2010 24 Hours of LeMans.............

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2010 24 Hours of LeMans.............

Post by mlittle » Tue Feb 16, 2010 4:55 pm

On the international motorsports calendar, there are certain endurance events that come to the fore..............
...........the Rolex 24 at Daytona.......
...........the 12 Hours of Sebring........
...........the Bathurst 1000................
.........and on the 8-plus miles of the Circuit de la Sarthe, the 24 Hours of LeMans, the oldest of them all. Set amongst the rolling hills of central France, it is one of the great endurance races. Win here and your name is forever etched into motorsports history alongside such legends as the Great Dane, Tom Kristensen, Jacky Ickx, the late Phil Hill, Chris Amon, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Graham Hill.

Since 1923, and with the exception of the time during both world wars, the 24 Hours of LeMans has been a staple of the motorsports calendar, set on what many consider one of the toughest race courses man has devised. With long, punishing straights, several quick and tight chicanes and the mix of public roads and dedicated racetrack sections, it is a place which rewards risk but can bite you at any opportunity. Here, time is both an ally and an enemy; an ally if you're doing well, an enemy if you've had trouble come forth. To those who compete, it is an honor and privilege...........to those fortunate enough to win, it is a path into racing immortality. No wonder the late Steve McQueen summed it up so simply when he said............
Racing is life. Everything else......is just waiting.
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Post by mlittle » Tue Feb 16, 2010 5:42 pm

~~~Official Entry List, 2010 24 Hours of LeMans
note.......list includes drivers nominated to compete as of 15 Feb. 2010; list subject to change

LMP-1 Entrants..................
--#1 Team Peugeot Total[Peugeot 908 HDi], Alexander Wurz
--#2 Team Peugeot Total[Peugeot 908 HDi], Nicolas Minassian
--#3 Team Peugeot Total[Peugeot 908 HDi], Sebastien Bourdais
--#4 Team Oreca Matmut[Peugeot 908 HDi], Olivier Panis & Nicolas Lapierre
--#5 Beechdallen Mansell[Ginetta/Zytek], Nigel Mansell, Grge Mansell & Leo Mansell
--#6 AIM Team Oreca[Oreca/AIM], Soheil Ayari
--#7 Audi Sport Team Joest[Audi R15], Tom Kristensen
--#8 Audi Sport Team Joest[Audi R15], Andre Lotterer
--#9 Audi Sport North America[Audi R15], Mike Rockenfeller
--#10 Dome Racing Team[Dome/Judd S102], Sebastien Phillipe
--#11 Drayson Racing[Lola/Judd C], Paul Drayson & Johnny Cocker
--#12 Rebellion Racing[Lola/Rebellion C], Nicolas Prost & Neel Jani
--#13 Rebellion Racing[Lola/Rebellion C], Andrea Bellichi & Christophe Bouillon
--#14 Kolles Racing[Audi R10], Christian Albers
--#15 Kolles Racing[Audi R10], Christian Bakkerud
--#17 Pescarolo Sport[Pescarolo/Judd], Ho-Pin Tung
--#18 Sora Racing[Pescarolo/Judd], Christophe Tinseau
--#19 Autocon Motorsports[Lola/AER], Michael Lewis
--#007 Aston Martin Racing[Lola/A.M.R.], Harold Primat
--#008 Signature Racing[Lola/A.M.R.], Pierre Rageux & Franck Mailleux
--#009 Aston Martin Racing[Lola/A.M.R.], Darren Turner

LMP-2 Entrants................
--#24 Oak Racing[Pescarolo/Judd], Jacques Nicolet
--#25 RML Motorsports[Lola/HPD-C], Mike Newton & Tommy Erdos
--#26 Highcroft Racing[HPD ARX-01c], Marino Franchitti & David Brabham
--#29 Racing Box SRL[Lola/Judd C], Luca Pirri
--#35 Oak Racing[Pescarolo/Judd], Richard Hein
--#37 Welter Racing[WR/Zytek], Phillipe Salini
--#40 Quifel-ASM[Ginetta/Zytek], Miguel Amaral & Olivier Pla
--#41 Team Bruichladdich[Ginetta/Zytek], Karim Ojjeh & Tim Greaves
--#42 Strakka Racing[HPD ARX-01c], Danny Watts & Nick Leventis

GT-1 Entrants.................
--#50 Larbre Competition[Saleen S7R], Roland Berville & Patrick Bornhauser
--#52 Young Driver AMR[Aston Martin DBR9], Tomas Enge & Christoffer Nygaard
--#53 PekaRacing NV[Chevrolet Corvette C6-R], Anthony Kumpen
--#61 Matech Competition[Ford GT], Cyndie Allemann & Natacha Gachnang
--#69 JLoc Racing[Lamborghini Murcielago], Atsuigi Yoto
--#70 Marc VDS Racing[Ford GT], Eric de Doneker
--#72 Luc Alphand Aventures[Chevrolet Corvette C-6R], Luc Alphand
--#73 Luc Alphand Aventures[Chevrolet Corvette C-6R], Stephan Gregoire

GT-2 Entrants.................
--#63 Corvette Racing[Chevrolet Corvette ZR1], Jan Magnussen, Johnny O'Connell & Antonio Garcia
--#64 Corvette Racing[Chevrolet Corvette ZR1], Oliver Gavin & Olivier Beretta
--#75 ProSpeed Competition[Porsche 911 RSR], Paul Van Splunteren
--#76 IMSA Performance Matmut[Porsche 911 RSR], Raymond Narac
--#77 Team Feldmayer-Proton[Porsche 911 RSR], Horst Feldmayer
--#78 BMW Motorsport[BMW E92-M3], Jorg Muller
--#79 BMW Motorsport[BMW E92-M3], Andy Priaulx
--#80 Flying Lizard Motorsports[Porsche 911 RSR], Seth Neiman
--#81 Rocketsports[Jaguar XKRS], Paul Gentilozzi, Scott Pruett & Marc Goosens
--#82 Risi Competizione[Ferrari 430GT], Tracy Krohn & Nic Jonsson
--#83 Risi Competizione[Ferrari 430GT], Jaime Melo
--#84 Modena Group Racing[Ferrari 430GT], Roman Rusinov
--#85 Spyker Squadron[Spyker C8], Tim Coronel
--#89 Hankook-Team Farnbacher[Porsche 911 RSR], Dominic Farnbacher & Allen Simonsen
--#92 JMW Motorsports[Aston Martin Vantage], Rob Bell
--#96 AF Corse SRL[Ferrari 430GT], Luis Perez Companc & Mattias Russo
--#97 Scuderia Italia[Porsche 911 RSR], Matteo Mallucelli


LMP-1: 21
LMP-2: 9
GT-1: 8
GT-2: 17
---55 total entries
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Marco's Heading to LeMans for the 24.............

Post by mlittle » Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:10 pm

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The 2006 IndyCar Series rookie of the year and Infineon race winner will compete at this year's 24 Hrs. of LeMans for Rebellion Racing


-----The Andretti name will return to Le Mans in 2010. Ten years after his grandfather’s last attempt, third-generation racer Marco Andretti will try his hand at the world’s most famous endurance race. The 22-year-old IndyCar star was confirmed Sunday as part of Rebellion Racing’s LMP1 squad. Team owner and Rebellion CEO Alexandre Pesci broke the news on French radio station RMC, completing his team’s star-studded lineup.

Andretti joins former A1GP and Champ Car driver Neel Jani and second-generation racer Nicolas Prost in the Anglo-Swiss team’s No. 12 Lola B10/60 Rebellion. Andrea Belicchi, Jean-Christophe Boullion and American Le Mans Series veteran Guy Smith complete the lineup in the sister No. 13 machine.

Marco is no stranger to sportscar racing, having competed in three ALMS races in 2008 for Andretti-Green Racing, co-owned by father, Michael. He instantly was up to speed in the team’s Acura ARX-01b prototype and has never hid his dreams of one day competing at Le Mans. There were even rumors of Mario coming out of retirement to join Michael and Marco in an all-Andretti driving squad, but plans never materialized following AGR’s pullout from sportscar racing at the end of 2008.

Despite their rich
heritage in open-wheel racing, an Andretti has never won Le Mans overall. Michael made his first Le Mans start in 1983, finishing third at the wheel of a Kremer Racing Porsche 956 with Mario and Frenchman Philippe Alliot. The father-and-son duo returned in 1998, joined by Mario’s nephew, John, in a factory Porsche 962, finishing sixth. Mario and Michael also competed in the 1997 edition in a Courage C36. Mario’s last start at Le Mans came in 2000 at the wheel of a factory Panoz LM01.

Following a season campaigning Lolas in both LMP1 and LMP2, the newly renamed Rebellion Racing squad steps up to a two-car P1 program for 2010, with fully upgraded Lola B10/60 chassis. The team completed tests in both Portugal and Spain last week in the run-up to the European-based Le Mans Series season. Andretti is expected to climb behind the wheel of the car for the official Le Mans Series pre-season test at Paul Ricard on March 7-8.
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Werner to race w/Highcroft at LeMans

Post by mlittle » Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:15 pm

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After 8 seasons with European-based Audi Sport, Marco Werner will race for North American-based Highcroft Racing at this year's 24 Hours of LeMans


------Former Audi factory drivers appear to be in high demand as of late. First, five-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro landed a ride with Drayson Racing for its LMP1 endurance racing program. Now, SPEEDtv.com can confirm that German veteran Marco Werner has signed with Highcroft Racing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, completing the team’s lineup for its race debut.

Werner, a three-time overall winner at Le Mans, was not renewed by Audi Sport for 2010 following a reshuffle of the German manufacturer’s drivers, opting to bring new blood into squad. That left Werner and fellow Audi drivers Lucas Luhr and Alexandre Premat without full-season prototype rides, and the 43-year-old Werner immediately evaluated his options.

“When I looked at the market, it was a really good decision to go to Duncan [Dayton] because I think they are just a few teams that are on Highcroft’s level,” Werner said. “Highcroft Racing is one of the best. I’m not going to Le Mans to just cruise around or to be the 10th or 12th best team in LMP1. I think it’s a really good position to do it with Highcroft Racing because while the team is new to Le Mans and doesn’t have the experience over there, they have plenty of knowledge from the ALMS and I’m looking forward that we’ll do a good job.”

After spending the last eight years with Audi, Werner’s move to the Duncan Dayton-owned Highcroft organization came as a surprise to some. But with a team embarking on its first Le Mans, Werner adds the credibility and pedigree needed to succeed.

And coming from such a massive, factory-backed program, Werner is also able to bring years of Le Mans prototype experience with him. He also doesn’t lack the pace or consistency that’s needed to get the job done in what’s almost always a grueling 24-hour marathon.

“I visited the team’s race shop in Danbury, Connecticut two weeks ago and I was really surprised of the shop and what I saw there,” Werner said. “I felt the spirit of the entire team, especially Duncan, as he’s focused to have success in the larger races like Le Mans. I felt to be in a very comfortable position. And sometimes, it’s better to have a small team as opposed to a big team when it comes to decision-making. It’s really great to work with these guys as I’ve seen.”

Werner’s first laps in the team’s Honda Performance Development ARX-01C came this week at Sebring, where he joined Le Mans teammates David Brabham and Marino Franchitti in the LMP2 car for a multi-day test following the Twelve Hours. Immediately, Werner was up to speed, and had even surpassed initial expectations. His best lap of 1:46.800 on Tuesday evening was close to one-second faster than Simon Pagenaud’s best time in the same car during Saturday’s race.

While Werner has come to grips of the light and nimble prototype, he quickly noticed the differences between the HPD and the diesel-powered Audi R10 and R15 TDIs he had become accustomed to over the years. The biggest difference, he says, is the ability to push the car deep into corners, sometimes without even lifting.

“For sure it’s completely different, so I have to learn,” Werner said. “The Audi machine did everything [with] the power. You had to brake much earlier, especially for Turn 17 [at Sebring] and it’s much more high-speed. We’re talking about 40-60 kph difference between a LMP1 and LMP2 from what I saw on [Tuesday]. That’s really a lot.

“With a P2 car, you use all of the downforce and brake deep into corners, much, much later than with the Audi. Aside from the differences in speed, there is also a big step with the weight and downforce. It’s a lot of fun to have a car with a lot of downforce and cornering speeds. I never had so much cornering speeds at Sebring than this week testing the HPD.”

Teammate Brabham, who won Le Mans overall in 2009 at the wheel of a Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP, can relate to jumping from one kind of car to another, having also won the ALMS LMP1 championship with Highcroft’s Acura ARX-02a last year. The veteran Australian feels Werner is the perfect fit for Highcroft in their Le Mans debut.

“It’s a great choice for the team because he’s been around for a long time, he’s won Le Mans, he’s won here in America,” Brabham said. “You want to be able to bolt someone in at Le Mans to be able to help the team progress to the next step. For Highcroft Racing, competing in America is one thing, but competing in America and doing Le Mans is another. The team will be going through a huge learning curve and can obviously draw on the experiences of Marco and myself who have been there many times, won it and know what it takes.”

Werner has also given high praise to Brabham and Franchitti, who have both helped him get acclimated to his new environment this week in testing. From driving the 3.7-mile Sebring circuit in a rental car and pointing out certain details to optimizing his comfort inside the HPD ARX-01C, Werner has felt right at home with his new teammates.

“Being with Brabs and Marino, it’s a nice lineup,” Werner said. “There’s no doubt Brabs is one of the best prototype drivers in the world. He won Le Mans last year. I’ve seen how quick Marino can be and feel he will have a great career in prototypes. He’s really fast and hope he can get a full-season ride next year. He’s one of the quickest drivers in the business. I’m really looking forward to working together with them at Le Mans.”

Werner feels he made the right choice in going to Le Mans with a team that has a shot for the P2 class win, instead of running mid-pack in P1. With prospects of a top-10 overall finish, or higher, in sight for Dayton and company, there’s plenty of optimism heading into June. “You need a complete package and it’s all here,” Werner said. “The engine is strong enough for 24 hours, the car is very good and with the new configurations, especially for Le Mans, the car will also be very good on the straights. Everything is there. We just need a little bit of luck, like every time at Le Mans or in long-distance races. I’m really looking forward to it.”
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Meyrick to ORECA for LeMans 24................

Post by mlittle » Fri Apr 16, 2010 6:15 pm

Image
Andy Meyrick drove the ALMS season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring with Dyson Racing and will return to the cockpit of the team's Lola-Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, before making his Le Mans debut with ORECA in June.

-----Britain’s newest sports car star, Andy Meyrick, will be fulfilling a lifetime’s ambition in June this year when he makes his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the jewel in the crown of international sports car racing. Driving for AIM Team ORECA in the ORECA 01 Le Mans Prototype, Andy will be teamed with French aces Soheil Ayari and Didier André.

The 24-year-old from Cheshire will be using all the prototype experience he gained in 2009 with the Kolles Audi R10 TDI and, more recently, with Dyson Racing in their Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupé. Prior to his move to sports cars, he raced in Formula Ford and Formula Renault before moving up the prestigious British F3 Championship in 2008, a series in which he distinguished himself by scoring seven victories and nine pole positions in twelve races.

“To do Le Mans for the first time with such a well-known and respected team as ORECA is just like a dream,” says the British driver. “I’d like to thank Hugues de Chaunac for giving me the opportunity to compete at Le Mans with one of the most iconic teams in the business.

“Up to now I’ve only seen the race as a spectator, since I was four years old! I had my first taste of the ORECA 01 at the test days on the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit a month or so ago, and I found it fantastic. With my two experienced teammates I’m sure we’ll be competitive. I’ve already raced on Dunlop tyres and I hope I’ll be able to make a big contribution to the team.”

The ORECA 01, with Andy Meyrick and Soheil Ayari at the wheel, will take part in the tyre testing session organised by Dunlop next week to pursue its preparation for the Sarthe classic.
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Driver Updates

Post by mlittle » Sat May 22, 2010 5:22 am

-----With the 24 Hours of Le Mans quickly approaching, a number of teams have been finalizing its driver lineups for the June 12-13 classic. The two latest squads to do so have been AF Corse and OAK Racing.

After scoring back-to-back GT2 wins with Risi Competizione, Mika Salo will go for his third straight Le Mans victory, except this time with the Italian AF Corse outfit. The veteran Finn has been added to Amato Ferrari’s No. 96 car of Luis Perez Companc and Matias Russo, forming a formidable lineup in the highly competitive category.

The team’s sister car of Jean Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander received an entry two weeks ago following the withdrawal of the Pescarolos from the LMP1 ranks. The two remaining Pescarolos in the twice-around-the-clock classic come from the OAK Racing stables, with the Nevers, France-based team confirming that defending Le Mans Series LMP1 co-champion Jan Charouz and Frenchman Jean-Francois Yvon will complete its two-car lineup next month.

Charouz, who was originally a nominated driver in one of the now-withdrawn Pescarolo LMP1 entries, finished fourth overall at Le Mans last year at the wheel of an Aston Martin Racing Lola. The 23-year-old Czech has since shifted his focus to a duel campaign in Formula Renault 3.5 Series and Auto GP, but will return to sportscars for the famed race.

“Although I raced in LMP1 for the past three years, the rules meant that our only chance of victory was if something happened to our diesel-engined rivals – even though we were the fastest petrol-engined car,” Charouz said. “Today, I’m very excited to be in a car and team that can fight for the [class] win. Le Mans is a fantastic challenge, and I can’t wait to start working with OAK Racing in order to prepare for the race in the best possible way.”

Charouz will share the team’s No. 35 car with Frenchmen Matthieu Lahaye and Guillaume Moreau, which could be touted as one of the strongest LMP2 lineups in the field following the team's impressive start to the European-based Le Mans Series season. Yvon, Jacques Nicolet and Richard Hein reunite behind the wheel of the Judd-powered No. 24 machine after their podium finish at Le Mans last year.

“With the developments made to the 2010 cars I think we will be able to achieve another very good result like the two podiums in two races the team has scored this season in the Le Mans Series,” Yvon said. “We will certainly do our best and I personally will give everything to make it happen.”
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Andretti's Off-Week: the 24 Hours of LeMans

Post by mlittle » Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:08 pm

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IndyCar Series competitor Marco Andretti(r) will join drivers Neel Jani(c) and Nicolas Prost(l) at LeMans for this year's 24 Hours of LeMans w/Rebellion Racing


-----Marco Andretti arrived in France -- fresh off consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series third-place finishes and a little skeet shooting in Texas with sponsor Venom Energy Drink personnel -- ready to compete in the 78th Le Mans 24 Hours with Rebellion Racing.

Andretti's maiden ride in the historic endurance race comes 10 years after his grandfather, Mario, made his last competitive appearance in the race. Michael Andretti (Marco's father) and John Andretti (Marco's uncle) also have competed in the race.

"I can hardly believe that I'm at Le Mans," said Andretti, who will resume competition in the IZOD IndyCar Series June 20 at Iowa Speedway with Andretti Autosport. "I'm mostly here to learn. I'll be like a sponge. I already feel a great passion about the cars and I appreciate that. My grandfather didn't give me much advice on Le Mans. I'll speak with him after my first laps (June 9) after having familiarized myself with this special track."

He'll join Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Nicolas Prost (France; son of former World Champion Alain Prost) in the No. 12 Lola B10/60 Rebellion LMP1 car. "I met both Nicolas and Neel while I was competing in the A1GP Series two years ago and we became good friends," said Andretti, 23, who tested at Paul Ricard in March. "I am excited to race at this famous track where my family has been very successful in the past."
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Panoz Abruzzi Debuts at LeMans

Post by mlittle » Thu Jun 10, 2010 3:59 am

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-----Panoz Auto Development took the wraps off its its road-going Abruzzi “Spirit of Le Mans” Tuesday at Circuit de la Sarthe. The limited edition automobile, which pays tribute to the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, will go into production over the next three years. The hand-built car is a unique, front-engined, rear-transaxle and rear-radiator sports car that is only currently road legal in Europe and countries in Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Delivering over 600 horsepower and 590 ft.-lbs of torque, the Abruzzi “Spirit of Le Mans” engine is based on a Chevrolet LS9 power plant from the Corvette ZR1. It’s a change for the Georgia-based manufacturer, having used Ford-based engines in its Esperante and other models.

Only 81 Abruzzi production cars will be produced, corresponding with the number of Le Mans 24 Hour enduros between its inception in 1923 and the 2013 race, the car’s final year of production.

Each of the chassis numbers from the 81 examples will also correspond to the specific race date. In another ode to La Sarthe, customers will only be able to take delivery of their new production car at Le Mans, where professional drivers will instruct owners in driving the car on the Bugatti circuit.

With an estimated price-tag of $500,000, the Abruzzi “Spirit of Le Mans” is aimed at joining the ranks of other top-level super cars in the industry.

“This is culmination of equal parts time, effort and dreams,” said Don Panoz, founder of the Panoz Motor Sports Group. “The Panoz brand always has prided itself on hand-building and delivering an exotic automobile and experience to our customers. Our new offering takes this to a completely new level.

The first example on display, Panoz said, was finished only 10 days before today’s launch and completed an initial shakedown at the adjacent Le Mans airport on Monday.

“I can tell you about four weeks ago I wondered if it would ever make it, but the guys really stuck to it and put in a lot of effort and finished it,” Panoz added. “We had a few hiccups with some suppliers, which is normal. Everything came together and the car was built. It was a little closer to schedule than we wanted, but everything worked the first time. As they say in Georgia, I mashed the button and took over and ran and here we are.”

The press event also brought confirmation of the car’s racing plans. Panoz announced that Tom Milner’s Prototype Technology Group will develop, build and campaign the Abruzzi in the American Le Mans Series’ GT class.

Depending on how quickly homologation of the production car takes, Panoz and Milner hope to have the car debut at the season-ending Petit Le Mans in October. A two-car factory effort is in the cards for next year, with the goal of gaining two invites to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next June. Construction of the race car, which will not count towards the 81 road-going models, cannot start until the production car is homologated by the ACO. Panoz expects the process to take up to three months, but preliminary work is already under way to help speed up the process.

PTG, which has been tasked with the development of the front-engined super car, will also build the LS9-based engines in-house. GM will provide many of the parts, Milner said. Michelin is on board as the production car’s tire partner, which one could infer it would also partner with the race program.

In addition to PTG’s planned two-car GT effort, there’s a chance of seeing customer cars in the U.S. and Europe in the years to come.

“When we build at least two race cars hopefully we’ll [have customer cars],” Milner said. “It’s hard to sell a race car when nobody knows what it is and how good it is. I don’t expect for there to be any customer cars the first year. Hopefully if the car is successful and competitive, I assume then someone may be interested.”

Interestingly enough, the Abruzzi project was originally intended to be a prototype program, but Panoz made the decision to go into GT (nee GT2) due to the regulations that currently favor diesel-powered prototypes.

“I did look at prototype,” Panoz said. “In fact the Abruzzi dream started three years ago with homologating a prototype to be a road car. But when I looked at all of that, the real competition now is the big diesel engines and twin-turbos. I know that turbos and diesels are coming into acceptance.

“But really for a car like this, the owner wants a gasoline-engined car. He wants a sportscar in image... I want to race against Ferrari and Porsche and Aston Martin and Corvette. So we came with the GT2.”


The Abruzzi’s planned debut at the Petit Le Mans, Milner said, would likely only come with “special permission” from the organizers as the race car is not likely to be fully homologated in time. It would likely run unclassified, much like Dyson Racing’s Lola-Mazda last year when it used the then-experimental Isobutanol fuel.
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Peugeot on provisional pole at LeMans

Post by mlittle » Thu Jun 10, 2010 2:21 pm

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Sebastien Bourdais (R) celebrates with co-drivers Pedro Lamy (L) and Simon Pagenaud (M) on their provisional pole at Le Mans.


----Team Peugeot Total put in a dominating performance in Wednesday’s opening qualifying session at Circuit de la Sarthe, securing the top three positions provisionally for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Team ORECA Matmut’s customer 908 HDi-FAP slotted in fourth, giving the French Lions a 1-2-3-4 sweep.

Nicolas Lapierre in the No. 4 ORECA entry posted a 3:21.192 lap time early in the two-hour session but was bested by the three factory machines in the final 30 minutes. Sebastien Bourdais, Alexander Wurz and Stephane Sarrazin turned considerably quicker lap times in the cooler nighttime conditions, with the four-time Champ Car Series champion coming out on top.

Bourdais’ lap time of 3:19.711 was over one-second off Sarrazin’s qualifying record achieved in 2008, yet it was quicker than many had imagined the pace would be with revised equivalency regulations, which were aimed at bringing the gasoline-powered LMP1s closer to the Peugeot and Audi diesels.

“It is only provisional pole," Bourdais said. "However we are expecting difficult conditions tomorrow so it is good to have it in the bag. If it is dry tomorrow we will have to have another go. It is a good feeling to finish the session in the lead, especially ‘at home’ in Le Mans. The overall result shows that the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is still competitive. Now we have to put it all together in the race.”

Speaking of Audi, the fastest the ‘Four Rings’ could only muster fifth, with the No. 9 Audi Sport Team Joest R15 plus of Mike Rockenfeller, Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard setting a 3:23.578, close to four seconds off Bourdais’ provisional pole-sitting time. The Nos. 8 and 9 entries were a further second adrift in sixth and seventh, respectively.

The No. 007 Aston Martin Racing Lola of Adrian Fernandez, Harold Primat and Stefan Mucke was the best of the gasoline-powered LMP1s in eighth, with the sister No. 009 machine not far behind in ninth. Signature Plus’ customer Lola-Aston Martin rounded out the top-10, with a time ten seconds slower than the leading Peugeot.

As expected, the two Honda Performance Development ARX-01c’s led the way in LMP2, but it was the Strakka Racing example that sits on the provisional pole. Despite a late challenge from Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham, Danny Watt’s time of 3:36.168 turned in the Strakka machine was quickest of the session. Brabham ended up second, 1.034 seconds behind after overcoming an oil leak early in the opening practice session. Defending Le Mans Series champions Quifel-ASM Team wound up third with its Ginetta-Zytek 09S.

Top honors in GT1 went to Tomas Enge, who put his Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9 on the provisional class pole. The rapid Czech driver turned a 3:55.025 lap time, some two seconds ahead of the No. 60 Matech Competition Ford GT, which crashed in practice in the hands of ex-F1 driver Romain Grosjean. If Enge ends up claiming the top spot at the end of final qualifying on Thursday, it will be his sixth class pole in the last eight years.

Gianmaria Bruni put his No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GTC on the provisional GT2 pole despite running into transmission issues midway through the session. The two-time and defending class winners discovered that the problem was a failed output shaft on the gearbox, an extremely high mileage part which was due to be changed tomorrow.

With that in mind, the Dave Sims-led crew decided to park the car and wait it out. Luckily for them, Bruni’s time held in the remaining minutes.

“It was difficult to find a clear lap but this one (the fast lap) was on my fifth lap so the tires were not so good!” Bruni said of his lap. “I had two good laps before that, and was quick in Sectors 1 and 2, but got traffic at the end of each lap. I slowed down once and went again. It’s good, I’m pleased because we worked hard to find a good set up on the car in the practice session this afternoon and now the car is very good.”

Fellow American Le Mans Series competitors Corvette Racing put in an impressive debut performance with its GT2-spec C6.Rs. The team’s No. 63 machine of Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell and Antonio Garcia was second with a 4:00.097 lap time, while the team car of Olivier Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Emmanuel Collard came home third, a further second behind.

A pair of two-hour qualifying sessions remain to set to set the field for the 78th Le Mans 24 Hours. However, as Bourdais alluded to, rain is in the forecast for Thursday, so the times set today could in fact be the ones that will determine the starting lineup in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.
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Peugeot Retains LeMans Pole

Post by mlittle » Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:19 pm

Image
Can Peugeot translate its dominating performance in qualifying into its second Le Mans victory on Sunday?


-----While a handful of cars improved its times from Wednesday, the top qualifiers remained the same. Team Peugeot Total will start the 78th Le Mans 24 Hours from the overall pole, leading 1-2-3 effort for the French factory squad. Team ORECA Matmut’s Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP retained fourth, making it a clean sweep for the French Lions.

Pole-sitter Sebastien Bourdais ventured back out in the closing moments of final qualifying to confirm the car's balance in race-trim. The Le Mans native turned a 3:20.212 lap in his No. 3 Peugeot, which wound up as the quickest time of the day. Yet it didn’t matter, as Bourdais’ 3:19.711 lap set in Wednesday’s first session stood for the pole. The four-time Champ Car Series champion along with co-drivers Pedro Lamy and Simon Pagenaud head into Saturday’s twice-around-the-clock as one of the favorites.

“This pole proves that we are strong, now we have to turn that strength into victory," Bourdais said. "We worked well today and the goal of the last 15 minutes was to confirm the car’s balance, not to chase after another pole. Now I want the race to start, time is going to drag until Saturday. We have the equipment, the speed and the people to win, but we need to stay humble and hope for a little luck.”

The story of the day came from Audi, as both Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller made massive improvements, yet they were not able to break the Peugeot stranglehold on the first two rows of the grid. McNish in the No. 7 Audi R15 plus improved to fourth early in the final session, shedding nearly two seconds off his best lap from Wednesday.

But it was the No. 9 machine of Rockenfeller who made a late-session leap to fifth, thanks to a 3:21.981 lap put in by the German. Audi Sport Team Joest’s third diesel-powered entry of Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer also improved marginally, ending up sixth.

Aston Martin Racing’s two Gulf-liveried Lola-Astons wound up the best of the gasoline-powered LMP1s in eighth and ninth, ahead of the similarly prepared customer machine from Signature Plus, which rounded out the top-10 overall.

The fight for LMP2 qualifying honors went in favor of Highcoft Racing’s David Brabham at the end of the second session, but it was Wednesday pacesetter Danny Watts who improved in the final hour to take the class pole.

Watts clocked a 3:33.079 lap time in his Strakka Racing HPD ARX-01c, edging out Brabham’s similarly prepared machine by 1.458 seconds. “It’s unbelievable of how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time,” Watts told Radio Le Mans. “The team called it perfectly with the conditions. At 10 p.m we did the business. They’re bang on it strategically, too.

“It’s great to pole, but it’s a very minuscule part of the race come Saturday afternoon. The car is easy to drive and is consistent. You can do the laps quite easily. That bodes quite well for the race.”
Brabham and co-drivers Marino Franchitti and Marco Werner will line up second, with RML’s HPD-powered Lola B08/80 making it a 1-2-3 sweep for the Santa Clarita, Calif.-based engine supplier.

Tomas Enge made history yet again, as the rapid Czech driver claimed the top spot in GT1, his sixth class pole in the last eight years. Enge’s 3:55.025 lap time set in the No. 52 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9 edged out the No. 70 Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT of Bas Leinders, who improved to second on Thursday.

Despite not setting a qualifying hot lap on Thursday’s two sessions, the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT of Gianmaria Bruni retained the GT2 class pole. The quick Italian’s 3:59.233 lap time, however, came under attack as both of the Corvette Racing C6.Rs improved in the final session.

Oliver Gavin in the No. 64 Corvette, along with the sister No. 63 machine and Toni Vilander’s AF Corse Ferrari, all broke the four-minute barrier. The No. 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche was the fastest of the Porsche entries in fifth, ahead of IMSA Performance Matmut’s 997 GT3 RSR in sixth.

After a damp start to Thursday’s activities, both sessions remained relatively dry, other than an brief rain shower that kept the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe somewhat damp throughout the combined four hours.

Only 55 cars will start Saturday’s race after all, as the No. 96 AF Corse Ferrari of Matias Russo, Luis Perez Companc and Mika Salo has been withdrawn following Wednesday’s violent accident by Russo. The car suffered significant chassis damage, and despite the four-time FIA GT2 champions having a spare car at its shop in Italy, the team has withdrawn the entry altogether.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:54 am

2010 24 Hours of LeMans Provisional Starting Grid
note...........from L-R: overall position, car #, class, drivers, team, car, time, gap/gap to 1st, speed(kmh)


1. 3 LMP1 S.Bourdais, P.Lamy, S.Pagenaud Peugeot Sport Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP 3:19.711 245.677
2. 1 LMP1 A.Wurz, M.Gene, A.Davidson Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP 3:20.317 0.606 0.606 244.934
3. 2 LMP1 N.Minassian, S.Sarrazin, F.Montagny Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP 3:20.325 0.008 0.614 244.924
4. 4 LMP1 O.Panis, N.Lapierre, L.Duval Team ORECA-Matmut Peugeot 908 HDi FAP 3:21.192 0.867 1.481 243.869
5. 9 LMP1 M.Rockenfeller, T.Bernhard, R.Dumas Audi Sport North America Audi R15 TDI 3:21.981 0.789 2.270 242.916
6. 7 LMP1 T.Kristensen, R.Capello, A.McNish Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 TDI 3:22.176 0.195 2.465 242.682
7. 8 LMP1 A.Lotterer, M.Fassler, B.Treluyer Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 TDI 3:23.605 1.429 3.894 240.978
8. 007 LMP1 H.Primat, S.Mucke, A.Fernandez Aston Martin Racing Lola B09/60 Aston Martin 3:26.680 3.075 6.969 237.393
9. 009 LMP1 D.Turner, J.Barazi, S.Hancock Aston Martin Racing Lola B09/60 Aston Martin 3:26.747 0.067 7.036 237.316
10. 6 LMP1 S.Ayari, D.Andre, A.Meyrick AIM Team ORECA-Matmut Oreca 01-AIM 3:29.506 2.759 9.795 234.191
11. 008 LMP1 P.Ragues, V.Ickx, F.Mailleux Signature Plus Lola B09/60 Aston Martin 3:29.774 0.268 10.063 233.892
12. 14 LMP1 C.Bouchut, S.Tucker, M.Rodrigues Team Kolles Audi R10 TDI 3:30.907 1.133 11.196 232.635
13. 15 LMP1 C.Bakkerud, O.Jarvis, C.Albers Team Kolles Audi R10 TDI 3:31.661 0.754 11.950 231.807
14. 11 LMP1 P.Drayson, J.Cocker, E.Pirro Drayson Racing Lola B10/60 Aston Martin 3:31.862 0.201 12.151 231.587
15. 42 LMP2 N.Leventis, D.Watts, J.Kane Strakka Racing HPD ARX.01 3:33.079 1.217 13.368 230.264
16. 12 LMP1 N.Prost, N.Jani, M.Andretti Rebellion Racing Lola B10/60 Rebellion 3:33.490 0.411 13.779 229.821
17. 26 LMP2 D.Brabham, M.Franchitti, M.Werner Highcroft Racing HPD ARX.01 3:34.537 1.047 14.826 228.699
18. 5 LMP1 N.Mansell, G.Mansell, L.Mansell Beechdean Mansell Ginetta Zytek 3:36.897 2.360 17.186 226.211
19. 13 LMP1 A.Belicchi, J-C.Boullion, G.Smith Rebellion Racing Lola B10/60 Rebellion 3:37.093 0.196 17.382 226.006
20. 25 LMP2 M.Newton, T.Erdos, A.Wallace RML Lola B08/80 HPD 3:39.648 2.555 19.937 223.377
21. 40 LMP2 M.Amaral, O.Pla, W.Hughes Quifel-ASM Team Ginetta Zytek 09S 3:40.532 0.884 20.821 222.482
22. 35 LMP2 M.Lahaye, G.Moreau, J.Charouz OAK Racing Pescarolo 01 Judd 3:41.310 0.778 21.599 221.700
23. 19 LMP1 M.Lewis, B.Willman, T.Burgess Autocon Motorsports Lola B06/10 AER 3:43.167 1.857 23.456 219.855
24. 29 LMP2 L.Pirri, M.Cioci, P.Perazzini Racing Box Lola B09/80 Judd 3:47.971 4.804 28.260 215.222
25. 41 LMP2 K.Ojjeh, T.Greaves, G.Chandalon Team Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek 09S 3:51.189 3.218 31.478 212.226
26. 39 LMP2 J.de Pourtales, H.Noda, J.Kennard KSM Lola B08/47 Judd 3:51.310 0.121 31.599 212.115
27. 24 LMP2 J.Nicolet, R.Hein, J-F.Yvon OAK Racing Pescarolo 01 Judd 3:52.008 0.698 32.297 211.477
28. 38 LMP2 J.Schell, F.Da Rocha, D.Zollinger Pegasus Racing Norma Judd 3:52.837 0.829 33.126 210.724
29. 37 LMP2 P.Salini, S.Salini, T.Gommendy WR / Salini WR Zytek 3:53.109 0.272 33.398 210.478
30. 28 LMP2 M.Rostan, R.Meichtry, P.Bruneau Race Performance AG Radical SR9 Judd 3:53.942 0.833 34.231 209.729
31. 52 LMGT1 C.Nygaard, T.Enge, P.Kox Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9 3:55.025 1.083 35.314 208.762
32. 70 LMGT1 E.de Doncker, B.Leinders, M.Palttala Marc VDS Racing Ford GT Matech 3:55.356 0.331 35.645 208.469
33. 60 LMGT1 T.Mutsch, R.Grosjean, J.Hirschi Matech Competition Ford GT Matech 3:55.583 0.227 35.872 208.268
34. 73 LMGT1 J.Jousse, X.Maassen, P.Goueslard Luc Alphand Aventures Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 3:58.810 3.227 39.099 205.454
35. 72 LMGT1 S.Gregoire, J.Policand, D.Hart Luc Alphand Aventures Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 3:58.906 0.096 39.195 205.371
36. 82 LMGT2 J.Melo, G.Bruni, P.Kaffer Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT 3:59.233 0.327 39.522 205.090
37. 64 LMGT2 O.Gavin, O.Beretta, E.Collard Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 3:59.435 0.202 39.724 204.917
38. 63 LMGT2 J.Magnussen, J.O'Connell, A.Garcia Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 3:59.793 0.358 40.082 204.611
39. 95 LMGT2 G.Fisichella, J.Alesi, T.Vilander AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT 3:59.837 0.044 40.126 204.574
40. 61 LMGT1 N.Gachnang, R.Frey, C.Allemann Matech Competition Ford GT Matech 4:01.628 1.791 41.917 203.058
41. 77 LMGT2 M.Lieb, R.Lietz, W.Hentzler Team Felbermayr Proton Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 4:01.640 0.012 41.929 203.048
42. 76 LMGT2 R.Narac, P.Pilet, P.Long IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 4:01.755 0.115 42.044 202.951
43. 78 LMGT2 J.Muller, A.Farfus, U.Alzen BMW Team Schnitzer BMW M3 GT2 4:01.893 0.138 42.182 202.835
44. 97 LMGT2 M.Holzer, R.Westbrook, T.Scheider BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 4:02.014 0.121 42.303 202.734
45. 89 LMGT2 D.Farnbacher, A.Simonsen, L.Keen Hankook Team Farnbacher Ferrari F430 GT 4:02.427 0.413 42.716 202.388
46. 80 LMGT2 S.Neiman, D.Law, J.Bergmeister Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 4:02.685 0.258 42.974 202.173
47. 50 LMGT1 R.Berville, J.Canal, G.Gardel Larbre Competition Saleen S7R 4:03.175 0.490 43.464 201.766
48. 79 LMGT2 A.Priaulx, D.Muller, D.Werner BMW Team Schnitzer BMW M3 GT2 4:03.215 0.040 43.504 201.733
49. 83 LMGT2 T.Krohn, N.Jonsson, E.van de Poele Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT 4:03.959 0.744 44.248 201.117
50. 85 LMGT2 T.Coronel, P.Dumbreck, J.Bleekemoelen Spyker Squadron Spyker C8 Laviolette 4:04.057 0.098 44.346 201.037
51. 92 LMGT2 R.Bell, T.Sugden, B.Miller JMW Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage 4:04.303 0.246 44.592 200.834
52. 69 LMGT1 A.Yogo, K.Yamanishi, H.Iiri JLOC Lamborghini Murcielago 4:05.170 0.867 45.459 200.124
53. 75 LMGT2 P.Van Splunteren, N.Hommerson, L.Machiels Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 4:10.017 4.847 50.306 196.244
54. 88 LMGT2 H.Felbermayr Sr, H.Felbermayr Jr, M.Konopka Team Felbermayr Proton Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 4:10.054 0.037 50.343 196.215
55. 81 LMGT2 P.Gentilozzi, R.Dalziel, M.Goossens Jaguar RSR Jaguar XKRS 4:12.431 2.377 52.720 194.368
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2 Hrs.: Peugeot the early leaders...........

Post by mlittle » Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:52 am

After the rain that hit the track early in the morning, the track had dried out before the start under cloudy skies. Already 45 minutes before the start, problems developed for one of the 55 cars when the No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche got a puncture while being on its way to the starting grid. The car was able to get a fresh set of Michelin tires in the pit, without losing his starting position on the grid.

When the 'Tricoleur' was waved for the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, pole sitter Pedro Lamy was able to keep the lead with the No. 3 Peugeot, in front of the Peugeot sister cars driven by Marc Gene and Franck Montagny. The first half hour of the race was already full of drama with the No. 19 Michael Lewis Autocon car having big technical problems in the first lap. The orange car driven by Michael Lewis lost power in the final sector of the race and had to be parked without having completed one full lap.

Even bigger problems followed after 17 minutes for the Beechdean Mansell team. Former Formula 1 champion Nigel Mansell got on the straight towards the Indianapolis corner going over 200 km/h with a puncture. The No. 5 car spun and hit the armco, damaging the right rear of the car heavily causing the team to retire early.

The former Formula One and CART champion was able to eventually climb out of the cockpit of the LMP1 entry, but the car was withdrawn before sons Leo and Greg could participate in the 78th edition of the French endurance classic.

The incident started a controversial safety car period, the one first using the new three-car method introduced by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest. The second safety car picked up a group including the chasing Audi entries in fifth, sixth and seventh, creating a bigger gap to the leading four Peugeot entries. "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."

After a 31-minute safety car period, the leading Peugeots resumed on the Apit straight, while the three Audi's did not come past the start/finish until 57 seconds later. Prior to the safety car period, the lead No. 7 Audi of Allan McNish had trailed the leading No. 1 Peugeot of Pedro Lamy Aby 12 seconds. In the same lap as Mansell's crash, the new RSR Jaguar car had be pushed into the pitbox after the car already had lost power. The car has completed only 4 laps and hasn't been seen back on track.

Franck Montagny opened the race with the No. 2 Peugeot in very strong fashion by passing the No. 1 Peugeot after 10 minutes. By making the first pitstop of the race one lap earlier than Lamy in the No. 3 car, Montagny was even able to take over the lead after one hour of racing.

Six minutes before the 2-hour mark Dirk Muller parked his multi-colored No. 79 BMW in the first chicane to inspect his car after he felt a problem on his left rear. On this side the tire was punctured, after which the German had to drive very carefully back to the pit. In the pit more damage on the underside of the car was found, caused driving over the kerbstones when Muller parked his car.

Three minutes later Bas Leinders all of a sudden stood in the gravel trap of the Dunlop Esses with a heavily damaged right rear of the No. 70 Ford GT. Though it wasn't clear what happened to the Belgian driver, it seemed like he had lost the car and hit the tire barrier. After Leinders was able to get out of the gravel, he crawled back to the pit for long time repairs.

Strakka Racing was able to take the best usage of his pole position and kept the lead in the LM P2 class, in front of the No. 26 Highcroft HPD and the No. 25 Ray Mallock Limited Lola. In GT1 pole sitter Julien Jousse made a bad start of the race and dropped with the No. 52 AMR Young Driver Aston Martin back to third position. With Thomas Mutsch behind the steering wheel, Matech Competition's No. 60 Ford GT took over the lead, in front of the No. 73 corvette. Corvette was in the first two hours dominant in the GT2 class with the No. 64 car leading the No. 63 Corvette.
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4 Hrs: 1 Peugeot Out, Another Peugeot Leads

Post by mlittle » Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:54 am

Image


-----In a very surprising development at Le Mans 24H, the No. 3 Peugeot has had to retire from the race already in the third hour. After 2.5 hours of racing, the car that started the race earlier today from pole position returned to the pit with a smoking front right tire.

Quickly it became clear that there was a lot more involved than just a puncture. The mounting of the suspension with the chassis was broken, which the team was unable to repair. "I felt suddenly a vibration, that the suspension was broken," said Pedro Lamy. "I didn't realize before arriving in the pits that we would have to retire the car. I am obviously very disappointed."

The retirement of the No. 3 Peugeot was a major blow for the French team as the car has been the fastest car all week long. "Le Mans always has these setbacks," Oliver Quesnel , Director of Peugeot Sport explained. "We'll surely experience many others. I hope not as tough as this one." The retirement moved the Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot up to the third position, while the No. 7 Audi is only one position away from the podium.

While the Peugeot No. 3 crew was still working on their car in the pit, the No. 28 Race Performance car of Pierre Bruneau was sitting in the gravel trap of Indianapolis, after the Radical-Judd earlier had made contact with the yellow No. 83 Risi Competizione Ferrari. Both cars had to return to the pit for repairs, but both were able to continue.

Right at the three-hour mark a scary moment in the Porsche curves happened when two cars crashed off track. Peter Dumbreck had gone off in Indianapolis, where he had damaged No. 85 Spyker. Even though the English driver was driving off-pace back to the pit, he shot again onto the grass in the Porsche Curves and while getting back on track, the car was hit by the No. 38 Pegasus Racing Norma of Frederic de Rocha. Both cars were severely damaged, but were able to return to the pit. It is expected that both cars will later be able to return in the race.

In the fourth hour Anthony Davidson paced the No. 1 Peugeot to take over the lead in LMP, moving the No. 2 car back to second position. The gap between both cars would remain just a couple of minutes.

In GT1 the No. 60 Matech Competition Ford GT is still in the lead, but the in the Young Driver Aston Martin is dropped out of the top 3 while being in the pit with unknown technical problems. The No. 73 and 72 Luc Alphand Corvettes have moved up to second and third position.

The No. 82 Risi Competizione has fought its way to the lead in GT2 by passing both Corvettes in the Third and Fourth hour of Le Mans. After having tried to get the No. 81 Jaguar XKRS back in the race, RSR has officially retired from the race after having completed only four laps. A problem with engine management brought an early end to the return of Jaguar in Le Mans.
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More woes for Audi at LeMans...........

Post by mlittle » Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:56 am

Image

-----Prior to the 78th edition of the Le Mans 24-hour, Tom Kristensen said drivers would have to "expect the unexpected." When the eight-time Le Mans winner encountered Andy Priaulx nursing a flat tire on his BMW M3 in the racing line at the high-speed Porsche Curves in the fifth hour, the unexpected roadblock left Audi's quickest R15 TDI in the gravel trap.

Kristensen made a valiant effort to slow his prototype after sliding it sideways on the curbs, but his momentum carried the No. 7 machine into the barriers.

Although usually lapping two seconds slower than the leading Peugeot 908's, the new R15 "plus" retains the Audi tradition of durability. Despite crumpling the rear bodywork, Kristensen resumed after being pulled out of the gravel trap for the relatively short trip to the pits.

With new rear bodywork in place, Dindo Capello replaced Kristensen and returned to the track, the car having dropped from fourth place to eighth. A lap down at the time of the accident after an earlier safety car period setback, the No. 7 Audi shared with Allan McNish re-entered three laps behind the leader.

Wolfgang Ulrich, Audi's motorsports director, walked down to the pits of BMW's Schnitzer team and expressed his displeasure about the crippled car occupying the racing line. But the fact Priaulx had a flat left front tire may have left him little option.

By the end of the sixth hour and with safety cars on the circuit for the removal of the crippled Aston Martin Vantage of JMW Motorsport, the three leading Peugeots were in a lap by themselves, led by Alexander Wurz in the No. 1 Peugeot HDi FAP.

The leading Audi, the No. 9 entry, lost ground in fourth place when it had a long pit stop to repair the right side driver's mirror early in the sixth hour. Unless there would be a push in the works by Audi, it was going to be a long night for the German manufacturer, which had the No. 9 and No. 8 Audi R15's one lap down and the No. 7 unable to improve on its three-lap-down status, although it passed the No. 009 Aston Martin Racing to move up one position to seventh.

In a race-long duel in LMP2, Highcroft Racing briefly assumed the lead from the other HPD ARX-01c entry of Strakka Racing. The lead change resulted from the match-up of Highcroft's Marco Werner versus Nick Leventis in the No. 42 of Strakka. But Werner suffered one of the many cut tires occurring this year due to sharp rocks from the gravel traps. After pitting for new tires, Werner was 1:12 behind in second place, the only other car on the class's lead lap.

"We're trying to pay attention to our own race," said Highcroft owner Duncan Dayton of the decision to bring Werner into the pits with what was apparently a slow leak. "They (Strakka Racing) obviously know what they're doing, but right now we're only six hours into the race."

The closest battle, not surprisingly, was found in GT2. After failing a post-qualifying inspection and starting at the rear of the 55-car field, the Risi Competizione Ferrari used speed and fuel mileage to climb to the top of the charts.

For much of the sixth hour, Pierre Kaffer had Corvette C6.R driver Emmanuel Collard on his gearbox, but maintained a half-second lead until the safety car period. "The Ferrari is getting 15 laps (per tank) to our 14," said Oliver Gavin of the Risi Ferrari. "We knew it was a possibility, but it is a surprise." Those two cars, which battled each other in qualifying, remained the class of the field.

Another of the ALMS regulars, Flying Lizard Motorsports, was forced into retirement when Darren Law ran through a gravel trap 30 minutes into the fifth hour. The team tried to repair the resulting radiator damage, but subsequently problems with oil and water pressure forced the retirement.

In GT1, only two cars remained on the lead lap. The Matech Competition Ford GT led the Luc Alphand Adventures Corvette by three minutes. The Match Ford GT with an all-female driving line-up suffered an apparent fire in the engine bay in the sixth hour, but was not yet officially retired. The pole-winning Young Driver Aston Martin that had tire problems in the opening hour lost an hour with a drive shaft replacement. Retirements included two LMP2 entries: the Racing Box Lola-Judd(front suspension) and the Norma-Judd of Pegasus Racing (gearbox).
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Risi Ferrari's Streak Ends at LeMans

Post by mlittle » Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:58 am

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-----As daylight faded into night, the best duel at the 24 Hours of Le Mans belonged to the red Risi Competizione Ferrari and the No. 64 yellow C6.R of Corvette Racing. Midway in the seventh hour, the two GT2 combatants familiar to fans of the American Le Mans Series raced like they were back home in a sprint race.

Unfortunately, the ultimate result may be why team managers are shy about their cars dicing in long endurance races. One hour after Jaime Melo and Oliver Gavin exchanged the lead twice in the chicanes on the Mulsanne on the same lap, Melo made an unscheduled stop in the Risi pits with a gearbox problem that would end a two-year winning streak at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Having started at the rear of the field due to its time being disallowed after failing the inspection of the rear wing, the Risi team also may have demonstrated that avoiding all those early race passing maneuvers among the backmarkers might also help sustain the equipment for the distance. The remarkable mastery of the longer events will not necessarily end for Risi, which won the Sebring 12-hour earlier this year.

The unscheduled stop elevated into first place the Corvette of Gavin, who won the pole upon the demotion of the Risi machine, and moved the No. 63 Corvette Racing entry shared by Jan Magnussen, Johnny O'Connell and Antonio Garcia into second, albeit one lap down.

On the same lap with the No. 63 Corvette were the Felbermyr-Proton Porsche 911 GT3R shared by Richard Lietz, Marc Lieb and Wolf Henzler and the AF Corse SRL Ferrari of Jean Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Velander. But as temperatures cooled, it was the Corvettes that kept posting the sub-four minute lap times.

After pushing the speed limit from the drop of the "tricolore" drapeau, another Peugeot ran into problems shortly before the eight-hour mark. The first-placed No. 1 car was wheeled into the garage for an alternator change. By time Marc Gene resumed, the car had lost 14 minutes and dropped to seventh place behind all three Audi Sport factory entries and the 007 Aston Martin shared by Stefan Mucke, Adrian Fernandez and Harold Primat.

The No. 2 Peugeot in the hands of Franc Montagny was elevated to first, followed by the ORECA-run Peugeot of Nicolas LaPierre, in for relief of Olivier Panis. "For the most part we are doing very well," said Panis, a winner in F1 at Monaco and now a regular at Le Mans. The Frenchman was asked about the numerous close calls and contact in an event where rookies and gentlemen drivers have grown in numbers. "Nobody," he said, "cares about anybody."

The bond at Highcroft Racing and Strakka is fairly amiable, given their joint association with Honda Performance Development. But on the track, the teams have pushed the limit whenever possible. Marco Werner's stint briefly brought Highcroft into first, but slow leaks in tires hampered the effort, allowing Johnny Kane to reclaim the top spot for Strakka in its HPD ARX-01c. Werner said his stints were "quite OK. I guess I'm supposed to say now that this car is my baby. But I'm still learning. My first test at Sebring was only three months ago."

The Strakka team has had the advantage of racing the low downforce version of the ARX-01c in races at Le Castellet and Spa prior to Le Mans. But the team gives up experience with Nick Leventis at the wheel versus open-wheel veterans Danny Watts and Johnny Kane.

In GT1, the Labre Cometition Saleen S7R shared by Roland Berville, Gabriele Gardel and Julien Canal moved onto the same lap with the Matech Competition Ford GT and the Luc Alphand Corvette. The Matech entry for Rahel Frey, Cyndie Allemann and Natacha Gachnang was officially retired due to an engine fire.
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