Grapevine: Salo Wants Another Shot at Le Mans

Former Formula One driver Mika Salo wants another shot at the Le Mans 24-Hour race after being denied the opportunity to take part in the event at the weekend when his Audi teammate Frank Biela allowed his car to run out of petrol.

Salo, who competed for Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, Ferrari, Sauber, BAR and Toyota in Formula One, saw German teammate Biela roll to a premature halt after missing the pit entry on his "in" lap. But Finn Salo, whose Formula One highlight was a second place with Ferrari at Hockenheim in 1999, insisted he would be keen to return to Le Mans for another tilt at the day-night endurance race next year.

"I'm disappointed, obviously," said Salo, "I was really looking forward to racing in the night here at Le Mans for the first time but I've enjoyed the sportscar experience with Audi. I'd love to come back."

Ex-Grand Prix drivers Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell and David Brabham came home in second place behind Bentley teammates Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello and Guy Smith. Anthony Davidson, the BAR-Honda Formula One team's test driver, needed a brain scan after crashing out at high speed.

Davidson's Ferrari was badly damaged in the crash at the Mulsanne corner but he was able to climb out of the car, but the youngster suffered shock and bruising as well as a bang to the head. The shunt came only two weeks after fears for BAR driver Jenson Button, who was knocked unconscious in a high-speed crash when practicing for the Monaco Grand Prix.