Peugeot drivers surprised by result

Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gene took a comfortable win for the diesel-powered car, while Pedro Lamy and Stephane Sarrazin set a stunning pace as they recovered to third after suffering a gearbox problem.

The French team had not expected to win the 1000-kilometre race, as they had been unable to cover any long distances in testing without encountering problems with the new car.

"This result was a huge surprise for us as we have never done so many consecutive kilometres in a test session," said Minassian.

"We had just two small problems: a badly closed door at the first fuel stop and an oil pressure warning that turned out to be nothing, but still forced me to make a trip to the pits."

The second Peugeot also had problems with one of its doors, but Sarrazin and Lamy dropped down to 12th place when their car became stuck in first gear during the middle of the race.

"I was very disappointed after the gearbox problem that cost us five laps," said Sarrazin. "But I really enjoyed myself driving the 908.

"Thank you to the entire team, which has done such a fantastic job over the last few months."

Gene was concerned about his own gearbox towards the end, but the lead car managed to get to the end without any further problems.