So I watched the entire race, slept in until 4pm, and here I am.  Let me just say that although it sounds nuts it is definitely worth it to watch the whole thing, it is quite a race filled with many dramas if you watch and follow closely.  Now the inevitable truth:  Audi could not defend their winning streak this season.  I wanted them to win so bad, but it seems the odds were against them in many ways and it was just too much even for the dream team of TK, McNish,and Capello.  Firstly it seems the land of France itself was with Peugeot on this occasion as contrary to the popular saying it did not rain at Le Mans.  Anyone who watched the start of the race will know that the number 3 Audi with Alex Primat piloting went in the dirt on lap 3, the car survived only needing a new nose piece but was for all intensive purposes out of the race.  The number 2 Audi with Lucas Luhr inside went into the wall with much force before the sun went down, he thinks he made a mistake but nobody knows and drivers are often overly critical. So TK, McNish, and Capello pounded on in third place while the number 9 and 8 Peugeot took first and second respectively with Marc Gene and Sebastian Bourdais piloting at the finish.  So I have had a night of sleep to analyze what I have seen and the conclusion I have come to is this.  Audi entered the race with a brand new and almost untested car, making a first place finish a miracle to begin with.  The new rules state that you only get two 2 hour test sessions before Le Mans and on the first test day where many of the pilots got in the R15 for the first time it was rained out, this did not help obviously.  Another problem for Audi was the understeer that plagued them at the beginning portions of the race, this was mostly due to the little practice they had as it was obvious they had to dial the car in during the race.  Some tire pressure and suspension tweaks went by and the cars seemed dialed in but at what cost?  The number 3 was game over serving as a tuning testbed for the number 1 and and the number 1 was behind the leader by 2 or just over 3 laps at times.  I had the official online time board refreshing on my monitor while I watched on TV and TK and the other guys in the number 1 hauled ass during the most of the race setting blistering times with unhuman consistency but it would never be enough to gain back the lead.  I suppose with a few lucky breaks on the safety car periods and some good decisions on tires and such they might have been able to get 2nd place but it seems it just was not in the cards.  The sand and dirt on track was more prevalent than Audi thought and their new freeflow design lent itself to getting clogged up and this upped the charge temperatures which at times got hot enough to loose enough power that the R15 would have to go pit and get cleaned out with pressure washers.  So all these factors together made it virtually impossible for Audi to win at Le Mans but I am starting not to mind so much, the Peugeot guys deserve the win they got no doubt (even if they did need to borrow a grip of Formula drivers just to do it =p).  They had screens to collect the aggregate unlike Audi keeping their radiators and chargers cool and they had insane pit work; so insane sometimes I watched the number 9 car for what seemed like hours before it had to come in for fuel or tires.  From the beginning the Peugeot guys set an insane pace and they just didn't stop bringin the game, marks of champions no doubt.  So the hard lesson of Le Mans that so many other teams learn was relearned by Audi today: experience is everything.  The 908 was tried and tested while the R15 made its debut in not just looks but tuning as well, making it's podium appearance that much more impressive.  I have come to the conclusion that this was good thing for Audi; it was humbling and it creates opportunity for next year. Peugeot said they would drop out of Le Mans if they lost this race, so now Audi will have the opportunity of coming back to Le Mans with a tried and tested car and putting the hammer down on the only real competition they have.  See you next year at LE MANS!