ALMS, Petit Le Mans - Thursday Morning
Wet, Then Fast

The cars come on track and the rain jackets come out.  Yes, it is Petit Le Mans again.

While the forecast has been mostly good, something happened last night.  Tropical Depression Nicole or something stupidly named like that paid a visit to the East Coast last night, dumping large quantities of the wet stuff on the region.  Last night, in a discussion with “My Lord”, he mentioned back home that rain, if it was light, was measured in mm and if it got heavier, then it may be measured in inches.  Last night was definitely one to be measured in inches.

Thankfully it appears as if the wetness is dissipating a bit as the line appears to be starting to dry in the early moments of the session.

The large number of entries (looking to be 44 for the moment) brought forth some concerns about the pit lane – specifically the space in pit lane issue.  Thankfully, it does not appear as if we are facing Long Beach type crowding.  That is not to say it’s spacious on pit lane, but it should not cause a problem in the race.

Oops – spoke too soon – the dry line, at least at turn 12 appears to be gone.

Ford GT wars – thus far, it appears as if the Robertsons are winning the battle with the newcomers, ACS.  In testing so far, the 04 has been 5 seconds a lap quicker than the new ACS entry.  The 04 is a new/old car – it’s one that has been rebuilt around the original chassis, which was wrecked some time ago.  As far as prospects for the race, both David Murry and Rob Bell are cautiously optimistic about their chances.

A note concerning homologation of the Ford GT – as of now, it is good through the 2013 season.

Halfway into the 60-minute session, only 20 cars had ventured on track.  The unsettled conditions kept a majority of the competitors parked.   Half way through, it was Allan McNish fastest in the No. 7 Audi, with a 1:16.957.  Fastest in P2 was Simon Pagenaud in the Highcroft HPD; fastest in GT2 was Pat Long/45 Lizards and fastest in GTC was the Paul Miller Racing Porsche.

Note the new name for the quickest in GTC – effective this race, the team is now called Paul Miller Racing, being the 4th or 5th (but who’s counting) name change for the team.  The team is continuing with their 2006 Grand Am spec Porsche, upgraded to 2009 specifications.  For next season, the team plans on returning to the ALMS, but in what class has not yet been decided.

For the Flying Lizards, this event is all about the drivers championship.  This is what they are focused on.  With the already deep GT(2) class getting even deeper this weekend, they are concerned that an extended problem could drop them out of the top 10 in class, thus giving them no points and possibly no championship.  If they clinch the drivers title for Long/Bergmeister, then they will concern themselves with the team and manufacturer championships.

For Risi, it’s go for broke.  In order to win any of the Championships, they’ll need help, so it’s simply a matter of doing what they can do for themselves this weekend.  Push hard with both cars and see what happens.

As the session wound down, the racing line dried, but still only 23 cars had been on track.

With 13 minutes to go, it was Emanuele Pirro fastest in the Drayson Lola, at 1:15.139.  Then things got serious:

Pagenaud - 1:13.659
Pirro – 1:13.422
Wurz – 1:13.403
Pirro – 1:13.158
Pagenaud – 1:11.959
Fassler – 1:10.141
Gene – 1:09.638
Fassler 1:09.579

Whew!!!

Finally with about 3 minutes to go, the first of the LMPC competitors appeared on track.  Chapman Ducote turned in a 1:20.234.  Leading the GT(2) class was Corvette Racing in a 1-2, Gavin over Beretta.  Who would have thought that we’d be entering the last race of the season and we’d see Corvette without a win.

All said, 27 cars appeared on the timing and scoring sheets and there were no yellows.  If the race Panoz Abruzzi is here – it’s in top secret stealth markings.

After the session ended, the Oak Racing Pescarolo was towed back into pit lane.

GH