Heading into official test day at Le Mans, Peugeot had the upper hand over
archrival Audi. After sweeping the first three Le Mans Series races, the
French lions were not about to give in, especially heading into their
biggest race of the year. And sure enough, Peugeot's momentum continued
Sunday at Circuit de La Sarthe, as its 908 HDi-FAPs came out on top after
eight soggy hours of testing. Despite showing the pace, the diesel contender
suffered a dent in its armor as one of its cars suffered a major accident.
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Fastest man of the day Stéphane Sarrazin celebrates with teammates Pedro Lamy and Alexander Wurz. Photo by Eric Gilbert.
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All 55 competitors took to the legendary 8.5-mile Circuit de La Sarthe,
aiming to gain valuable data for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in two weeks time.
However, on and off rain showers dampened track action for most of the day,
leaving many teams with more questions than answers. What was learned today,
though, was that Peugeot has the sheer speed advantage over its competition.
Early in the four-hour afternoon session, Stephane Sarrazin clocked a
3:22.222 lap time in his No. 8 Peugeot, taking advantage of the dry track
conditions at the time. The Frenchman's lap held up as quickest of the day,
and fastest time in over a decade on the famed circuit. Sarrazin's flier was
over four seconds quicker than last year's pole and the fastest recorded on
track since Philippe Alliot's pole-winning time in 1992, with a Peugeot 905.
"I took advantage of a clear lap with very little traffic," Sarrazin said
after his run. "We have new, very high performance tires. We still have work
to do on the car's balance."
Sarrazin and co-drivers Pedro Lamy and Alex Wurz in the No. 8 Team Peugeot
Total entry completed 62 laps combined in the two sessions, but many of
those were run under inclement weather. But this came as a good learning
experience for Peugeot.
"We were let down by our lack of reactivity and strategy in last year's
changing weather, so today was good practice for us," said Technical Director
Bruno Famin. "We worked on finding the most effective set-ups for the
different tire options."
The No. 9 Peugeot of Franck Montagny, Christian Klein and Ricardo Zonta
wound up second quickest, four seconds adrift from Sarrazin's best. The
car's 3:26.641 lap time edged out the leading Audi Sport North America Audi
R10 TDI of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner by 0.037 seconds.
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#7 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Marc Gene, Nicolas Minassian, Jacques Villeneuve. Photo by Eric Gilbert.
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While Peugeot enjoyed the limelight of placing all three of its 908s inside
the top four overall, the No. 7 machine of Marc Gene, Nicolas Minassian and
Jacques Villeneuve ended its day wreaked. One hour into the afternoon
session, Gene suffered a major off in the Porsche Curves. The incident sent
his Peugeot flying through the air before backing heavily into the barriers.
Gene was taken to a local hospital for evaluation where he will stay
overnight. The Spaniard suffered a bruised elbow and a dislocated toe, but
this paled in comparison to the damage done to the car. Team officials say
the car is totaled and now plan to build up a new chassis for the race.
"Everyone at Peugeot Sport has done a tremendous job, but we've still got
lots of work on our hands, including a car to rebuild," said Michel Barge,
Peugeot Sport Director. "But that's what Le Mans is all about, too: big ups
and sometimes moments that are more difficult. Thankfully, Marc Gene came out of his crash with nothing more than a dislocated toe but Stphane
Sarrazin gratified us with an excellent time during today's preliminary
test. We are optimistic for the busy week ahead."
Audi, meanwhile, had a less eventful day with its three R10 TDIs, as the
German outfit concentrated on split strategies for the race. The No. 1 car
of defending winners Biela, Pirro and Werner tested various Michelin tire
compounds while the No. 2 entry of Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom
Kristensen evaluated aerodynamic parts. Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and
Alexandre Premat in the No. 3 machine worked on long runs.
"Today was a productive day of testing for us because we were able to work
out results in highly varied conditions," said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, head of
Audi Motorsport. "This means we've already got a basic setup for the race
weekend for any type of condition. Today, it was only possible to set really
good times for half an hour, which showed us the capabilities of our rivals.
At the same time, we continued working on our programmes as planned."
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#1 Audi Sport North America Audi R10: Marco Werner, Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro. Photo by Eric Gilbert.
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The No. 3 entry wound up fifth quickest, while the No. 2 car was only able
to muster 10th best overall. Piloting the No. 1 machine, Werner posted the
quickest lap time of the three, a 3:26.678, slotting in third. Like Ullrich,
Werner was disappointed by the weather conditions but knows that the prize
is not awarded to the fastest cars in testing.
"Unfortunately, today wasn't exactly the kind of day we'd been wishing for,"
Werner said. "Although in the rain and in changing conditions we were able
to sort and try many things, we'd have preferred driving on a dry track for
a longer period of time. I think that the results we saw on the times
monitor today do not truly reflect the situation yet. But, in any event,
we've still got a lot of work to do during the race week."
Pescarolo Sport came away as the quickest gasoline-powered LM P1s, with the
No. 17 Pescarolo Judd of Harold Primat, Christophe Tinseau and Benoit
Treluyer setting a 3:33.939 lap time, 1.5 seconds quicker of the sister
machine of Jean-Christophe Boullion, Emmanuel Collard and Romain Dumas.
"It's been a great day for Pescarolo Sport and for Harold, Christophe and
Benoit," team principal Henri Pescarolo said. "All three did a very good job
today and to be the top petrol car, and so far ahead of the other petrol
cars, is very encouraging."
Indeed, as the No. 5 Team ORECA Matmut Courage-Oreca LC70 Judd of Soheil
Ayari, Loic Duval and Laurent Groppi were over 2.325 seconds behind
Tinseau's best time, setting eighth quickest time. The Two French teams are
expected to face fierce competition from Charouz Racing System's Lola Aston
Martin and Rollcentre Racing's Pescarolo for top gasoline-powered honors in
the race.
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#34 Van Merksteijn Motorsport Porsche RS Spyder: Jos Verstappen, Peter Van Merksteijn, Jeroen Bleekemolen. Photo by Eric Gilbert.
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In LM P2, the two Porsche RS Spyders topped the time charts, with the Van
Merksteijn Motorsport entry of Jos Verstappen, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Peter
van Merksteijn quickest with a 3:42.191 lap time. The Dutch team completed
47 laps in their maiden run at Le Mans, hoping to keep momentum building
after winning in two of the opening three rounds of the Le Mans Series
season.
"It was really wonderful to be the fastest in class at my very first Le Mans
outing," Verstappen said. "But I was lucky enough to be the only one in the
team to go out on a dry track. All in all the track conditions today were
difficult. Our plan was not to take any unnecessary risks in damaging the
car. With all this rain, we weren't able to get as much practice in as we
had hoped. But I'll stay calm because I know from the Le Mans Series that
the RS Spyder is a true racer. I can't wait for my first ever Le Mans race!"
The No. 31 Team Essex RS Spyder of John Nielsen, Casper Elgaard and Porsche
factory driver Sascha Maassen was second quickest, 1.545 seconds slower than
the purple and white car. Both RS Spyders are sporting significant
aerodynamic updates from Porsche, which are aimed at providing more
straight-line speed.
However, fellow P2 competitors were right on the Porsches' back in the test
day, possibly proving that the RS Spyders may not have as much of a distinct
advantage as originally thought. The No. 32 Barazi-Epsilon Zytek 07S of Juan
Barazi, Michael Vergers and Stuart Moseley was third quickest with a
3:43.920 lap time, just 0.184 seconds slower than the Team Essex entry.
Embassy Racing was not too far behind either, as the British team's WF01
Zytek clocked the fourth quickest time in class, ahead of the RML Lola MG
and Saulnier Racing Pescarolo Judd in fifth.
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#009 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9: David Brabham, Darren Turner, Antonio Garcia. Photo by Eric Gilbert.
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The No. 009 Aston Martin Racing DBR9 of David Brabham and Antonio Garcia
paced the LM GT1 category, setting a 3:53.531 lap time. The Prodrive effort
will be looking for its second consecutive Le Mans crown after taking top
honors here in 2007. This year's competition is shaping up to be even
tougher with an even more determined Corvette Racing squad wanting to retake
position number one.
"We weren't expecting any real surprises from the test day, and luckily that
turned out to be the case," Brabham said. "I drove a lot of the race last
year in the wet - including the very last stint - so it all felt quite
familiar today! I think everyone's test programme was compromised by the
weather today, but my personal goal was just to get used to the car again
after a year out of it and I succeeded in that objective. Although we
waited a bit I was still one of the first drivers out, so the track was
extremely green and slippery - but it was all useful running."
It was a rather-surprising Larbre Competition Saleen that was second
quickest in the test. Frenchman Christophe Bouchut pedaled the No. 50 Saleen
S7R to a 3:55.383 lap time during one of the dry periods of the day. Fellow
countrymen Patrick Bornhauser and David Smet (aka Hallyday) round out the
driving strength in what could be a darkhorse for qualifying, at least.
"We set a good time on medium tires which were 10 laps old which is very
encouraging," Bouchut said. "I was on a quicker lap, on a new set of tires,
when the Peugeot went off. This car has the potential to scare the works
teams and challenge for pole position during qualifying for the race."
Corvette Racing two Corvette C6.Rs were third and fourth quickest, with Max
Papis turning a 3:55.520 in the No. 64 entry, the fastest of the Pratt &
Miller cars. The team tested a range of Michelin tires and evaluated chassis
and gearbox setups during the session. Despite the damp weather, Corvette
Racing program manager Doug Fehan believes the team is off to its best start
ever at Le Mans in terms of preparation.
"I think we maximized the opportunities that we had today," Fehan said. "It
certainly wasn't the test plan we had laid out, but the conditions were the
same for everybody. When it's all said and done, it may actually be to our
advantage when a day like this happens because we're well prepared when we
arrive, and more practice time tends to narrow the gap."
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#82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT: Mika Salo, Jaime Melo, Gianmaria Bruni. Photo by Eric Gilbert.
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Two other familiar faces regularly seen in the American Le Mans Series paced
the way in the LM GT2 category. The No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT
of Jamie Melo, Mika Salo and Gianmaria Bruni was quickest. Melo's 4:05.561
lap time was also set during one of the brief dry portions of the session,
as the team elected to not go out in the very wet conditions.
"I like the circuit, it's very nice," said Bruni, who got his first taste of
the circuit today. "Unfortunately it was damp, wet and dry on the track
while I was out there so we didn't get a chance to push much, but it was
okay. The track does feel very long, compared to what I'm used to,
especially on the Mulsanne, but I'm getting accustomed to it!"
The No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Jorg
Bergmeister, Johannes van Overbeek and Seth Neiman was second quickest, just
0.029 seconds behind the prancing horse's time. Ferraris occupied positions
three through five, with the BMS Scuderia Italia example ahead of the Virgo
Motorsport and AF Corse entries.
While Risi enjoyed a strong run with its No. 82 car atop the time sheets,
the sister No. 83 Krohn Racing car suffered a setback when Tracy Krohn
crashed the green Ferrari heavily at Maison Blanche. Krohn was taken to a
nearby hospital for evaluation, and has been given a clean bill of health.
The car, though, suffered heavy rear end damage and will need to be
repaired.
"It was very disappointing for Tracy Krohn to have had the accident," said
team owner Giuseppe Risi," but the team will pull together to have the car
repaired and ready for presentation at scrutineering on Tuesday, June 10.
We have heard from Tracy since he went to the hospital for a check up and
he's feeling well, with no worrying aches and pains, and will be flying home
tomorrow as planned."
