Spa endurance race news - Roll on Le Mans - 2009

Peugeot laid down a marker for Le Mans with victory in the Spa 1,000km race yesterday, the final dress rehearsal before the big 24 hour battle on June 13.

The diesel 908 of Nic Minassian, Simon Pagenaud and Christian Klien took the chequered flag ahead of the leading LMP1 Pescarolo, with the 007 Aston Martin of Jan Charouz, Tomas Enge and Stefan Mücke finishing in third after starting from the back of the grid. Which is all the reason we need to show a photo of it.

So what does this mean for the big race in June? Well, the R15 Audis weren't racing in Spa, but don't forget that the Pugs were within spitting distance of the Audis in Sebring a couple of months ago, and the extra experience can't hurt.

Although the third placed Aston finished within a lap of the winning Peugeot, much of the race was run under the safety car, so the gap between the two teams might be rather wider. Both teams, however, declared themselves happy with their cars' reliability - big news for Peugeot especially, as it was only time spent in the pits that prevented the French team taking victory over Audi.

Still, if that old maxim about a good looking car being a fast car rings true, Top Gear is still backing Aston for victory in Le Mans. Anyone else with us?

Now watch Jeremy and the boys at the Britcar 24-hour endurance race: