24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Fifth Four Hours

By Kate Shaw

LA SARTHE, France (June 13, 2010) — No sooner had Hour 16 concluded with the thought that no drama was incipient, than within 30 seconds, two game-changing dramas occurred! Franck Montagny had brought the No. 2 Peugeot, which had been in the lead of the race since anybody can remember, in for routine service and taken it out on the track in the lead again – when suddenly a burst of flames erupted from the exhaust pipe of the car and it was obvious that the engine had grenaded. Seconds later the No. 63 Corvette pulled to the side of the road; an engine alarm had gone off and warned that unless shut down, it would follow the Peugeot into oblivion. Johnny O promptly shut off the engine and parked the car.

Timo Bernard moved the No. 9 Audi R15+ into P1 and No. 8 Audi moved into P2. For the first time in this race, Audi was in command.

Dr. Wolfgang Ulrich, who realized clearly that the race was far from over, spoke to his drivers and crews and told them to keep on working their plan, take no unnecessary chances, and remain calm.

In the Peugeot garage the disbelief was palpable. However, they still had two cars on track: the No. 1 Peugeot was three laps down, and the No. 4 Oreca Peugeot was still in the hunt. Time to redraw the plans.

One can only imagine the surprise of those who went to sleep believing that they knew how this race would end.

The No. 40 Ginetta Zytek went into the wall at Arnage, but was turned around by the marshals and continued on to the pits, where it likely would stay for some time getting repaired. Meanwhile the No. 76 Imsa Matmut Porsche pulled in with gearbox trouble and also settled in for serious repair. There had been 18 retirements by Hour 17. Last years race suffered 22 altogether.

Anthony Davidson apparently had not conceded anything; he put the hammer down in the No. 1 Peugeot and set out to make up the three laps he was down to the Audis, chiefly by making every lap a qualifying lap. Did he not realize that there were 6 hours and 30 minutes left in this race? This had to end in tears and it did: Davidson plowed down the inside of Emanuel Collard in the No. 64 Corvette, which had led the class, and wrecked him thoroughly. Now the question was whether Collard could get the car back to the pits – and he would be spreading oil all the way.

Collard did get the car back and the crew went to work, as the fourth full course yellow was deployed to clean up the debris and fluid from the track. This would not be a quick fix, but the Corvette team is legendary for their ability in the garage. When someone could be spared, perhaps the Peugeot garage should prepare to repel boarders….

At the 17th hour, overall and LMP1 No.9 Audi Sport North America LMP1 Audi R15 led No.8 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R15 by one lap, having completed 279 laps.

In LMP2 No.42 Strakka Racing LMP2 HPD ARX.01 led No.26 Highcroft Racing LMP2 HPD ARX.01 by just over 3 laps.

In LM GT1 No.50 Larbre Competition LMGT1 Saleen S7R led No.73 Luc Alphand Aventures LMGT1 Corvette C6.R by 2 laps.

In LM GT2 No.77 Team Felbermayr-Proton LMGT2 Porsche 911 GT3 inherited the lad from the No. 64 Corvette, which remained in the garage being worked on.

There were now 17 retirements.

In about 30 minutes the Corvette No. 64 was rebuilt, refurbished and back on the track. A couple of cautious out-laps and Corvette will be back in the fray. Unfortunately it was all for naught, as the car retired with a broken piston, just as the No. 63 had done. It was a valiant effort on the part of the team. Too bad it didn’t work out. Retirement No. 18.

The next drama was a sudden excursion down the escape road at Indianapolis by Fissichella in the No. 95 AF Corsa Ferrari which had been holding down second place in GT2. The car made it back to pit lane where it was pulled into the garage for evaluation. This has not been a good day for Ferrari. However, the damage could be cosmetic in nature; if so, the car could still finish the race, and it still had a lap and a half lead over the fourth place car in class.

The No. 73 Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6R of Jousse / Maassen / Goueslard officially retired with transmission failure; that made 19.

So as Hour 20 concluded, Audi No. 9 still led the race. Four hours to go. Stay tuned.
 

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Third Four Hours

By Kate Shaw

LA SARTHE, France (June 12, 2010) — As this stint opened, we were in Hour 9, and darkness had fallen like blackout curtains. For the most part the cars slowed down (relatively speaking) and in many cases held station through the darkest hours. The No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari has resumed the track after a 20 minute gear cluster change. This was good news for the team relatively speaking, as they had first thought it would take twice that long. Corvette was enjoying their first outing in GT2. Olivier Beretta from the leading GT2 Corvette No. 64 said: "This is a great category, Ferrari is very quick, but this is just the beginning - there is still 17 hours to go. We've got lots of experience - every year is new, but we have the experience. I have a very good Corvette and very good team-mates."

Unfortunately, the Risi Ferrari was forced to return to the garage as the problem reappeared as soon as the driver got the car back on the track. Back it went on the jackstand to see what happened next. Everything was changed again but the problem persisted.

The Drayson Racing Lola had been on a learning curve in the race; this was its first year at Le Mans, although Lord Drayson drove here last year in an Aston Martin DB9 Vantage. The coupe went into its pit at the thirty minute mark of this session, having a rear shock absorber change. It was being driven by Johnny Cocker when the problem developed.

The No. 12 Rebellion Racing Lola (which was Speedy Sebah last year and is still owned by them) which was being driven by Marco Andretti, pitted from 31st place with an oil leak. Marco insisted on driving at night to keep his body on USA time, which evoked echoes of his father in 1993 in some of us. Meanwhile on track, the No. 1 Peugeot driven by Marc Gene set another fastest lap as he tried to make up the time he had lost in the pits. Third place changed Audis as the No. 8 of Benoit Treluyer took over the position from the No. 9 of Timo Bernhard.

In came the No. 24 Oak Racing Pescarolo Judd without the left front quarter panel, having shed it somewhere between the Porsche Curves and the Ford Chicane. The crew pushed the car back into the garage to see what could be salvaged. The No. 60 Ford GT came in shortly thereafter with a lot of damage up the bootlid which indicated that perhaps the two had clashed somewhere out there. The No. 60 was leading in GT1 at the time. That brought out the Three Stooges, er, safety cars, because of all that trash on the track in the dark. Meanwhile the No. 82 Risi Ferrari slipped back into the garage to work on the gearbox problems yet again. It was now 13 laps behind and sinking fast.

At this point still Peugeot was in the lead, with Audi third through fifth; in P2 it was Strakka Racing No. 42 HPD in first, with Highcroft No. 26 in second; GT1 was now led by the No. 50 Larbre Saleen and GT2 was a Corvette 1 and 2.

The cars were circulating under yellow when the No. 13 Rebellion Racing Lola came flying through the Ford Chicane and spang into the wall. Jean-Christoph Boullion was behind the wheel, though, not Marco Andretti. No reason given so far. The car was too badly damaged to continue, and was retired.

The No. 60 Ford GT went back onto the track after an extensive rebuild, looking fit and fast, but no longer in the lead in class of course. No. 50 Larbre Competition Saleen now led GT1 by 2 laps from No. 73 Corvette but was 3 laps behind the GT2 leader No. 64 Corvette.

After 10 Hours positions were: Overall and LMP1 No. 2 Peugeot led No. 4 Peugeot by about 1m30s, having completed 162 laps; ILMP2 No. 42 Strakka Racing LMP2 HPD ARX.01 led No. 26 Highcroft Racing LMP2 HPD ARX.01 by just over 2 laps; LM GT1 No. 50 Larbre Competition LMGT1 Saleen S7R led No. 73 Luc Alphand Aventures LMGT1 Corvette C6.R by 3 laps; and LM GT2 No. 64 Corvette led No. 63 Corvette by a lap.

There were 12 retirements. Make that 13, as the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari joined the also-rans. Giuseppe Risi opined that he was not there just to run around the track trying to find out what was wrong with his car; it was better to retire and wait for better days.

The next sound we heard was a splintering crash as Antony Davidson in the No. 1 Peugeot had a collision with Jean Alesi in the No. 95 AF Corse Ferrari and spun off at the Dunlop Curve. Both cars survived but Davidson’s temper was further exacerbated.

At Hour 11, overall and LMP1 No. 2 Peugeot led No. 4 Peugeot by about a minute and a half, having completed 162 laps, followed by three Audis 1, 2 and 3 laps behind.

In LMP2 No. 42 Strakka Racing LMP2 HPD ARX.01 led No. 26 Highcroft Racing LMP2 HPD ARX.01 by just over 3 laps.

In LM GT1 No. 50 Larbre Competition LMGT1 Saleen S7R led No. 73 Luc Alphand Aventures LMGT1 Corvette C6.R by 30 laps.

In LM GT2 No. 64 Corvette leads No. 63 Corvette by a lap.

After 11 hours there were 14 retirements.

The clock continues to tick toward the halfway point, and at Le Mans it is the watches of the night. The drivers can smell the campfires and the cooking of midnight snacks, and the few people in the grandstands are frequently asleep – or sitting across from the pitlane watching countless dramatic scenes presented for their approval. A driver once told me that the difference between the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans was that in the former, when the sun came up the race was nearly over.

As the race reached the halfway point, the No. 3 Oreca Peugeot popped a driveshaft and went into the garage, promoting the No. 9 Audi R15 Plus into P2 overall.

12 hours gone. 12 hours to go. Stay tuned. Back in 4 hours.
 

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: The First Four Hours

By Kate Shaw

LA SARTHE, France (June 12, 2010) – Welcome to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2010 edition, on RFM Sports. We will be here for the whole race, with reports every 4 hours, as broadcast and radio allow, and invite you to check in frequently to see the story unfold. The rain has ceased and reports are that we will have a dry race. Having attended the very wet 2001 race, we are glad for those lucky people who are attending this year.

Everyone got off the line safely, and Allan McNish in the No. 1 Audi, who started fifth today behind four Peugeots, gave warning of his determination in his usual way, by swarming up the bootlid of the Oreca Peugeot as soon as he could get his tires warmed up. Naturally you cannot win a 24 hour race in the first hour, but McNish was making his presence known. Pedro Lamy was in the lead in the No. 3 Peugeot.

The first casualty of the race may be the No. 19 Autocon, one of the American Le Mans Series entrants, as he pulled to the side of the road reporting gearbox issues. What a way to start a 24 hour race. We hope he will get moving again and be able to return to the pits, as no car can be worked on save by the driver until it is in its pits. After hard work in the garage, though, it was determined that the car could not be repaired and Autocon started packing up, their race at an end before it had really begun.

There was no change in P2; the three HPD (Acura) Hondas were still in the lead with Strakka Racing, the No. 42, maintaining its pole position in class and No. 26 Highcroft Racing (another ALMS contender) under the command of David Brabham, holding on to P2 in class.

Meanwhile in GT2, the American Le Mans Corvettes, 64 and 63 respectively, continued to lead the way, after the No. 82 Risi Ferrari was sent to the back after tech yesterday. This is Corvettes first year of competition in GT2 and already they are showing they still have it. The Risi Ferrari picked up 8 positions in the first 4 laps, but it still had a long way to go. The Flying Lizards suffered a flat tire on the parade lap after running over a screw (insert your own joke here), so they too started the race in a hole. Good thing it’s a long race.
Another yellow flag as Nigel Mansell spun the No. 5 Beechdean Mansell LMP1 Ginetta Zytek on Lap 5 on the run to Indianapolis Corner due to a left rear puncture. The No. 25 RML Lola came in for fuel and tires, and so did the Aston Martin, both losing a lap due to new safety car regulations. Mansell finally exited the car and was put in the ambulance, and as his car was towed away, the No. 5s day was done. There was a lot of damage to the guard rails on both sides of the track, so it must have been a heck of a hit. Mansell was released from the medical centre and was okay having suffered only a bump on the head, but Leo and Greg would not get to drive this time.

After contact with OAK Racing prototype No. 24 when passing it, Soheil Ayari's Oreca AIM hit a cone and has to go back to the pits. The cone was stuck in the radiator, but apparently the car has not been damaged and it is now back on track.

While this continues, the No. 75 Jaguar RSR headed for the pits with problems continuing with their engine, specifically a failure of the ECU. The car had been fighting electronic gremlins all the time they have been at La Sarthe, and has not done a full lap at speed. They spent over an hour in the pits, and it looks as if they too are done for the race. Not a good day for ALMS cars so far!

By the time the multiple safety cars got out of the way, the Audis had lost nearly a minute to the Peugeots. This is a new system for 2010 and one suspects it will not be back in 2011…. "It's a part of the game and everybody has to cope with it," said Wolfgang Ulrich, director of Audi Sport. "There was a big discussion about (the three safety cars). If the ACO decides that this is the way it will work, everybody will have to cope with it."

Franck Montagny in No. 2 Peugeot has set the fastest lap so far of 3:21.523 almost 3 seconds quicker than last years best race time. The fastest race lap on the circuit in its present form was set by Stephane Sarrazin in 2008 with a time of 3:19.394. In the P2 class, Strakka Racing (No. 42) has set the fastest lap, and in the GT1 and GT2 classes the fastest laps have been set by Corvettes.

Another yellow flag as the BMW Art Car developed problems underneath the car and began its crawl back to the pits. It was discovered that the problem was with the undertray. Meanwhile the No. 70 Ford GT40 of Bas Leinders hit the barriers at the Dunlop Esses and disarranged the tire wall; it was finally retired with suspension damage. The BMW was discovered to have extensive suspension problems and was wheeled into the garage. At the two-hour mark this has already been an eventful race.

At the two hour mark, as everyone heads for the pits, the four Peugeots still lead, followed by the three Audis. The positions at the end of the 2nd hour were: LMP1 Peugeot No. 2 led from Peugeot No. 3 by 4.5 seconds; LMP2 HPD No. 42 led from No. 28 HPD by 4 seconds; GT1 Ford No. 60 led from No. 73 Corvette by 11 seconds; and GT2 Corvette No. 64 led from No. 63 Corvette by 21 seconds

The No.3 Peugeot of Pedro Lamy began to spew black smoke; possibly a tire was down. Lamy didn’t slow down much on the way back to the pitlane, and the nose of the car dug a black mark into the track as it went along. That no doubt would make Audi breathe a little more easily! The Peugeot garage prepared for its arrival straight into the garage for repair, and the French mechanics upon seeing the condition of the car, began flinging their headsets about – obviously not amused. The pole-winning Peugeot is covered and sits alone, and was retired with suspension damage that could not be repaired.

While they were doing that, the Audis came in for service and a look-over for any sign of tire failure. There had been a lot of tire failure throughout the field and Audi wished to overlook nothing. Tom Kristensen took over the No. 1 Audi and promptly passed teammate Romain Dumas for fourth place, his sights on the trio of Peugeots and on extending his race-winning streak.
Despite all the drama on the track, Risi Competizione, which you will remember had to start from the rear of the grid, has worked its way up to P3 in class. Obviously there is a good reason this car has won the class two years in a row.

As the third hour progressed, it seemed that the drama may have ended for the present. Which is a good thing, as at this rate nobody would be running by midnight. Yes, the No. 28 Radical and Tracy Krohn’s No. 83 Ferrari (he is the green one) had a brief coming together and the Radical ended up in the gravel – again – this time at Indianapolis; and the No. 38 Norma and my personal favourite, the No. 85 Spyker Squadron car driven by Peter Dumbreck had a coming together at the Porsche Curves which left the Norma with suspension damage. But neither of these brought out flags and most of the cars escaped serious damage. Five of the 56 cars have already officially retired from the race.
The storybook read a little better in GT2, where the Risi Competizione Ferrari (the red one) completed its run from last on the grid to first in class; it was getting better fuel mileage than the Corvettes, which helped keep Bruni ahead of his ALMS rivals.

Pit stops came up again and Marco Werner, late of Audi, jumped into the No. 26 Highcroft Racing HRT for the first time – he stalled but quickly got underway and out onto the track again. The BMW *art* car (which looks like a Jackson Pollock nightmare) also came in and went out without incident. But as the No. 9 Audi came in for its pit stop, Roman Dumas hit a member of the SPEED TV camera crew and knocked its mirror off the car. We heard he has an injured shoulder, and will update you as we get the information.

So at the end of the first 4 hours, the Peugeots still lead the way. Overall and in LMP1 Peugeot No. 1 led Peugeot No. 2 by 54 seconds; LMP2 Strakka Racing HPD No. 42 led HPD No. 26 Highcroft Racing by 50 seconds; GT1 Ferrari No. 60 led Corvette No. 73 by 5 seconds, and In GT2 Risi Ferrari No. 82 led Corvette No. 64 by 7 seconds.
See you again in 4 hours.
 

RML on Qualifying “Podium” at Le Mans
News from RML Ad Group
LA SARTHE, France (June 11, 2010) —RML AD Group’s Lola B09/83 HPD will start from third in LMP2 for this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours, making it a clean sweep of the qualifying “podium” for Honda Performance Development. Having worked assiduously with the engineers to perfect a race set-up for the car, Brazilian Thomas Erdos came through with a best of 3:39.648 to secure the team’s best grid position since he took pole in 2006.

The priority for the team had been to develop the best possible set-up for the No. 25 Lola, and then ensure that all three drivers; Mike Newton, Andy Wallace and Tommy Erdos had achieved their personal qualification requirements for the race. Not until the start of the third and final session was Tommy given the green light to go for a quick lap. It was a frenetic period, as teams throughout the 55-car field vied for clear track, all recognising that the conditions would never be better. Having sat fifth in class for most of the previous three sessions, Erdos swept through to secure third. The two HPDs also went quicker than they’d done before, with Danny Watts (Strakka Racing No. 42, 3:33.079) taking pole from David Brabham (Highcroft Racing No. 26, 3:34.537) by a second and a half.

“There’s no way we could have challenged a thirty-three, but I’m certain there was more to find, given a clear lap,” said Erdos. “Maybe we could have done a low thirty-seven, but the traffic was just too unpredictable, and we weren’t out there to take risks. Even so, it’s great to be P3 here at Le Mans. The whole team has worked hard for this for the last six months or more, and after all the disappointments of last year, this is the kind of reward they deserve.”

A smile has been spreading steadily across team manager Phil Barker’s face since the first podium at Paul Ricard in April, and now it was broader still. “This has been a good day’s work, and I’m very happy with the way things have developed,” he said. “Critically, we have an excellent race set-up now. We ran in full race trim tonight, and all the drivers have said how very happy they are with the way the car is performing. Given that they’ll be spending twenty-four hours in that cockpit from Saturday, that’s a great position to be in.”

“I’m really comfortable with the car,” confirmed Andy Wallace, here at Le Mans for his 21st start in the 24 Hours. “As usual, the guys at RML have done a terrific job of setting up and preparing an excellent racecar. We knew the HPDs were always going to be quick, and third was probably as good as it was likely to get for us in qualifying, so we’re exactly where we expected – or hoped - to be. We now know what we face, and on likely race pace, I think we’re in a very strong position.”

Mike Newton had a frustrating evening, being pitched into a spin through the Esses by one of the works Audis, and then finding a slippery patch into the Ford Chicane. “I was just caught out by the damp and bounced across the gravel. The session was almost over anyway, so I decided to press on and head for the pitlane. I was two seconds up on my previous lap, but I’d done my required laps in the dark, and the basic pace was there, so I was happy to get back to the garage, no foul, no harm done.”

“That was a brilliant lap from Tommy,” declared Pauline Norstrom, Marketing and Motorsport Director at AD Group. “We recognised the enormous challenge we faced in chasing the HPDs, so we’re delighted to be third in the field. The engine performance has been impressive and a very pleasant change for us after the difficulties of 2009. There’s an air of optimism in the team now, and getting podiums at Paul Ricard and Spa has been a huge confidence boost for everyone. The performance from all three drivers has been very encouraging, and they’ve kept enough in reserve for us to feel that we have excellent prospects for the race this weekend.”

The team will be completing their preparations for the race today. “It will be a sensible day for us, with no issues to concern us,” said Phil Barker. “There’s a new race engine and gearbox to fit, fresh suspension, and a full Monty rebuild, but without the pressure of any unaddressed problems it should be fairly relaxed.”
 

OAK Racing in contention as Le Mans qualifying concludes
News from OAK Racing Team Mazda France
LA SARTHE, France (June 11, 2010) — OAK Racing Team Mazda France will line up 5th and 8th on the LMP2 grid for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours following two rain-interrupted final qualifying sessions on Thursday evening.

Heavy rain fell ahead of the day’s first session and even though times tumbled dramatically throughout as the track dried, neither the No. 35 Pescarolo-Judd of Matthieu Lahaye, Guillaume Moreau and Jan Charouz, or the sister No. 24 car driven by Jacques Nicolet, Richard Hein and Jean-François Yvon could improve on Wednesday’s provisional best laps.

Indeed, it took nearly 30 minutes of night-time running in the third and final session before either crew bettered their own benchmarks, Lahaye setting a 3m41.310s and Hein a 3m52.008s which could have been quicker had he not encountered traffic.

A sprinkling of rain soon after put paid to further quick-fire runs. Unfortunately, an electrical fault for the No. 24 Pescarolo forced Yvon to stop out on track with 40 minutes of the session remaining, his crew’s work over for the evening.

OAK Racing’s approach throughout all three qualifying sessions has been to find an optimum race set-up instead of one-lap supremacy, a strategy that has yielded consecutive podium finishes at the world’s toughest endurance race over the past two years. Despite this, Team Manager Francois Sicard was pleased with the car’s raw pace in comparison to their rivals.

Francois Sicard, Team Manager: “The track was much better at the start of the second session so we sent Richard out with new tyres and he would have improved further had he not been blocked. We were hoping for a lap below 3m50s but had to make do with a 3m52s. Traffic is an integral part of Le Mans though.

“On the No. 35 car we had some small telemetry problems which cost us a bit of time in the first session. Then, at the start of the second, we sent Matthieu out on new tyres and he managed a great time. On his second run the rain began to fall which made the section from Dunlop Bridge to Tertre Rouge very slippery. I’m sure without that we could have beaten the Zytek and been the first non-HPD entry. I’m happy we showed we were competitive even though the start isn’t that important at Le Mans.

“Guillaume is feeling much better and full of enthusiasm after suffering from the flu yesterday. Jan also did a great job and has integrated himself well in the team. He is very quick and helps form a formidable trio.”

Matthieu Lahaye: “I am happy as we improved the lap time by one second tonight and managed to get ahead of Olivier Pla in the Quifel ASM Zytek before he set a better time. I was getting ready for the second set of tyres but it started to rain in the first sector so we could not improve. It isn’t super important but it would have been great to out-qualify the Zytek and be the first non-HPD car. We know what we have to do and will maintain our rhythm in the race. We will be right there if our rivals hit trouble and have a great chance to score a strong result. I can’t wait for Sunday night.”

Richard Hein: “I was waiting to take over from Jean-François and go out with another set of qualifying tyres to set a fast time when the car failed to make it back. I only completed three laps at the beginning and the plan was to do further running at the end in an effort to improve the time. It’s not that bad as the race is very long but I felt capable of going quicker. But it’s better to have this sort of problem now than during the race. It looks like a general electric failure which has never happened in three years.”

Although the team will not hit the track again until Saturday’s morning warm-up, all six drivers will be present in Le Mans’ town centre today for the traditional Drivers Parade.
 

OAK Racing in the hunt after opening day’s play
News from OAK Racing Team Mazda France
LA SARTHE, France (June 10, 2010) — OAK Racing Team Mazda France’s quest for a third consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours podium kicked off at La Sarthe yesterday where the team got its first taste of this year’s twice-round-the-clock enduro.

The squad, currently in fine form coming off the back of successive podiums in this season’s opening two Le Mans Series rounds, ended last night’s first two-hour qualifying session fourth and seventh in the LMP2 class.

In a multiple red-flag interrupted session, the No. 35 Pescarolo Judd of Guillaume Moreau, Matthieu Lahaye and Jan Charouz did well to post their best time early on when the track was at its quietest. Indeed, Lahaye’s 3m42.399s personal best was just 0.4sec shy of reigning LMS champions Quifel-ASM and over two seconds faster than the much fancied HPD-powered RML squad.

Meanwhile, the No. 24 entry of Jacques Nicolet, Richard Hein and Jean-Francois Yvon also enjoyed a trouble-free session, each completing the three mandatory night laps required by all drivers hoping to contest this weekend’s race.

Times and positions remain provisional at this stage thanks to the two remaining sessions this evening which, weather permitting, could alter Saturday’s grid. Regardless of conditions however, the team will continue to focus solely on developing a strong race set-up beneficial over 24 hours instead of an ultimate qualifying pace.

Francois Sicard, Team Manager: “Last night was a good session because the two cars completed nearly 800km each. As it was dry, and not wet as expected, we were able to gather a lot of data. The drivers enjoyed it too but we have a straight-line speed deficit compared to the HPD cars which is crucial at Le Mans. We knew they would be quick and that was confirmed. Overall the cars worked very well, although there’s a small worry for Guillaume who has the flu. We lightened his workload, got the night qualifying laps completed and sent him back to bed. There’s another two sessions today when we’ll work on reducing drag, but our development will still be aimed at finding the optimum race set-up, not qualifying trim.”

Matthieu Lahaye: “I’m very happy with the way last night went. The basic set-up was good and we only need to fine-tune the aero settings to improve our straight line performance. The weather was also helpful; we completed a lot of dry mileage even though the forecast was for wet running. The early indications suggest that we’ve made a lot of progress since last season.”

Jan Charouz: “The car and team are great. The first session went well but we’re definitely a bit down on power compared to the HPD runners who were very strong. It’s a little bit different to the single seaters I’ve been driving so far this season but I think it’s easier this way round than vice versa.”

Jacques Nicolet: “I’m very happy with the car’s balance and performance and would like to thank the team as it’s exactly the car we need at Le Mans; efficient and comfortable to drive. Like a lot of drivers, I didn’t do as many laps as I wanted due to red flags but there’s another four hours of running today so there’s plenty more opportunity.”

Richard Hein: “The circuit is as fabulous as ever! When you first come out of the pits you don’t remember how good it is. I didn’t get much time during practice due to the red flags but at least completed my mandatory qualifying laps. Obviously I’d have liked a few more but it was important to boost Jean-Francois’ running. Apart from that, everything is perfect.”

Jean-Francois Yvon: “I was a bit concerned at the beginning because I got a lot of pick-up on the tyres and found the car difficult to drive as it was sliding. Then, at night, the team gave me a different set and the car was perfect so I could settle in.”

Qualifying two gets underway at 7pm local time today before a final chance to improve comes at 10pm.
 

Audi R15 TDI attracts great interest
News from Audi Motorsport

INGOLSTADT/LE MANS (June 8, 2010) - Audi Sport Team Joest has successfully taken the first formal hurdle at the 78th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours: all three Audi R15 TDI cars passed the Technical Scrutineering at the Place des Jacobins in the center of the Western French city in front of thousands of spectators without any problems.

"It’s great that so many fans turned out for the Technical Scrutineering on a normal workday," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "This shows the enormous enthusiasm for the race at Le Mans."

Audi has been contesting the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1999 and uses the world’s most important endurance race to test technological innovations. With a track record of eight victories, the brand with the four rings is the most successful automobile manufacturer in recent Le Mans history.

This year Audi aims to equalize its ranking in the race’s honor roll with Ferrari and to celebrate its ninth victory. Only Porsche’s track record reflects more exploits. "We’ve done everything that’s necessary to come well prepared to Le Mans," says Dr. Ullrich. "The squad is motivated and, unlike last year, well rested too. And we’ve got three strong driver teams all of whom are capable of clinching victory."

On Monday, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish were yet again the drivers to grant most of the wishes for autographs at the Place des Jacobins. In 2008, they had secured Audi’s last victory at Le Mans to date in the Audi R10 TDI. But Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Mike Rockenfeller and Benoît Treluyer, as well, were surrounded by fans and media representatives.

The three Audi R15 TDI cars will have their first outing on the track in free practice on Wednesday starting at 4 p.m. The first qualifying session will be on the agenda afterwards. "But we’ll probably only know where we really stand compared with our rivals after the first hour of the race on Saturday," believes Audi "factory" driver Allan McNish.

For the two practice days, rainy weather has been predicted at Le Mans. Weather conditions are expected to improve again for the race.

24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Final Four Hours

By Kate Shaw

LA SARTHE, France (June 13, 2010) — As the final stretch began, Vanina Ickx driving the 008 went into the barriers at the Playstation chicane. The tractor pulled the car out of the wall, and inexplicably let the driver attempt to drive it back to the pitlane. Once they got it back to the garage, the door was closed indicating official retirement. The No. 26 Highcroft Racing Acura began to lose water, and the car was pulled into the garage twice to see if anything could be done, but the car continued to overheat.

Meanwhile, Anthony Davidson continued to drive like a madman, running up the curbs and driving over other cars. Finally he bounced over the curbs and into the dirt as he made his way into the pits and mercifully got out of the car, handing it over to Alex Wurz. Davidson headed right to the back of the garage, avoiding all media, but later appeared to arrogantly and profanely blame the whole Corvette Contretemps on Corvette.

The No. 69 JLOC Lamborghini retired with gearbox failure after completing 138 laps, which is 137 more than last year. This is the 22nd retirement of the race, and now equals the number of retirements for the entire 2009 race. There are still 3 hours to go in 2010.

There are only 2 cars on the lead lap and both of them are Audis.

Events went calmly for some time. The No. 15 Kolles Audi R10 speared into the wall at Indianapolis but was towed out and got under way again. And then Andre Lotterer threw the No. 8 Audi R15 off the road and damaged the nose. This required a quick trip back to the pitlane and a new nose and tires, and all the time Alex Wurz was doing amazing lap times and catching up hand over fist. Although Wurz was not driving like a madman as Anthony Davidson did, he was still quick and Lotterer stayed ahead. It was not hard to see that this would not last long, and it didn’t. Wurz passed the No. 8 and set sail for the No. 9. Mathematics showed that in order to catch him, Wurz would have to do 4 seconds a lap faster from here to the end, provided Rockenfeller made no errors. It seems like a long shot. But stay tuned.

The No. 26 Highcroft Acura was finally wheeled back out onto the pitlane and Marino Franchitti took it onto the track. The plan was for him to do 10 laps and then come in to see what the water level was like, provided nothing happened before 10 laps were up. The car had dropped back to 7th in class due to the long sojourn in the garage. Marino successfully completed those laps and went back to the garage, not looking very happy.

Two hours and thirty minutes to go. The No. 15 Kolles Audi went off the track again, and again the tractor team towed them out and headed them back in the right direction. From every direction the fans who camped at the track began to trudge up to the front straight and take grandstand seats next to those who slept all night in the grandstands across from the pits, or stake out space in the general admission area behind the fences. The weather was beautiful although in the mid fifties (not warm enough to camp, really, but most people do.) And the Peugeot continued to drive all out, as hard as it could go, and try not to think about what happened to Montagny when he did that. If Wurz continued to push, it was thought he would regain the lead lap in 30 minutes and then it would be a race to see if he could catch up again and pass Rockenfeller for the win. Catching is one thing, as Murray Walker always said, and passing him is another. And of course it would depend on who takes both cars to the end.

But alas, it was not to be.

Just as Wurz passed Rockenfeller to get on the lead lap, that ominous cloud of smoke poured out the exhaust pipe just as it had done before Montagny’s engine caught fire. Wurz got the car back to the pits, where it was wheeled into the garage. It wasn’t long until the floor of the garage was carpeted with oil as the engine completely let go. Last year this car with Gene, Wurz and Brabham on board led the last 15 hours of the race to decisively win over Audi. This year, well, there will be much analysis of what went wrong, or who did what, or where the weakness lay. But one thing is for sure. That was the end of the Peugeots for 2010. And it would not be long until the track once again hosted an Audi one-two-three.

The race still had two hours to go, but just like last year, it would be an anticlimactic given.

The No. 1 Peugeot was officially retired at 1:09 local time, and so was the No. 73 Corvette of Luke Alphand Aventure. That brought the number of retirements up to 25, which is 3 more than last year, with two hours and change left to go.

But wait! There was one hope left for Peugeot – the No. 4 Oreca Peugeot, which was catching the No. 7 Audi of Capello and soon would have passed him to take third place on the podium. But when it came in for its final pit stop, the last Peugeot erupted in smoke and flames as it followed its sisters into the boneyard. The drivers pushed their cars to the limit – and three of them beyond. The cars had not had a single engine expiration in testing at any length. Said Allan McNish, “The race came down to reliability. We've all won it (Peugeot, Oreca and Audi), so I know the highs and lows. I feel very sorry for Oreca but also somewhat relieved, as it takes pressure off our car."

Well, that was that. Now with one hour and ten minutes to go, it was a matter of seeing what the Audi cars would do.

And that was Retirement No. 26.

In a race dominated by engine blow ups the 009 Aston Martin was the latest to bite the dust with 54 minutes to go, Sam Hancock was driving.

28 cars were still running out of 56 who started practice/qualifying on Wednesday, so the best we could hope for this afternoon would be a 50% finishing rate.

Fifteen minutes to go. Highcroft Racing No. 26, the ALMS Champions, having done enough laps to be classified but having a major problem with the car, put Marino Franchitti in the car to wait for the final lap and then go out to cross the line. The No. 11 Drayson Lola won't complete enough laps (70% of the winners) to be classified at the end of the race. Neither will the No. 85 Spyker.

LMP2 winners are Strakka Racing, who drove like bats for 24 hours and never suffered a problem. GT1 winners are the No. 50 Larbre Saleen, a ten year old car that’s just as beautiful now as it was then. And winners in GT2, the last men standing, Team Felbermayr Proton, starring Wolf Henzler.

And the winners and still Champions: Audi R15+ Nos. 9, 8 and 7.

And that’s the way it is at the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
 

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Fourth Four Hours

By Kate Shaw

LA SARTHE, France (June 12, 2010) — As we began the fourth stint, it was just after 3:00 a.m. in France, which meant that it was about 90 minutes until daylight began again and everyone got his second wind except Vanina Ikyx, who got HER second wind. The No. 4 Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot which had come in for a new driveshaft just at the end of the last stint was quickly back on the track but now a lap down to the No. 9 Audi who had moved up to take up position 2, and the No. 8 Audi in third position behind the No. 2 Peugeot who still led the pack. Otherwise everything and everyone remained in position.

A local yellow flag came out for the No. 12 Rebellion Lola which had a close encounter with a wall; rumour hath it (well, the graphic did, but timing and scoring disagreed) that Marco Andretti was behind the wheel when this event happened. It was the middle of the night and no one seemed quite sure what had happened or who was behind the wheel. Another car was seen departing the scene accompanied by a tractor, but no one seems to know anything at all about what was up with that. The upshot was that the No. 12 Rebellion Lola retired. Meanwhile, the No. 11 Drayson Racing Lola was back in its pit having a fuel pressure regulator changed.

Two of the three BMWs have retired. Team Schnitzler, who is running these cars which are brand new, believes that if one of the three finishes, that will be a victory. At the rate the cars are dropping out, anybody who finishes ought to get a prize.

The No.60 GT40 came in for a routine service stop and would not start again; it was wheeled back into the garage to be coaxed, giving up P3. After all the work that was done to rebuild it after the 24 made a mess of it, electronic gremlins seemed most unfair. The gremlins won, and the car was retired. Shortly thereafter, the No. 14 Kolles Audi R10 retired too, bringing the total of retired cars up to 16.

More and more drivers were exiting from their cars looking dilapidated and scrubby, but most of them still sounded rational and coherent. There are comfortable little cubicles surrounding the garages where they can shower and nap. In 2004 we had a tour of a few of these, and they had Beanie Babies on the beds. The drivers are well fed and watched over, and they say it is most important that if one cannot sleep, one should lie down and get off ones feet. How it would be possible that one could not sleep is beyond me.

The No. 26 Highcroft Racing Acura came in for a pit stop and a change of the rear deck and wing as well. It was remarkably quick work and the car was out and away with little loss of time.

Dawn was beginning to break over Le Mans as we headed toward hour 16 in North America. It was possible to see the outlines of the cars and not just the illuminated markings on them. Of course it was nowhere near dawn for us. We will cheer the race winners at dawn around here.

Full daylight revitalized the drivers, but not necessarily the cars. Jörg Muller brought the No.78 BMW M3 E92 in for repairs to a broken right front suspension, and the No. 69 JLOC (Japanese Lamborghini Owners Club) Lambo came back out after a gearbox change. It was in the pits for about 2 hours and now lay 39th and last overall 117 laps behind the leader. But overall at the 15th hour the top runner in each class remained the same.

Next to develop issues was the No. 83 Risi Competizione Ferrari of Tracy Krohn (that’s the limeade coloured one), which began belching smoke; Nic Johnson managed to bring it back into the garage but once it was up on the jacks, it was clear that the engine had given up the ghost, and the No. 83 became Retirement No. 17.

The No. 11 Drayson Racing Lola Coupe emerged from the garage one more time, and then slid off into the gravel at Indianapolis; marshals hastened to its side to help Jonny Cocker discover if it could be pushed back out onto the track, and it could. Cocker brought the car back to the pits at speed, and except for the left front tire and a lot of rocks he had gathered up, the car was fine. With one new tire he was on his way again.

The No. 64 Corvette came in from the lead of GT2 and had a one-minute brake replacement – entirely routine, and with tires and fuel he was on his way again.

At the end of Hour 16, the leaders in class were the same and no incipient drama loomed. But this race was far from over. Stay tuned.

Back in 4 hours. See you then.
 

The 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Second Four Hours

By Kate Shaw

LA SARTHE, France (June 12, 2010) — As the second four hours opened, the No. 79 BMW Art Car returned to the pits, this time with steering problems. It was sent back onto the track but soon slowed with a broken wheel and once again began a slow crawl back to the pits. Methinks this car is not long for this race. As he crawled along, the No. 7 Audi came up behind him, tried to pass on the left, and went straight into the wall. The Audi spun into the wall. He was pushed out of the gravel by the marshals and drove back with what appeared to be body damage. That proved to be the case, and in less time than it takes to tell, the bodywork was replaced, as was the driver, and Dindo Capello was back on the track to make up time, while Dr. Ulrich and the head of the BMW team exchanged words in German. Dr. Ulrich said for publication, “When you have a slow running car, you should not move from the inside to the outside of a fast corner, because fast cars coming up behind you don't stand a chance”.

Meanwhile the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari once again assumed the GT2 lead.

The No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche, another ALMS entry, came into the garage with a broken radiator; repairs were effected and off they went again.

After one slow lap, the No. 92 Aston Martin V8 Vantage of JMW Motorsport returned to its pit. The James McWirther team was reportedly focusing on a problem with the power steering.

The No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche went back to the garage after Darren Law had an off, and the team are evaluating their chances of continuing the race as their oil and water pressures are showing signs that all is indeed not well. After calling into the pits at 19.29 for a repair in a little under twenty minutes, the Californian driver rejoined at 19.50 in 12th place in the LM GT2 category. At 20.10, the car was still in the garage, and shortly thereafter its retirement was announced.

Billows of smoke erupted from the No. 61 Matech GT Ford, the only all-female entry, as she headed down the Mulsanne, and Natacha Gachnang, who had broken her leg in the Dubai GT1 race earlier this year and has been on crutches all week pulled up so close to the guard rail that she could not get the door open. She had to go out the passenger door and was limping when she headed to the ambulance. She was fortunate to make this race, but clearly now the race for her car was done.

For the third time, the No. 79 BMW Art Car went crawling down the track, swerving back and forth with possible fuel pickup problems. Prilaux finally pulled the car off the track, sparing anyone else this time. Could this be the end for this car? Inquiring Audis want to know….

After 5 Hours positions were: overall and LMP1 No. 1 Peugeot leads No. 2 Peugeot by 11.456 seconds; LMP2 No. 42 Strakka Racing HPD leads No. 26 Highcroft Racing HPD by 2.06 minutes; GT1 No. 60 Ford GT leads No. 73 Corvette by 50 seconds; and GT2 the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari leads the No. 64 Corvette by 1 minute.

The No. 56 Norma also announced its retirement, but not the reason for same.

RML reports that Andy Wallace in the no 25 RML Lola B08/80-HPD was following the number 61 Matech Ford GT1 when its engine went before Mulsanne corner and this covered his windscreen in oil. He struggled on for a few laps but visibility through the screen was so poor he had to call into the pits. The car is at present lying in 18th position, fifth in LMP2.

The second full-course caution of the race – amazing, really, considering how many retirements there have been, came out as the No. 92 Aston Martin driven by Bryce Miller appeared to have shed its rear wing at the Porsche curves and hit the barriers. The No. 4 Corvette was in the pits for a routine pit stop when this happened, which was a golden opportunity for them to fuel and tire up without losing much track position.

Before this accident was cleared up, the No. 14 Kolles Racing Audi R10 spun at Mulsanne Corner, and went crashing into the guardrail, destroying the front left corner and went back to the pits and thence to the garage, and the No. 42 Strakka Racing Honda [Acura] spun on its own and got back underway without any damage, losing the lead in class to Marco Werner in the No. 26 Highcroft Acura. As the green flag flew again, Mike Rockenfeller whipped by the No. 2 Peugeot briefly but was re-passed and put back to 4th.

At the 6th hour, the leads in class, except for P2: overall and LMP1 No. 1 Peugeot; LMP2 No. 26 Highcroft Racing HPD; GT1 No. 60 Ford GT; and GT2 the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari leads the No. 64 Corvette. So far there have been seven retirements.

Make that 8. The No. 92 JMW Aston Martin Vantage of Bell/Miller/Sugden retired due to severe front end accident damage.

Night was falling quickly at La Sarthe, and headlights twinkled through the night past the glow of campfires and the bright lights of the carnival surrounding the tracks. In case you haven’t seen Le Mans before, the golden lights are GT cars and the clear white lights are the Prototypes. That’s so the drivers know what’s coming up behind them or what’s overtaking them in the dark. Everyone appeared to have shifted into Hold Station mode for the evening hours, as the incidence of incidents dropped precipitously.

At the seventh hour not much has changed. Overall and LMP1 No. 1 Peugeot leads No. 2 Peugeot by a lap, having completed 113 laps; LMP2 No. 42 Strakka Racing HPD leads No. 26 Highcroft Racing HPD by 1 min 5 seconds, and have completed 104 laps; GT1 No. 60 Ford leads No.  72 Corvette by one lap and have completed 97 laps; and GT2 No. 82 Risi Ferrari leads No. 64 Corvette by 51 seconds, having also completed 97 laps. There are now 10 Retirements as compared to 4 at the same stage last year.

The No. 1 Peugeot, erstwhile leader of the race, came unexpectedly into the pits and was wheeled into the garage. The car went onto the high jacks and wheelstands which indicated that there was something significant wrong underneath. This moved Franck Montagny in the No. 2 Peugeot into the lead, and the Oreca entry into second – and the No. 8 Audi into third. No one knows how the next 16 hours will play out, of course, but as Arte Johnson used to say, “verrrry in-ter-est-ing.”

This inspired Dindo Capello to bring the No. 7 Audi into the pits and turn it over to Allan McNish, who took off like a rocket sled for the front and brought the crowd back to life. Ninety seconds later or so, the Peugeot was fired up on the jackstand, the driver got back in, and the crew started putting the car back together again. The crew spun the car out onto the apron and off the dolly, off Marc Gene went into the darkness. So now the No. 1 Peugeot and the No. 7 Audi were back on the same lap.

The next big thing was the sudden development of gearbox trouble in the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari; the car was pulled in and put up on the jackstand, and the Corvette took the lead in class.

At the 8th hour the leaders remained the same; however, look for Corvette No. 4 to shortly assume the lead in GT2.

Eight hours down. Sixteen to go. See you in 4 hours.
 

Audi fastest in warm-up session
News from Audi Motorsport

INGOLSTADT/LE MANS (June 12, 2010) - Audi Sport Team Joest has completed its preparations for the 78th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours with a fastest time in the warm-up session. On a wet track Allan McNish recorded the quickest time of all 56 participants in the number 7 Audi R15 TDI.

With 3m 51.401s the Scotsman was over a second faster than the best Peugeot. The two other Audi R15 TDI prototypes were also quick in the difficult conditions in positions four and five. All nine Audi drivers have been driving in the warm-up session, all of them being happy with the handling of their cars despite the slippery track. "The race can come, we are well prepared," said Allan McNish.

Dry conditions are forecast for the start of the race at 3 p.m. Allan McNish (No. 7), Marcel Fässler (No. 8) and Timo Bernhard (No. 9) have been nominated as start drivers for the three Audi R15 TDI prototypes. As usual the drivers will rotate in alphabetical order during the race:

No. 7 McNish > Capello > Kristensen
No. 8 Fässler > Lotterer > Treluyer
No. 9 Bernhard > Dumas > Rockenfeller

Before the race starts, the five-time Le Mans winner Frank Biela will pilot an Audi-e-tron technological show-piece based on the R8 around the race track. The high-performance electric sports car was presented on Friday evening in the pitlane of Le Mans.
 

Strakka on LMP2 Pole at Le Mans
News from Strakka Racing
LA SARTHE, France (June 11, 2010) — In a thrilling first half-hour to the final qualifying session for this year’s 78th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Strakka Racing took LMP2 pole with an emphatic run of 3:33.079 from Danny Watts. The team’s Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-01c had been in a close-fought duel with Highcroft Racing’s similar car throughout practice and qualifying, but Aylesbury-born Watts found nearly a second and a half to put pole beyond question.

“I can’t quantify just how impressive Danny’s achievement has been,” said a visibly delighted Piers Phillips, Team Manager at Strakka. “That lap was absolutely fantastic. We’d seen Highcroft go a second or more quicker than we’d ever gone before, but to Danny’s credit, he found time we didn’t know was there. It was his first time on qualifiers in this car, and I’m not sure he knew what to expect, but he certainly found his feet very quickly. Those tyres were phenomenal and I can’t overstate how important Michelin’s contribution has been to our programme this season.”

Strakka had emerged quickest on Wednesday night as well, during the first qualifying session, when Jonny Kane posted a best of 3:36.168. “Under the prevailing conditions, and with a track that was still improving, Jonny’s time was equally astounding,” insisted Phillips. “It was a banker lap, in case it rained later, and we were very pleased for Jonny.”

That time from Kane held provisional pole until the final minutes of Thursday’s first session. With rain forecast, it had started to look as if Strakka’s “banker” might pay dividends, but the track conditions were coming to a head. Highcroft’s David Brabham struck back, and his improved time snatched back the top slot by half a second.

Right at the start of the final session, Danny Watts headed out on track to better the time set by last year’s Le Mans winning driver not once, but twice, and effectively placed pole beyond reach. “This is a fantastic achievement for us,” said co-driver Nick Leventis. “Both Jonny and Danny drove superbly to be quickest on each evening, and the whole team has performed a hundred and ten percent. It’s the perfect start to our Le Mans campaign.”

“I knew there was a lot of time still to come, and I reckoned last night that a thirty-four might be possible,” said Jonny Kane. “When David Brabham first set that tonight, I knew that something even quicker was going to be achievable. Danny’s first lap was good, but he learned from the tyres, and really made it count with his second.”

“The car was unbelievable!” said an ecstatic Danny Watts. “It just did everything you asked of it. It was balanced, consistent, had excellent traction, perfect change of direction, power – everything – and that’s just a credit to everyone concerned; HPD, Wirth Research, Michelin and, of course, the guys who prepared it today and nailed the set-up. It’s our race set-up too, so we’re in a great position as we head into the 24 Hours.”

“Pole is a fantastic result for the team, especially here at Le Mans” concluded Piers. “This is the greatest motor race in the world, with nearly a quarter of a million spectators and millions more on TV. Qualifying is only half a percent of the whole picture at Le Mans, of course, and we mustn’t allow this to go to our heads, but to achieve this is a significant reflection of where we stand now as a team. It feels enormously rewarding to have achieved pole on such a vast stage and against some of the best teams and drivers in the sport.”

Top three in LMP2:

No. 42 Strakka Racing HPD: 3:33.079 (15th overall)
No. 26 Highcroft HPD: 3:34.537 (17th)
No. 25 RML Lola HPD: 3:39.649 (20th)
 

Audi banks on efficiency at Le Mans
News from Audi Motorsport

INGOLSTADT/LE MANS (June 11, 2010) - Audi Sport Team Joest fully concentrated on race preparations at the Le Mans 24 Hours on Wednesday and Thursday. The three Audi R15 TDI cars did not actively participate in the chase for times in qualifying. Instead the Audi squad used every available minute to fine-tune the set-up of the cars for the race.

The three Audi R15 TDI cars will start the race on Saturday at 3 p.m. from positions five (Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas/Mike Rockenfeller), six (Dindo Capello/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish) and seven (Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Treluyer). All three vehicles completed programs prescribed by the engineers and technicians in order to gather as much data as possible and to test tires. "On Wednesday, we weren’t quite where we wanted to be but on Thursday we made good progress," explained Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "At Le Mans, speed isn’t the only thing that counts. It’s important to have vehicles with good drivability and, above all, efficiency as well. This is what we’ve been concentrating on."

The 2010-specification Audi R15 TDI, which bears the internal project name "R15 plus" is slightly faster than the R15 was last year despite the restrictions imposed by the regulations. "In addition, we now know that the R15 plus is pretty efficient in terms of tire wear and fuel consumption," said Dr. Ullrich. "And all three vehicles were running absolutely reliably in qualifying - which is another very crucial factor at Le Mans."

The fastest time within the Audi squad was set by Mike Rockenfeller in the Audi R15 TDI designated as car number 9 on Thursday night. The German almost exactly matched the time of 3m 22.2s the Audi technicians had calculated in simulations. The other two Audi R15 TDI prototypes also improved their lap times in the final qualifying session. "This is especially nice because all cars were already fitted with the same engines which will also be used in the race," explained Ralf Jüttner, Technical Director of Audi Sport Team Joest. "And on the damp track at the beginning our cars were also consistently fast."

Audi won the Le Mans 24 Hours eight times in the past ten years and this year has the chance to equalize Ferrari’s ranking in the honor roll. Only Porsche’s track record reflects more victories.

Before the race starts, the five-time Le Mans winner Frank Biela will pilot an Audi-e-tron technological show-piece based on the R8 around the race track. As part of the "Le Mans vers le futur," a demonstration drive for cars with alternative powertrains, the test vehicle will prove that it belongs to the top league of e-sports cars. Not one but four motors - two each on the front and rear axle - power the wheels of the Audi e-tron and make it a genuine quattro. The Le Mans regulations will also allow additional electric engines at the front axle from 2011 on.

For the start of the race, the organizers, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), have come up with a special attraction: prior to the start of the formation lap, the drivers will run from the opposite side of the race track to their vehicles, which are lined up along the pit wall. The run pays homage to the classic "Le Mans start" at which the drivers would sprint to their cars. Allan McNish (No. 7), Marcel Fässler (No. 8) and Timo Bernhard (No. 9) have been nominated as starting drivers of the three Audi R15 TDI prototypes.

The complete race will be broadcast live on Eurosport 1 and 2. The "Audi Sport" iPhone App provides current info, photographs, sound bites and a live ticker. At www.audi.tv the Le Mans 24 Hours can be exclusively watched live from the cockpits of the three Audi R15 TDI cars. After the end of the race, Audi TV will air the highlights of the weekend in a special program.