The battle between Audi and Toyota for the overall victory was expected to come down to the difference between Audi’s raw pace and Toyota’s superior range on a tank of fuel. What it came down to, as it so often does at Le Mans, was luck and reliability. The #2 Audi of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loic Duval had the best luck and speed on the day’s worth of racing and picked up the win in the biggest event in sportscar racing.
Sadly, the win for Audi and the epic battle between Audi and Toyota was overshadowed by the first death in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1986 when GTE Am Aston Martin of Allan Simonsen died after a crash early in the race.
It was a tough day at the office for actor/driver Patrick Dempsey and the Advanced Engineering – Team Seattle crew at Le Mans. In today’s three hours of qualifying sessions, the best that the #81 Ferrari F430 could manage left the team with the 54th starting spot among the 55 entries. 
The Lowdown 