Aston Martin suffered...

Aston Martin suffered last-minute heartbreak in its bid to win the GT1 class at Le Mans. The fast but fragile DBR9 led bitter US rival Corvette from the seventh hour. Then with less than three hours to the chequered flag, it needed to have its clutch changed.

But British fans could still cheer, as Chevrolet driver Oliver Gavin won his category, and finished fourth overall. It was his third straight class triumph, driving the US Corvette. “It’s a mad, mad race,” he said. “They pushed us all the way and had some misfortune but it’s a 24-hour race, not a 21-hour race, and that’s why we came through.”

Aston lost the lead at a similar point last year. Former GP driver Tomas Enge, whose DBR9 dropped six laps with oil reservoir problems in the opening hour, said: “We should have won with both cars easily, but these sort of things happen. It’s a very long race and one of the hardest of the year. We need to keep working, and next year come back to try to beat them at last.”