Nic Minassian – Peugeot #7
 
“It’s good. At the start of the race I tried to get into a rhythm; the tracks a bit slippery, I have to say, but everything seems good. The traffic was a bit difficult at the start of my second stint, but now we’re going to push a bit more.”

Karl Wendlinger – Aston Martin Racing #007

“The first two stints were very good; the car was very consistent. I had to save my tyres during the second stint, but the car is going very well.”

Greg Pickett – Charouz Lola Judd #12

“We think somebody went into the back of Klaus at the end of the Porsche Curves; but it’s nothing big. We needed to make an adjustment anyway at the rear; so we’ll just patch it up and get it back out there.”

Dr Wolfgang Ulrich – Audi Sport

“Allan said it’s fine to do two double stints in a row, so we’ll do it. When you put a new driver into the car, he needs some time to get settled in. It’s still very early in the race.”

Jacques Villeneuve – Peugeot #7

“We had a puncture, or air leaking; so we stopped. We’ve lost the balance in the heat compared to the other night when it was cold. We hope to get it back tonight.”

Christian Klien – Peugeot #9

“My first stint at Le Mans was great, just great. The lap times are relatively consistent, despite the traffic; I enjoyed it. Even on our car, the balance is a bit different – there’s a bit more front grip than we had on Thursday.

“I have no idea why the light went out. The team told me to come in; I don’t think I hit anything – maybe a rabbit, I don’t know. It’s no big deal.” 

Jamie Campbell-Walter – Creation AIM #14

“Stuart had a blow out going down to Indianapolis. We have tyre pressure monitors on the car, but when it goes like that, you get no warning; and at 200 mph it does damage to the bodywork. We have some ‘cheese wedges’ at the bottom that will need replacing. The AIM engine is going strong, however.”

Woody – Charouz Lola Aston #10

“The car came back in because the steering wasn’t straight. We’ve rectified it the best we could, but it’s not perfect. We’ll have to see if the driver’s happy or if we need to bring it back in for a proper repair. It also affects the tyre wear.”  

Emanuele Pirro – Audi #1

“I’m quite happy. I don’t know really the picture around me, but the car is pretty good. The team changed the nose because I think I ran over some debris. It’s frustrating on the straight in traffic – sometimes I can go shopping faster than I can go in traffic here!”

Allan McNish – Audi #2

“That was a good first stint. I had a good battle with Minassian at the start, but he was in a good position and moved away. I settled into a good position and made sure everything was okay with the tyres and so on. The team had to take some rubbish out of the air-intakes at the third stop, which cost us eight seconds, but that wasn’t a problem. I’m now going to have a shower and something to eat.”

Antonio Garcia – Aston Martin #009

“We’re in a good position and can fight the Corvettes. We’re pushing hard, but I had a difficult second stint – I got stuck in among some LMP2 cars and took a while to get past.”

Hideki Noda – Kruse Schiller Lola #44

“We think a wheel’s come loose on the car. I’m okay after the crash – the guys have worked hard the last two days to put the car on the grid and we want to bring it home to the chequered flag. Driving at night for the first time will be different, but should be okay.”

Johnny O’Connell – Corvette Racing #63

“You have to brake hard here, and I’ve bruised my foot a bit. Physically, we’re fine. It’s a good close fight with the Astons and it will depend on tyre choice. We’re playing it as we’re going along. We’ve got a great relationship with Michelin; we’ll compare our data with theirs and then decide what to do.” 

Hugh Chamberlain – Chamberlain-Synergy Lola #19