The headlines will scream Audi 1-2-3 at Le Mans, with the revolutionary e-tron quattro hybrid prototypes leading home that charge, occupying the top two steps of the podium, but the story of the race wasn't that straight-forward.
It was suggested that the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans would be a snoozer, at least as far as the overall honours were concerned. Peugeot had withdrawn their factory effort - the only real challenger to Audi's domination in the last half-decade - on the eve of the 12 Hours of Sebring, and although Toyota had announced their return to the LMP1 ranks with an interesting hybrid prototype, they were thought to be a year away from competition at Le Mans.
When Toyota announced that they would indeed be bringing two cars to Le Mans in 2012, some eyebrows were raised. Rumours abounded that the Japanese brand had been somewhat pressured by the ACO, the governing body of the Le Mans classic, to legitimise the 80th anniversary running of the world's greatest race. Whether or not this was the case, Toyota did answer the bell a year early, but their hybrid cars were woefully short on test miles and development, at least compared to their counterparts down pit lane, the formidable Audi Sport entries.
As it turned out, Toyota's problem wasn't speed or reliability. At least, not that we saw. In a hero-to-zero moment, as one of the team's hybrid prototypes took the lead after a fantastic scrap with the Audi - perhaps the best moment of racing all day long - Anthony Davidson has his well-documented run-in with the Ferrari car that destroyed the Toyota and left the British ace in a French hospital with broken vertebrae and, most likely, a generally sore body. On the restart after the safety car triggered by the horrible accident, the second Toyota punted the revolutionary Nissan Delta Wing and thus began a series of problems that eventuated in it's retirement during the night.
With the demise of the Toyota's Audi had the race to their own. But it was far from the smooth. Romain Dumas (with Gene and Duval) crashed the #3 R18 Ultra - the diesel prototype not the hybrid - and never recovered. The #4 Audi, led by the 2010 winner, Mike Rockenfeller, finished third, laps behind. It left the #1 (Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer) battling the #2 (Kristensen/McNish/Capello), the Young Guard vs. the Old Guard, and perhaps a sign of things to come, the driving landscape inside Audi Sport perhaps a shifting one.
With three hours to go, Alan McNish, the last man you'd expected to make a mistake at such a crucial time of the race, spun in the Porsche Curves. Before that, it seemed like it would be a cat-and-mouse game, the old boys stalking the youngsters, with no team orders. Mere minutes later, the #3 was in the wall again. It had been a horrible few minutes for Audi. Had Peugeot been around at all, or Toyota still running, it could have been disaster for the Four Rings. It was very un-Audi like, to be sure, but wonderful for some late-race drama in the LMP1 category.
As it turned out, it was McNish's spin that gave the #1 Audi R-18 the win, their second in a row, and a historic moment, the first ever hybrid overall victory at Le Mans. Second place wasn't a bad birthday present for 48-year-old Dindo Capello - he was 47 when the race started; they say that Le Mans is an aging experience, and it literally was for the Italian, who might've run his last 24 Hours with Audi - and the Rockenfeller Audi, #4. Rocky, who spends most of his time running DTM, is building up an impressive Le Mans resume, and has also won the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
LMP2 winner Starworks Motorsport continued an incredible year. The Honda-powered HPD ARX-03b car also won class at Sebring and, in a different series, finished second overall at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in February. Not a bad year to be having, if you're Peter Baron and his race team. Tom Kimber-Smith, drafted in at the last minute to join Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio, has another Le Mans class win. Surely, that never gets old.
Ferrari had a 1-2 in GTE-Pro, and completed an amazing story for the class-winning AF-Corse F458 (Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander) whose car was destroyed on Wednesday night. It was completely rebuilt, qualified on Thursday night and, with all their problems out of the way before the drop of the green, ran out three-lap winners over another Ferrari, the Luxury Racing outfit's #59 car. Returning to GT competition at Le Mans, Britain's pride and joy, Aston Martin took the third step of the podium. It was an encouraging start.
Finally, in GTE-Am, the IMSA Performance Matmut's Porsche seemed to have the win in the bag, but a late driver change followed by a disastrous puncture handed the class win to the #50 Labre Competition Corvette C6-R, at the very last moment. Literally, as the Audis were coming around in formation for the win. The 2011-model C6-R's win provided a silver lining on what was a very long and tough day for the factory Corvettes in GTE-Pro. The Compuware-branded American muscle cars had all manner of problems, hobbling a two-car effort that many had as favourites to win GTE-Pro. Pre-race favouritism means little when the race begins.
Onto 2013. Only 364 days to go...
As it turned out, it was McNish's spin that gave the #1 Audi R-18 the win, their second in a row, and a historic moment, the first ever hybrid overall victory at Le Mans. Second place wasn't a bad birthday present for 48-year-old Dindo Capello - he was 47 when the race started; they say that Le Mans is an aging experience, and it literally was for the Italian, who might've run his last 24 Hours with Audi - and the Rockenfeller Audi, #4. Rocky, who spends most of his time running DTM, is building up an impressive Le Mans resume, and has also won the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
LMP2 winner Starworks Motorsport continued an incredible year. The Honda-powered HPD ARX-03b car also won class at Sebring and, in a different series, finished second overall at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in February. Not a bad year to be having, if you're Peter Baron and his race team. Tom Kimber-Smith, drafted in at the last minute to join Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio, has another Le Mans class win. Surely, that never gets old.
Ferrari had a 1-2 in GTE-Pro, and completed an amazing story for the class-winning AF-Corse F458 (Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander) whose car was destroyed on Wednesday night. It was completely rebuilt, qualified on Thursday night and, with all their problems out of the way before the drop of the green, ran out three-lap winners over another Ferrari, the Luxury Racing outfit's #59 car. Returning to GT competition at Le Mans, Britain's pride and joy, Aston Martin took the third step of the podium. It was an encouraging start.
Finally, in GTE-Am, the IMSA Performance Matmut's Porsche seemed to have the win in the bag, but a late driver change followed by a disastrous puncture handed the class win to the #50 Labre Competition Corvette C6-R, at the very last moment. Literally, as the Audis were coming around in formation for the win. The 2011-model C6-R's win provided a silver lining on what was a very long and tough day for the factory Corvettes in GTE-Pro. The Compuware-branded American muscle cars had all manner of problems, hobbling a two-car effort that many had as favourites to win GTE-Pro. Pre-race favouritism means little when the race begins.
Onto 2013. Only 364 days to go...
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