The Luckiest Man In France
Tréluyer Uninjured After Le Mans Shunt

When the TV cameras focussed on what was left of the #17 Pescarolo Peugeot 908 in the early hours of Sunday morning, there were real fears that a very serious accident had occurred during the 24 Hours; the more so when tarpaulins were erected around the wreckage as the driver was seen to.

Happily, word soon came through that the driver was conscious and, later, that he had no broken bones. This has proven to be fully accurate, with Benoît Tréluyer remarkably having incurred no injury at all during the horrendous crash.

“Despite the contact with the #7 Peugeot in the pits at the beginning of the race, which cost us a lap and a half, a place on the podium was still a realistic opportunity,” he explained.

“We were in fourth after 13 hours of racing with my team mates Jean-Christophe Boullion and Simon Pagenaud and we could maintain a good, consistent pace between 3m29s and 3m33s, depending on the traffic. I feel very sorry for the team who may not be given the same opportunity again, for the mechanics who worked hard all year, for Peugeot who had believed in us and for the sponsors.

“The team had called me back to the pits for a scheduled fuel stop. They also took the opportunity to clean out the side pods, as I was forced to put two wheels on the grass to avoid a GT2 Ferrari. While doing this, the engineers noticed the front splitter was damaged and decided to change it. I knew that the car’s behaviour would change because of this and as I returned to the track, I remained cautious. The car’s balance was good with a little more oversteer than before, but not too much.

“Then I started to get back into a normal rhythm but as I approached the La Forêt curves the car suddenly went light and snapped sideways. I did not have the chance to be slowed down by the gravel trap as the car took off straight away."

During the crash, his car hit the barriers no less than three times before coming to a halt.

“I don’t know what happened,” he continued. “Maybe I should have been more cautious for another lap but the car’s behaviour was fine.

"It was best not to move. I let the rescue team do their job and they put me in an inflatable stretcher before being taken to the medical centre for further checks. I don’t know if I hit the guard rail with the car’s roof or undertray first. The aerials on the car are fine, but the windscreen is broken!”

A definite cause of the accident won’t be known until a full analysis of the telemetry has been assessed.

“We were pacing ourselves nicely. Our pace wasn’t as high as the official Peugeots. We were happy playing the waiting game...”

“Until 4:03am on Sunday morning,” said Henri Pescarolo, “the team were following the progress of our cars with great enthusiasm. Our 908 HDI FAP was then in fourth place with the podium in sight. Jean-Christophe Boullion, who had started the race, Simon Pagenaud and Benoît Tréluyer demonstrated themselves to be just as capable as that of the official team’s drivers. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, Benoît suddenly left the track and violently hit the railings at Tertre Rouge, for reasons that are still unclear. The impact was very violent, but luckily Benoît came out unhurt. Benoît was fine, but the accident was a huge disappointment for the whole team...”

A very lucky man, then; but Tréluyer will be back in action next Sunday, this time at Sepang in Malaysia for the third round of the Japanese Super GT Championship.