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Two Races, Two Wins - the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
9th May, 2007 | ||||
Following its win at Monza three weeks ago, the diesel-engined Peugeot 908
HDi FAP showed the same winning form over the weekend in Valencia where it was
this time the turn of Pedro Lamy and Stéphane Sarrazin to finish in first place
after leading practically from flag to flag without the slightest problem. The
same can't be said, however, of the second car which was sidelined by a clutch
problem. Despite starting from pole position, Nicolas Minassian was swiftly passed by
Stéphane Sarrazin who was quicker off the line. With no fewer than 45 cars on
the track, the two 908 HDi FAPs started to come across backmarkers as early as
Lap 4 and, after that, spent their time weaving through the traffic round the
twisty 4km Valencia circuit. Even so, the gap between the two cars never
exceeded 20 seconds until the safety car was sent out on Lap 121 following a
tangle between two cars. The teams profited from this neutralisation to refuel
and Pedro Lamy chose to stay on the same tyres, while Marc Gene preferred to fit
fresh rubber. This made it possible for the Spaniard to home in on his
team-mate, prompting a spectacular stand-off between the Peugeot pair. Gene
finally succeeded in passing, but he did so under yellow flags and later
received a stop-and-go penalty. By Lap 160, the Spanish driver was beginning to complain about a problem with
his clutch which was slipping more and more. When Nicolas Minassian profited
from the next stop to take over at the wheel, the Frenchman went little further
when the clutch failed for good. This left the second 908 HDi FAP with a lead of
almost three laps over its closest chaser and it was able to cruise home to
secure victory as the flag came down after six hours of racing (the maximum
duration for LMS rounds) before completion of the 250 scheduled laps. Pedro Lamy: "I am very delighted with this victory, my first both with
Peugeot and in the LMS. Our car was very competitive throughout the weekend and
I had confidence in it all the way to the end." Stéphane Sarrazin: "It was our turn to win after Monza and it's a
fantastic feeling. It was a tough race with unbelievable traffic. The mechanics
did a great job and I would like to say a big thank you to them all." Bruno Famin (Technical Director): "It was an extremely positive
weekend and we achieved our objective which was to collect as much information
as we could. As we had hoped, it proved to be a first class full-scale test for
us. The race revealed that we haven't yet solved all our problems, that we
continue to be on the limit in certain areas and also that we still aren't ready
to hold for 24 hours." |
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