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LE MANS, France - Audi took a firm grip on the Le Mans 24 Hours Race on Saturday as Peugeot's return to the classic endurance event threatened to turn into a nightmare.
After nine hours, the Audi of Tom Kristensen, who is seeking an eighth victory, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello led teammates Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner by three laps.
The Peugeot of ex-Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve, Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gene was third, four laps behind.
"The conditions are much more settled now and the times are improving," said German driver Biela referring to the rain which fell early in the marathon event. "It's all going well."
French manufacturer Peugeot are returning to Le Mans after a 14-year absence but their race got off to the worst possible start when Sebastian Bourdais, a triple Champ Car champion in the United States, ran wide at the Dunlop Chicane on the first lap and allowed Capello to pass his Peugeot on the inside.
Bourdais and teammates Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy then saw their pole-sitting Peugeot hit by gearbox trouble as they slipped down the field to ninth place.
After nine hours, they had recovered to sixth place overall, eight laps behind the leading Audi.
Audi, looking for a seventh Le Mans win in eight years, also had their problems when their third car, with Mike Rockenfeller at the wheel, was forced to retire after hitting a barrier on the ninth lap.
Audi team chief Wolfgang Ullrich said: "When Mike Rockenfeller made that mistake at the Tertre Rouge corner, I wasn't happy at all. But this doesn't disturb our plans too much, and remember, this is a very long race.
"I am expecting a long fight. Our opponents are waiting for us, and we can't afford to let this affect our strategy. The good thing is the excellent result so far for the No.1 and No.2 cars."
Malaysia's ex-Formula One driver Alex Yoong was in the top five after nine hours.
Yoong, Stephan Mucke and Jan Charouz were in a Lola-Judd and were in fifth place, seven laps behind the leading Audi. - AFP/ls/ir
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