Paul Ricard Test Days – Preview
Into The Unknown Depending on whether ‘new’ means brand new, or in the hands of a new team (and therefore looking new), there are about a dozen new cars listed to be present at the Le Mans Test Days on Sunday and Monday (March 2-3): some of those are so new, they’ll be making their track debut, while others will be making their public debut. It’s a credit to the ACO’s stance (and that of the Le Mans Series) that the LMS is so popular – which is partly due to the links with the Le Mans 24 Hours, partly that these 1000 km events are a relative rarity in Europe. There are other reasons too of course, but the net result is that demand for LMS places is as high, or higher, than ever. Paul Ricard is also an attractive and highly beneficial venue for testing, with its Mistral Straight so useful in preparation for Le Mans. Ricard is also an intriguing circuit: it was such an advanced venue in 1971, when the F1 cars ventured there for the first time – and in many ways, it still is. It may lack character, but is at least very distinctive, and very different from the recent crop of new tracks. And it’s fast. How do you write a preview for a test day event, when so many of the cars are so new, their performance still largely unknown? It’s that performance we’ll be exploring while at the track, but always bearing in mind that different teams have different testing programmes: outright lap times may not be the ultimate priority. For some, it will be new drivers settling into new cars, while at the other extreme, it will be tried and tested cars, perhaps with detailed modifications, and perhaps with some teams so confident in their machines that they may not feel the need to go flat out fast. In between all this ‘regular’ testing, will be still others taking on a 24 hour test. There’s going to be a lot going on. The media centre is not open all night, so we’ll just have to do our best to keep up with everything – but at least we’ll (hopefully) get some sleep… unless we follow Creation’s 24 hour test. Completely New Cars
Saulnier Racing Pescarolo
Charouz Lola Aston Martin B08/60
Epsilon-Euskadi
Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder
van Merksteijn Porsche RS Spyder
Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola B08/80
Aston Martin Vantage GT2
Speedy Racing Team Spyker Laviolette
An IMSA Porsche 997? What a group we have here. We’ve been able to follow some of the details of the testing work carried out by the Lola Aston Martin and Aston Martin Vantage – but the latter, in particular is evolving by the week, so there should be plenty more to tell. The Lola coupe is apparently even faster than we thought around Snetterton (55 something) and it’s this one that is the potential real thriller for 2008’s endurance events in Europe. Could the Spanish Epsilon-Euskadi ultimately match the Lola for impact upon a race? It’s unlikely to be as well shaken down as the Lola – but its progress should be very interesting. It’s powered by the Judd V10 that was initially fitted to the Lola B08/60 tub, so the Lola Aston Martin, with its larger restrictors, should have a power advantage. The Speedy Sebah LMP2 Lola coupe is effectively the second coupe tub from Huntingdon, so it is inevitably a little behind the LMP1. It has been fired up, but hasn’t run yet: all it needs is a tail section. The two RS Spyders have been running like clockwork – so all we need to know (a crucial question this) is how fast they are compared to the other LMP2s. That is a fascinating question, which brings into play all sorts of factors. For the first time, we’ll be able to compare the form of a European-run Spyder with the class rivals. The Horag Porsche is racing at Sebring next month, and so it isn’t present, while the Barazi-Epsilon Zytek also misses Ricard for a run at Sebring. The Spyker Laviolette story needs to be told this weekend, the Saulnier Pescarolo is a new chassis, but should otherwise be fairly familiar – so the last question in this section is, will we see a new, 2008 spec. Porsche 997 in IMSA (or Felbermayr-Proton) colours? Both teams fit into the ‘factory-supported’ class. Revised Cars (And/Or Run By [Entered By] Different Teams)
Team Oreca Matmut Courage-Oreca Judds
‘Charouz’ Lola Judd
Racing Box Lucchini
Trading Performance Zytek
Larbre Competition Saleens
IPB Spartak Racing Lamborghini
Luc Alphand C6.R  Perhaps one of the Alphand C6 Corvettes should have been in the previous group? The French team runs two C6.Rs this year (last year's C6, right).
Jack Leconte runs two ex-Oreca Saleens, the cars that dominated the FFSA GT Championship and the Le Mans Series last year, but had ‘a touch of the Peugeots’ at Le Mans (they ran a little off expected pace). The Russian-backed Lamborghini has plenty of Hans Reiter influence, and this is one of three cars which will run a 24 hour test. If the Murcielago is going to earn a result at Le Mans, this is the sort of test that has to be undertaken. Ditto the two Courage-Orecas (one running a 24 hour test), which as Courages, didn’t demonstrate very impressive reliability. They were quick at times last year – but expect Hugues de Chaunac’s men to have built in speed and reliability over the winter. Favourites to succeed this year, among the open, petrol-fuelled cars? That's Jean-Marc Gounon at Ricard 11 months ago (below) The Trading Performance Zytek, with thanks to Karim Ojjeh’s Mum, is the ex-Fernandez / LNT 07S, which shone at Le Mans and Silverstone in particular. The Charouz Lola Judd is last year’s fastest (conventional) P1 car, which is really a Cytosport entry this year – with support, as in ’07, from Team Jota personnel. The Racing Box Lucchini effectively replaces the team’s Oreca Saleen: the unique Lucchini (with the Judd XV) at last has a chance to shine. Correction: Harald Gallinis points out that this is a new Lucchini, chassis #165. The original car is #152. Familiar Cars
Joest Audi R10s
Creation Autosportif Creation AIM
Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo
Rollcentre Pescarolo
Chamberlain-Synergy Lola AER
RML MG Lola EX265 MG
Bruichladdich Radical
Quifel-ASM Lola AER
Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9
Strakka Racing Aston Matin DBR9
James Watt Porsche
Virgo Ferrari
JMB Ferrari Again, perhaps we’ve got some of these in the wrong group. The Rollcentre (interesting driver news to come) and Pescarolo Pescarolos sport revisions for this year, the Audi R10s are about to be run by Audi Sport Team Joest (and Audi is tackling the Le Mans Series as a true factory team for the first time), the RML entry has a new type number and unique engine designation, the factory Aston Martin has a new livery, so does the Virgo Ferrari – and so it goes on. One of the most interesting stories of the season could well emerge with the Chamberlain-Synergy Lola (full rundown on Sunday). The Creation team had a set-back recently (one Le Mans entry), but look for Ian Bickerton and the boys to come fighting back. Tim Greaves isn’t expected to race the Bruichladdich Radical this year, the Quifel-ASM Lola remains AER (rather than AER Mazda) powered (and with two new drivers), the Strakka Racing Aston Martin used to be liveried as a Team Modena car – and that’s about as far as we can go. Those two R10s won’t have to share the track with the Peugeots this ‘weekend’ (Sunday-Monday), but the 908s have got through plenty of Ricard work anyway in recent weeks. R10 vs. 908 is going to be the story at the front of the Le Mans Series (and Le Mans) events this year (and Sebring – with some Porsche and Acura intervention there), but there’s masses of exciting material for us to work on before that, starting on Sunday morning (no entry to the track on Saturday). The full-season LMS entries not present at Paul Ricard are as follows:
Two Peugeots
One Pescarolo
One Creation
One Epsilon Euskadi
Horag Porsche
Barazi-Epsilon Zytek
Saulnier Pescarolo LMP2
WR Zytek
Kruse-Schiller Lola Mazda (engine installation underway)
Two Embassy WF01 Zyteks (as reported)
Team Modena Aston Martin
One factory Spyker
One JMB Ferrari
One Felbermayr-Proton Porsche
Farnbacher Porsche
James Watt Aston Martin Vantage (not built yet). Le Mans entries not present this week total three in LMP1, the three Japanese entries (Dome coupe and two Courages). | 
