While overall victory remained out of reach due to the pace and reliability of the six diesel-powered cars in LMP1, Pescarolo Sport was still able to celebrate some modicum of success after coming out on top of the petrol runners in the top class at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Harold Primat, Christophe Tinseau and Benoit Treluyer claimed victory in the unofficial sub-category after a faultless run, taking seventh overall behind the six diesel-powered 'works' cars from Audi and Peugeot. Pescarolo was thus also the highest-placed privateer runner, but had to work for its honour.

Having climbed the field steadily during the first half of the race, the #17 car moved into the top seven during the 14th hour and never relinquished its position at the head of the petrol-class field. The drivers' job was complicated in the small hours of Sunday morning by heavy rainfall, but nothing could distract the team from achieving the result it had targeted prior to the race, eventually finishing five laps clear of nearest challenger Team ORECA.

“We're the best 'fuel' car and that is a big achievement,” Primat said after racking up his own highest finish at La Sarthe, “The target before the race was to finish as the best petrol-powered car and that's exactly what we've done.

"For us, this feels like a victory and, while it's a shame it isn't officially recognised as one, it still feels very good. On a more personal level, I am delighted to have played my part alongside Christophe and Benoit, and I would also like to congratulate the team for providing such a reliable car and for the superb job they did during the race.

“It wasn't easy out there. I had a slow puncture during my double stint in the night and had to pit for new tyres but, apart from that, we didn't had any major problems [until the end]. I finished my stint just before the rain started and both Christophe and Benoit have done an excellent job to keep the pace going. The conditions were constantly changing from 4am onwards and, every time the track started to dry, the rain tyres began to suffer. But Le Mans isn't supposed to be easy and I think we can all be proud of ourselves this evening.”

Tinseau revealed that the Judd-powered Pescarolo 01 had been plagued by a misfire in the closing stages, but the problem was not enough to allow ORECA to close the gap that had been established during the night. With the second Pescarolo entry sidelined, the sportscar veteran and his comparatively inexperienced co-drivers were able to nurse the car home.

“Our mission was to finish as the first petrol car and I am proud to have achieved our goal," Tinseau noted, "It was very tense at the end as we had a misfire caused by the starter motor and we were hanging by a thread, but I hope this victory will now help Pescarolo Sport attract the input of a big manufacturer which the team so richly deserves.”

“This is a great day for us because we knew there were two races within the LMP1 class," team principal Henri Pescarolo concluded, "We have been victorious in the latter against Lola, ORECA, Creation and Dome, which is a great achievement. The three drivers were fantastic because the conditions have been so difficult. They have all driven perfectly and I am absolutely delighted for them.”

Unfortunately for Pescarolo, the #16 sister car driven by Emmanuel Collard, Jean-Christophe Bouillon and Romain Dumas lost six minutes having an engine control unit replaced, and then succumbed to another engine problem at 0624hrs.