LE MANS, France — Peugeot held the top three spots after the first pit stops on Saturday at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's most famous endurance race.

Audi is seeking a fifth straight victory and kept the pressure on the French carmaker with two of its cars equaling the number of laps.

Peugeot No. 8, which started from the pole position on the grid and is driven by Pedro Lamy, had a lead of 2.056 seconds over Franck Montagny's Peugeot No. 9 after 17 laps.

Lamy, last year's runner-up, clocked the fastest lap in 3 minutes, 22.449 seconds on the 8.5-mile circuit. Nicolas Minassian was third in Peugeot No. 7, 21.628 seconds behind Montagny.

Peugeot was also fastest in qualifying, but the Audi drivers are hoping their cars have more endurance over the 24-hour race, which is won by the team that completes the most laps with up to three drivers alternating.

Minassian's co-driver, Jacques Villeneuve, is attempting to become the second driver after British-born Graham Hill to win the Triple Crown of auto racing. Villeneuve won the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 and the Formula One world championship in 1997, but had to retire at Le Mans last year because of an engine failure.

Allan McNish was in fourth in his Audi No. 2, more than a minute behind Lamy. McNish's co-driver, Tom Kristensen, is seeking a record eighth victory at Le Mans. Defending champion Frank Biela's Audi No. 1 was in fifth place, another 1:30 back.

A total of 55 cars started the 76th edition of the race, which will end Sunday afternoon.