Simonsen death overshadows Audi triumph at Le Mans

Audi maintained its impressive record at the Circuit de la Sarthe with victory in the 2013 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, although it’s success was overshadowed by an accident that claimed the life of Allan Simonsen.

Simonsen, regarded as one of the leading GT racers of his generation, had started the race from pole position in the GTE-Am class at the wheel of the #95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage but was involved in a huge accident at Tertre Rouge with just ten minutes on the clock.

Following heavy contact with the barriers, the 34-year-old was taken to the circuit’s medical centre, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The Danish racer became the first person to lose their life since Frenchman Sébastien Enjolras was killed in an accident during pre-qualifying ahead of the 1997 race.

At the request of Simonsen’s family, the Aston Martin Racing crew elected to race on to try and secure class victory in his honour, with the #99 car running at the head of the GTE-Pro class until Frederic Makowiecki was involved in an incident of his own at the first Mulsanne Chicane on Sunday morning.

That left the #97 car to fly the Aston Martin flag, moving to the head of the class as the race entered its closing hours.

Late rain showers would work against the team however, and the car crossed the line third behind the two factory Porsche 911 RSRs. The team’s remaining GTE-Am entry crossed the line sixth in class at the end of a dark weekend for all involved in the sport, with drivers, teams and fans alike left to reflect on the tragic events of Saturday afternoon.

“Following the wishes of Allan’s family, the team continued its participation in the race which was obviously very emotional and difficult for everyone,” Aston Martin chairman David Richards said at the finish. “Both the #97 and #99 cars led for long periods of time but, ultimately, it was the changing weather conditions in the last hours that cost us the victory we all longed for.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has shown us such support over the weekend and sent the messages of condolence to Allan’s family.”

Simonsen’s death would cast a dark cloud over the event and ensure that the weekend would be one that will go down in history for all the wrong reasons.

At the head of the field, Audi had been expected to romp away having set the pace in qualifying, where Loic Duval stormed to pole position in the #2 R18 e-tron Quattro.

Toyota proved to be a worthy adversary however, with both cars pushing Audi hard. However, it was the #2 Audi that would run without major issue to take the chequered flag first, surviving a challenging event that featured everything the French weather could throw at it and a number of Safety Car periods for a range of on-track incidents.

Given the events of the previous afternoon, it was somewhat apt that it was Simonsen’s countryman Tom Kristensen who brought the winning Audi to the chequered flag, with the Danish flag flying at half-mast above the podium.

For Kristensen, who extended his record-breaking number of wins to nine, the race was always going to be one of mixed emotions following the death of his father earlier this year, with the 45-year-old dedicating his success to his countryman.

“For me, Le Mans was filled with very personal emotions this time,” the man dubbed the ‘Great Dane’ admitted. “I’m proud to drive for the world’s best team. This applies to all team-mates, all employees in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm and for Audi Sport Team Joest. They make it possible for us to realise a dream. Now this dream has come true again – winning the fastest and toughest race under the direction of Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

“Unfortunately, we lost someone yesterday who had the same dream. He was a very modest and nice person. That’s why I’m experiencing highs and lows this time.

“With respect to my ninth victory: I’m driving with determination and the ambition my father inspired in me. He died in March. Before his death, he told me that I’d win Le Mans this year with my team-mates. I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to celebrate another victory with Loïc and Allan that I can dedicate to my father. Because this Le Mans success I’m dedicating to Allan Simonsen.”

The victory was Audi’s twelfth at Le Mans with only Bentley (2003) and Peugeot (2009) having beaten the German manufacturer at the Circuit de la Sarthe in the 21st century.

The #8 Toyota of Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Stephane Sarrazin would take second place, with the #3 Audi in third having lost time with both a puncture and the need to repair damaged bodywork.

The second of the two Toyotas took fourth having lost time in the closing hours after Nicolas Lapierre went off heavily into the barriers at the Porsche Curves, with the Frenchman managing to drag the car back to the pits for repairs to enable it to take the finish.

The #1 Audi meanwhile lost time with an alternator issue, leaving Benoit Treluyer, Marcel Fassler and Andre Lotterer to settle for fifth as they proved to be unable to successfully defend their crown. Strakka Racing were first privateer home in sixth after both of the Rebellion Racing Lolas ran into problems that dropped them out of contention.

Victory in the LMP2 class went to OAK Racing, with the French team securing a 1-2 finish in the second prototype class.

The #35 Morgan-Nissan took top honours despite a scare when Bertrand Baguette suffered a spin during heavy rain in the closing stages of the race.

Luckily, Baguette managed to keep the car out of the barriers and maintained his advantage ahead of Olivier Pla in the #24 car; which had started from pole position in class.

“It was a chaotic race with unpredictable weather and lots of safety car periods,” team principal Sébastien Philippe insisted. “We had defined a basic strategy for the race, but we had to adapt and alter it constantly. It was tiring psychologically, because we were constantly trying to make the right calls. We were fortunate, but above all the entire team did a great job.

“We had very good pace throughout, which enabled us to stay in front. We managed to avoid making any major mistakes during the heavy downpour in the last hour and in the end, we not only won the race, we also secured a one-two. We showed our level of performance in qualifying and then we led the race pretty much from start to finish. It’s a fantastic win.”

The G-Drive Racing Oreca-Nissan was a further lap down in third ahead of the first of the Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissans; the car featuring Nissan GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough running strongly throughout.

Alongside its success in the GTE-Pro class, Porsche also picked up top honours in GTE-Am, with the IMSA Performance MATMUT-entered car of Jean-Karl Vernay, Raymond Narac and Christophe Bourret emerging victorious with an advantage of a lap over the AF Corse Ferrari of Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Darryl O’Young, Lorenzo Case.