their power in the 2008 Le Mans Series. The two team 908s opened the season with three straight victories at Catalunya, Monza and Spa.

This was despite competition from Audi’s two R10 diesels. And this year’s 24-hour race will carry on the crunch battle between Peugeot and Audi.

Peugeot Sport Director Michel Barge says: ‘We have prepared extremely thoroughly for this monumental competition…Everyone at Peugeot Sport has done a tremendous job, but we’ve still got lots of work on our hands, including a car rebuild. But that’s what Le Mans is all about, big ups and sometimes moments that are more difficult.’
Held on the Circuit de la Sarthe, the race runs on a mix of permanent track and public roads that are temporarily closed for the race.

The highest speed recorded at Le Mans was 252mph by a WM-Peugeot in 1988. Since 1990, the Mulsanne Straight has been divided by chicanes to keep speeds down.

Peugeot has a new three car line-up for 2008 and nine drivers.

In the red N°7 car, the drivers are Jacques Villeneuve, Marc Gené and Nicolas Minassian.

The blue N°8 car will be driven by Pedro Lamy, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz.

Meanwhile, the grey N°9 car will be raced by Christian Klien, Franck Montagny and Ricardo Zonta.

Once under way, the cars can stop to refuel and for repairs as often as they need. But every second counts, meaning the race is as much a test of the cars’ stamina and reliability over 24 hours as that of the drivers.

The prizes go to the cars that cover the most distance in 24 hours. Teams compete in four separate classes: custom-built Le Mans prototypes, which are split into two categories, LMP1 and LMP2, and production-based grand tourers known as GT1 and GT2. All are divided by speed, weight and power output.

Peugeot’s 908s compete in the LMP1 class. They are powered by a 5.5-litre V12 engine that kicks out no less than 700bhp – the power of more than 10 Peugeot 207 1.4 HDis.

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