Le Mans 2013: Biggest Takeaways from 24-Hour Endurance Race

After one of the wildest 24 hours of Le Mans races in history, it was clear that the epic event featured plenty of winners and several marquee losers.

Both of the following teams either excelled or failed miserably at Circuit de la Sarthe, and each organization will have plenty to think about over the next year.

Team With Most Momentum Heading into 2014: Audi Sport Team Joest

The domination of the Audi’s at Le Mans continues, as the company won its 12th race in the last 14 years, led by the efforts of the No. 2, Audi Sport Joest Team and its Audi R18 e-tron Quattro.

With three stars behind the wheel—drivers Tom Kristensen, Loic Duval and Allan McNish—the team was able to complete a race-leading 348 laps before taking the overall victory.

The win marks the ninth title for Kristensen at a Le Mans event and McNish’s third overall title.

The No. 3 Audi Sport Team Joest piloted by Marc Gene, Luca di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis also finished third, giving the team another year of domination at Le Mans.

While next year will bring new teams and new challengers, Audio has the cars and the drivers to win once again in 2014.

Team With Most Work to Do Before 2014: Rebellion Racing

While Rebellion Racing came into the 24 Hours of Le Mans as one of the favorites to steal the show, the company’s two LMP1 Lola B12/60 cars performed terrible and ended up far off the pace of the rest of the cars in their class, finishing 40th and 41st.

The Rebellion Racing team runs Toyota RV8KLM 3.4L V8 motors, and while they were once the top of the line, the Toyota Racing team and its 3.4L V8 (Hybrid) proved it was the wave of the future, finishing second and fourth overall.

With some of the best drivers in the world behind the wheel of the cars and the 2011 LMP1 team title on Rebellion Racing's resume, the fact that the two cars finished so poorly was indicative of the issues with the team.

The organization will be working with ORECA to design its car in 2014, and the hope is that the shot of new life will invigorate the team.