Le-Mans 2012

[Rob]

Practice has just started on Eurosport2 UK...



It's good fun, been a few times, nothing quite like those cars screaming round and round all through the night, and is better now since they built the train service, can now get into town and back no probs...

Rob, we're (Nug, Ojay, Petal etc) going again next year, booking it up now to get best campsite spots, give me a shout if you fancy it, probably taking both Skylines down if you want to jump in with Nug...

Really? thanks Tobes, iam well up for that mate. I give you a buzz later.

[Rob]

The LM P1 Prototype Regulations 2014 unveiled
14/06/201212:02 - Auto News - LE MANS 24 HOURS 2012

The technical regulations on the cars of the class Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) was presented today at the press conference of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, which was held at the 24 Hours Museum.

The Technical Regulations 24 Hours of Le Mans will also be the Le Mans Series LM P1 class from 1 January 2014 is in the World Endurance Championship FIA and American Le Mans Series.

As of Friday, June 15 at the end of the afternoon, once approved by the FIA ​​World Council, the technical regulation of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014 for the LM P1 class, will be available online.

6 THE POINTS TO REMEMBER

• A technological freedom will be granted to the powertrain (ie, the set consisting of the engine and hybrid system) in accordance with the development of road vehicles.
• The engines are free. The limitations of capacity, flanges and air pressure turbo is removed.
• Significant reduction - up to 30%! - The use of fossil fuels, that is to say, the fuel used.
• Hybrid systems are free but limited amount of energy and number.
• The private teams are protected.
• Cars must be closed so to improve safety.
• Weight and width are reduced.

STATEMENTS

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest: "The philosophy of this regulation has been particularly innovative imagined by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest in 2009 and then discussed with the manufacturers. They all adhered to this concept. This text was written in close partnership between the ACO and the FIA and in an ongoing dialogue with the manufacturers. I want to emphasize the excellent cooperation between our two entities both in the working groups, technical, sports and endurance Committee. I also want to highlight the excellent spirit that exists between our different teams ACO and FIA. And I thank Lindsay Owen Jones, Chairman of the Endurance to be the guarantor of that mindset. "

Lindsay Owen-Jones, Chairman of the Commission of the FIA Endurance: "Through in-depth work and excellent cooperation, the ACO and FIA technical regulations are now LM P1 2014 single, highly innovative and phase with the times. It should encourage the development of powerful cars and spectacular as the development of technologies that have real meaning for the everyday motorist. Private teams are not forgotten, with simple but competitive alternatives. I hope that the technical regulations LM P1 2014 will thrill you as it has fascinated all who have participated in its elaboration. "

[Rob]

The latest weather forecast is good ...
14/06/201212:53 - Auto News - LE MANS 24 HOURS 2012


Good news comes to clarify this weekend: the race would take place in good weather, the rain is not advertised.


Today, Thursday, the weather is clear and the sun illuminates the circuit. The last two timed sessions should therefore be conducted on a dry track tonight which will promote the fight for pole position.

Tomorrow will be too lenient time despite the few showers that are announced at 11am. The discovery of the stands and the drivers parade will take place in all logic, without too much rain.

For the weekend, after rain set in on Friday night to Saturday, weather forecasts are good. All day is announced under a bright sun, with some clouds, however, with temperatures up to 20 ° announced.

Sunday, it was the same with only a beautiful day when the sun will be present. Temperatures up to 23 ° are provided.

[Rob]

Last-gasp Lotterer heads Audi 1-2-3 in first qualifying at Le Mans
By Stuart Codling Wednesday, June 13th 2012, 22:24 GMT

Andre Lotterer set the pace again in the first night qualifying session at Le Mans with a spectacular 3m25.453s lap in the #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, 1.083 seconds ahead of traffic-baulked team-mate Tom Kristensen.

Lotterer nailed his lap after the clock ran down, with an eyeballs-on-stalks effort that could have been even quicker had he not encountered the double-whammy of two squabbling prototypes at the end of the Mulsanne Straight and a Porsche at Arnage.

The majority of Audi's drivers filed their fast laps early in the session before settling down to a programme of long runs. Kristensen found a clear lap to go round in 3m26.536s for the early benchmark time in the #2 R18 e-tron quattro, in which Allan McNish then completed a full race stint.

The only apparent departure from the plan came when Marcel Fassler had a brief off in the #1 car, incurring minor bodywork damage. Lotterer resumed normal service however by putting the car top with his late flyer.

With 20 minutes to run Loic Duval went out on a mission in the #3 Audi, setting a purple first sector before ending the lap in 3m26.694s, which would stand as second quickest until the closing moments. Traffic on subsequent laps precluded him from improving.

Kristensen returned to the cockpit of #2 with 10 minutes to go but the circuit was busy with other cars attempting final glory runs and he could not find a clear lap.

Nicolas Lapierre was the early pacesetter for Toyota, posting a 3m27.191s in the #7 before handing over to Kazuki Nakajima for the Le Mans rookie to complete his night qualifying run. That time stood as the car's quickest until the end of the session, making it fourth overall ahead of the #4 Audi of Rockenfeller/Jarvis/Bonanomi.

Following its engine change the #8 TS030 Hybrid returned to the circuit with Stephane Sarrazin at the wheel 40 minutes into the session, setting a 3m30.183s before Sarrazin handed over to Anthony Davidson. With 25 minutes of the session to run Davidson went for a fast run and improved the car's fastest time to 3m28.295s, before Sebastien Buemi closed out the session.

Sixth fastest and best-of the-rest was the #21 Strakka HPD shared by Jonny Kane, Danny Watts and Nick Leventis, 7.297s off Lotterer's benchmark.

LMP2 was hotly contested again, with just two seconds covering the top six. Le Mans veteran Christophe Tinseau's 3m39.252s in the #46 TDS Racing ORECA-Nissan stood as the quickest for the majority of the session, with the #48 Murphy ORECA-Nissan next fastest on 3m39.877s.

Chevrolet spent most of the session on top in GTE Pro, with the #74 Gavin/Westbrook/Milner car holding court by less than two tenths of a second from the #59 Luxury Racing Melo/Makowiecki/Farnbacher Ferrari - both banking quick laps in the first hour. The other factory Corvette of Garcia/Magnussen/Taylor was a second further adrift and Stefan Mucke stepped up the pace in the final hour with a 3m57.466s to go fourth for Aston Martin with 30 minutes remaining.

Once again the #79 Flying Lizard Porsche set the pace in GTE Am with a fastest lap of 3m57.594s. American Le Mans Series veteran Spencer Pumpelly spent much of the session at the wheel, consistently lapping comfortably faster than the other class entries as the gentleman drivers essayed their mandatory night qualifying laps.

Michael Krumm achieved his ambition of breaking into the 3m42s with the DeltaWing Nissan, setting a time of 3m42.612s before riding a kerb too aggressively. This dislodged the car's fire extinguisher, which disrupted the DeltaWing's electrics and brought it to an immediate halt.

Neither the #16 Pescarolo LMP1 nor the #51 AF Corse Ferrari GTE Pro entry took part in the session. Both were undergoing repairs after incidents during practice.


Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Time
1. P1 Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer Audi e-tron 3m25.453s
2. P1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi e-tron 3m26.536s
3. P1 Dumas/Duval/Gene Audi Ultra 3m26.694s
4. P1 Wurz/Lapierre/Nakajima Toyota 3m27.191s
5. P1 Bonanomi/Jarvis/Rockenfeller Audi Ultra 3m27.554s
6. P1 Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin Toyota 3m28.295s
7. P1 Leventis/Watts/Kane Strakka HPD 3m32.750s
8. P1 Belicchi/Primat/Bleekemolen Rebellion Lola-Toyota 3m33.140s
9. P1 Prost/Jani/Heidfeld Rebellion Lola-Toyota 3m33.211s
10. P1 Ara/Minassian/Bourdais Pescarolo Dome-Judd 3m34.716s
11. P1 Brabham/Chandhok/Dumbreck JRM HPD 3m37.088s
12. P1 Montagny/Baguette/Kraihamer OAK Pescarolo-Judd 3m38.414s
13. P2 Beche/Thiriet/Tinseau TDS ORECA-Nissan 3m39.252s
14. P2 Firth/Hughes/Hartley Murphy ORECA-Nissan 3m39.877s
15. P2 Potolicchio/Dalziel/Kimber-Smith Starworks HPD-Honda 3m40.639s
16. P2 Briere/Petersen/Nakano Boutsen ORECA-Nissan 3m40.727s
17. P2 Nicolet/Lahaye/Pla OAK Morgan-Judd 3m40.902s
18. P2 Dolan/Hancock/Kurosawa Jota Zytek-Nissan 3m41.287s
19. P2 Sims/Buurman/Iannetta Status Lola-Judd 3m41.451s
20. P2 Heinemeier Hansson/Leinders/Martin OAK Morgan-Nissan 3m41.721s
21. P2 Martin/Charouz/Graves ADR ORECA-Nissan 3m41.791s
22. P2 Perez-Companc/Ayari/Kaffer Pecom ORECA-Nissan 3m41.916s
23. P2 Ordonez/Brundle/Brundle Greaves Zytek-Nissan 3m42.125s
24. P2 Panciatici/Ragues/Rusinov Signatech ORECA-Nissan 3m42.157s
25. P2 Tucker/Bouchut/Diaz Level 5 HPD-Honda 3m42.224s
26. CDNT Franchitti/Krumm/Motoyama Highcroft Delta Wing Nissan 3m42.612s
27. P2 Mailleux/Lombard/Tresson Signatech ORECA-Nissan 3m44.495s
28. P2 Zugel/Gonzalez/Julian Greaves Zytek-Nissan 3m47.408s
29. P2 Holzer/Schultis/Moro Kodewa Lola-Lotus 3m48.067s
30. P2 Frey/Hirschi/Meichtry Race Performance ORECA-Judd 3m48.124s
31. P2 Giroix/Johansson/Badey Gulf Lola-Nissan 3m50.526s
32. P2 Haezebrouck/Thirion/Papin Extreme Limite Norma-Judd 3m51.012s
33. GTE P Gavin/Milner/Westbrook Corvette 3m55.910s
34. GTE P Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher Luxury Ferrari 3m56.076s
35. GTE P Taylor/Garcia/Magnussen Corvette 3m57.181s
36. GTE P Fernandez/Mucke/Turner Aston Martin 3m57.466s
37. GTE P Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci AF Corse Ferrari 3m57.509s
38. GTE A Neiman/Pilet/Pumpelly Flying Lizard Porsche 3m57.594s
39. GTE P Lieb/Lietz/Henzler Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 3m57.648s
40. GTE P Alfaisal/Curtis/Edwards IMSA Porsche 3m58.035s
41. GTE P Bergmeister/Long/Holzer Flying Lizard Porsche 3m58.717s
42. GTE A Simonsen/Nygaard/Poulsen Aston Martin 3m58.725s
43. GTE A Bornhauser/Canal/Lamy Larbre Corvette 3m59.192s
44. GTE A Ried/Roda/Ruberti Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 3m59.529s
45. GTE A Armindo/Narac/Pons IMSA Porsche 4m00.332s
46. GTE A Ehret/Montecalvo/Jeannette Luxury Ferrari 4m00.849s
47. GTE P Walker/Cocker/Wills JMW Ferrari 4m00.883s
48. GTE A Bourret/Gibon/Belloc Larbre Corvette 4m03.021s
49. GTE A Rodrigues/Ferte/Illiano JMB Ferrari 4m04.416s
50. GTE A Perazzini/Cadei/Griffin AF Corse Ferrari 4m04.493s
51. GTE A Krohn/Jonsson/Rugolo Krohn Ferrari 4m04.698s
52. GTE A Kauffman/Aguas/Vickers AF-Waltrip Ferrari 4m04.861s
53. GTE A Camathias/Daniels/Palttala JWA Porsche 4m08.170s
54. P2 Deletraz/Ihara/Rostan Gulf Lola-Nissan 4m14.086s
55. P1 Collard/Boullion/Hall Pescarolo-Judd
56. GTE P Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander AF Corse Ferrari

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/100346

[Rob]

Closing the runway or the creation of the circuit of Le Mans 24 Hours
14/06/20122:00 p.m. - Auto News - LE MANS 24 HOURS 2012


During the week of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, during each day of testing, it is a real transformation operation that takes place in Le Mans and its surroundings. If the circuit which hosts one of the most mythical races there, it's because many technical teams are working more hours before the start of runs.


First, at the request of the ACO, it is men that change the General Council of signs to prohibit traffic in accordance with the prefectural.

The police carry out the implementation and enforcement of the temporary signage.

In parallel, technical teams begin at work to organize all the elements that guarantee the safety of the circuit. They are also providers of technical staff of the COA. These pose particular safety rails, new protection modules, signal lights, equipment positions commissioners, etc..

When the phases are completed, the ACO shall make the "Delivery of the Circuit." A letter is sent to the Prefecture, ensuring the conformity of the approval system and prefectural ordinances.

At this point, the road to Tours became the Mulsanne Straight.

The race director then takes possession of the track. It makes driving a lap, accompanied by Colonel of the gendarmerie, the state representative.

Karine Avon

[Rob]

[Rob]

The ACO’s new president Pierre Fillon set the tone from the outset: “The regulations covering LMP1 cars from 2014 were devised in 2009 and are very innovative…”
The basic concept is that each car will be allocated a given quantity of ‘energy’, and the winner will be the one which uses the least amount of that allocation.
Energy efficiency and sustainable development are the priorities and they will see a 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption combined with the possibility to recover four times as much deceleration energy as is currently the case.
This shouldn’t detract from either performance or from the quality of the show for spectators, since the drivers will no long have to worry about fuel consumption. The amount of energy they use will be monitored by a flow-meter. There will no longer be an upper limit on engine size for cars entered by manufacturers (privateers restricted to a maximum capacity of 5.5 litres), nor will there be a maximum fuel injection pressure. The cars will not be forced to run intake air restrictors and the maximum turbo pressure will be raised to four bar.
It will be possible to homologate five different hybrid systems (not necessarily electric) and the extra power provided by them will be increased to 8 MegaJoules per lap (at Le Mans). Each type of car will be able to run with one of two systems. The ACO will also encourage the use of biofuels, along with petrol, diesel and… hydrogen. All-electric cars will be permitted if the technology they use is judged to be perfectly ready.
From 2014, all the LMP1 prototypes will have to have a closed cockpit, while their minimum weight will come down (hybrids: 850kg / non-hybrids: 830kg) and they will be 10cm less wide. The use of Zylon will be mandatory for the lateral protection panels, and the fitment of a rear ‘crash box’ will remain obligatory. A certain number of ‘adjustable’ aerodynamic appendixes will also be authorised and the driver’s seating position will be higher up and further forward to improve visibility.
Meanwhile, LMP2 cars will be able to run diesel engines for the first time, while a new Asian Le Mans Series will be created in 2013 based on six three-hour races (four in China and two in Japan).

[Rob]

Jonny Cocker ‏@jonny_cocker
Le Mans pit lane at night has to be one of the coolest things I've seen!

[Tifoso]

2 questions:

1. which team/driver(s) do I support?

2. On US TV?

[Tobes]

2 questions:

1. which team/driver(s) do I support?

2. On US TV?

1 - Depends on who you like in the LMP classes (link to entries below) always been an Audi fan but can't help but want the Toyota's to do well...
In the GTE Pro class there are four 458's, most notably the. AF Corse driven (in part) by Fisi, bit of an accident yesterday, but seems all is ok, there are a few 458's in the GTE AM class too...

Obviously i'm a bit of a Nissan fan, so keep an eye on the new DeltaWing, if you've not seen a pic of it yet Google it now..!

2 - No idea, but can't believe it's not being shown live in US, would imagine it'll be on Speeed...

Can you get RadioLeMans..?

http://www.planetlemans.com/2012/02/...-2012-entries/

http://www.lemans.org/en/races/24h/update.html

[Tifoso]

1 - Depends on who you like in the LMP classes (link to entries below) always been an Audi fan but can't help but want the Toyota's to do well...
In the GTE Pro class there are four 458's, most notably the. AF Corse driven (in part) by Fisi, bit of an accident yesterday, but seems all is ok, there are a few 458's in the GTE AM class too...

Obviously i'm a bit of a Nissan fan, so keep an eye on the new DeltaWing, if you've not seen a pic of it yet Google it now..!

2 - No idea, but can't believe it's not being shown live in US, would imagine it'll be on Speeed...

Can you get RadioLeMans..?

http://www.planetlemans.com/2012/02/...-2012-entries/

http://www.lemans.org/en/races/24h/update.html

Grazie fratello

When does it start

[Tifoso]

5:30AM on Saturday on SPEED

[Tobes]

Grazie fratello

When does it start

This weekend...

Go here... http://www.lemans.org/en/races/24h/update.html and look to the right, there's a countdown clock...

[Tifoso]

Grazie!

[Rob]

5:30AM on Saturday on SPEED

could try this tomorrow...
http://stream.speedtv.com/corvette

the start is on at 08.30 ET on Speed.

[Tifoso]

Thanks mate

[Rob]

this link aswell for commentry...
http://radiolemans.com/

and go to listen live.

[Tifoso]

this link aswell for commentry...
http://radiolemans.com/

and go to listen live.

Thanks (again)

[Rob]

Lou, just reading what team too support, have to agree with Tobes, i too have always liked Audis in LMP1 but have liked Pescarolos too, just for the history of the great man himself and before the diesels. Pescas were the only team to try to challenge Audi. The 458s are strong, they are class favs, but, dont coulnt out the Vettes. They have good record around the track. The #51 AF Corse driven by Fisi, Bruni&Vilander are 1 of the strongest GTE driver line up. Bruni always push hard and great to watch him.

[Rob]

Thanks (again)

di niente amico mio

[Tifoso]

Lou, just reading what team too support, have to agree with Tobes, i have always liked Audis in LMP1 but have liked Pescarolos too, just for the history of the great man himself and before the diesels. Pescas were the only team to try to challenge Audi. The 458s are strong, they are class favs, but, dont coulnt out the Vettes. They have good record around the track. The #51 AF Corse driven by Fisi, Bruni&Vilander are 1 of the strongest GTE driver line up. Bruni always push hard and great to watch him.

Thanks mate. I really only "watch" the 458's

[Rob]

Qualifications LM GTE Pro: Luxury Racing confirms
15/06/20120:33 - Auto News - LE MANS 24 HOURS 2012

After the fastest time of the LM GTE Pro during the Test Day June 3, Frederic Makowiecki confirms this performance to the end of qualifying.


Frederic Makowiecki (Ferrari 458 Italia 59, Luxury Racing, LM GTE Pro): "We have not made ​​specific adjustments to get the fastest time, but I'm very happy with this pole position, which means a point more for the Endurance World Championship by the FIA. The race will be very tight, because the differences are very small in our category. "

[Rob]

Pescarolo disappointed by Boullion's withdrawal from Le Mans 24 Hours
By Sam Tremayne Friday, June 15th 2012, 13:31 GMT

Henri Pescarolo says he is disappointed by Jean-Christophe Boullion's withdrawal from this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, but has backed his #16 squad to cope in the Frenchman's absence.

Boullion crashed heavily on Wednesday at the La Sarthe circuit, damaging his ribs in what he described as a 'very violent accident'.

The team was able to repair the 03-Judd in time for the second qualifying session, and eventually captured 13th on the grid. Boullion did not get back in the car however, and officially withdrew from the race on Thursday.

"Of course I am disappointed because I like him and I think it is better to have three drivers," team owner Pescarolo told AUTOSPORT.

"It is too late now, but anyway I was at Le Mans myself sharing with just one other driver, so I'm not worried on that front.

"He didn't mention anything about safety [concerns] to me, he just said he lost the car and that we had to find the reason. We found it in the telemetry, and then Collard and Hall drove for a long time with no problem, but he had some pain in his side and thought he was not able to drive.

"His injuries were not too bad, but he didn't want to drive the car at all."

Boullion said he withdrew out of a sense of fairness to the team, knowing that he would not be able to keep a competitive pace.

"It was a very violent accident. The wheels locked and the car instantly spun. It hit the guard rail ahead of me hard, then took off across the track to hit head on the barriers on the other side of the track," he explained.

"The team did an incredible job to get the car back together for Thursday evening, congratulations to all. I drove again yesterday evening but quickly realised that I had pain in my ribs which was stopping me from breathing properly.

"I said to Henri that it wasn't fair on the team for me to run 10 seconds off the pace because I wasn't fully fit. Because of that, I didn't run yesterday evening and I didn't qualify."

Briton Stuart Hall and France's Emmanuel Collard, who captured pole position in the Pescarolo C60 Hybrid in 2005, will therefore be left without a third team-mate for this year's race.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/100384

[Rob]

Another slice of history was made at Le Mans, with a hybrid car claiming pole position for the first time. 2011 winners André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoit Treluyer (nr1 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro) will start the defence of their Le Mans crown from pole at 3pm on Saturday, lining up on the front row of the grid with the nr3 Audi R18 Ultra of Marc Gené, Romain Dumas and Loic Duval. Toyota Racing had a good qualifying and will start 3rd and 5th, with the nr8 TS030 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Stephane Sarrazin heading the second row alongside the nr2 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro of Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen.

Andre Lotterer’s lap of 3:23.787 was just under two seconds quicker than last year’s pole lap set by Benoit Treluyer, with the top 5 cars covered by 1.7 seconds.

The nr21 Strakka Racing HPD-Honda continued to be the fastest LMP1 privately entered car, with Danny Watts posting a 3:29.622 lap, and will start in P7 ahead of the two Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyotas, with the nr 12 Lola just ahead of the sister car.

The nr25 ADR-Delta Oreca-Nissan of Jan Charouz, John Martin and Tor Graves claimed another LMP2 pole to add to the one the team claimed at Spa last month. John Martin posted a 3m28.181 to head the P2 class with the nr24 Oak Racing Morgan Judd of Jacques Nicolet, Matthieu Lahaye and Olivier Pla just 0.4 seconds behind.

The LMGTE Pro pole position was claimed by the nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari 458 with Frederic Makowiecki posting a 3:55.393 lap to be the fastest GT car at Le Mans. Makowiecki was 0.4 seconds ahead of the nr97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Darren Turner. The fastest FIA WEC car in the LMGTE Am class was the nr99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Allan Simonsen but the Dane was only third fastest in the class after the nr79 Flying Lizards Porsche and the Nr75 Prospeed Competition Porsche were quicker.

[Rob]

Toyota: "a better car for the race"
15/06/20121:30 p.m. - Auto News - LE MANS 24 HOURS 2012


By failing to 1.055 seconds from pole position, the Toyota team confirms the audience that they can count on two TS030 Hybrid to make life miserable for four Audi. Anthony Davidson announced that his car will be even more comfortable in race conditions.


Yoshiaki Kinoshita, President of the team: "I am truly proud of the whole group, be it Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne (Germany), the Department of Motor Sport Higashifuji (Japan), or department" Hybrid " Toyota Motor Corporation. Everyone worked so hard to get here. The effort was worth it. Have two cars in the top five is a huge accomplishment for the first race of the team and after only three days of track at Le Mans. We approach the race forward. The challenge will be difficult but exciting. Kudos to Audi for this hard-fought pole which shows how they will be hard to beat in the race. "

Kazuki Nakajima, driver of the No. 7 Toyota, qualified fifth: "Having the chance to attack with new tires was a fantastic experience for me. I felt good and I really enjoyed it, except in traffic. We knew it would be lower end of the session because the others began to stop in the pits. Our strategy was good: I only had to manage the overflow of a car in the last sector and I lost some time. It's great to see Anthony in the top 3 point and have both TS030 Hybrid in the Top 5 for our first race. I think we can have a good race on Saturday and I hope we will be able to finish without any problems. A big thank you to the team because we have faced some difficulties to be here. We had a problem between sessions, but we came back on track and we were able to fight with Audi. This was a great, great effort on the part of the team. "

Anthony Davidson, driver of the Toyota 8, qualified third : "After this qualification, I think we have learned almost everything we could to the car. I did a good lap and I think we have much to be happy with what we achieved. That does not make much longer I drive the Hybrid TS030 and I go faster and faster: the car is well balanced and I feel at ease. I am excited to be racing to see what we can do. I hope we have a reliable car. I think we surprised a lot of people being so close to the pole position ... and I think we have a better car for the race than in qualifying. Le Mans is a very difficult race, but if we do not have a problem, hopefully, we can afford to be on the podium. "

The start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be given tomorrow at 15 am by Takeshi Uchiyamada, executive vice president of Toyota.

[Rob]

Andre Lotterer makes Le Mans history as first hybrid claims pole
By Simon Strang Thursday, June 14th 2012, 22:41 GMT

Last year's Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer made Le Mans history on Thursday night when he secured the first pole position for a hybrid car on the 80th running of the race at La Sarthe.

The German's #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro set a blistering 3m23.787s lap early in the final qualifying session, ensuring the 2011 event winning crew of Lotterer, Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer will pick up where it left off a year ago.

Toyota's challenge for pole on its return to frontline endurance competition fizzled out at the flag, with Anthony Davidson setting a nevertheless impressive third fastest time overall.

Lotterer set his time early in the final two-hour session as dusk fell, bumping the #3 R18 ultra of Romain Dumas, Loic Duval and Marc Gene to second. The hybrid machine was never headed again.

"It was not a perfect lap," said Lotterer afterwards. "I did not get all the perfect sectors together, but I think we can still be happy."

The expected final dash for pole came when Davidson brought the #8 Toyota TS030 into the pits with 15 minutes to go and bolted on a fresh set of slicks. The time that resulted from that - a 3m24.842s - was good enough to put the brand new car third on the grid, behind the #3 Audi, whose best time had been set by Dumas during in Thursday's first session.

Davidson did attempt a second lap, but came upon Tom Kristensen in the #2 R18 e-tron on an out-lap as the cars headed back through the chicanes towards the pits. The Englishman's lap was unlikely to have got him pole even before the delay however.

Kristensen had taken over from Allan McNish for a couple of laps at the end of the session but it was near the start of it that he set the time that secured the #2 car fourth on the grid.

Kazuki Nakajima set a late flyer in the #7 Toyota, pushing the #4 Audi driven by Le Mans rookies Marco Bonanomi and Oliver Jarvis (joined by former winner Mike Rockenfeller) back to sixth.

Danny Watts's time before the break was enough to give Strakka Racing seventh on the grid - and best of the non-hybrid petrol cars as he broke the 3m30s barrier with the HPD - ahead the two Rebellion Lolas.

"I really enjoyed my fastest lap," said Watts. "I was thoroughly in the zone, focused and concentrated. It was one of those balls-on-the-line laps which came off."

The Pescarolo Dome completed the top 10, but also ended its evening in the barriers at the exit of the Porsche Curves having made contact with a Zytek, and that incident briefly brought out the red flag.

John Martin gave ADR-Delta pole in the LMP2 battle as he moved ahead of Olivier Pla's Morgan-Judd, which had a spin early in the session. The #26 Signatech Nissan will start third. The Brundles' Greaves Zytek will start the race 11th in class and 24th overall.

Frederic Makowiecki took his second pole position in as many weeks as he set the pace for Luxury Racing Ferrari in GTE Pro (the Frenchman was also fastest in the FIA GT1 event for Hexis McLaren at the Slovakia Ring last weekend).

The factory Aston Martin was an impressive second in class thanks to Darren Turner's efforts before the break while Oliver Gavin's time from yesterday was good enough to secure third position in class for Corvette.

AF Corse performed miracles with the #51 Ferrari F458, which had been effectively written off and required a new chassis after Giancarlo Fisichella's shunt at the Porsche Curves on Wednesday, to get it back on track with 30 minutes to go. That allowed Toni Vilander to qualify the car 49th overall and last of the GTE Pro runners.

The #79 Flying Lizard Porsche driven by Patrick Pilet, Seth Neiman and Spencer Pumpelly took pole position in the GTE Am class.

Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Time
1. P1 Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer Audi e-tron 3m23.787s
2. P1 Dumas/Duval/Gene Audi Ultra 3m24.078s
3. P1 Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin Toyota 3m24.842s
4. P1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi e-tron 3m25.433s
5. P1 Wurz/Lapierre/Nakajima Toyota 3m25.488s
6. P1 Bonanomi/Jarvis/Rockenfeller Audi Ultra 3m26.420s
7. P1 Leventis/Watts/Kane Strakka HPD 3m29.622s
8. P1 Prost/Jani/Heidfeld Rebellion Lola-Toyota 3m29.837s
9. P1 Belicchi/Primat/Bleekemolen Rebellion Lola-Toyota 3m31.866s
10. P1 Ara/Minassian/Bourdais Pescarolo Dome-Judd 3m33.066s
11. P1 Brabham/Chandhok/Dumbreck JRM HPD 3m35.421s
12. P1 Montagny/Baguette/Kraihamer OAK Pescarolo-Judd 3m35.584s
13. P1 Collard/Boullion/Hall Pescarolo-Judd 3m37.485s
14. P2 Martin/Charouz/Graves ADR ORECA-Nissan 3m38.181s
15. P2 Nicolet/Lahaye/Pla OAK Morgan-Judd 3m38.598s
16. P2 Panciatici/Ragues/Rusinov Signatech ORECA-Nissan 3m39.152s
17. P2 Beche/Thiriet/Tinseau TDS ORECA-Nissan 3m39.252s
18. P2 Perez-Companc/Ayari/Kaffer Pecom ORECA-Nissan 3m39.711s
19. P2 Firth/Hughes/Hartley Murphy ORECA-Nissan 3m39.877s
20. P2 Heinemeier Hansson/Leinders/Martin OAK Morgan-Nissan 3m39.899s
21. P2 Sims/Buurman/Iannetta Status Lola-Judd 3m40.280s
22. P2 Potolicchio/Dalziel/Kimber-Smith Starworks HPD-Honda 3m40.471s
23. P2 Briere/Petersen/Nakano Boutsen ORECA-Nissan 3m40.727s
24. P2 Ordonez/Brundle/Brundle Greaves Zytek-Nissan 3m40.738s
25. P2 Dolan/Hancock/Kurosawa Jota Zytek-Nissan 3m41.287s
26. P2 Mailleux/Lombard/Tresson Signatech ORECA-Nissan 3m41.982s
27. P2 Tucker/Bouchut/Diaz Level 5 HPD-Honda 3m42.224s
28. P2 Zugel/Gonzalez/Julian Greaves Zytek-Nissan 3m42.292s
29. CDNT Franchitti/Krumm/Motoyama Highcroft Delta Wing Nissan 3m42.612s
30. P2 Frey/Hirschi/Meichtry Race Performance ORECA-Judd 3m43.619s
31. P2 Holzer/Schultis/Moro Kodewa Lola-Lotus 3m45.664s
32. P2 Giroix/Johansson/Badey Gulf Lola-Nissan 3m47.244s
33. P2 Haezebrouck/Thirion/Rosier Extreme Limite Norma-Judd 3m48.025s
34. GTE P Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher Luxury Ferrari 3m55.393s
35. GTE P Fernandez/Mucke/Turner Aston Martin 3m55.870s
36. GTE P Gavin/Milner/Westbrook Corvette 3m55.910s
37. GTE P Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci AF Corse Ferrari 3m56.484s
38. GTE P Taylor/Garcia/Magnussen Corvette 3m57.181s
39. GTE A Neiman/Pilet/Pumpelly Flying Lizard Porsche 3m57.594s
40. GTE P Lieb/Lietz/Henzler Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 3m57.606s
41. GTE P Alfaisal/Curtis/Edwards IMSA Porsche 3m58.035s
42. GTE P Bergmeister/Long/Holzer Flying Lizard Porsche 3m58.717s
43. GTE A Simonsen/Nygaard/Poulsen Aston Martin 3m58.725s
44. GTE A Ehret/Montecalvo/Jeannette Luxury Ferrari 3m58.800s
45. P2 Rostan/Ihara/Deletraz Gulf Lola-Nissan 3m58.895s
46. GTE A Ried/Roda/Ruberti Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 3m59.181s
47. GTE A Bornhauser/Canal/Lamy Larbre Corvette 3m59.192s
48. GTE P Walker/Cocker/Wills JMW Ferrari 3m59.638s
49. GTE P Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander AF Corse Ferrari 4m00.025s
50. GTE A Perazzini/Cadei/Griffin AF Corse Ferrari 4m00.288s
51. GTE A Armindo/Narac/Pons IMSA Porsche 4m00.332s
52. GTE A Kauffman/Aguas/Vickers AF-Waltrip Ferrari 4m00.691s
53. GTE A Krohn/Jonsson/Rugolo Krohn Ferrari 4m02.323s
54. GTE A Rodrigues/Ferte/Illiano JMB Ferrari 4m02.461s
55. GTE A Bourret/Gibon/Belloc Larbre Corvette 4m02.969s
56. GTE A Camathias/Daniels/Palttala JWA Porsche 4m03.661

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/100369

[Nova]

Great news n pix as always Rob..Go Ferrari...I think this is
one of the greatest races..it should be on live all day...for 24 hours!!
Wow, eTron on pole..

[Rob]

Great news n pix as always Rob..Go Ferrari...I think this is
one of the greatest races..it should be on live all day...for 24 hours!!
Wow, eTron on pole..

No props mate

Eurosport is showing non stop coverage again this year. Always great coverage. Warm up finished little while ago, very wet. The first wet weather running they have had so far. Meant be wet all day today. Be fun to watch #51 458 come through the GTE class. The team done amazing job to rebuild that car after Fisi had big shunt Wednesday night. The Delta wing looks good. They good job to get that car here.

This is the greatest race in the world. Love it

[Rob]

Corvette drivers reckon AF Corse can still win Le Mans GTE Pro despite qualifying crash
By Sam Tremayne Friday, June 15th 2012, 15:37 GMT

Corvette's Richard Westbrook and Oliver Gavin believe the #51 AF Corse Ferrari is still a major threat in the GTE Pro class at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours despite the car missing most of qualifying and having to start from the back of the field.

Gavin insists the Ferrari's lack of running - the result of Giancarlo Fisichella's Wednesday crash at the Porsche curves – will not count against it during the race, and fully expects it to be a contender for victory.

"You often sit there and try and study what other drivers and cars are doing, but the one car that hasn't really been there in the whole of qualifying is the #51 AF Corse Ferrari," he explained.

"It's quite a blow for them what happened on Wednesday, having to go back and re-shell that car and effectively use a new chassis, but I think they'll bounce back. If I had to put my money on any car going for the pole, that is the car I would have selected.

"I would still say they are the strongest in our class, and they're going to be fighting extremely hard. We know that we are going to see that car at some point and go up against it."

Westbrook, who alongside Gavin and Jan Magnussen was fighting with AF Corse for victory in last year's race, said starting from the back would not prove a massive hindrance for the #51 machine.

"We won't do anything different, and they won't do anything, given their starting position," he said. "OK they had the accident, but it was just a blip and I'm sure they will come back even stronger."

Asked whether Corvette could match Ferrari, he said: "We are definitely not as fast over one lap as the Aston Martin and the Ferrari, but we are getting more and more confident with our race pace.

"Our confidence is definitely going up as the week has progressed though - we have certainly made more of a step than anyone else."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/100394

[Rob]

Henzler doubts Porsche chances in the Le Mans 24 Hours
By Sam Tremayne Friday, June 15th 2012, 15:12 GMT

Wolf Henzler has played down the chances of winning the GTE Pro class after labelling his Felbermayr-Proton Porsche's qualifying deficit as 'too much'.

The #77 911 Henzler shares with Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz was the fastest Porsche in the GTE Pro class, but ended qualifying in sixth, more than 2.2s down on the pacesetting #59 Luxury Racing Ferrari.

Henzler believes that gap leaves Porsche incredibly vulnerable to any misfortune during the 24 Hours, and insists that his team therefore needs a perfect race to stand any chance of victory.

"We already knew we are not at the same speed as the others, but two seconds is more than expected," Henzler told AUTOSPORT.

"Are we too far off? We will see, but if you are already so far behind in lap time it means you have no room for error. If something goes wrong you are done.

"If you are the same speed maybe you can gain in the pit stop or whatever. For us, we need the perfect race, we need everything to go for us, in order to stand a chance.

"If everything is fine and perfect maybe we can get the podium, but honestly I think we are too slow to win."