gaijin
06-06-2005, 01:29 PM
ALMS CONTINGENT STRONG IN LE MANS TEST DAY
Le Mans, France - If Sunday's test day is any indication, teams from the American Le Mans Series will do just fine in the 73rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All 14 ALMS teams posted times during a pair of four-hour sessions at the Circuit de la Sarthe, two weeks before the checkered flag will fall on the world's most famous sports car race.
ALMS entries posted fast times in three of the four classes at Le Mans, a testament to the depth and quality of the series. After taking three of four class titles each of the last four years and at least two every year since 1999, the ALMS is hoping for a sweep of all four classes for the first time.
In LM GT1, the battle between Aston Martin Racing and Corvette Racing cranked up again with both teams racing against each other for the first time since Aston Martin won in class at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. A pair of Aston Martin DBR9s took the top two spots in class, more than four seconds ahead of the fourth-place No. 64 Corvette C6-R of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen. The No. 63 Corvette of Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis were another two seconds back, sixth in class.
But the story was the continuing resurgence of the Aston Martin, which saw its No. 58 entry of Tomas Enge, Peter Kox and Pedro Lamy post a 3:50.033. "Our lap times today were encouraging. Although this is not necessarily indicative of our performance in the race, it provides a valuable benchmark for the race week ahead," said team principal George Howard-Chappell.
It was a Porsche parade in LM GT2, except for the No. 77 Panoz Motor Sports entry. Leading the way was the No. 90 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche of Patrick Long, Jorg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard. The Petersen/White Lightning team, going for its third straight class title, turned a 4:04.915. That was about 0.1 seconds faster than the Panoz of Bill Auberlen, Robin Liddell and Scott Maxwell. Another 1.5 seconds back, fourth in class, was the No. 70 Alex Job Racing Porsche followed by the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports entry, also a Porsche. The other Panoz, the No. 78, was ninth in class.
"Our speed is there but the consistency was the really encouraging thing," Long said. "We did what we planned, which was to stay relaxed and just get our work done."
In LMP1, Champion Racing's quest for its first Le Mans overall title got off to a fair start. An Audi R8, the No. 3 entry of JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and Tom Kristensen, was fourth overall and in class with a time of 3:38.791. Its sister car, the No. 2 of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Allan McNish, was eighth fastest at 3:39.418. Neither Kristensen or McNish, however, drove Sunday as they were competing in the DTM race that was held in the Czech Republic.
The No. 3 car, the same R8 that Lehto and Werner have driven to two victories in the 2005 ALMS so far, were more than six seconds off the pace of the No. 16 Pescarolo Sport driven by Emmanuel Collard, Jean-Christophe Boullion and Erik Comas.
Part of the reason lies in a pair of handicaps for the Audis: 50 kilograms of ballast and a reduction in horsepower for the R8s final race at Le Mans before new ACO regulations take effect for 2006.
"Before the start of the race, we can probably make another step forward because we still have some practice sessions coming up next week," Werner said. "We are satisfied with the places we achieved today; they're what we expected."
The surprise of the day may have been the No. 32 Intersport Racing Lola driven by Gregor Fisken, Liz Halliday and Sam Hancock. In his first time in the car, the British youngster Hancock set the fast lap of the day for LMP2, a 3:44.426. Hancock won the 2004 class championship in the LMES.
"Everyone knows that the car is inherently good, and the team was running a fantastic set-up in the U.S.," Hancock said. "They really have been doing a great job because we made some minor changes here, and have gradually worked back to their U.S. settings. The car is very quick, the engine is strong and the drivers are all getting onto the pace."
Also in LMP2, the No. 34 Miracle Motorsports Courage C65 was sixth in class with a fast lap of 3:50.947. Ian James, Andy Lally and John Macaluso will drive the car at Le Mans.
Qualifying at Le Mans is scheduled for June 15-16. The 24 Hours of Le Mans will be broadcast on SPEED Channel starting at 10 a.m. EDT June 18. The next race for the American Le Mans Series is the New England Grand Prix, set for 3 p.m. July 4 at Lime Rock Park. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED (3 to 6 p.m. EDT) and on MotorsTV in Europe, reaching 40 million viewers in 21 countries as well as at www.americanlemans.com.
Le Mans, France - If Sunday's test day is any indication, teams from the American Le Mans Series will do just fine in the 73rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All 14 ALMS teams posted times during a pair of four-hour sessions at the Circuit de la Sarthe, two weeks before the checkered flag will fall on the world's most famous sports car race.
ALMS entries posted fast times in three of the four classes at Le Mans, a testament to the depth and quality of the series. After taking three of four class titles each of the last four years and at least two every year since 1999, the ALMS is hoping for a sweep of all four classes for the first time.
In LM GT1, the battle between Aston Martin Racing and Corvette Racing cranked up again with both teams racing against each other for the first time since Aston Martin won in class at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. A pair of Aston Martin DBR9s took the top two spots in class, more than four seconds ahead of the fourth-place No. 64 Corvette C6-R of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen. The No. 63 Corvette of Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis were another two seconds back, sixth in class.
But the story was the continuing resurgence of the Aston Martin, which saw its No. 58 entry of Tomas Enge, Peter Kox and Pedro Lamy post a 3:50.033. "Our lap times today were encouraging. Although this is not necessarily indicative of our performance in the race, it provides a valuable benchmark for the race week ahead," said team principal George Howard-Chappell.
It was a Porsche parade in LM GT2, except for the No. 77 Panoz Motor Sports entry. Leading the way was the No. 90 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche of Patrick Long, Jorg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard. The Petersen/White Lightning team, going for its third straight class title, turned a 4:04.915. That was about 0.1 seconds faster than the Panoz of Bill Auberlen, Robin Liddell and Scott Maxwell. Another 1.5 seconds back, fourth in class, was the No. 70 Alex Job Racing Porsche followed by the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports entry, also a Porsche. The other Panoz, the No. 78, was ninth in class.
"Our speed is there but the consistency was the really encouraging thing," Long said. "We did what we planned, which was to stay relaxed and just get our work done."
In LMP1, Champion Racing's quest for its first Le Mans overall title got off to a fair start. An Audi R8, the No. 3 entry of JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and Tom Kristensen, was fourth overall and in class with a time of 3:38.791. Its sister car, the No. 2 of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Allan McNish, was eighth fastest at 3:39.418. Neither Kristensen or McNish, however, drove Sunday as they were competing in the DTM race that was held in the Czech Republic.
The No. 3 car, the same R8 that Lehto and Werner have driven to two victories in the 2005 ALMS so far, were more than six seconds off the pace of the No. 16 Pescarolo Sport driven by Emmanuel Collard, Jean-Christophe Boullion and Erik Comas.
Part of the reason lies in a pair of handicaps for the Audis: 50 kilograms of ballast and a reduction in horsepower for the R8s final race at Le Mans before new ACO regulations take effect for 2006.
"Before the start of the race, we can probably make another step forward because we still have some practice sessions coming up next week," Werner said. "We are satisfied with the places we achieved today; they're what we expected."
The surprise of the day may have been the No. 32 Intersport Racing Lola driven by Gregor Fisken, Liz Halliday and Sam Hancock. In his first time in the car, the British youngster Hancock set the fast lap of the day for LMP2, a 3:44.426. Hancock won the 2004 class championship in the LMES.
"Everyone knows that the car is inherently good, and the team was running a fantastic set-up in the U.S.," Hancock said. "They really have been doing a great job because we made some minor changes here, and have gradually worked back to their U.S. settings. The car is very quick, the engine is strong and the drivers are all getting onto the pace."
Also in LMP2, the No. 34 Miracle Motorsports Courage C65 was sixth in class with a fast lap of 3:50.947. Ian James, Andy Lally and John Macaluso will drive the car at Le Mans.
Qualifying at Le Mans is scheduled for June 15-16. The 24 Hours of Le Mans will be broadcast on SPEED Channel starting at 10 a.m. EDT June 18. The next race for the American Le Mans Series is the New England Grand Prix, set for 3 p.m. July 4 at Lime Rock Park. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED (3 to 6 p.m. EDT) and on MotorsTV in Europe, reaching 40 million viewers in 21 countries as well as at www.americanlemans.com.