The 76th Le Mans 24 Hours

Le Mans 2008 has been an unforgettable experience. Peugeot and Audi would go head to head in what everyone expected to be a close, exciting encounter. They were not wrong ...

The Speed of the Peugeots in qualifying gave everyone a taste of what was to come during the race. Audis were struggling, or so observers thought.

The flying Peugeots took the lead in the opening stages of the race. But soon the familiar cracks began to show themselves, as the French stable effectively lost one of their cars in the chase for victory within three hours of the race.

Through the evening Peugeot held sway with their remaining two contenders, but Audi were always within striking distance should anything go wrong. At two O'clock in the morning the rains came and the whole complexion of the race changed.

Slowing Peugeots in the wet, allied to what can only be described as a stunning demonstration of driving by Allan McNish during his night-time quadruple stint, reversed the roles completely. When dawn came, It was Audi No.2 in front to the tune of almost three minutes.

From that moment the chase was on, as the No.7 Peugeot fought to close down the gap. In the end it wasn't to be. The Audi team performed fantastically: Great pitstops, solid strategies and most importantly they didn't lose their heads in the final hour when others lost theirs.

This was the 2008 24 Heures du Mans commentary on autosport.com Live. We hope that you've enjoyed following the race with us.

Formula One is on the menu again next weekend as we embrace round eight of the 2008 World Championship. But that lies in the future. Today, Audi proved just what a great manufacturer they really are.

The champagne is sprayed as the top drivers celebrate their achievements in a fascinating race.

The German national anthem rings out for Audi.

The winning Audi crew hoist the massive trophy aloft.

Each driver is presented with Rolex watches and a sizable trophy.

Minassian, Villeneuve and Marc Gene are out on the podium and are joined with a roar from the crowd by the winners Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello.

They are joined by the third-place LMP1 crew of Franck Montagny, Ricardo Zonta and Christian Klien.

Peter van Merksteijn, Jos Verstappen and Jeroen Bleekemolen take to the podium for their LMP2 win.

The master of ceremonies is whipping up enthusiasm from the huge crowd under the podium.

A huge crowd of fans has been unleashed from the grandstands and are gathering under the podium.

Aston Martin celebrate victory in the GT1 class. The No.009 Aston DBR9 with David Brabham, Darren Turner and Antonio Garcia.

In LMGT2 it was the No.82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 taking the class win, driven by Mika Salo, Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni.

Minassian, Villeneuve and Marc Gene finish second to the majestic Audi R10.

It's a Peugeot two-three on the podium as the No.9 car finishes third, with Franck Montagny, Ricardo Zonta and Christian Klien.

The 009 Aston Martin DBR9 wins LMGT1 with drivers David Brabham, Antonio Garcia and Darren Turner.

Nicolas Minassian rues what might have been as he is the only other car in the field to finish on the lead lap. Minassian crosses the line in the Peugeot No.7 908 HDI to finish second.

The LMP2 class is won in dominant style by the Van Merksteijn Porshe RS Spyder with drivers Peter van Merksteijn, Jos Verstappen and Jeroen Bleekemolen.

It is a supreme eighth victory for the great Dane. He is simply untouchable around La Sarthe.

The No.2 Audi R10 driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello wins the 2008 Le Mans 24 hour race!

The chequered flag is ready and waiting for Tom Kristensen.

Minassian unlaps himself a minute from the end of the race.

Under two minutes left on the clock as Kristensen heads towards his eighth Le Mans victory.

The No.11 Dome is running to take the final lap.

The GT1 battle is going to be taken by Aston Martin. The 009 car is still a lap ahead of the No.63 Corvette, which has given the Aston a truly fascinating race-long battle.

In the end Ron Fellows won't round out his Le Mans driving career with a class win but his team pushed hard all the way.

Tom Kristensen has started his final lap of the race.

Peter van Merksteijn is at the wheel of the class-leading LMP2 car in tenth overall. The Dutch RS Spyder has no challenge other than reaching the flag.

Both cars resume their fight out on track for victory in the Le Mans 24 hours with just 10 minutes to go.

The No.2 Audi has a healthy lead of over a lap on the No.7 Peugeot.

Tom Kristensen leads in the No.2 Audi with ten minutes to the flag.

Minassian arrives in the pitlane. The crew put on another set of full wet tyres and the Frenchman leaves the pits.

Tom Kristensen pits the leading Audi for what should be the final stop of his race.

The No.9 Peugeot pits from third position. Franck Montagny takes on wet tyres and is away.

The Peugeot team are ready to receive the No.7 Peugeot as Minassian heads towards the pits.

The car is slewing from side to side on the Mulasnne straight as Minassian tries to bring it back to the pits at almost full speed.

The No.7 Peugeot has a puncture!

Nicolas Minassian is struggling badly on the drier parts of the circuit with his full wet tyres.

The pace of the No.7 is not likely to be spectacular on the full wets. There are large portions of the circuit that are almost dry.

It's raining again on the Mulsanne straight!

The Peugeot team may be hoping for a late shower to hit, with them best placed to deal with it on full wet rubber.

The No.7 Peugeot comes into the pits one last time. The slick tyres come off and it's full wet tyres for Minassian until the end of the race.

He's away in a forlorn chase of the leading Audi with over three minutes to make up.

The No.3 Audi pits for the final time. Wet tyres come off. Difficult to tell from the shot on the monitor what tyres went back on that car.

The No.3 leaves the pits and rejoins still in fourth position.

The gap from Kristensen to Minassian stands at 2:19.836.