Despite a wheel bearing failure threatening to strike for the second time in a day, Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy were able to nurse their Peugeot 908 HDI home for the team's fourth Le Mans Series win of the season at Spa-Francorchamps.
Yet again the dominant force over the course of the weekend, at times the two diesel powered machines were five seconds a lap faster than their competition, with pole sitters Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gene leading the Lamy/Sarrazin machine over the first stage of the race.
However, despite their undoubted pace, Peugeot have not quite eliminated the reliability qualms that have peppered their season. Indeed, less than hour into the six-hour event and Minassian and Gene were already out with a wheel bearing failure – the same problem that hit the team in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Furthermore, Sarrazin and Lamy admitted they were set for a similar failure in the latter stages of the race, but had a big enough lead to back off and cross the line two laps up on the nearest rivals Pescarolo.
"We had a scare with a wheel-bearing towards the end but we had a big enough lead to lift a little and we were able to reach the finish without any further problems,” Lamy. “I am very happy for the team which did a great job. We now need a top finish on the next round of the Le Mans Series to make sure of the title."
Their third win of the season, the result moves Lamy and
Sarrazin into a comfortable lead in the Le Mans Series, while Minassian and Gene have actually slipped behind Jean-Christophe Boullion and Emmanuel Collard, courtesy of their reliability problems.
"We weren't completely satisfied with the set-up of the car for qualifying but I was very pleased with the improvements we made for the race,” Sarrazin added. “We worked in the right direction and, as usual, our Michelin tyres were excellent.”
