Audi holds 2-3-4 in Le Mans warm-up |  |
- Audi holds 2-3-4 in Le Mans warm-up
- Porsche qualifying report from the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Flying Lizard Motorsports qualify 3rd and 12th for the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Audi R18 TDI takes pole position for the 79th 24 Hours of Le Mans
| Audi holds 2-3-4 in Le Mans warm-up Posted: 11 Jun 2011 02:11 AM PDT The three Audi R18 TDI cars of Audi Sport Team Joest have completed the warm-up for the Le Mans 24 Hours without any problems. Car number “3” is in perfect shape again as well. After Tom Kristensen’s accident in Thursday’s qualifying the R18 TDI was completely dismantled and rebuilt. As early as on Friday afternoon the car was back on its wheels. After a brief check at the beginning of the warm-up session Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish were immediately able to drive consistently fast lap times. All nine Audi drivers participated in the 45-minute warm-up practice – and all nine made positive comments about the handling of the Audi R18 TDI so that no major modifications will be necessary before the start of the race. The three Audi R18 TDI cars occupied positions two, three and four. The fastest laps were not completed, however, in order to be able to make the driver changes as scheduled. At the start of the race at 3 p.m. (CEST) Timo Bernhard (#1) Benoit Treluyer (#2) and Allan McNish (#3) will be at the wheel of the three Audi R18 TDI cars. During the race they will take turns in alphabetical order: Audi R18 TDI #1: Timo Bernhard > Romain Dumas > Mike Rockenfeller                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Related posts:
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| Porsche qualifying report from the 24 Hours of Le Mans Posted: 10 Jun 2011 09:24 AM PDT The first step is taken with success. Porsche customer teams from all over Europe and the USA have secured good grid positions after the qualifying sessions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The fastest Porsche driver, works pilot Marc Lieb (Germany), planted the Felbermayr 911 GT3 RSR on seventh in the GTE Pro class. Lieb competes for last year’s winning team with works drivers Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany). Four other 2011-spec 911 GT3 RSR take up the race in the GTE Pro category. In the GTE Am class, three 911 GT3 RSR from last year take off into the 79th edition of the long distance classic on Saturday at 15.00 hours from positions two, three and four.
The crew of the #75 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR also finished the qualifying without problems. Porsche factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany) clinched the ninth grid spot for the ProSpeed Competition squad. “Today we worked on our race set-up,” said Holzer. “Yes, we were faster yesterday but our car was rather twitchy, and that wouldn’t have been optimal over the race distance. There are a couple of damn fast corners here in Le Mans so you need a car that you can trust. And now we have that car.” Joining forces with the 22-year-old is Le Mans veteran Marc Goossens (Belgium) as well as Le Mans rookie Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands). A damaged damper and an accident threw the schedule of the Flying Lizard Motorsports into disarray. “Because of the faulty shock absorber we worked in the wrong direction for a long time during yesterday’s practice session,” explained Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany). “Then we lost time when a competitor spun and I couldn’t avoid him. The repairs were extensive. We decided to forget about turning an extra qualifying lap and instead we concentrated totally on finding a set-up.” Bergmeister takes up the marathon on Saturday with his works driver colleague Patrick Long (USA) and Germany’s Lucas Luhr from 12th position in the GTE Pro class. Grid position 14 went to Nick Tandy in the second 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton. The Briton currently leads the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup series as well as the German Carrera Cup, but this marks his first race in Le Mans. His teammates are Abdulaziz Al Faisal from Saudi Arabia and Bryce Miller from the USA. The French IMSA Performance Matmut squad had counted on a better grid position than 16th. Still, after team owner Raymond Narac’s accident during the first free practice, Porsche works driver Patrick Pilet, Narac and Le Mans newcomer Nicolas Armindo (all France) could only begin their set-up work this afternoon and therefore lag be-hind. In the GTE Am sports car class, Austrian Horst Felbermayr Junior qualified the 911 GT3 RSR of Proton Competition on second place. His teammates are Horst Felbermayr Senior and team owner Christian Ried (Germany). Position three was snatched by Larbre Competition’s all French line-up of Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon and Jean-Philippe Belloc. Grid spot four in the GTE Am class went to Americans Seth Neiman, Darren Law and Spencer Pumpelly from the Flying Lizard Motorsports team. Porsche’s head of motorsport, Hartmut Kristen, praised the teams’ professional preparations for the race. “They all worked hard to find an optimal set-up. Taking the Balance of Performance into account, the teams made the most out of what was possible.” The race gets the green light at 15.00 hours on Saturday, 11th June. Television stations Eurosport and Eurosport 2 broadcast the race alternately around the clock with 15 hours of live coverage shown on the main station, Eurosport. GTE-Pro
GTE-Am
                                              - Porsche Motorsport Related posts:
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| Flying Lizard Motorsports qualify 3rd and 12th for the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:40 AM PDT The Flying Lizard Motorsports team has had its work cut out for them this week. We have also seen a bit of role reversal with the two cars. In the ALMS, both cars run in the GT class, with the no44 usually off pace but comes forward over the race. The no45 is always toward the front. At Le Mans, the no80 has had its share of padlock and a slower pace compared to the BMW’s, Ferrari’s and Corvette’s. The no81, driven by Neiman, Law and Pumpelly has been performing very well. If you’re not familiar with the GTE-Am class, the cars have to be a year old model with one pro-driver out of the three. Due to the ALMS Long Beach race/schedule, the team did not make it over for the Le Mans testing day. However, most of their competition was, collecting valuable data along the way. Qualifying took place over three session with one on Wednesday and two yesterday. The no81 landed third on grid in GTE-Am. With a good number of lead changes between the no61 Af Corse Srl Ferrari and the no63 Proton Competition Porsche. Team manager Eric Ingraham added, “There’s never enough time here at Le Mans – ten hours of track time and you still can’t get everything accomplished. The No. 81 crew did a great job at getting the car together. We didn’t specifically focus on qualifying times but the general speed of the No. 81 looks encouraging.” The no80 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was not so lucky. Towards the end of the first qualifying season yesterday, Bergmeister was not able to avoid a spun car, resulting in heavy damage. Chief strategist Thoms Blam said, “It’s been a challenging few days for the No. 80 car. We were making good progress until the end of the first session today when a car spun in front of Joerg and they made heavy contact. The crew did a great job getting the car repaired quickly and out again for last hour of the final session. We were able to get things back on track and we feel like we are close to a good setup for the race.” The fastest lap was a 4:01.024 putting them 12th on grid. The top spot went to the no55 BMW with a 3:57.592, almost 4 seconds faster. Pole position is not everything in a 24 hour race! Photos: © Bob Chapman Related posts:
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| Audi R18 TDI takes pole position for the 79th 24 Hours of Le Mans Posted: 10 Jun 2011 04:23 AM PDT The front row of the grid at the 79th edition of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans belongs to Audi. In one of the most thrilling qualifying events in recent years the new Audi R18 TDI and the company’s ultra-lightweight technology prevailed. Benoit Treluyer set a time of 3m 25.738s and clinched the top grid position for Audi. His French team-mate Romain Dumas was merely 0.061 seconds slower.
For Audi, this marks the sixth pole position at Le Mans in total and the first since 2006 when the brand with the four rings achieved the first victory of a diesel-powered vehicle at the world’s most famous endurance race. Although Audi Sport Team Joest concentrated on preparing for the race again on Thursday night, the three Audi R18 TDI cars set the pace in the two final qualifying sessions. Benoit Treluyer’s performance was particularly impressive. The Frenchman clinched the pole position 30 minutes before midnight on the 21st lap of a race simulation on used tires – also thanks to the full LED headlights of the R18 TDI which ensure optimal illumination of the track at night. The competition despite making several attempts to do so tried in vain to beat Treluyer’s fastest time in the final phase of the captivating qualifying in which the fastest six cars were running within just six tenths of a second. This was the first pole position at Le Mans for Treluyer, who together with Marcel Fassler and Andre Lotterer, will start from the grid in the number “2” Audi R18 TDI. In the Audi R18 TDI trimmed for uncompromising lightweight design Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller clinched the front row as well. The car designated as number “1” had been slightly damaged in the first qualifying session on Wednesday night. The crew of car number “3” on the other hand is in for a lot of work. While trying to push forward onto the two front rows of the grid from fifth place Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen slid against the track barrier in the “Tertre Rouge” section. Despite extensive damage the R18 TDI driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish can be repaired before the race. The single-component carbon fiber monocoque remained intact in the impact. The 79th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be started on Saturday at 3 p.m. by FIA President Jean Todt. Audi has the chance to secure its tenth Le Mans victory. In view of the extremely narrow time gaps between the front runners it will be more important than ever to deliver a zero-mistake performance in the race. Related posts:
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