Paolo Ruberti
Stuart Hall
Harold Primat
Olivier Pla
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Paolo Ruberti
Nobody gets on the 24 Hours of Le Mans podium by chance. The most famous race of the world has always been very challenging, full of insidious bits and merciless with who commits mistakes. Last year, Paolo Ruberti finished the race in second place, a result that was the anticipated the victory at the 24H of Spa a few weeks later.

The driver from Verona did not miss the chance this year too and engraved his name again on the second place of the podium of Le Mans. This is a result that is entirely Italian, staring from the crew completed by Matteo Malucelli and Fabio Babini. A tricolor was also on the livery of the F430 GT2 with Pirelli tyres lined up by BMS Scuderia Italia.

After the fifth place in qualifying, the Italian trio ran a constant race without any mistakes keeping contact with the highest positions. The progressive debacle of Porsche made easier the podium hopes of the crew of the number 97 Ferrari: first the third position and finally the second position in the closing hours awarded drivers and team, both author of a spotless performance.

"It is strange to 'get used' to go on the podium at Le Mans", declared Ruberti at the end of the prize ceremony. "This is a unique race whereby a podium is worth more than a lot of victories. We made a good work since qualifying: the car was competitive, well balanced and we have always been faithful in a good result. Being an entirely Italian team gave us a further motivation and added value to our podium".
Stuart Hall
London, 16 June, 2009. British racing driver, Stuart Hall (GB), experienced a challenging debut race for Aston Martin Racing in the 77th Le Mans 24 Hour race. Driving the number 009 Gulf-liveried LMP1 prototype with Peter Kox (NL) and Harold Primat (CH), the Bishops Stortford-based driver got off to a promising start but was eventually excluded from the race. A vital decision by the race stewards following Hall's involvement in a crash with an LMP2 car meant that he was forced to retire, while Kox and Primat took the 009 wheel for the remainder of the race.

Hall recalled the incident, "I was approaching the Ford chicane before the pits and the Radical was in front. I passed him to the left, and then with Tom Kristensen in the leading Audi large in my mirrors, I moved to the right to let him by. The Radical was behind me, or in the pit lane -- I certainly couldn't see him but I know I left him plenty of room. There was then a relatively light contact, no damage to our car, but the result was much more serious for the Radical which I am very sorry for."

The 24-year-old BRDC (British Racing Drivers' Club) Superstar otherwise impressed the team over the course of the weekend. Despite difficult weather conditions in practice and limited time to adjust to the new car, the young Englishman made good progress.

The race itself was eventful. The 009 car experienced problems and forced the drivers to pit early on. The car re-entered the field and made up 16 places but the difficulties were destined to continue - Hall's exclusion coming a few hours before 009 car's eventual retirement from the race. The car spun off during the 18th hour, hitting a barrier at turn 17 (the entry to the famous Porsche curves), whilst Primat was driving. The Aston Martin Racing team otherwise exceeded expectations by finishing an excellent fourth overall in this year's race with the 007 car the quickest of the petrol runners from start to finish.

"I've learned so much this weekend," said Hall. "I am obviously gutted about the stewards' decision to exclude me during the race but I have spoken with the team and apologised for what happened. I have to take it on the chin and learn from everything that I've been a part of here at Le Mans this year. It's been an amazing experience driving for Aston Martin Racing and a privilege to work with such a professional team. I'm really pleased about the overall team result and I hope to return to Le Mans next year."

Stuart is now back in the UK, to resume his intense training schedule.

Harold Primat
A tough 24 Hours for Primat at Le Mans

Harold Primat discovered just how tough the Le Mans 24 Hours can be on both driver and machine last weekend having endured a frustrating 2009 race thanks to a catalogue of issues that plagued the #009 Lola-Aston Martin throughout.

Handed the honour of starting this year's event, Primat made progress early on but was soon forced in for an alternator change after less than an hour's running. The stop cost the car several laps and eventually returned to the track with co-driver Peter Kox at the wheel. It wasn't long however before the Dutchman was back in, this time to serve a one minute stop-and-go penalty handed down by race officials -- the punishment a result of work that had taken place on the car whilst on the grid to repair an electrical problem immediately before the start.

Further problems would result in yet more lost time for 009 during team mate Stuart Hall's first stint thanks to a water leak costing around 15 minutes. With Harold back in the car however, the team's luck began to change and all three drivers enjoyed trouble-free runs.

In fact, by the time Harold pitted just before midnight at the end of a long three hour stint, the Swiss had climbed 16 places. In typical fashion though, bad luck was about to return when word came through that Hall had been excluded from the race for his part in an accident with the LMP2 Radical which had subsequently crashed heavily. The penalty, considered harsh by the majority of the paddock, left Primat's task all the more difficult, with only himself and Kox now eligible to drive the Aston Martin.

As if that wasn't enough, the 009 crew were about to encounter yet more mechanical woes. At 2:20am the car stopped out on the circuit. It took ten minutes before Harold could return to the pits where the water pump controller was changed in a quarter of an hour. Kox then took over, only to lose electrical power just one lap later, prompting another unscheduled stop.

Finally, after so many issues, the duo were able to string together a series of stints without interruption, and the pair's exploits saw the car running in 26th overall by the morning. With 18 hours gone however, disaster was about to strike.

The cooling issues which accompanied the car for much of the race had largely been contained. But, whilst busy continuing the car's fight back, a warning light appeared on the dash before the temperature inside the cockpit began to noticeably increase. Harold informed the team immediately, but before he had a chance to pit, fluid spilled out onto the rear tyres on entry to the Porsche Curves -- the fastest and most dangerous section of the circuit. Devoid of grip, he lost control and crashed heavily into the barriers.

The huge impact with the tyre wall destroyed the rear of the car, although Primat was able to climb unaided from the wreckage. It was the end of what had been a frustrating weekend for 009 and its crew.

Harold said: "I am a bit stiff and I will take it easy for the next couple of days but I am fine. I had an alarm on the dash for the cooling system and then I experienced some heat in the cockpit so I radioed the team to let them know. My initial suspicions of a water leak were confirmed when we studied the data afterwards.

"It was a shame for Peter and I. We were moving up the field after our earlier problems and we are both frustrated at not finishing. At Le Mans what you want first is to finish but sometimes you have a car which has most of the trouble in the team and unfortunately at this race it was our car.

"I have mixed feelings, it would have been great to bring all three cars home but at least the 007 car finished in the top four and the best of the petrol runners, beating several of the diesel cars, which was a great result for the team."

Primat will return to sportscar action with Aston Martin at the upcoming Le Mans Series round in Portimao, Portugal this August.
Olivier Pla
A bit of a disappointment for Olivier Pla

Qualified fifth, the driver from Toulouse and his Ginetta-Zytek had to retire early at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Olivier Pla and Quifel-ASM Team were ready to undertake ambitiously the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Ginettea-Zytek Nr. 40 has been a key-player of the LMP2 class since the beginning of the season, and was one of the pretenders to the podium. The Portuguese team was unfortunately forced into retirement after four hours in the race, because of braking problems.

Olivier had yet a good start in the week long Le Mans' event. After the traditional technical scrutineering on the Jacobins Square, the team set a promising third time of the free practice session on Wednesday. The qualifying session on Thursday has confirmed the first impressions, the driver from Toulouse chalking up the fifth time. " The Ginetta-Zytek was competitive, either on a wet or a dry track " confirmed Olivier. " We should have been right behind the two Porsches in qualifying, but I didn't have a clear lap. The most important thing was to stay focused on the race set-ups, and from this point of view, the session has been successful. Our car was very well balanced and perfect for a 24-hour race, even if we could guess from the lap-times that there would be two races: the Porsches' and "other than Porsches'" race. The battle with the Lolas was going to be tough! "

Guy Smith was the starting driver on Saturday at 3pm. The Briton had nevertheless to stop in the pits less than one hour after the start, because of engine cuts. The Ginetta-Zytek could go back on track, but a mechanical issue would put an end to the race: Miguel Amaral went off at the first Hunaudières' chicane because of a braking problem. " There is nothing that Miguel could do " continued Olivier. " He was able to drive the car back to the pits, but damage was so big that we could not keep on running. "

For Olivier, who didn't drive at all during the race, and for the whole Quifel-ASM Team, this retirement led to a huge disappointment: " The team and Zytek made such a great deal of effort to get ready for Le Mans. The hard work of several months has not been rewarded. It is hard to put up with it, but this is the way motorsport is. We had a very competitive car that is confirmed by the third race time. We knew that we had a good card to play, but that's just the way it is. "

Olivier concluded by looking to the remaining races of the Le Mans Series: " I am a little bit disappointed, but I need to look forward. We can expect good results from the three races left, especially in Algarve. In Portugal (1000km of Algarve, from July 31 to August 2), the whole team will be highly motivated! We still can fight for the title, and we will do our best. I am even more determined to succeed! "