Rain provided a challenging start for all the Zytek teams, including the pictured Strakka Racing team

Peugeot
Aston Martin
Zytek
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Peugeot
Although much of this evening's free practice took place in heavy rain, Team Peugeot Total profited from the six-hour session to get in some valuable running time and set-up work. The crews of the three Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs reported good progress ahead of tomorrow evening's qualifying session and in readiness for the weekend's race which is due to start at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

Following the cancellation this year of the preliminary test day, which traditionally gives competitors a chance to work on the set-up of their cars round the full 13.629km circuit a fortnight before the race itself, the organisers decided that this evening's six-hour practice session would have no incidence on grid positions for Saturday's start. The teams were consequently free to organise their programmes as a function of their specific requirements, without having to worry about the shoot-out for pole-position.

As it turned out, though, and apart from the first 90 minutes, the session was marked by heavy, persistent rain, which prompted the majority of the teams to revise their plans. "The conditions weren't really what we wanted, but six hours of track time with three cars enabled us to learn quite a lot in the end," commented Peugeot Sport's Technical Director Bruno Famin after the session. "It was difficult to stick to the original programme. We had intended to run the different Michelin tyres we have here with a view to collecting data for our race strategy. That wasn't possible given the weather, but we did get in some excellent work with our wets and intermediate tyres in wet and drying conditions, so that was very useful."

The complex conditions produced a few harmless spins, and the best-placed Peugeot 908 HDi FAP when the session ended at the stroke of midnight was the No.9 car (Gene/Wurz/Brabham) which claimed the third fastest lap (3m 31.102s) in the hands of Alexander Wurz. "I was first out in the car when the track was almost entirely dry, although there were still quite a few damp patches," reported the Austrian driver. "I started on wets but we soon switched to slicks, and I profited from a reasonably clear lap to post our best time of the evening. I was able to try a couple of set-up options but it started to drizzle, so I came in early to give Marc and David a chance to drive the car."

The No.9 car was later forced to spend a long period in its pits for a clutch change following an over-enthusiastic getaway by Brabham at the beginning of his first run as darkness began to fall over Le Mans.

Team Peugeot Total's all-French driver line-up in the No.8908 HDi FAP (Sarrazin/Montagny/Bourdais) completed this evening's test in fifth place, with Sebastien Bourdais putting in a stunning series of quick laps when the rain was at its heaviest. "It's been an interesting evening's work," said his team-mate Stephane Sarrazin. "We managed to try practically all the Michelin tyres we have here for this weekend's race, and we got through some valuable set-up work, too. We tried to make the most of the six hours, and our only problem was when the windscreen wiper failed when the rain was still falling quite heavily."

The third factory Peugeot (No.7) shared by Lamy/Klien/Minassian rounded off the provisional top-ten at the end of the session. "We profited from the evening to work on the set-up in the wet and in changing conditions," related Nicolas Minassian. "We could well get the same sort of weather during the race, so it was important to see how the car ran in these conditions. The 2009 regulations mean that we are running less downforce compared with last year, but the team has worked well and the car is nicely balanced. Hopefully, we will get a chance to work on a set-up for the dry tomorrow night."

Thursday evening's qualifying session will revert to Le Mans' traditional four-hour format, with the first two-hour half-session scheduled to kick off at 7pm, and action resuming at 10pm before the chequered flag brings the action to a halt at midnight.
Aston Martin
Le Mans, 10 June, 2009. The three Aston Martin crews have all completed the necessary running to go through to qualifying at Le Mans on Thursday, after the opening six-hour free practice session at La Sarthe.

The practice session, which lasted from 6pm until midnight, was the first opportunity that teams had to drive the legendary Le Mans circuit, in both daylight and night-time conditions. The weather throughout the evening was wet and dry with intermittent rain, making grip levels extremely inconsistent.

Nonetheless, according to the rules of the Le Mans 24 Hours, all the drivers had to complete three laps of night-time running to be sure of taking their place during qualifying -- which is scheduled for Thursday evening. Furthermore the 'rookie' drivers at Le Mans had to complete 10 clear laps in order to be allowed to participate in the race.

With conditions extremely difficult, the priority for Aston Martin was to get through the evening safely and accumulate valuable data during the team's first run with its new LMP1 car on the Le Mans circuit. Although there could be some rain during qualifying, the weather for the race is expected to be largely dry. This meant that the team concentrated on finding a versatile set-up that would work well in a variety of conditions.

At the end of the six-hour session the 008 car crewed by Anthony Davidson (GB), Darren Turner (GB) and Jos Verstappen (NL) was the quickest of the three works Aston Martins with a time of 3m35.996; putting the crew in a provisional eighth overall. The 007 car, driven by Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ) and Stefan Mucke (DE), was ninth with a time of 3m36.732s. Car 009 -- crewed by Stuart Hall (GB), Peter Kox (NL) and Harold Primat (CH) -- was 11th with a time of 3m38.490s.

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Jan Charouz: "This was really tricky weather, but it allowed us to test in a variety of different conditions and learn a lot about the tyres. The grip was really inconsistent, but it's the same for everyone. I think we are as well-prepared as we can be under the circumstances for qualifying, but if conditions stay like this tomorrow, it will be mostly a question of finding exactly the right moment to go out in order to set a competitive time."

Tomas Enge: "We got through everything we needed to, although it probably would have helped us more if conditions had remained dry. My understanding is that it will be mostly dry for the race, so I hope we can have some more time in the dry tomorrow as this is what we need most. The car seems quick, so if we have good reliability then there is a lot of potential."

Stefan Mucke: "It was a very useful practice session although I had a problem early on when our car developed an oil leak. I got the car slowly back to the pits, and luckily I think it turned out to be just a faulty seal. The team got it fixed really quickly and we were back out in less than half an hour. Our car felt very solid even with the different changes in the grip levels, which is always the sign of a well-balanced car."

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Anthony Davidson: "I got my obligatory 10 laps of running in, which was a relief, and then I had to complete three laps in the dark -- none of which presented us with any problems. Although I haven't competed at Le Mans since 2003, a lot of it came back to me: I was surprised at how familiar the circuit felt. On the other hand, there was still a lot for me to learn about the car but we're getting there. Driver changes are one area we still need to work on, but that's just a question of practice."

Darren Turner: "The conditions weren't easy, so we achieved as much as we could under the circumstances: it was just a question of housekeeping really. Anthony got all his laps in, which was very important, and all three of us got more used to working together as a unit, which was vital as well. The car feels good so far, but let's see what qualifying brings us tomorrow."

Jos Verstappen: "For me the most useful thing about this practice session was just the opportunity to have more time in the car. A lot of it was about familiarising myself with small but important details, such as where all the switches are on the dashboard and how to adjust the lights. We learnt a lot about how the car is in wet conditions, but I'm not sure how much that is going to help us if it is completely dry tomorrow."

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Stuart Hall: "The car has everything I expected of it: the feeling was good and I felt comfortable straight away. I used the practice session just to familiarise myself with my new surroundings and the team, which is outstandingly professional. The conditions were very difficult, but the important thing to bear in mind is that they are the same for everyone."

Peter Kox: "As I had so little time in the car before coming here, this session was very important for me to increase my experience. The track was very familiar, but there are always new things to learn with a new car and new team mates -- particularly when the conditions are as inconsistent as they were tonight. But we achieved everything that we wanted to and had no real problems, which is the main thing."

Harold Primat: "Everything was fine and we used the session to work on the set-up. For example, on the Mulsanne straight -- which is normally a public road -- the car kept on bottoming out, so we had to raise the suspension settings slightly. Mixed weather conditions actually seem to reduce the gap we have to the top diesel-powered cars, which could be encouraging for the race."

Thursday's qualifying for the 77th Le Mans 24 Hours on the 13--14 June takes place over the course of two sessions, from 7pm until 9pm and 10pm to midnight.

Zytek
Changeable conditions meant that yesterday's six hour practice for the Le Mans 24-Hours provided an early challenge for the five Ginetta-Zytek's taking part in this year's race. Whilst established LMP2 frontrunners Quifel-ASM showed impressive speed, the need to bed-in parts and drivers dictated a more cautious strategy for the remaining Ginetta-Zytek teams.

Le Mans newcomers Phil Bennett and 17-year old Nigel Moore completed their mandatory 10 'rookie' laps in the Barazi-Epsilon LMP2 and Team LNT LMP1 respectively.

In the LMP2 class, the GZ09S of Quifel-ASM finished in a highly competitive third place proving yet again the speed of the Repton-built car. Joining ASM regulars Miguel Amaral and Olivier Pla was 2003 Le Mans winner Guy Smith. The team completed a total of 40 laps with Olivier recording the quickest time of 3min 56.200 sec.

"I think that we are now really competitive," said Guy. "During the course of the session we have really improved the set-up, now we have a good race car for all conditions. Olivier (Pla) felt the car was impressive and even without running on hot slicks we still finished third in the LMP2 class."

Guy himself focused on a wet set-up and towards the end of the session proved to be the quickest car in the wet; with further poor weather predicted for the weekend this experience will surely prove valuable. The GAC Racing Ginetta-Zytek also proved quick towards the end of the session after a delayed start.

Despite this impressive start, the ASM team is not underestimating the challenge ahead, "Every time you come here you start from a clean sheet of paper, you build up your speed again and get back your reference points" said Guy. "Even though I have won the race in the past I am still learning. Last year was my first time at Le Mans in the wet so I am continually discovering new things."

With today's qualifying session promising finer weather and a more accurate indication of true pace, the Ginetta-Zytek's should have a chance to build on the promising pace shown yesterday and put themselves in a good position for the main event.