Johnny Herbert and Jamie Davies won the inaugural Le Mans Endurance Series title in dramatic style at Spa-Francorchamps today.
The English pair needed an unlikely stroke of luck to keep Audi UK teammates Allan McNish and Pierre Kaffer from taking the crown.
Their prayers were answered early on when Kaffer clashed with backmarker Jonny Kane's TVR, causing his Veloqx-run Audi to burst into flames.
The young German limped back to the pits despite flames pouring from the back of his car, which had been badly damaged in the incident. Despite the best efforts of the Audi UK crew, the car was retired on the spot.
That opened the door for Herbert and Davies to cruise to victory, beating the Le Mans-winning Goh Audi of Seiji Ara and Rinaldo Capello by a lap of the long Ardennes track to claim their second win of the four-race season.
Today's disappointment compounds a difficult season for McNish, who was dropped as a Renault Formula One test driver last season.
Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolas Minassian saw their hopes hit today by an early accident but they recovered to bring their Zytek home third.
Herbert said: "This is my first championship success since winning the 1987 British Formula Three title so I'm delighted - I'd forgotten what it felt like."
Filed by Barry McEneaney
