When the clock struck 12 today at Le Circuit de La Sarthe, Audi took home a stunning sweep of the podium at this year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the Peugeot 908′s showing considerably more pace during qualifying, not even Audi Motorsports boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich would have predicted a 1-2-3 finish for their R15 TDI diesel-powered LMP1 machines.

According to Ullrich, “At the beginning it was a little unlucky for us but at the end it all worked fine. It’s a great reward for all the work that everyone [at Audi Motorsports] has done. I think this has to be the hardest Le Mans we’ve ever done.”

Dr. Ullrich was congratulated by his counterpart at Peugeot, Director of Motorsport Olivier Quesnel, straight after the race. Ullrich returned the favor by paying tribute to Audi’s arch rival Peugeot by remarking on the camararderie between the two teams. “In sport when someone wins then someone else loses, but when the loser comes and congratulates the winner it is all very sporting. That is what we did last year and that’s what Peugeot has done this year. It has been a fantastic battle, we’ve invited the Peugeot guys to a party tonight and we hope that  they will all come”.

For Audi this is their 9th victory at Le Mans, tying them with Ferrari as the second winningest team in history (Porsche having 16 wins to their name). The winning #9 Audi, driven by Mike Rockenfeller, Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard, also set a new distance record by completing 397 laps at an average speed of 225.228 km/h.

This was also Michelin’s 19th Le Mans victory and the 27th time the race has been won by a German car.

Results from LMP2, GT1 and GT2 after the jump:

[Source: lemans.org]

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One of the toughest and most prestigious endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has officially begun, with the third and final qualifying session running last night. Peugeot and their diesel-powered 908′s put on a dominating performance, claiming the top four spots on the grid and leading the way amongst the LMP1 group that was once owned by Audi.

Frenchman and former Indy Car champ Sebastien Bourdais led the way for Peugeot, claiming pole position for the French manufacturer and no doubt delighting the home town crowd in the process. Local fans were probably just as pleased to see Frenchman and former F1 driver Olivier Panis’ independent ORECA Team Peugeot Matmut qualify 4th just behind the three factory Peugeots.

Audi, who’ve owned Le Mans with their LMP1 machines over the last decade, claimed the next three spots on the starting grid with their trio of R15 entries, giving diesel-powered cars the top seven spots. Audi’s Allan McNish made a late charge during the final qualifying session to close the Audi-Peugeot gap to 2.5-seconds a lap, but over a 24 hour period Audi has to hope for superior fuel and tire economy if they’re to have any chance at defeating the quicker Peugeots.

Get the rest of the qualifying results after the jump:

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A little over a month after the new Outlander Sport SUV (known as the ASX or RVR in the rest of the world) took a bow at the New York Auto Show, Mitsubishi has announced that it will be giving a variation of the sharp-looking crossover to Peugeot and Citroen, two companies which have had a long alliance with the Japanese automaker.

The Peugeot/Citroen variant will come with a very European 1.6-liter diesel engine, and the choice of either front or four-wheel-drive. Expected to launch in 2012, Peugeot and Citroen expect to move a combined 50,000 units per year, with the companies forecasting a 60% growth in SUV sales by 2015. While Europe is not usually thought of as hot spot for SUVs, compact crossovers (like this small, diesel powered model) are a hit and the ASX could potentially be a popular vehicle for locales with tight, winding streets and high fuel prices.

Official release after the jump:

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The elk test is one of the most infamous procedures used to evaluate new cars. A double lane change at 50 mph, the elk test was designed to help Scandinavian auto journalists evaluate the highway speed stability of a car, when the threat of a large animal in the road is a very real safety hazard.

The most infamous incident involving the elk test saw the Mercedes-Benz A-Class roll over during the maneuver. While it was an embarrassment for Mercedes-Benz, it had the benefit of introducing electronic stability control systems to passenger cars. 13 years later, a trio of similarly tall wagons from Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat underwent the same test in Britain, with similar results.

While the three cars are all based off the same platform, only the Fiat had stability control. While it passed the elk test, the Citroen variant suffered a roll-over, prompting Which magazine (the publication conducting the test) to suspend testing of the Peugeot, due to its lack of stability control.

Both Citroen and Peugeot say that they will be working on a stability control system for their cars. While many enthusiasts complain that these systems ruin the driving experience in high performance situations, most stability control programs can be turned off, and the elk test demonstrates how useful they are, especially in vehicles like the aforementioned vans, where the risk of a rollover in an emergency is far more likely than anyone ever driving them rapidly.

[Source: Which Magazine]

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Europe’s second largest automaker, French company PSA Peugeot Citroen, is considering purchasing Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. News of the possible purchase comes from Nikkei English News, and had Mitsubishi’s shares up 13.4 percent in overseas trading.

A similar report in Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that Peugeot would take a 53 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors worth about $3.8 billion, with Mitsu taking a reverse 18 percent stake in the French automaker. This business sharing platform wold be similar to the one that Nissan and Renault engaged in roughly a decade ago when the French automaker bought the then-struggling Nissan.

The combined sales tallies of both companies in 2008 totaled 4.45 million vehicles, which would make any new company the sixth largest automaker in the world.

Some are skeptical of just what Peugeot sees in Mitsubishi, but there are many reasons to suggest why Peugeot is interested. For starters, Mitsubishi certainly has greater expertise in SUVs and crossovers – like the new Outlander GT (pictured above). Next up, this year Mitsubishi became the first automaker in the world to begin sales of an electric car, the iMiEV, and Peugeot is certainly keen on EV technology. Also, the added production output of more electric cars would make for bigger discounts.

Skeptics argue that the biggest problem with the merger is that while Mitsubishi does have a foothold in certain market’s that are foreign to the French automaker, Mitsu’s impact in those markets (like in Noth America) is insignificant. However, a brand like Mitsubishi does have a strong cult-like following, especially amongst performance car nuts, and would be much easier to build on than introducing a French brand.

The more realistic roadblock, however, is likely to be Peugeot’s limited resources having suffered significantly during the recent economic downturn.

The BusinessWeek report does suggest that the talks are ongoing and that a decision could be announced by as early as January.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Subaru recently announced it would not compete in the 2009 WRC Series due to economic concersn, however, new “no turbo” rules for 2011 would most likely have seen the Japanese automaker pull out anyway.

The World Rally Championship’s governing body, the FIA World Motor Sport Council has just confirmed that as of 2011 competing vehicles must use non-turbocharged naturally aspirated engines – a move that has series veteran and all-star Sébastien Loeb considering a new career path.

The new rules will allow for certain aerodynamic changes to the Super 2000 (or S2000) cars, however, the decision to move away from turbocharged powerplants was made to open up the series to more manufacturers – including Skoda, Abarth, Peugeot and Proton – by making it less expensive to run a competitive car.

These rules may also be to blame for other manufacturers leaving the series. Several months ago Subaru announced that it would not compete in the 2009 season, stating economic concerns, however, it is just as likely that the the company had no intention of running with the new rules (which don’t take effect until 2011).

Turbochargers are set to return to the series in 2013, but mated to smaller 1600c (1.6-liter) engines.

Five-time WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb, who’s contract with Citroën is up at the end of this season, has expressed his displeasure with the new rules and his desire to try his hand at other forms of motorsports.

“The excitement will not be the same,” Loeb told AutoWeek. I always said it would be better with the turbo, and this is how I feel.”

“We don’t have to decide anything until 2011,” he continued. “When that comes, maybe I can move to something more interesting.”

What exactly he might move to is the Le Mans series, as Loeb is already scheduled to test a Peugeot 908 HDi Le Mans prototype this year.

“Sébastien’s contract is up at the end of this year,” a Citroën source told AutoWeek. “There’s really nothing for him to prove to stay on in WRC. He has won every rally and broken every record. Maybe he can leave at the end of 2009 and start racing straight away next year.”

[Source: Autosport and AutoWeek]

Can a gasoline engine best a diesel one in endurance racing? It can during qualifying, as Acura proved by claiming the pole for the 12 Hours of Sebring race, set to take place tomorrow.

Scott Dixon shocked pretty much everyone on Thursday by piloting the de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a to the pole with a time of just 1:45.27. Neither Audi or Peugeot (both favored to claim the pole over Acura) could post a better lap. Impressively this pole position is the first for Acura, during it’s first ever race in the top-level LMP1 class.

“I’ve watched this race for many years and it’s always been exciting so now it’s great that I get to race here,” Dixon said. “I’ve tested on the short track many times with IndyCar but never on the big track. So you can’t help but grin from ear to ear to be excited to drive here.”

“Overall it’s been a great week especially now having Acura on the overall pole,” Dixon said. “It was unexpected. We always shoot for the pole from the get-go. But realistically I thought we were only to be third or fourth. It was interesting when I heard I was going to qualify the car. I’m not sure why Gil picked me in the end, but I think all three of us could have done it.”

The battle for pole was a close one, however, with Tom Kristensen just 0.082 seconds behind in the new Audi R15. In fact, the fiels was so close that all top-five qualifiers were just 0.281 seconds apart.

The third fastest time was posted by Christian Klien in one of the Peugeot 908 HDi coupes.

In the LMP2 class, Acura also claimed the top spot with Adrian Fernandez in the Lowe’s Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b posting a 1:49.686.

As for the remainder of the classes, Corvette clinched the GT1 pole with a Oliver Gavin behind the wheel in what will be the last Sebring race for the C6.R as it retires later this season.

The final class, GT2 saw a Porsche on the pole with Dirk Werner in the Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3 RSR running a time 2:03.051.

Complete qualifying results after the jump:

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