The Champion Audi won the 2005 Le Mans 24 Hours from a Pescarolo pole

The Champion Racing Audi of JJ Lehto, Tom Kristensen and Marco Werner won the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans, even though the race had started from a Pescarolo pole. Werner took his first Le Mans victory, Lehto his second and Kristensen his seventh, and that last result put him top of the all-time list of overall winners. About 230,000 people attended the race.

What changed in the rules for 2005?

The two Grand Touring classes were renamed for 2005. Le Mans Grand Touring Sport became LMGT1, and Le Mans Grand Touring became LMGT2. The FIA and the ACO both insisted that new cars in both classes be homologated.

Cars built to the LMP900 rules competed alongside the hybrid LMP1 cars for the last time. The LMP900 machines ran a smaller air restrictor and had to weigh more than the hybrids, so the two types were not on equal terms.

The ACO set guide lap times for the GT classes. LMGT1 cars were to avoid lapping faster than 3 minutes 55 seconds, while LMGT2 machines had a floor of 4 minutes 8 seconds. Cars that broke those limits would be slowed by reducing their aerodynamic efficiency, cutting their air restrictor or shrinking their fuel tank in future editions.

GT2-specification cars were allowed only if 100 road cars had been built by large manufacturers, or 25 by smaller ones. Otherwise the ACO would have suspended homologation for the 2006 race.

Pescarolo took pole, but the Champion Audi of Lehto, Kristensen and Werner won the race.

How many teams applied for the 2005 race?

The ACO received 78 applications by the 19 January deadline: 37 for LMP entries and 41 for GT. It then granted 50 invitations, split across LMP1, LMP2, LMGT1 and LMGT2.

Automatic places went to 2004 class winners and to teams that had won the Petit Le Mans, the Le Mans Endurance Series or the ALMS. Some second-place finishers also received invitations. Pre-selected entries were limited to two cars per team, and they could not change vehicles from one year to the next.

Several teams declined their automatic places. The 2004 winners, Audi's Goh team, turned theirs down, as did the runners-up, the Veloqx squad. Dyson, Prodrive, Barron Connor, ChoroQ, JMB and Alex Job also declined, and no replacements were found.

How did the entry list change before the race?

The ACO published its complete list of 50 cars and eight reserves on 24 March 2005. Team Nasamax withdrew its bio-ethanol DM139-Judd, which moved T2M Motorsport's Porsche 911 GT3 RSR into the race.

ACEMCO Motorsports withdrew its Saleen S7-R after its rear wing height was altered to satisfy ACO rules, and the reserve IMSA Performance Porsche was promoted into the field.

A revised list on 27 April dropped several more entries, including the Graham Nash Saleen, Thierry Perrier's Porsche and a second Racing for Holland Dome. Lucchini Engineering withdrew its LMP2/04 four days before scrutineering, after a gearbox ratio problem could not be solved, which reduced the field to 49.

What did the test day reveal?

The mandatory test on 5 June gave every team eight hours of track time to work on set-up and on driver orientation. Rain before the end of the afternoon session stopped any team from setting a faster time.

Emmanuel Collard set the day's best time in the No. 16 Pescarolo C60 Hybrid Judd at 3:32.468. Soheil Ayari was second in the sister Pescarolo, and Jonathan Cochet third in the Courage.

Aston Martin, back at Le Mans for the first works entry since 1989, led LMGT1 at 3:50.033, and Christophe Bouchut's Cirtek Ferrari finished third in the class, with the Corvettes of Gavin and O'Connell fifth. Timo Bernhard's No. 90 Porsche led LMGT2, while Sam Hancock set the LMP2 pace in an Intersport Lola at 3:44.426, ahead of Thomas Erdos in the Ray Mallock MG-Lola. Lehto's Champion Audi was fourth in the test, with Seiji Ara's Dome fifth and Joao Barbosa's Rollcentre sixth.

How did qualifying run?

Qualifying ran on 15 and 16 June in four two-hour sessions. Each entrant had to post a time within 115 per cent of the fastest lap set by the quickest car in its category.

Rain fell at the start of the first session on 15 June, which made the track slippery and visibility poor. Collard took the lead late with 4:13.526, Kristensen's Champion Audi was second and Ryo Michigami's Dome third.

Peter Owen's Lola brought out a stoppage when it lost its rear end just beyond the second Mulsanne chicane. Christophe Bouchut's Ferrari led LMGT1 on provisional pole at 4:23.885, while Andre's Belmondo Courage led LMP2 at 4:24.832. Rockenfeller's Alex Job car set the LMGT2 pace at 4:37.574.

The weather on 16 June was humid and dry. Ayari's Pescarolo improved the provisional pole time to 3:35.555, with the Audi of Montagny second and McNish the fastest Champion car in third. A crash by Jean-Bernard Bouvet's Welter WR LMP04 halted the session after 90 minutes, and Pedro Lamy gave Aston Martin the LMGT1 lead at 3:50.311. Rockenfeller then improved the Alex Job Porsche to 4:05.326 to keep the LMGT2 lead, while Tom Coronel's throttle stuck in his Spyker and he crashed at the Porsche Curves.

As temperatures fell in the final session, three-quarters of the field improved. The No. 16 Pescarolo took pole with 3:34.715 on its first lap, and Ayari was 0.840 seconds slower. McNish was third and Katsumoto Kaneishi fourth.

Belmondo's Courage took the LMP2 pole at 3:42.301, and Tomas Enge gave Aston Martin the LMGT1 pole at 3:48.576 with ten minutes left. The No. 35 Courage had been heavily damaged in the first session, and the stewards allowed it to line up at the rear.

What were the warm-up times?

The 45-minute warm-up began at 09:00 Central European Summer Time in clear and warm weather. Jean-Christophe Boullion's No. 16 Pescarolo was quickest at 3:37.042, ahead of Kristensen's No. 3 Audi and Frank Biela's No. 2 car.

Sebastien Loeb was fourth in the Pescarolo No. 17, and Jamie Campbell-Walter fifth in the Creation DBA. Liz Halliday's Intersport Lola was fastest in LMP2 at 3:49.477, with Phil Bennett's Kruse Courage second in the class, Brabham's Aston Martin topped LMGT1 and Marc Lieb's Alex Job Porsche led LMGT2.

The Rollcentre Dallara in the No. 8 slot sent smoke from its exhaust during the session, and the team swapped its engine.

Who won the 2005 Le Mans 24 Hours?

The Champion Racing Audi of Lehto, Kristensen and Werner won the race. Pescarolo came second, two laps in arrears, and Champion's second car, driven by Biela, McNish and Pirro, was third. It was Audi's fifth victory since the 2000 race.

Werner won his first Le Mans race, Lehto his second, and Kristensen his seventh. The result also made Kristensen the outright leader of the all-time overall winners' list, ahead of Jacky Ickx.

Erdos, Newton and Hughes took LMP2 honours in the Ray Mallock MG-Lola. Ojjeh, Gosselin and Sharpe ended up second in their Courage, five laps adrift.

Corvette Racing won in LMGT1, with Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen holding a two-lap advantage over the sister entry driven by Fellows, Papis and O'Connell. It was Corvette's fourth class victory since its debut in 2001.

In LMGT2 the Alex Job Racing Porsche crewed by Hindery, Lieb and Rockenfeller led the class, ahead of the White Lightning Porsche of Jorg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Timo Bernhard.

What were the results at a glance?