Loeb pleased with second place

Loeb's all-French Pescarolo Sport team of Formula One driver Franck Montagny and Eric Helary ended the tough sportscar marathon four laps down but between the diesel-powered Audis.

It was Loeb's second appearance at the La Sarthe circuit, having been forced to retire with five hours left last year.

"I feel a lot more tired after completing Le Mans than after a rally," said Loeb, on course for a hat-trick of rally crowns this season.

"A Le Mans car has much more downforce which makes it harder to drive, you do much longer shifts behind the wheel and the HANS (Head and Neck Safety) device made things a bit more awkward," he added.

"At a rally, at the end of the day you know you can go to bed, relax and get back to form.

"But I feel very privileged to have been given the honour of driving the car with the chequered flag dropping. That was a great feeling.

"I think we did the best possible job in the car considering that we finished between the two Audis. I'd say it was the perfect result for us."

Germany's Frank Biela and Marco Werner and Italy's Emanuele Pirro helped Audi become the first manufacturer to win the race with a diesel-powered car.

The trio completed a record 380 laps of the 13.65-km circuit in the 74th running of the famous race. The sister Audi R10 finished third.