Source: lemans.org
Peugeot have taken this years qualifying by storm and when the chequered flag fell they occupied a very impressive 1st, 2nd and 3rd in LM P1. The Audis did begin to speed up towards the end of the session but pole is safe for the #8 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP driven by Lamy, Sarrazin and Wurz.
They never came under any threat all the way through two days of qualifying; however it is interesting to see that at one point when both Audi and Peugeot were running in 'race trim' they were both putting in steady 3:26/27 laps.
So maybe they are in fact rather more evenly matched than it looks on the time sheets. Whatever the times might say there is no doubt that both teams have carefully worked out their race strategy, almost regardless of these qualifying performances.
However Peugeot are facing some problems rebuilding the #9 Peugeot Sport Total, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP that crashed heavily. The team will now be under pressure to ship more spare parts down to Le Mans to virtually rebuild the car. After #7 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP was written off during testing the team are facing a tense build up to the race despite their tremendous outright speed advantage.
"Our car is quick and handles well," said Jacques Villeneuve. "We are ready for the race. I put in a lot of laps at night on Wednesday, whereas today I put in a short run early on and then another in the dark. Everything's fine. The Peugeot team is fantastic. The guys are totally committed and passionate about their work. They did a great job rebuilding our car in such a short time after its accident on the preliminary test-day."
The fastest petrol powered car was the #10 Charouz Racing System, Lola Aston Martin which was eventually 6th overall ahead of the #1 Audi Sport North America, Audi R10 driven by Biela, Pirro and Werner
In LMP2 the Porsche Spyders have been swapping times all the way through qualifying. It has been an impressive show and they are placed 14th and 16th overall. Next up in 19th place is the #32 Barazi Epsilon, Zytek 07S driven by Barazi, Vergers and Moseley. They are almost two seconds behind the two Porsches.
In LMGT1, the quickest car is the #63 Corvette Racing, Corvette C6.R of O'Connell, Magnussen and Ron Fellows, which has been at the top of the sheets most of the day.
The surprise is seeing the #50 Larbre Competition, Saleen S7R of Bouchut, Bornhauser and Smet lying second ahead of the powerful line up in the #64 Corvette Racing, Corvette C6.R of Beretta Gavin and Papis. After a slow start the #009 Aston Martin Racing, Aston Martin DBR9 of Brabham,Garcia and Turner has moved into a more encouraging 4th in class. So there is a very interesting mix of cars in LMGT1 and they all seem pretty evenly matched.
In LMGT2, the Porsches have shown their strength and finally dominated the Ferraris with the #76 Imsa Performance Matmut, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR on pole driven by Narac, Longa and Lietz. Second in class was the #77 Team Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Davison, Henzler and Felbermayrsen. Third was the #96 Virgo Motorsport, Ferrari F430 GT driven by Bell, Sugden and Mullen. This was a bit of a surprise since the Ferraris were expected to be quicker than the Porsches.
Peugeot have taken this years qualifying by storm and when the chequered flag fell they occupied a very impressive 1st, 2nd and 3rd in LM P1. The Audis did begin to speed up towards the end of the session but pole is safe for the #8 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP driven by Lamy, Sarrazin and Wurz.
They never came under any threat all the way through two days of qualifying; however it is interesting to see that at one point when both Audi and Peugeot were running in 'race trim' they were both putting in steady 3:26/27 laps.
So maybe they are in fact rather more evenly matched than it looks on the time sheets. Whatever the times might say there is no doubt that both teams have carefully worked out their race strategy, almost regardless of these qualifying performances.
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| The Peugeot 908 diesel car captured pole position. |
However Peugeot are facing some problems rebuilding the #9 Peugeot Sport Total, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP that crashed heavily. The team will now be under pressure to ship more spare parts down to Le Mans to virtually rebuild the car. After #7 Team Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP was written off during testing the team are facing a tense build up to the race despite their tremendous outright speed advantage.
"Our car is quick and handles well," said Jacques Villeneuve. "We are ready for the race. I put in a lot of laps at night on Wednesday, whereas today I put in a short run early on and then another in the dark. Everything's fine. The Peugeot team is fantastic. The guys are totally committed and passionate about their work. They did a great job rebuilding our car in such a short time after its accident on the preliminary test-day."
The fastest petrol powered car was the #10 Charouz Racing System, Lola Aston Martin which was eventually 6th overall ahead of the #1 Audi Sport North America, Audi R10 driven by Biela, Pirro and Werner
In LMP2 the Porsche Spyders have been swapping times all the way through qualifying. It has been an impressive show and they are placed 14th and 16th overall. Next up in 19th place is the #32 Barazi Epsilon, Zytek 07S driven by Barazi, Vergers and Moseley. They are almost two seconds behind the two Porsches.
In LMGT1, the quickest car is the #63 Corvette Racing, Corvette C6.R of O'Connell, Magnussen and Ron Fellows, which has been at the top of the sheets most of the day.
The surprise is seeing the #50 Larbre Competition, Saleen S7R of Bouchut, Bornhauser and Smet lying second ahead of the powerful line up in the #64 Corvette Racing, Corvette C6.R of Beretta Gavin and Papis. After a slow start the #009 Aston Martin Racing, Aston Martin DBR9 of Brabham,Garcia and Turner has moved into a more encouraging 4th in class. So there is a very interesting mix of cars in LMGT1 and they all seem pretty evenly matched.
In LMGT2, the Porsches have shown their strength and finally dominated the Ferraris with the #76 Imsa Performance Matmut, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR on pole driven by Narac, Longa and Lietz. Second in class was the #77 Team Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Davison, Henzler and Felbermayrsen. Third was the #96 Virgo Motorsport, Ferrari F430 GT driven by Bell, Sugden and Mullen. This was a bit of a surprise since the Ferraris were expected to be quicker than the Porsches.
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