Sarrizan holds pole due to the wet on Thursday
Courtesy of Peugeot
Peugeot
Audi
Racing for Holland
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Stéphane Sarrazin’s stunning last-minute lap at the end of Wednesday evening’s first practice session was finally sufficient to put the N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (Lamy/Sarrazin/Bourdais) on pole position for the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours which starts at 3pm Saturday. Profiting from one of the few slots that permitted the top teams to scrap for the fastest qualifying lap, the Frenchman put the new car at the top of the timesheets with a 3m 26.344s, just seconds before the chequered flag came down.
Wet conditions throughout Thursday’s session ensured that his efforts were not in vain, while the N°7 Peugeot of Gene/Minassian/Villeneuve (3rd) will line up just behind its sister car on the second row of Saturday afternoon’s grid.
Barely six months after the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP car's maiden track run last January, Team Peugeot Total took another important step forward in its Le Mans 24 Hours bid by securing pole position at first attempt when wet conditions this evening prevented any continuation of last night's thrilling fight.
Indeed, the closing minutes of Wednesday's session saw the lead change hands three times in the final quarter of an hour before Sarrazin put the N°8 car in front for good at the stroke of midnight thanks to a lap that the Frenchman describes as one of the best he has ever produced at Le Mans.
With pole apparently safely in its grasp, and with the N°7 car assured of a second row start thanks to an equally spirited drive from Nicolas Minassian, the team profited from today's conditions to get in some running in the wet.
And given that the team had only previously completed less than half a day's testing in rain at Paul Ricard in March, this could well prove valuable if the current spell of changeable weather continues during the weekend.
Jacques Villeneuve, Sébastien Bourdais, Marc Gene and Pedro Lamy covered 45 laps between them as they fine-tuned the set-ups of their respective cars in the wet and also sifted through the different wet weather tyre options the team's partner Michelin has brought to the French circuit. The team rounded off the week's qualifying sessions with the evening's third best time (Bourdais, 4m 1.928s, less than 7/10ths of a second off tonight's 'pole') and its studious run was only upset when Marc Gene (Car N°7) was forced to park up after going straight on at Arnage with a little less than 1½ hours remaining.
Quotes
Michel BARGE (Director, Peugeot Sport): "It is obviously very satisfying to have qualified on pole. Since the green light was given to the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP programme barely 18 months ago, we have taken the successive challenges we have faced one at a time: the car's first track test in January, our first LMS outings - and wins - at Monza and Valencia, the preliminary practice day here at Le Mans earlier in the month, which saw Sébastien Bourdais post the fastest time, and now this week's two qualifying sessions. These different hurdles have helped strengthen the bond between everyone in the team but we are all acutely aware that the build-up is one thing and the race another. We have never hidden the fact that our objective is 2008 and that anything we can learn - in all domains - between now and then will be very welcome experience. We have all been extremely focused so far, and that will continue to be the case over the coming days."
Bruno FAMIN (Technical Director, Peugeot Sport): "Before Wednesday's session, we had nothing to lose, but that was no longer the case after Stéphane succeeded putting the N°8 car on pole position last night! In the end, this evening's conditions meant we weren't called upon to defend our position at the front of the grid and we were able to get in some useful work in the wet. Before this week, we had started to build up a good understanding of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. Today, the results of the two official practice sessions have shown that we have a competitive package over one lap compared with this race's recent benchmark. But we are also very aware how crucial reliability promises to be over the coming weekend."
Stéphane SARRAZIN (N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "My fastest lap on Wednesday evening was one of my best ever at Le Mans. The closer to end of the session we got, the more the track dried out and the more the tension mounted. I gave it everything I had and even took a few risks passing the slower cars because there was a lot of traffic about and the track was still damp in places."
Jacques VILLENEUVE (N°7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "The combination of driving at night and tonight's atrocious weather was very, very difficult. And it was even more complicated with all the traffic about and with some of the slower cars occasionally braking in some strange places. You've really got to be on your toes all the time. Part of the circuit uses roads that are open to normal traffic most of the year and there were lots of huge puddles. It was very hairy and aquaplaning was a big problem."
Pedro LAMY (N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "The conditions weren't at all easy this evening and I found myself aquaplaning several times. We weren't chasing a quick lap and we essentially profited from the session to work on the wet weather set-up. Tonight's conditions were really quite reminiscent of the 2001 race which was truly memorable. I finished 4th but the weather was appalling."
Marc GENE (N°7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "I locked up the front end under braking for Arnage and went straight on. The car suffered a little front end damage, but nothing serious. I am obviously very, very disappointed that we weren't able to complete the evening's programme but I have to say that the car is really nicely balanced as its stands."
Sébastien BOURDAIS (N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "I posted my fastest time after going over a gravel trap when I locked up after being unsighted by another car. It damaged the splitter, but nothing catastrophic. Stéphane did a great job qualifying the car and it’s great to see the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP on pole position for its first attempt at the Le Mans 24 Hours. My dearest wish now is to make it all the way to the finish."
Nicolas MINASSIAN (N°7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP): "My team-mates had a difficult job this evening, especially when the conditions were at their worst. All in all they did a great job and that could well prove useful for the race if it stays wet this weekend."
Audi
Audi Sport Team Joest will tackle the 75th running of the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours from the front row of the grid. Heavy rain showers on Thursday evening prevented improvements over the times from Wednesday’s first qualifiyng session. The starting grid thus remained unchanged.
Fastest on the rain-soaked track on Thursday was Allan McNish who set the best time of the day in 4m 01.257s shortly before midnight. 24 hours before, the Scotsman at the wheel of the number two Audi R10 TDI, had lost the exciting battle for pole-position against the best Peugeot by just 0.572 seconds.
Tom Kristensen set almost an identical time as Allan McNish on Thursday evening. The Le Mans record winner proved as in the previous day that he is in a good shape following his accident-enforced break.
On Saturday, Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello will start from second on the grid with their Audi R10 TDI. The two other diesel-powered sports cars from Ingolstadt will go into the race from the second and the third rows of the grid. Last year’s winners Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner qualified fourth, the "rookie" team of Lucas Luhr, Alexandre Prémat and Mike Rockenfeller fifth.
With positions two, four and five, Audi has achieved a very good basis for the "race of the year". The three Audi R10 TDI sports cars also ran without major problems on Thursday evening. All three cars were disassembled and rebuilt after the first qualifying session on Wednesday. In the second qualifying session they were already running in their race configuration.
Similar changeable weather conditions as during the two days of qualifying are forecast for the race which will start on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Quotes after qualifying
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "The feedback of our drivers was only positive: We found a good set-up for all three cars for both wet and dry conditions. We are quite satisfied and worked as concentrated as possible for the race. Looking at the drivers and the many fans around the track we are definitely not hoping for rain – but if it comes we are well prepared."
Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Over the past two evenings we have tested our car in every type of weather and track condition. We have experienced our car in the dry, on a damp track and on a very wet surface so I believe we are well prepared for all eventualities in the race regarding the weather and this makes me quite confident. Personally I’d prefer a dry race as Le Mans is already difficult and challenging in dry conditions but if it is wet, especially at night, it can become very dangerous. We have a good car for the race and are a strong team and I’m really looking forward to the challenge again."
Tom Kristensen (Audi R10 TDI #2): "We’ve had mixed weather over the past two days in qualifying but we have been fast throughout. Well done to Allan on Wednesday shortly before midnight. Our car has been good in all conditions including tonight. We are therefore well prepared and well motivated and know we have a strong, fast and reliable race car and know we can take the fight to anyone while hoping that ‘Lady Luck’ will help us on our way. But for me it’s just great to be back here at Le Mans and with the Audi team and in the Audi R10 TDI cockpit."
Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Tonight’s session remained wet throughout as predicted and this allowed us to complete many ‘wet’ combinations on our car while importantly all three drivers accumulated a good number of laps tonight. The car was very well balanced and felt nice allowing us to be consistently quick in those varying conditions. Ultimately I ended up fastest in the session and we are all eagerly looking forward to the race with a lot of optimism of continuing Audi’s success here at Le Mans. I would like to add my congratulations to Stephane Sarrazin for his pole-position."
Frank Biela (Audi R10 TDI #1): "Owing to the weather we were qualifying in conditions that we haven’t seen for a long time. Hence we were not able to improve on the second day. On Thursday, the track was permanently wet to some degree. But it was very important to find a decent set-up also for these conditions as it is very likely that the conditions will be similar during the weekend. There were no changes to the previous overall classification in qualifying. The car runs well and I am pleased with the set-up as well. Now we have to wait how the weekend evolves."
Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #1): "Today has been a good day for us. We did a few changes to the car, and now our R10 TDI is very easy and fast to drive under all conditions. I am satisfied with the work done so far and confident for the race."
Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #1): "Due to the fact that rain at Le Mans is more or less new to me, today’s qualifying session under these circumstances was very important for me. It would have been nice to test also some time in the dry to work on a perfect set-up for dry conditions. For the forecasted weather, however, we are very well prepared and we expect a tough fight with Peugeot during the race."
Lucas Luhr (Audi R10 TDI #3): "It was very interesting. Due to the weather situation we could not improve our times of yesterday. That was a little disappointing, because we would have liked to be a little further towards the front. This would have been possible. But it was very important to drive in the wet, in heavy rain and on a drying track. We have learned a lot for the race and we did a lot of set-up work. We are now looking forward to the start of the race."
Alexandre Prémat (Audi R10 TDI #3): "I am very pleased. Lucas, Rocky and myself are fifth on the grid. We got to know the circuit really well. We weren’t able to do a single typical qualifying lap as it was raining and dried out only slowly. We have gathered a lot of experience. We are the youngest Audi driver line-up and are gaining more and more confidence."
Mike Rockenfeller (Audi R10 TDI #3): "We can be very happy. Alexandre was driving a lot, after that I could drive a lot in the dark. The track was wet all the time, so we could not improve our lap times from yesterday. But it was important that we all got a lot of laps and experience also in the rain. We are well prepared for the race. I am very happy and I hope that all will work very well."
Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): "All nine drivers are happy with the set-up of their cars and are able to do fast lap times under all conditions. Today we have learned a lot about rain set-up for our R10 TDI. And if you believe in the weather forecast, this will be of good use during the race. We also learned that Peugeot is fast under all circumstances as well. So the fans can look forward to an exciting race."
Racing for Holland
This Saturday at 15.00 hours Racing for Holland will start the Le Mans 24 Hours from ninth on the grid. The final two qualifying sessions were run today under wet conditions, so the times of Wednesday were not improved by any of the teams. Peugeot will start from pole, accompanied on the first row by Audi.
The first qualifying session today started 30 minutes later than planned. Jan Lammers went out first for Racing for Holland with the Dome S101.5 Judd. But almost immediately Lammers came in, as did the other teams, when a downpour soaked the circuit. When the rain stopped some 20 minutes later and the track dried a bit, it was David Hart’s turn to do his laps. Jeroen Bleekemolen drove the final 30 minutes of the session, which also finished half an hour later than usual.
In the second session Lammers went out early in the session for a short stint. When it became clear that there was no possibility to improve the times before the end of the session, the track stayed wet, it was decided to not go out anymore in the session.
Quotes
Jan Lammers: "The whole plan about the grid position was quite literally flushed away because of the weather. I am happy though about the fact that both Jeroen and David and myself have driven under these difficult conditions. Rain and poor visibility. All things considered we are quite pleased. You can never be enough prepared for such a race but I think that we are all as much prepared as possible. What is difficult is judging how wet it is when you first go out. You do not really see the rain, it is more mist. With the Peugeot’s and the GT’s that is a little bit easier, you see the rain hitting the windscreen and you can tell how heavy the rain is from how much work your wipers have. It is very easy to misjudge this and then it will end in tears. We were all able to get the rhythm. With the possibilities we had I think that we are ready for it".
David Hart; "I started when the track was a little more dry. You prepare yourself for those conditions. I am used to driving with a windshield and like Jan said you can then judge how heavy the rain is. I did not see that straight away, you start to brake later and later because you are happy with the car. But it is also getting wetter and then you sometimes get some tricky moments. But if you look at the times, especially looking at the ‘less competitive’ drivers, those were quite all right. So I am quite pleased".
Jeroen Bleekemolen; "In the first session I was able to drive when it rained. That went very well. At the end of the session I had set the seventh fastest time. That just looked good. In the wet we are quite competitive. You already have five diesel cars in front of you that you cannot beat on pace. One Pescarolo was in front of me and they are also very quick. I was not unhappy. I am pleased about how it went, I am feeling comfortable in the car. In the second session I did not go out. That was a well thought decision. We had all done our laps, you cannot improve your time anymore but you can break things".
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