Le Mans

Trio of Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

Le Mans, France – One hour into the 2010 24 hours of Le Mans, Peugeot still leads. We have been alerted that Nigel Mansell who crashed the no. 5 Ginetta-Zytek right before the Indianapolis corner and caused 31 minutes under the safety car is ok. Allan McNish was caught behind a slower LMGT2 car during the safety car, and was not able to stay with the same group under yellow, falling about one minute behind the leading four Peugeots.

Le Mans, France – Three French Air force Rafale Multi-Role fighters flew over the Circuit De La Sarthe streaming the French national colors to make a French Tri-Color flag over the track, meanwhile Jean-Claude Killy waved the French Tri-Color to officially start the 2010 running of the 24 hours of Le Mans. The three factory Peugeot 908’s and the Privateer Matmut Peugeot 908 wasted no time in pulling ahead, but Allan McNish in the no. 7 Audi R15 Plus TDI was pushing hard and was very close to passing Nicolas LaPierre in the no. 4 Peugeot 908 HDi. It appears that whatever the changes that were made to the Audi r15s after the final qualifying has made some difference. Dr. Ulrich had a slight smile on his face, and seems pleased with the changes. Although with 2 laps down Nigel Mansell in the no. 5 Ginetta-Zytek spun and hit the wall, before the Indianapolis corner corner due to a punctured left rear tire. Currently the track is under full course caution with all 3 safety cars on the track. Nigell Mansel was put into and ambulance, and we have now been reported to that he is ok. Allan McNish in the no. 7 Audi R15 Plus was separated by the leaders behind a different safety car, and currently there is quite a gap between the first, second, and third safety cars.

Jean-Claude Killy 1968 Grenoble

Le Mans, France – Jean-Claude Killy, accompanied by Rolex CEO Bruno Meier, will be on the footbridge of Race Control to wave the French flag beginning the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. Killy who rose to fame as a World Champion Alpine Skier, and Triple Gold Medalist at the 1968 Olympics at Grenoble, France, also competed in the 1969 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Killy and Downhill skiing:

• Triple gold medalist in the Olympic Games (Downhill, Slalom, and Giant Slalom), Grenoble France 1968
• Four-time World Champion (Downhill, Giant Slalom, Slalom, and Combined) in 1968
• Double World Champion (Downhill and Combined, Portillo Chile  1966
• Winner of the Downhill World Cup in 1967 and 1968
• 18 Victories: 6 Downhill, 7 Giant Slalom and 5 Slalom
• 24 Podiums

Killy and Motor Racing

• 1967 Targa Floria. Killy teamed up with the late Bernard Cahier racing under the alias “Jean-Claude”. He finished seventh overall in a Porsche 911 S and won the GT Category.
• 1968 Monza 1000km. Killy finished second in GT with Jean Guichet in a Porsche 911T. Exerpt from an article that appeared in Sport Auto: “Jean-Claude Killy confirmed the promise seen in the Targa last year. He was surrounded by a host of reporters and photographers, and seemed a bit embarrased by it all aw he was afraid of annoying the die-hard racers and his rivals who had much better results to their name on four wheels than him.”
• 1968 Nurburgring 1000km. Third in GT with Jean Guichet in a Porsche 911 T. Killy and Guichet led the category at one moment but were delayed by a broken steering wheel spoke due to the fact that Guichet did not like being belted in and hung on to the steering wheel in the corners.
• 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours. Jean-Claude Killy shared the wheel of an Alpine A210 (under 1600cc SP Category) with the late Bob Wollek, Military and University skiing champion and member of the France Team from 1966 to 1968. The “ski team” was retired from the race in the 20th hour with a broken suspension component.