First retirement shock at Le Mans

Peugeot have suffered the first early retirement in the Le Mans 24-hour race. After approximately two-and-a-half hours, the fastest qualifier was out of contention. Even so, the French constructor still has three cars at the front, headed by the number 2 with Stephane Sarrazin at the wheel. Just a few seconds behind is the sister Peugeot sporting the number 1 on its side, driven by last year's winner Anthony Davidson.

So Peugeot have lost their best prospect after only 37 laps. Pedro Lamy crawled back into the pit lane at a snail's pace. At the front, one of the wheels was at a strange angle and the diesel prototype was trailing a plume of smoke. The pit crew didn't spend too much time on repairs, however. After just a few minutes, they announced: "The car is damaged and will not be taking any further part in the race. The front suspension is broken." More precisely, the transverse link had come loose from the chassis, presumably because of taking the kerbstones too aggressively.