Audi create history at Le Mans Success for Scots despite problems

Published on Monday 19 June 2006 01:42

AUDI re-wrote the motorsport history books when the R10TDI became the first diesel-powered car to win the world's toughest race, the Le Mans 24-Hours. But as a new age of technological development started, one quiet Scot was unsure whether to celebrate or commiserate.

Fifty years after Edinburgh-based Ecurie Ecosse won the first of its two Le Mans races in 1956 with Jaguar, Winchburgh-based Scuderia Ecosse became the first all-Scots team to finish on the podium finishing third in the highly-competitive GT2 class.

But rather than celebrate the achievements of his team, minutes after the Audi of German Frank Biela took the chequered flag, a combination of tiredness and frustration left Scuderia boss Stewart Roden wondering just what might have been.

"We spent 40 minutes in the pits with a failed wheel hub which meant we couldn't get the wheel off," Roden, who admitted he hadn't slept for 36 hours said as his exhausted team sat surrounding him and his Ferrari F430GT in their garage.

"Everything which we had prepared for the team worked meticulously, but in this instance something which was supplied by an outside source failed at a crucial moment and that's essentially what cost us what would have been a fairly comfortable victory in the class.

"We were right on the pace throughout the race and more often than not we were the fastest car on the track. It's just such a pity the effort everyone put in over the weeks and months leading into this has been wrecked."

Lead driver Andrew Kirkaldy from St Andrews - partnered by Anglo-Greek Chris Niarchos and Irishman Tim Mullen, who endured stomach cramps throughout the weekend - had been reeling in the lead Porsche when, after 15 hours, he returned to the pits reporting of vibration from the left rear wheel.

Despite the heroic efforts of the crew, the wheel would not budge until it was resolutely attacked with a sledgehammer and chisel.

"There are five pegs which hold the wheel on to the hub and we believe a piece of rubber somehow worked its way behind one of the pegs which caused major vibration and resulted in all five pegs being sheered." .

But Roden had nothing but praise for his team. "These guys, everyone involved in the team, have worked like trojans and created something out of very, very little," he continued, "and it's because of that I feel so disappointed. They deserved to win, not be third."

In addition to finishing third in GT2 - behind the winning American Panoz and second-placed Porsche - the Scuderia Ecosse car finished 17th overall of the 27 cars which finished from the starting grid of a total of 50 entries.

The overall race, in front of a record 235,000 spectators, was won by the Audi trio led by German Frank Biela and partnered by fellow countryman Marco Werner and Italian Emmanuele Pirro.

Their 5.5-litre V12 turbodiesel, held off the challenge of the French Pescarolo team led by current world rally champ Sebastien Loeb who finished four laps adrift.

But while Biela and his Audi crew celebrated, Dumfries racer Allan McNish in the sister R10TDI had his hopes compromised by fuel injection problems, before fighting back to third place after a collision. The 36-year-old Scot, who started from pole position, led through the opening period.

"It's certainly not the way I anticipated the race going," McNish said, then added: "It's a great day for Audi. New diesel technology has a serious place in world motorsport."