LE MANS - Audi led the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race at the quarter distance on Saturday but lost their number three car when former British winner Allan McNish crashed heavily.
After six hours, Switzerland's Marcel Faessler at the wheel of the number two Audi led three Peugeots by just over a minute in a tight competition between the German and French manufacturers.
While the Audi was clearly faster, it was also thirstier and requiring more frequent pitstops than the Peugeot. The number one Audi was placed fifth.
McNish was lucky to escape serious injury after crashing in the opening hour in a massive impact that brought out the safety car for the second hour as debris was recovered and the barriers rebuilt.
The Scot, who stepped out of the wreckage unaided, was unhurt but taken to the circuit medical centre for precautionary checks. Some photographers who were hit by flying debris were reported to have minor injuries.
McNish had been challenging the number one Audi, driven at that time by Timo Bernhard, and clipped a slower Ferrari 458 driven by Anthony Beltoise into a right-hand turn after overtaking his team mate beyond the Dunlop Bridge.
The Audi, which McNish was sharing with Denmark's Tom Kristensen and Italian Rinaldo Capello, was launched sideways into the gravel trap and nearly cleared the barriers with bodywork flying.
"The Ferrari closed the door, Allan had no chance whatsoever. He went off very quickly, but luckily managed to get out of the car unharmed," said Audi motorsport head Wolfgang Ullrich.
"To see that the cars are so strong is good, but that's not the way we like to demonstrate it."
The two Aston Martin Racing cars also retired with mechanical problems.
Audi, in a battle with French rivals Peugeot, have won six of the last seven editions of the race and swept the front row in qualifying with Benoit Treluyer on pole in the number two car with the number one Audi alongside.
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