24 Hours of Racing

Update | 2:37 p.m.

Audi’s reign at Le Mans has just ended. The Peugeot No. 9 of Marc Gene, Alexander Wurz and David Brabham has just won. Fabulous story. The Peugeot No. 8 came in second and the Audi No. 1 came in third.

I’m happy for Gene and Wurz, who are wonderful guys. I don’t know Brabham. Too bad for Bourdais and Montagny and Sarrazin. The Audi’s? It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Michel Spingler/Associated Press The Peugeot No. 9 on Sunday.

Update | 2:30 p.m.

Bourdais in the No. 8 Peugeot suddenly going very slowly and having a problem making it back to the pits. No…. Peugeot says Bourdais is simply waiting for the No. 9 Peugeot to catch up so they can finish the race together. Hmmm…

Update | 2:13 p.m.

Overheating problem on the No. 1 Audi. It will be making another long pit stop. But how long? Enough to lose third position? No. It was not that long. But it was worrying. The mechanics did all they could to cool the engine.

Update | 1:50 p.m.

Seiji Ara had a big accident with just over 1 hour and 11 minutes left in the race and the safety car had to come out while they cleaned up the debris. Ara was on his feet, looking shaken but O.K. No sooner did this happen than another Japanese driver, Hideki Noda, had a fire on his car in the pits. He got back in the car after the fire was put out. The two Peugeots still lead. The Audi is still a few laps behind.

Update | 11:41 a.m.

The No. 1 Audi has been in the garage for more than 10 minutes. It is still in third place, but unless the Peugeot’s break down or crash, the Audi will have no more chance for the victory. It just left the pits and rejoined the race in new condition, according to the team director. So Audi is trying to ensure it makes it to the podium. In the meantime, however, an Aston Martin of Prodrive with Tomas Enge driving it is in fourth position and waiting to take the third step on the podium. It is the first of the gasoline cars.

Update | 10:44 a.m.

Within minutes of the time that Sebastien Bourdais said that his chances at winning the race were now finished - his Peugeot is in second position and will not attack the leading Peugeot - a few drops of rain began to fall and a downpour is expected soon. As Jacky Ickx is saying as I write these words, “Until the checkered flag falls anything can happen in this race.” And he knows.

Update | 10:22 a.m.

The Pescarolo Peugeot failed to make it through the night - it had a horrendous accident early this morning, but the driver, Benoît Tréluyer, is fine. At the moment two factory Peugeot’s lead, first is the No. 8, second the No. 9. The only chance for a factory Audi is the No. 1 of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello. With those guys behind them, Peugeot still cannot rest even for a moment - even if the Audi is 2 laps behind….

Update | 11:52 p.m.

The No. 8 Peugeot managed to climb back up to second position…and then Bourdais collided with a Porsche, damaged the front of the car, returned to the pits and had the front of the car changed. That took 3 minutes and 42 seconds, or the time of a full lap. Which meant the No. 8 - now driven by Franck Montagny - dropped to third position. It is now a lap from the leader - still the No. 9 Peugeot - and well behind the Audi driven by Tom Kristensen. With Kristensen still up there in second position, no Peugeot driver can feel safe.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images Franck Montagny of France and Team Peugeot Total led at the start of the 77th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour race on Saturday.

Update | 9:18 p.m.

Just before 9 PM in Le Mans, Sébastien Bourdais pulled the No. 8 Peugeot into the garage and in nine minutes they changed the left rear axle. The No. 8 dropped the lead of the race for the first time and dropped to sixth position. The No. 9 Peugeot took over the lead, with Alexander Wurz driving. But now, with Audis in second and third, there is not much margin for error for Peugeot.

Update | 3:40 p.m.

Less than 40 minutes into the race the Peugeot of Pedro Lamy pulls out of his pit stop just as the Pescarolo Peugeot of Jean Christophe Boullion enters the pits and Boullion runs into the back of the official Peugeot of Lamy. Boullion damages the front of his car and has to go into the garage to fix it. Lamy blows out the rear tire and has to drive around the whole track to try to bring the car back as the tire shreds and the car falls apart bit by bit - a real mess!

The safety car has to go out to clean up the track!!!!

What a mess. This is a 24 hour race. What next?!?!