Peugeot standing in way of Audi at Le Mans

Peugeot stands in the way of Audi's bid for a sixth straight victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend.

Defending champions Tom Kristensen of Denmark, Allan McNish of Britain and Rinaldo Capello of Italy were dislodged from pole position after Stephane Sarrazin produced a lightning run in the dark on Thursday to clinch pole position.

The Frenchman in his Peugeot No. 8 clocked the fastest lap in 3 minutes, 22.888 seconds on the 13.629-kilometre circuit, pushing the Audi No. 1 driven by McNish into second place on the grid.

Speed does not guarantee victory at the world's most famous endurance race. Reliability matters just as much in an event won by the team that completes the most laps in 24 hours, with up to three drivers alternating.

Sarrazin beat McNish by more than five seconds in the qualifying session last year but it was Audi which made the best of wet conditions to edge Peugeot and win the race.

"Last year, Audi ran a perfect race and the few problems we encountered cost us the victory," said Nicolas Minassian of Britain who will start from third on the grid in his Peugeot No. 7. "The Wheel of Fortune is turning and things can change quickly."

Minassian finished second last year, in the same lap as the winning Audi.

"We're much better prepared," Minassian said. "Our testing and our knowledge of the car put us in a better position than last year."

While Peugeot has made efforts to improve the reliability of its cars, Audi has developed a faster model, the R15, which is replacing the aging R10 this season.

In March, Kristensen, McNish and Capello won the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida with that new car. Sebastien Bourdais of France clocked the fastest lap for Peugeot on the US circuit but the Formula One driver finished second because of a puncture.

"Even if Peugeot had the fastest car at Sebring, you can't write us off," said Wolfgang Ullrich, the head of Audi Sport. "We can match them this week."

Audi will rely on Kristensen's experience to thwart Peugeot's challenge.

"I'm sure that Peugeot improved from last year. They were really fast at Sebring," said Kristensen, whose co-driver McNish had the second-best time of 3:23.650 in qualifying. "But the most important thing is to concentrate on myself, on my own chances and car. The car seems to be performing well."

With eight victories at Le Mans, the Dane is the most successful driver in the history of the race.

AP