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2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
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Index: Races | Winners

The 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 74th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place over June 17–18, 2006.

Pre-race[]

Prior to this race the ACO redeveloped the area around the Dunlop Curve and Dunlop Chicane, moving the Dunlop Curve in tighter to create more run-off area, while also turning the Dunlop Chicane into a larger set of turns. As part of the development, a new extended pit lane exit was created for motorcycles running the Bugatti Circuit. This second pit exit re-enters the track just beyond the Dunlop Chicane and before the Dunlop Bridge.

Before the official test days, the FIA requested that the sportscars should also use this new pit lane, and mandate a 60 km/h speed limit for the entire 450m length, instead of using the normal pit exit in the Dunlop Curve as planned. This was originally used for the Le Mans test days, but due to complaints from the teams the ACO decided to return to the old pit lane exit for the race.

Qualifying[]

The tension between the new Audi R10 TDIs and Pescarolo C60's in LMP1 started even before the race began. In Wednesday's qualifying, Pescarolo swept the top spots. However, the sessions were wet, and therefore it was impossible to get an idea of what the race would hold. For the Thursday qualifying session conditions were dry, and Audi swept the front row, while the Pescarolo's started behind them. In LMP2, the Ray Mallock Ltd. Lola ran a full two seconds quicker than the new Intersport Lola. In LMGT1, the Aston Martin factory squad swept the front row, with the #64 Corvette right behind them. Finally, in GT2, the French IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche took the quickest time; however, Luca Riccitelli took the car off at Nord du Karting at the end of the session, injuring his ankle and badly damaging the chassis of the car. In a unique move, the ACO went against its own rules and granted permission for the team to replace the chassis with a brand new car. Even with this aid, the car was still forced to start at the back of the grid. The Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 thus started at the front for the GT2 class.

Race[]

This race marked the first Le Mans win for a diesel engined sports car, the Audi R10 TDI, and the second time that a diesel-powered sports car won a major international motorsports event, following the Audi R10 TDI's win at the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring. However, in touring car racing, a diesel BMW 320d had won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 1998.

Tom Kristensen could not extend his streak of 6 wins in a row, as his #7 car was less reliable than the winning #8 sister car, even though it had been fastest in practice and race. World Rally champion Sébastien Loeb scored a remarkable second place with the Pescarolo Sport team.

This race also marked the first time since the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans that Porsche (or a Porsche powered prototype) did not win at least one class. A Panoz Esperante was successful in upsetting the contingent of Porsches in the GT2 class.

Official results[]

Class winners are marked in bold. Cars not completing 75% of the winner's distance are listed as Not Classified (NC).

Pos Class
Pos.
Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps
Engine
1 1 LMP1 8 25px Germany Audi Sport Team Joest 25px Germany Frank Biela
25px Germany Marco Werner
25px Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R10 TDI M 380
Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
2 2 LMP1 17 25px France Pescarolo Sport 25px France Sébastien Loeb
25px France Eric Hélary
25px France Franck Montagny
Pescarolo C60 Hybrid M 376
Judd GV5 S2 5.0L V10
3 3 LMP1 7 25px Germany Audi Sport Team Joest 25px Italy Rinaldo Capello
25px Flag of Denmark Tom Kristensen
25px United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI M 367
Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
4 1 GT1 64 25px United States Corvette Racing 25px United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
25px Monaco Olivier Beretta
25px Flag of Denmark Jan Magnussen
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 355
Chevrolet LS7R 7.0L V8
5 4 LMP1 16 25px France Pescarolo Sport 25px France Emmanuel Collard
25px France Érik Comas
25px France Nicolas Minassian
Pescarolo C60 Hybrid M 352
Judd GV5 S2 5.0L V10
6 2 GT1 007 25px United Kingdom Aston Martin Racing 25px Template:Country alias Czech Republic Tomáš Enge
25px United Kingdom Darren Turner
25px Italy Andrea Piccini
Aston Martin DBR9 M 350
Aston Martin 6.0L V12
7 3 GT1 72 25px France Luc Alphand Aventures 25px France Luc Alphand
25px France Patrice Goueslard
25px France Jerôme Policand
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R M 346
Chevrolet LS7R 7.0L V8
8 1 LMP2 25 25px United Kingdom Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML) 25px United Kingdom Mike Newton
25px Brazil Thomas Erdos
25px United Kingdom Andy Wallace
MG-Lola EX264 M 343
AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
9 4 GT1 62 25px Russia Russian Age Racing
25px United Kingdom Team Modena
25px Spain Antonio García
25px Australia David Brabham
25px Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr.
Aston Martin DBR9 M 343
Aston Martin 6.0L V12
10 5 GT1 009 25px United Kingdom Aston Martin Racing 25px The flag of Portugal Pedro Lamy
25px France Stéphane Sarrazin
25px Monaco Stéphane Ortelli
Aston Martin DBR9 M 342
Aston Martin 6.0L V12
11 6 GT1 66 25px United States ACEMCO Motorsports 25px United Kingdom Johnny Mowlem
25px United States Terry Borcheller
25px Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
Saleen S7-R M 337
Ford 7.0L V8
12 7 GT1 63 25px United States Corvette Racing 25px Canada Ron Fellows
25px United States Johnny O'Connell
25px Italy Max Papis
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 327
Chevrolet LS7R 7.0L V8
13 2 LMP2 24 25px United States Binnie Motorsports 25px United States William Binnie
25px Japan Yojiro Terada
25px United Kingdom Allen Timpany
Lola B05/42 M 326
Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8
14 3 LMP2 27 25px United States Miracle Motorsports 25px United States Andy Lally
25px United States John Macaluso
25px United Kingdom Ian James
Courage C65 KH 324
AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
15 1 GT2 81 25px United Kingdom Team LNT 25px United Kingdom Lawrence Tomlinson
25px United Kingdom Tom Kimber-Smith
25px United Kingdom Richard Dean
Panoz Esperante GT-LM P 321
Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8
16 2 GT2 83 25px Germany Seikel Motorsport
25px Germany Farnbacher Racing
25px Flag of Denmark Lars-Erik Nielsen
25px Germany Pierre Ehret
25px Germany Dominik Farnbacher
Porsche 911 GT3-RS Y 320
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
17 3 GT2 87 25px United Kingdom Scuderia Ecosse 25px United Kingdom Andrew Kirkaldy
25px Canada Chris Niarchos
25px United Kingdom Tim Mullen
Ferrari F430GT M 311
Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
18 4 GT2 80 25px United States Flying Lizard Motorsports 25px United States Johannes van Overbeek
25px United States Patrick Long
25px United States Seth Neiman
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 309
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
19 4 LMP2 33 25px United States Intersport Racing 25px United States Clint Field
25px United States Liz Halliday
25px United States Duncan Dayton
Lola B05/40 G 297
AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
20 5 LMP2 22 25px United Kingdom Rollcentre Racing 25px United Kingdom Martin Short
25px The flag of Portugal João Barbosa
25px United Kingdom Stuart Moseley
Radical SR9 D 294
Judd XV675 3.4L V8
21 6 LMP2 32 25px France Barazi-Epsilon 25px Flag of Denmark Juan Barazi
25px Netherlands Michael Vergers
25px New Zealand Neil Cunningham
Courage C65 M 294
AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
22 5 GT2 93 25px Japan Team Taisan Advan 25px Japan Kazuyuki Nishizawa
25px Japan Shinichi Yamaji
25px United States Philip Collin
Porsche 911 GT3-RS Y 291
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
23
NC
6 GT2 73 25px Belgium Gordon Racing Team
25px Belgium Ice Pol Racing Team
25px Belgium Yves-Emmanuel Lambert
25px Belgium Christian Lefort
25px France Romain Ianetta
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR D 282
Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
24
NC
5 LMP1 2 25px United Kingdom Zytek Engineering
25px Flag of Denmark Team Essex Invest
25px Flag of Denmark John Nielsen
25px Flag of Denmark Casper Elgaard
25px Flag of Denmark Philip Andersen
Zytek 06S M 269
Zytek ZB408 4.0L V8
25
NC
6 LMP1 19 25px United Kingdom Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport 25px United Kingdom Bob Berridge
25px United Kingdom Gareth Evans
25px United Kingdom Peter Owen
Lola B06/10 D 267
AER P32T 3.6L Turbo V8
26
NC
7 LMP2 20 25px France Pir Competition 25px France Marc Rostan
25px United Kingdom Simon Pullan
25px United States Chris MacAllister
Pilbeam MP93 M 244
Judd XV675 3.4L V8
27
NC
[1]
8 GT1 53 25px Japan JLOC Isao Noritake 25px Italy Marco Apicella
25px Japan Koji Yamanishi
25px Japan Yasutaka Hinoi
Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT P 283
Lamborghini L535 6.0L V12
28
DNF
7 GT2 89 25px United Kingdom Sebah Automotive Ltd. 25px Germany Christian Ried
25px France Xavier Pompidou
25px Flag of Denmark Thorkild Thyrring
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR D 256
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
29
DNF
7 LMP1 9 25px United Kingdom Creation Autosportif Ltd. 25px Switzerland Felipe Ortiz
25px Italy Giuseppe Gabbiani
25px United Kingdom Jamie Campbell-Walter
Creation CA06/H M 240
Judd GV5 S2 5.0L V10
30
DNF
9 GT1 50 25px France Larbre Compétition 25px France Patrick Bornhauser
25px France Jean-Luc Blanchemain
25px Switzerland Gabriele Gardel
Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello M 222
Ferrari F133 5.9L V12
31
DNF
8 GT2 76 25px France IMSA Performance Matmut 25px France Raymond Narac
25px Italy Luca Riccitelli
25px France Romain Dumas
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 211
Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
32
DNF
9 GT2 86 25px Netherlands Spyker Squadron b.v. 25px Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
25px Netherlands Mike Hezemans
25px United Kingdom Jonny Kane
Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R M 202
Audi 3.8L V8
33
DNF
10 GT1 67 25px Russia Convers MenX Team 25px Russia Alexey Vasilyev
25px Template:Country alias Czech Republic Robert Pergl
25px Netherlands Peter Kox
Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello M 196
Ferrari F133 5.9L V12
34
DNF
10 GT2 91 25px Japan T2M Motorsport 25px Japan Yutaka Yamagishi
25px France Jean-René de Fournoux
25px Template:Country alias Slovakia Miro Konopka
Porsche 911 GT3-RS D 196
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
35
DNF
8 LMP2 39 25px United Kingdom Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport
25px The flag of Portugal ASM Team Racing for Portugal
25px The flag of Portugal Miguel Amaral
25px United Kingdom Warren Hughes
25px Spain Miguel Ángel de Castro
Lola B05/40 D 196
AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
36
DNF
8 LMP1 6 25px United Kingdom Lister Storm Racing 25px United Kingdom Gavin Pickering
25px Flag of Denmark Nicolas Kiesa
25px Flag of Denmark Jens Møller
Lister Storm LMP Hybrid D 192
Chevrolet LS1 6.0L V8
37
DNF
9 LMP1 14 25px Netherlands Racing for Holland 25px Netherlands Jan Lammers
25px Flag of Malaysia Alex Yoong
25px Sweden Stefan Johansson
Dome S101Hb D 182
Judd GV5 5.0L V10
38
DNF
10 LMP1 12 25px France Courage Compétition 25px United Kingdom Sam Hancock
25px Switzerland Alexander Frei
25px United Kingdom Gregor Fisken
Courage LC70 Y 171
Mugen MF458S 4.5L V8
39
DNF
11 GT2 90 25px United States White Lightning Racing
25px United States Krohn Racing
25px Germany Jörg Bergmeister
25px Sweden Nic Jönsson
25px United States Tracy Krohn
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 148
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
40
DNF
9 LMP2 30 25px France Gerard Welter 25px France Patrice Roussel
25px France Frédéric Hauchard
25px France Julien Briché
WR LMP04 P 134
Peugeot 2.0L Turbo I4
41
DNF
11 LMP1 5 25px Switzerland Swiss Spirit 25px Switzerland Harold Primat
25px Switzerland Marcel Fässler
25px Austria Philipp Peter
Courage LC70 M 132
Judd GV5 S2 5.0L V10
42
DNF
11 GT1 61 25px Russia Russian Age Racing
25px United Kingdom Cirtek Motorsport
25px United Kingdom Tim Sugden
25px United Kingdom Nigel Smith
25px United Kingdom Christian Vann
Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello M 124
Ferrari F133 5.9L V12
43
DNF
12 GT2 98 25px France Noël del Bello Racing 25px United Kingdom Adam Sharpe
25px France Patrick Bourdais
25px Belgium Tom Cloet
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 115
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
44
DNF
10 LMP2 36 25px France Paul Belmondo Racing 25px France Claude-Yves Gosselin
25px Template:Country alias Saudi Arabia Karim A. Ojjeh
25px France Pierre Ragues
Courage C65 M 84
Ford (Mecachrome) 3.4L V8
45
DNF
11 LMP2 37 25px France Paul Belmondo Racing 25px France Patrice Roussel
25px France Didier André
25px France Yann Clairay
Courage C65 M 48
Ford (Mecachrome) 3.4L V8
46
DNF
12 LMP2 35 25px Belgium G-Force Racing 25px Belgium Franck Hahn
25px France Jean-François Leroch
25px United Kingdom Ed Morris
Courage C65 D 47
Judd XV675 3.4L V8
47
DNF
13 GT2 85 25px Netherlands Spyker Squadron b.v. 25px Netherlands Donny Crevels
25px United Kingdom Peter Dumbreck
25px Netherlands Tom Coronel
Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R M 40
Audi 3.8L V8
48
DNF
12 LMP1 13 25px France Courage Compétition 25px Japan Shinji Nakano
25px France Jean-Marc Gounon
25px Japan Haruki Kurosawa
Courage LC70 Y 35
Mugen MF458S 4.5L V8
49
DNF
14 GT2 77 25px Canada Multimatic Motorsport Team Panoz 25px United States Gunnar Jeannette
25px Canada Scott Maxwell
25px United States Tom Milner
Panoz Esperante GT-LM P 34
Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8
50
DNF
12 GT1 69 25px Italy BMS Scuderia Italia 25px Italy Fabrizio Gollin
25px Italy Fabio Babini
25px Italy Christian Pescatori
Aston Martin DBR9 P 3
Aston Martin 6.0L V12
  1. The #53 JLOC Isao Noritake entry failed to complete the last lap of the race and thus was penalized to the end of the list of finishers.

Statistics[]

  • Pole Position - #7 Audi Sport Team Joest - 3:30.466
  • Fastest Lap - #7 Audi Sport Team Joest - 3:31.211
  • Distance - 5187.0 km
  • Average Speed - 215.409 km/h
  • Highest trap speed - #14 Racing for Holland - 331 km/h (warm-up), #9 Creation Autosportif - 332 km/h (qualifying)
24 Hours of Le Mans seasons

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Smallwikipedialogo.png This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


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