Thread: Le Mans - Dramatic 24 hours for Audi !

Scottish driver Alan McNish walked away unhurt after a spectacular crash in first hour of the 79th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours race

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwIihFxCRbQ"]YouTube - ‪[HD] 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours - Allan McNish SPECTACULAR crash (Car flips over the fence)‬‏[/ame]

The two-time winner of the race clipped the front of Anthony Beltoise's Ferrari as he came out of the Dunlop chicane and went slewing across the track and the gravel to hit the tyre wall at high speed.

With a handful of photographers ducking for cover as debris, including a wheel, flew from the car, the Audi pirouetted on top of the wall before coming down to land upside down on the gravel side.

The Dumfries-born driver, who won here in 1998 and 2008, stepped out of the cockpit and walked away apparently uninjured, much to the relief of the Audi pit staff.

The safety car was deployed for the next hour and the vehicle was needed again just after 2030GMT when a second Audi, with Germany's Mike Rockenfeller at the wheel, crashed and caught fire.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UULKExSNK-I&feature=related"]YouTube - ‪Mike Rockenfeller Horrific Crash 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours Fullspeed replays‬‏[/ame]

Audi produced a dream end to a tough weekend as their sole surviving car powered to a thrilling victory at the 79th Le Mans 24 Hour race.

After the R18 TDIs of Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller were involved in massive shunts in the opening eight hours of the race on Saturday, the sister car of André Lotterer, Marcel Fassler and Benoît Treluyer fended off Peugeot's stern challenge to secure the team's 10th win in the past 12 years.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCs8Nvt65uU"]YouTube - ‪Final Lap of 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011‬‏[/ame]

The German manufacturer has rarely been out of the spotlight at Circuit de la Sarthe this weekend, but come the climax it could at least claim to be making headlines for all the right reasons.

After 24 hours of enthralling action, it fell to Lotterer to take the No2 car across the line – having completed 355 laps – 14sec ahead of the No9 Peugeot of Sébastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud and Pedro Lamy.

The No8 Peugeot of Stéphane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny and Nicolas Minassian completed the podium, with the third factory 908 of Anthony Davidson, Marc Gene and Alex Wurz in fourth.


Some details of the car

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gShJsPpEmk4&feature=related"]YouTube - ‪2011 Audi R18 TDI - The Le Mans car for 2011‬‏[/ame]


Cool, huh?

Did I mention my Defender has a Tdi engine...

I have drawings for the pistons from the original R8 engine somewhere. Don't ask and I won't have to tell.