Marcos
Werner of Germany, in his Audi N.1, in the last meters of the 75th
edition of the 24-hours race in Le Mans, western France, Sunday, June
17, 2007. Audi team took the victory by a diesel-powered car at Le Mans
for this 75th edition of the race, beating Peugeot N.8 by a comfortable
ten-lap margin. (AP Photo/David Vincent)
Audi's diesel-powered R10s led for virtually the entire race
Audi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the fourth straight year, overcoming the challenge of two Peugeot cars and a slippery track Sunday in the world's most famous endurance race.
Frank Biela and Marco Werner of Germany and Emanuele Pirro of Italy drove diesel-powered Audi No. 1 to victory, taking the lead in the morning after Dindo Capello's Audi No. 2 crashed out. Fifty-four cars started the 75th edition of Le Mans, and 25 failed to finish.
"We had nine stressful hours with the Peugeot right behind us," Pirro said. "But the more you suffer, the greater the pleasure."
McNish, driving the leading Audi R10 diesel, clocked 3min27.204 around the 13.629km track to beat the 3min27.47 set by Eddie Irvine in a Toyota in 1993.
The average speed of more than 236 km/h managed just after the halfway stage by Audi's No.2 car that has been leading almost from Saturday's start highlighted the German manufacturers' domination of the race.
Audi was the first brand to win here with a diesel-fuelled prototype in 2006
