Le Mans Test Day
Challenging Conditions Test Vitaphone Aston Martin
News from Stakka Racing
Photo © David Downes
LA SARTHE, France (June 2, 2008) — The three drivers in the Vitaphone Aston Martin DBR9 faced challenging conditions around the Le Mans circuit during Sunday’s official test for this year’s 24 Hours. Peter Hardman and Nick Leventis – team-mates with Strakka Racing – were joined by regular Vitaphone driver Brazilian Alexandre Negrao for the eight hour run, all but an hour of which was hampered by torrential rain and atrocious conditions.

As Le Mans “rookies”, the priority for all three drivers had been to complete their minimum run of ten laps of the 13.6 kilometre track, although in the case of both Peter Hardman and Nick Leventis, this was more of a familiarisation exercise. Hardman last raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours for Chamberlain in 1994, but has competed at the circuit almost every year since then in the Classic and Legends events. Leventis is also a regular competitor in the historic races, but had not previously raced a contemporary racecar around the full circuit. For Alexandre Negrao, better known as Xandi, the Circuit de la Sarthe was a completely new experience. Although a pace-setter in the FIA GT Championship, Xandi had never been to Le Mans before. “During the last few days we have been around the track on scooters, and using a road car, and I have been able to talk him through the corners,” said Peter Hardman. “He took everything on board very quickly.”

Sunday’s test started damp, and grew progressively wetter as the morning’s four-hour session developed. Peter Hardman fulfilled his mandatory ten lap requirement in less than ideal conditions, and by lunchtime both Leventis and Negrao were near to completing their runs despite the near-constant rain. During the lunch beak the skies cleared, and for the first half-hour of the afternoon period Xandi enjoyed the best of the day's conditions. “I only managed a few laps in the dry, but I was getting quicker and quicker each lap,” he said. His best, at 4:01.065, narrowly missed breaking the four-minute barrier, but was a promising beginning. “I still have a lot of improvement to make,” he added. “I know I’m a long way from my limit, but that will come with time.” Nick Leventis managed one out-lap and was starting his first flyer when a serious accident for one of the LMP1 Peugeots brought out the red flags, and by the time the session resumed, the rain had returned.

“All three drivers have completed their ten laps, and that’s the most important thing,” said Peter Hardman. “The conditions could not have been worse. You know, at all costs, that you mustn’t make a mistake. There’s no point in putting the car at risk, and a trip into the gravel can cost you two hours clearing out the undertray, but it was vital we got the laps in. I’m pleased that we completed our schedule and everything went to plan.”

Nick Leventis relished the experience. “For me personally, it’s great to be here and learning so much. The Aston is a lot quicker than anything I’ve ever driven round here before, but I’m only sorry I never managed a full dry lap. The good thing is, today has given me a fair idea of what we might face if it rains during the race. The car also feels very good, and we’re all working well together as a team,” he said. Peter Hardman agreed. “The communication is coming, and the team is starting to gel together nicely. It’s great to be working with such an experienced outfit.”

Negrao’s time - the only one set by the Vitaphone drivers on a dry track - positioned the Aston Martin eighth in GT1. “It’s OK, and we’re not far away from the pace, so I’m very happy with our performance for this first day,” he said afterwards. The team now has eight days before they return for official scrutineering on June 10th and the start of the Le Mans week.

Audi is set for 24 Hours of Le Mans
News from Audi Motorsports

INGOLSTAT/Le Mans (June 1, 2008) – All set for the "race of the year": covering a total of almost 2,600 kilometres on the only official test day, the Audi drivers prepared themselves for the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans to be staged on 14 and 15 June. The Audi R10 TDI vehicles completed the eight-hour test without the slightest technical problem.

As early as two weeks before the race, the sky above Le Mans provided a small foretaste of the uniqueness and unpredictability of this endurance classic: during the whole day, bright sunshine and summer temperatures alternated with heavy rain. At times, the drivers even reported that they had encountered hail on some of the sectors of the 13.629-kilometre circuit.

During each of the two four-hour practice sessions, Audi Sport Team Joest completely concentrated on finding a fast setup for the three Audi R10 TDI cars suiting all of the drivers equally well. The car of last year’s victors, Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner, completed various tests with the Michelin tyres. Car #2 driven by Dindo Capello, Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish tried out different aerodynamics versions, while car #3 with Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and local hero Alexandre Prémat at the wheel was to concentrate on long runs.

Although the weather conditions repeatedly affected the programmes planned for the vehicles, Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich provided a positive summary of the tests: "Today was a productive day of testing for us because we were able to work out results in highly varied conditions. This means we’ve already got a basic setup for the race weekend for any type of condition. Today, it was only possible to set really good times for half an hour, which showed us the capabilities of our rivals. At the same time, we continued working on our programmes as planned."

The official test day has a special significance for the teams. It is the only testing opportunity for the drivers and the "material" on the circuit, which partially consists of – normally public – secondary roads. While Alexandre Prémat had set the fastest time at Le Mans in the morning, Marco Werner, as the quickest Audi driver, was clocked at 3m 26.678s in the afternoon, in third place overall.

"Unfortunately, today wasn’t exactly the kind of day we’d been wishing for. Although in the rain and in changing conditions we were able to sort and try many things, we’d have preferred driving on a dry track for a longer period of time," said Marco Werner, who last won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times in a row. In view of the times set by the rivals Werner remained cool. "I think that the results we saw on the times monitor today do not truly reflect the situation yet. But, in any event, we’ve still got a lot of work to do during the race week."

On the test day at Le Mans, the V12 TDI engine of the Audi R10 used latest-generation Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel for the first time. The fuel, which is produced from biological waste materials, will make its worldwide racing début at the 24 Hours of Le Mans two weeks from now. For Audi Sport Team Joest, the race week at Le Mans will start as early as on Tuesday with Technical Scrutineering at the Place de Jacobins. After the two qualifying sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, the 76th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will start at 3 p.m. on 14 June.

Harold Primat: Le Mans 24 Hours Test Day Preview
News from Harold Primat Racing
LA SARTHE, France (May 29, 2008) — Ahead of the most important race of the year, the Le Mans 24 Hours, Harold Primat and Pescarolo Sport face a weekend of crucial work at the Official Test Day on Sunday 1 June. Geneva-based Primat and his regular Le Mans Series co-driver Christophe Tinseau, will be joined by Nissan works driver Benoit Treluyer at La Sarthe and the three will use their track time to re-acclimatise to the legendary 13.65km circuit and optimise their Pescarolo 01-Judd’s set up ahead of the race.

Harold on the Official Test Day – “It’s a very important day for both the drivers and the team. During the week of Le Mans, we don’t get any track time until qualifying on Wednesday, so the test day allows us to familiarise ourselves with the circuit once more and get the car ready in terms of set up. The atmosphere is a little different from a race weekend, a little bit more relaxed, but everyone is there to work hard and there is a lot to do. The track is open for eight hours on Sunday and we can’t afford to waste a single minute.”

…on the Test Day programme – “Usually what happens is that the most experienced driver goes out and does some basic set up work to start with. Then each driver will do five to eight laps just to get back into the rhythm of driving at La Sarthe. From that point on it’s all about set up work. Throughout the day we’ll try different set up options on the car to see if and how they improve our performance and work methodically through the job list.”

…on Benoit Treluyer – “I’m really happy Benoit is back in the car alongside Christophe and I. All three of us got on very well at Le Mans last year, and more importantly none of us made a mistake throughout the race. Benoit returned to Japan after Le Mans to continue racing in Formula Nippon and Super GTs, but we all stayed in touch and I know he’s been keeping an eye on how we’ve been doing. There is a great brotherhood between all the drivers at Pescarolo Sport; Romain Dumas, Manu Collard and Jean-Christophe Boullion in the #16 car and Christophe, Benoit and I in the #17 car. I really enjoy that atmosphere and we all work well together.”

The Le Mans 24 Hours Official Test Day takes place on Sunday 1 June with the race itself taking place on 14-15 June.

Le Mans 24 Hours – Provisional schedule

Sun 1 June – Official Test Day
Wed 11 June – Qualifying 1
Thu 12 June – Qualifying 2
Fri 13 June – Drivers’ parade
Sat 14 June – Le Mans 24 Hours
 

Le Mans Test Day

RML AD Group takes relaxed view to official Le Mans test
News from RML Ad Group Racing
LA SARTHE, France (June 2, 2008) — Appalling weather conditions and less than an hour’s dry running failed to dampen spirits within RML AD Group’s trio of drivers for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours during yesterday’s official test. A comprehensive shakedown at Rockingham in England a few days before the squad headed for France meant that it took just ten full laps of the 13.6 kilometre Sarthe circuit for the team to collect the necessary telemetry data ahead of qualifying for this year’s French classic.

“The main thing was to set a lap that was representative enough for us to use as a benchmark for developing our set-up for the race,” explained Thomas Erdos, who did all but one of the car’s laps on Sunday. “Assuming it’s going to be dry for the race, it would have been very disappointing not to have managed to collect some dry data to work from. We now know our gear ratios, the behaviour of the tyre compounds, and the effectiveness of our aero-package, and that will provide a great base from which to develop our set-up when we come back here for qualifying.” The conditions throughout the day ranged from merely damp through to torrential monsoon, and RML AD Group was not the only team to play the cautious card against the potential for disaster. Fortunately, the skies cleared just long enough during the lunch-break to permit a back-to-back run of five flying laps in the dry during the opening minutes of the afternoon session, and then the rains returned. The time of 3:44.678 set by Erdos during that brief window was sufficient to establish the team’s MG Lola EX265 as fifth quickest in LMP2. “In the current conditions, fifth is good,” said Erdos. “I’m happy with that.”

Including in- and out-laps, the MG completed just fifteen laps overall – one of the lowest figures of any team participating in the test. “In some senses, it’s been a frustrating day waiting for the narrow window of opportunity to get some representative dry-run data,” said Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport Director of AD Group. “We carried out the minimum running necessary but that was enough to establish that we already have a good set-up on the car. We can return next week and build upon that foundation in our usual methodical way. Today we felt that, with the inconsistent conditions that existed most of the day – neither fully wet nor dry – the risk to the car and drivers was too high when balanced against the usefulness of the data we’d have collected.” There were a number of significant incidents during the day, two of which have left the teams concerned with considerable re-building work ahead of scrutineering, which starts on June 9th.

With such restricted running, the squad’s two other drivers; Mike Newton and Andy Wallace, took no active part in the day’s proceedings. Mike Newton abandoned his one and only lap when conditions worsened significantly, and Andy Wallace never even sat in the car. They did not appear unduly disappointed. “The important objective was to collect the necessary data, and then ensure that the car sustained no damage at this late stage, so close to race week,” said Newton. “We achieved all that, and can now look forward to the race with some confidence.” Both he and Erdos, who co-drive the MG in the Le Mans Series, are delighted to welcome Andy Wallace back to their Le Mans squad for the third successive year – a view that Wallace reciprocates. "It's just so nice to be back with RML again," he insists. "The level of their work is so high, and it's a privilege to work with guys of this calibre.”

RML AD Group took the LMP2 class win at Le Mans in 2005 and 2006, but missed the hat-trick last year following a rare piston failure. The category has moved on since then, with new cars, teams and drivers adding to the intense competition, but the team is undaunted. “We already know that there are teams here that have an advantage in outright pace, but we have the expertise and the reliability to go the distance,” suggests Erdos. Wallace agrees. "Not being favourites to set the fastest time relieves some of the pressure," he says. "There's no expectation that we have to be out there at the sharp end, fighting for the lead. Instead we can concentrate on racing our own race, and let the others make mistakes.”

The race itself takes place on June 14th-15th.
 

Larbre Competition second quickest at Le Mans Test Day
News from Larbre Competition
LA SARTHE, France (June 1, 2008) — Larbre Competition showed the impressive pace of the Saleen S7R at the Le Mans Test Day, setting the second fastest GT1-class time to finish ahead of both works Corvettes and the #007 works Aston Martin.

Christophe Bouchut set the team’s fastest lap, a 3:55.383, during one of the few dry periods of the day, while Patrick Bornhauser and David Hallyday had consistent pace in the wet.

Despite showing impressive pace, the torrid weather throughout the eight-hour session badly disrupted the team’s programme, as Team Principal Jack Leconte explained: “It was a very difficult session because of the weather. We had a lot of heavy showers and that ruined our programme. We weren’t able to do the work we wanted to do on the balance, weight distribution and engine mapping. Also, we couldn’t give all three drivers time in the car in the dry to give them more experience driving the Saleen here at Le Mans.

“Having said that, our dry set up looks pretty good and we are in front of some of the factory cars. We didn’t push too much in the wet and the challenge for the race looks like switching between the wet and dry set ups. Larbre Competition has a lot of experience in that regard so maybe that will be our ace card for the race.”

Christophe Bouchut said: “We set a good time on medium tyres which were 10 laps old which is very encouraging and I was on a quicker lap, on a new set of tyres, when the Peugeot went off. This car has the potential to scare the works teams and challenge for pole position during qualifying for the race.”

Patrick Bornhauser said: “The car was reliable, had good grip and was very easy to drive and Christophe posted a really good time to highlight that fact. I had a short run in the dry and also did some runs in the wet to see how the car reacts here at Le Mans and everything was fine.”

David Hallyday said: “Overall it was a good day despite the peculiar weather! After lunch the track was so wet that it was dangerous to drive, so we spent an hour in the garage, before I went out on intermediates later in the afternoon. I only did eight laps, but the car felt good and was immediately quite quick, so I’m feeling pretty confident ahead of the race.”
 

Pescarolo Sport fastest petrol car after encouraging Le Mans Test Day
News from Harold Primat Racing
LA SARTHE, France (June 1, 2008) — The #17 Pescarolo 01-Judd of Harold Primat, Christophe Tinseau and Benoit Treluyer recorded the sixth fastest overall time and was the quickest petrol-powered car at a hugely encouraging Le Mans Test Day.

A time of 3:33.939, set by Tinseau early in the afternoon session, was 1.5 seconds ahead of team mates Jean-Christophe Boullion, Emmanuel Collard and Romain Dumas in the sister #16 car and also faster than one of the works diesel-powered Audis.

Tinseau did much of the running in the morning, on a damp but drying track following a downpour on Saturday, with Primat taking over after the first two hours. Most of the Geneva-based driver’s time in the car took place in wet conditions, as the heavens opened once more, but he posted consistent lap times throughout.

Primat’s time in the car was cut short after the session was red flagged following an off for the JMB Racing Ferrari 430 and, after a 50 minute delay, Treluyer took over to complete the morning session.

In the afternoon Tinseau was immediately quick on a dry track setting the third and fourth best times early on. The session was red flagged twice following big accidents for the #83 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 and the #7 LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi, and when the rain began once more, meaning no improvements were possible, the team decided not to return to the track, with the car sitting in a very respectable sixth.

All three drivers were delighted with their progress ahead of the race on June 14-15.

Primat said: “It’s great to be back at Le Mans, despite the weather! I was a bit unlucky and didn’t get any track time in the dry, but Christophe has done a great job improving the set up and coupled with the new aero package, we looked good all day. To be P4 in the morning session, P6 in the afternoon and the best petrol car all day is great news for us.”

Tinseau said: “The team is very happy with first and second in the petrol class. But we also did some crucial work in the short time the track was dry and have a very good base set up now. We still want to find a bit more mechanical grip, which I think we’ll do and I am confident we can go even quicker during the race week.”

Treluyer said: “The car is very stable out there and we tried the intermediate and were pretty close to the pace of Audis and Peugeots, which was a surprise. Our set up was similar to what our race set up will be, so we look in good shape.”

Team Principal Henri Pescarolo said: “It’s been a great day for Pescarolo Sport and for Harold, Christophe and Benoit. All three did a very good job today and to be the top petrol car, and so far ahead of the other petrol cars, is very encouraging.”
 

Larbre Competition set for Le Mans Test Day
News from Larbre Competition
LA SARTHE, France (May 30, 2008) — Larbre Competition is set for this weekend’s official Le Mans 24 Hours Official Test Day having confirmed its driver line up for the race.

The French squad has been granted an entry to the race for one of their Saleen S7Rs which will be piloted by sportscar star Christophe Bouchut and FFSA GT Championship front runners Patrick Bornhauser and David Hallyday.

Multiple FIA GT and Le Mans Series champion Bouchut, who took overall victory on his Le Mans debut with Peugeot in 1993, will race at La Sarthe with Larbre for a fourth time, having scored a memorable GT1 podium finish and taken pole position at last year’s race.

Bornhauser makes his third Le Mans 24 Hours appearance, all of them being with Larbre. The Frenchman, a four-time FFSA GT Champion, finished fifth in class in the team’s Aston Martin DBR9 in 2007. He has experience of the Saleen and, alongside co-driver Bouchut, leads the French GT championship this year and finished second in class with the team at the opening round of this season’s Le Mans Series in Barcelona.

Hallyday, son of legendary French pop star Johnny Hallyday, visits La Sarthe for the third time, but a first with Larbre. He is also currently racing the Saleen in the FFSA GT championship, where he is a former class champion, with the team, finishing second recently at Ledenon, and has Le Mans experience in a GT1 Corvette in 2007 and an LMP Courage C65 in 2003.

Team Principal Jack Leconte said: “Christophe and Patrick have both been very strong driving together took an excellent second place in their other international outing during the LMS at Barcelona. David has also got good experience of the car and although we will be facing a GT1 class full of strong opposition, we will do our best to compete against them.

“The Saleen has benefited from some important engine developments since last year and a lot of work to improve reliability. We’ve also have new exhausts and a new brake cooling system. After the weekend we’ll see exactly where we are in comparison to the manufacturer teams, always a good reference point in this business.”

The drivers now head to Le Mans this weekend for the Official Test Day where all three will get their first opportunity to drive the American-built, Ford-powered car at the legendary circuit.
 

Hezemans joins IPB Spartak Racing at Le Mans
By Marcel ten Caat ⋅
Photo © Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat
May 28, 2008 — Dutch newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad has revealed the full line-up of the IPB Spartak Racing Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT that will take part in the upcoming Le Mans 24 Hours. Regular drivers Roman Rusinov and Peter Kox will be joined by another experienced Dutchman, Mike Hezemans.

Both Dutch drivers have a long history in GT racing, both live in Eindhoven, The Netherlands and while the two are opponents in FIA GT, where Kox already races the Lamborghini, they have both competed for Reiter Engineering in the ADAC GT Masters series in a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3.

“I really like it”, Peter Kox told the newspaper earlier this week. “We know each other very well, but apart from that I am just happy to have Mike onboard. He has a lot of experience and knows the ‘format’ of the Le Mans 24 Hours. That is most important. Our aim is to finish the race and it is important that all drivers understand this. Mike knows these kinds of cars and circuits, he is a reliable driver.”

Hezemans told Eindhovens Dagblad that he was very happy with this deal after missing out on a Spyker seat. “Spyker has its own people and is complete. Then Peter called. He knows I like to race and that I can get the car to the finish. I am happy to get this opportunity.”

Kox and Rusinov know the car well from their Le Mans Series and FIA GT campaigns, for Mike Hezemans the Le Mans Test day, this weekend, will be the first possibility to test the car.