After having their troubles during testing and qualifying, Peugeot made up for it when the 1000 Km of Spa-Francorchamps began and ran away with the top two spots during Saturday's race, which was the second in the International Le Mans Cup series. Peugeot qualified 13th and 18th, while Audi took the top three spots, but none of that mattered once the race began.
The No. 7 Peugeot, driven by Alexander Wurz, Marc Gene and Anthony Davidson had nearly a 43-second lead over the No. 8 Peugeot, which was piloted by Stéphane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny and Nicolas Minassian. It marked the fifth consecutive year that Peugeot won the 1000 Km of Spa-Francorchamps.
"During my first stint, I realized we had to watch the tires," Wurz said."After taking the lead, I pushed like crazy before handing over the wheel to Anthony. After that everything went well."
Davidson said the team had a plan and they stuck with it and it turned out for the best.
"When I drove, I was pretty confident with our speed," he said."We were not quite sure of the strategy, which led us to save fuel. Then we decided to continue attacking, taking calculated risks in traffic."
It was a remarkable performance by the No. 8 car, which was unable to get to the track for qualifying and as a result started in the 24th row of the starting grid.
"The car was really fast, with excellent balance," Sarrazin said."Now we have a few weeks to improve the car even more before the 24 Hours of Le Mans."
The No. 9 Peugeot finished eighth.
While it was a great day for Peugeot, it was a definite disappointment for Audi, even though the three cars finished third through fifth. After grabbing the top three qualifying spots, none of the factory cars were able to keep on the same lap as Peugeot's top two vehicles.
"The car ran out of downforce on the front, which prevented the suspension from functioning normally," said Dindo Capello in the third-place finishing No. 3 Audi.
The No. 12 Rebellion car placed seventh, while the No. 13 Rebellion was ninth and Team ORECA Matmut rounded out the top 10.
TDS Racing grabbed the victory in the LMP2 class and the No. 51 Ferrari 458 of AF Corse grabbed the victory in the GT class.
"It's fantastic for us and Ferrari," said Giancarlo Fisichella in the AF Corse Ferrari. "Last year we were second by a few seconds. This year we finished fifth in the first round (12 Hours of Sebring) due to a problem with the fuel tank. We could have won another race at Paul Ricard (LMS), but today we finally succeed.
"We tried to make a stop less than our competitors by reducing our consumption and it was a difficult goal. The car is working better and better, which is very encouraging for the rest of the season, especially for Le Mans."
Hope Racing's No. 91 car snagged the victory in the LMP class and the GTC class win went to ISMA Performance Matmut.
Through two races of the International Le Mans Cup series, Peugeot Sport Total has 27 points, while Audi moved into second place with 19 points. Team ORECA Matmut, winners of the 12 Hours of Sebring, dropped to third with 18 points.
Signatech Nissan still leads the LMP2 class with 22 points, while Oak Racing is second with 18.
AF Corse holds a one-point lead over BMW Motorsport in the GT class and Proton Competition leads the GTC class with 24 points. Krohn Racing is second with 21 points.
There are five races remaining in the International Le Mans Cup schedule, with the next being the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is set for June 11.
The final race of the series to be held in the United States will be the Petit Le Mans, which will take place at Road Atlanta in October
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