Peugeot target engine improvements

The French team were able to snatch pole position from Audi at their first attempt with the new car, but they were no match for the German team in the race, and the final few hours of the event were disrupted by engine issues on both cars.

While the No.7 car of Nicolas Minassian, Jacques Villeneuve and Marc Gene was forced to retire, the sister car of Stephane Sarrazin, Sebastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy took over second position and held it to the finish.

Peugeot Sport's director Michel Barge said: "At the end it was pretty nerve-wracking, especially when we lost a car with about an hour and a half remaining.

"We saw some big falls in oil pressure and we've now got to work on reliability to try and obtain the same degree of performance during races that we have in testing."

Bourdais brought the No.8 car across the line to take the second place, but the Frenchman had waited at the edge of the track in the final chicane rather than risking completing another lap with his ailing car.

"We had a big engine problem and we just didn't know whether it would hold for another lap," said Bourdais. "But it was an awesome way to end a crazy race."

Barge added that he was pleased with the performance of the team, as Peugeot intended to treat this year's race as part of their preparation for the 2008 event.

"Our intention in 2007 has always been to bed ourselves in progressively to prepare for next year," he said. "I would like to congratulate everyone in the team and also the drivers."