The lead Audi and Peugeot pack were never far apart. It appeared that while the Audi R18 could not run as far as the Peugeot on a tank of fuel, its tyres could last 4 stints, while the 908's could only last 3, a direct result of the low-drag design. All 4 cars were leapfrogging each other pitstop after pitstop. Calculations for the pitstop cycles indicated the advantage to Peugeot car #7, but this was negated when Alexander Wurz collided with the barriers at Indianapolis, dropping the #7 back 3 laps. After a close battle in the last few hours of the race, the fate of the race came down to the final pit stops. Andre Lotterer in the #2 R18 had a large enough lead that he was able to pit without losing track position to the Peugeots. The Audi had a 40-second lead after its penultimate pit stop, but started to develop a slow puncture. At what should have been the last pit stop for fuel, Audi was forced to change tyres as well, while Peugeot brought Simon Pagenaud's #9 car in for just fuel. The Audi #2 stop was longer but Lotterer nevertheless left the pit lane just seconds ahead of the Pagenaud's Peugeot. On fresh tyres, Lotterer was able to pull away gradually and crossed the finish line just 13.854 seconds ahead of Pagenaud. The final lap was the first full race speed final lap (as opposed to the traditional staged photo-finish) since that of the 1969 race, due to the small gap between the two lead cars, and the race was the 4th closest in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The traditional waving of the flags by the track marshals on the final lap was also altered due to the pace of the final laps, so the ceremony was not seen until the slow-down lap.