Audi took a firm grip on the Le Mans 24-Hour 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.
Australian Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen won his first MotoGP victory when he upstaged the favourites in a rain-hit French Grand Prix on Sunday. Vermeulen beat last year’s winner Marco Melandri of Italy on a Honda after coping perfectly with the tricky conditions on the 4,18km Le Mans circuit.
Italian Emanuele Pirro and German duo Frank Biela and Marco Werner drove Audi to an historic victory in the Le Mans 24 hour race on Sunday. The Audi R10 finished four laps ahead of the Pescarolo driven by France’s Franck Montagny, world rally champion Sebastien Loeb and Eric Helary, to become the first diesel-powered car to win the famous endurance race.
An unemployed teacher took 18 students, a teacher and another man hostage at gunpoint at a high school in western France on Thursday, officials said. At the time of going to press the drama was unfolding in a state high school in the town of Sable-sur-Sarthe, southwest of Le Mans.