LeMans Hour 3: Peugeots falter

With just three hours into the 76th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the favorite Peugeot team for the overall win have struck trouble. At the two-hour and 15-minute mark, Stephane Sarrazin brought the leading No. 8 Team Peugeot Total 908 HDi-FAP into the pits for service and the car was wheeled into the garage for apparent gearbox problems causing the diesel machine to fall 7 laps behind. The new race leader is Dindo Capello in the No. 2 Audi Sport Team Joest R10 TDI.

First it was the No. 7 entry of Jacques Villeneuve, who pitted out of sequence because of a slow puncture. Then one lap later, the No. 9 car was in to change the front nose because its headlights malfunctioned. Ricardo Zonta's stop was not nearly as lengthy of the No. 8 car's, but it still lost valuable time, giving the early advantage to Audi.

Hour 3 Standings (Top 10)

Pos	#	Class	Drivers	Team	Car	Laps	Behind
1.	2	LM P1	R.Capello, A.McNish, T.Kristensen	Audi Sport North America	Audi R10	50	0.000
2.	9	LM P1	F.Montagny, R.Zonta, C.Klein	Peugeot Sport Total	Peugeot 908	51	-1 Laps
3.	7	LM P1	M.Gene, N.Minassian, J.Villeneuve	Team Peugeot Total	Peugeot 908	51	4.374
4.	3	LM P1	L.Luhr, A.Premat, M.Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Joest	Audi R10	50	0 Laps
5.	1	LM P1	F.Biela, E.Pirro, M.Werner	Audi Sport North America	Audi R10	50	24.471
6.	11	LM P1	D.Ito, Y.Tachikawa, T.Kataoka	Dome Racing Team	Dome S102 Judd	49	1 Lap
7.	5	LM P1	S.Ayari, L.Duval, L.Groppi	Team Oreca Matmut	Courage-Oreca LC70 Judd	49	18.039
8.	16	LM P1	J.C.Boullion, E.Collard, R.Dumas	Pescarolo Sport	Pescarolo Judd	49	45.828
9.	17	LM P1	H.Primat, C.Tinseau, B.Treluyer	Pescarolo Sport	Pescarolo Judd	48	2 Laps
10.	6	LM P1	S.Pagenaud, O.Panis, M.Fassler	Team Oreca Matmut	Courage-Oreca LC70 Judd	48	9.637