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LE MANS, France -- Audi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the fourth straight year Sunday and dedicated its victory to Allan Simonsen of Denmark -- the first driver to die in the showcase endurance race since 1997. Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loic Duval of Audi No. 2 finished one lap ahead of Toyota No. 8 driven by Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Stephane Sarrazin. "This one is for Allan Simonsen," a tearful Kristensen said after taking the checkered flag. "A fantastic driver. This is for him." The 34-year-old Simonsen was taken to the hospital after his Aston Martin spun out at high speed Saturday only 10 minutes into the race. He skidded into the barrier at the Tertre Rouge corner, where cars typically reach speeds of up to 105 mph. Simonsen died at the hospital soon after arrival, organizers said. "Obviously, this horrible incident dampens the joy about another great Le Mans victory for Audi," Ullrich said on the teams website. "We were all completely shocked by the news of Allan Simonsens death. This is the first fatal accident weve had to witness in 15 Le Mans years. I hope itll remain the last." After Simonsens accident, Aston Martin Racing stayed in the race at the request of his family. Sebastien Enjolras lost his life during pre-qualifying at Le Mans in 1997. The last driver fatality during the race itself was Jo Gartner in 1986. The worst crash in Le Mans history occurred when Pierre Leveghs Mercedes flew into the crowd in 1955, killing more than 80 spectators. This was Duvals first victory at Le Mans but the third for McNish and the ninth for Kristensen, who extended his record for most titles by a driver. Audi earned its 12th title at Le Mans, four shy of Porsches record. The winning trio completed 348 laps in 24 hours on the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe. "It was a complicated race," Duval said. "Its a reminder that its a dangerous sport, even though we dont often think about it. It was very emotional. Tom lost his father in March and now hes losing a friend. Thats rough." Fifty-six cars started in the 81st edition of Le Mans, but 13 failed to finish and one car didnt complete a sufficient number of laps to be classified. In the 12th hour, but Canadian driver Tony Burgess managed to walk away from a crash. "The conditions were very tough," said Wolfgang Ullrich, head of Audi Motorsport. "We had to make the right decisions at the right time." At the wheel of Audi No. 3, Oliver Jarvis, Marc Gene and Lucas Di Grassi took third place, one lap off the pace. Although Audi was much quicker than its Japanese rival, Toyota hoped fuel consumption and tire management could be decisive. But the strategy was thwarted by the changing weather and numerous safety car periods. The safety car came out 11 times, holding up the race for more than five hours. Toyota now has four runner-up finishes at Le Mans but has never won. The only Japanese manufacturer to win was Mazda in 1991. Audi had the top three spots on the grid while Toyota started from fourth and fifth. Toyota briefly hit the front when the Audis pitted in the second hour. But the German manufacturer started dominating the race, regaining the top three spots in the third hour under pouring rain. However, speed is no guarantee of victory. Reliability matters just as much in a competition won by the team that completes the most laps in 24 hours, with up to three drivers alternating. Just when Audi looked irresistible on a track that was drying out, two of its cars faced reliability issues in the seventh hour. Benoit Treluyers Audi No. 1 was stuck in the garage for more than 40 minutes because of technical trouble to fall out of contention, finishing fifth. The Audi No. 3 driven by Jarvis had a puncture and later had his front bodywork changed. Jarvis Audi No. 3 overtook Nicolas Lapierres Toyota No. 7 in the 22nd hour to make the podium. In the next-to-last hour, Lapierre made a mistake, skidding off the slippery track at the Porsche curves to crash into the tire barrier. But Lapierre limped back into the garage and finished fourth. In the 12th hour, Burgess HVM Status GP No. 30 shattered into pieces in a crash. "It was obviously a great relief when we saw him walk away from the accident," HVM Status GP technical director Rob Arnott said. "Many of the components are completely destroyed but the safety cell and everything else stood up to the impact incredibly well and it all absorbed the impact." Martin Plowman, Ricardo Gonzalez and Bertrand Baguette finished seventh overall in Morgan-Nissan No. 35 but topped the LMP2 class. Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Romain Dumas won the GTE-Pro class in Porsche No. 92, while Raymond Narac, Christophe Bourret and Jean-Karl Vernay finished first in the GTE-Am category at the wheel of Porsche No. 76. Canadas Kuno Wittmer and his Viper team finished 32nd while Paul Dalla Lana and his Aston Martin team finished 48th. Ryan Anderson Jersey . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Jamaal Magloire Jersey . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. https://www.cheappelicans.com/775u-jaxson-hayes-jersey-pelicans.html . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Stitched Pelicans Jerseys . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Tyson Chandler Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Gold Coast coach Neil Henry is keeping an open mind on who the NRL clubs next captain will be but says a decision wont be made until the eve of next season.Henry is searching for a successor - or successors - to last seasons co-captains Nathan Friend and William Zillman.Star forward Ryan James is thought to be the leading contender to take the mantle from Friend, who has retired, and Zillman, who is coming off contract and struggled to crack Gold Coasts first-choice 17 at the back end of another injury-wrecked year.But at Tuesdays press conference, Henry rattled off six other possibilities from the top of his head - Chris McQueen, Zeb Taia, Ash Taylor, Kane Elgey, Tyrone Roberts and incoming recruit Kevin Proctor - and stressed he was in no hurry to make a call.Theres a few options there, he told reporters.Theres a bit of time to worry about that. Weve got a bit of a leadership group but Im not that fussed with rushing into making a decision.Itll only be before the season starts - maybe around the trial period, a few weeks out.The players will probably have some ideas about leadership within the organisation. Well consult themm, its not just a coachs decision, the players need to be comfortable that its the right person for the club.ddddddddddddHenry hasnt ruled out retaining a co-captaincy structure.If you go with a forward thats only on the field for 40 minutes, theres probably merit there. Youve got to nominate someone the referees have to talk to, he said.That needs to be thought of. Well wait and see.While perhaps something of a long shot to become skipper, Taylor will have a good opportunity to pick up a few leadership tips during next years Indigenous All Stars camp.The 21-year-old was selected at halfback alongside Johnathan Thurston at five-eighth for the February 10 clash with the World All Stars in Newcastle.JT, hes the best in the game, isnt he, Henry said.Its an exciting opportunity to play with players of that calibre.Ash will be looking forward to the whole experience - its a good community feel, they get out and do a lot of promotions, its a good week and a game thats played in the right spirits as well. ' ' '