Le Mans Series Test Days, Paul Ricard – Final Session

Rebellion Racing are packing up, CRS too, many of the team are required across the Atlantic early next week and its job done here for the weekend.

Catching up earlier with Jeroen Bleekemolen, Rebellion’s new signing for 2011 he was:

“Really happy with the team and the car but a bit uncomfortable.  My seat is in America for Sebring so I am sharing one that doesn’t fit too well and in the high speed corner it hurts!”

Bleekemolen’s programme is for Sebring, Le Mans and PLM with Damien Faulkner standing in with Black Swan Racing in the absence of the 2010 GTC Champion.

“I recommended Damien to Tim (Pappas) he’s fast and experienced. I think he’ll do well in ALMS.”

Guy Smith meanwhile was impressed with the 2011 version of the Rebellion Lola:

“Yes it’s down on power but in a lot of small ways the car is much improved on last year.  Ergonomics and driver comfort seem better and after struggling for balance at times last year it now seems much nicer to drive."

“We had a very productive session with the data last night and again I think we found a little more progress with the balance there too."

“Whilst we have a little less top end with the 2011 engines the difference feels pretty marginal from the drivers perspective.  The Toyota engine is great and, if anything we may even have a little more low down torque.  In the exit of low and medium speed corners it has good punch out of the turns."

Mike Newton was still smiling despite the travails of a strangled V6:

“The car is absolutely superb, an order of magnitude up on what we had last year, and I thought that was pretty darned good!"

“The sadness is that with the power we have we lose all that we have gained with the chassis and far, far more besides.  Coming out of a turn even the FLM cars can punch away from us.  We lose the drag race from the moment we open the throttle which belies the theory that we make up something on torque."

“Something clearly needs to change on the restrictor front.  We’re not even asking for parity as we know we make up something with the chassis, but where we are now just makes no sense.”

The changeable weather was proving frustrating for some – Testing fan Sam Hancock was looking for the opportunity for decent running over full stints in the Jota Aston but rain coming and going wasn’t helping.  “I love testing, love learning what we can achieve with the car and I can be just a little bit impatient when we are sitting here waiting for a window!”

The #79 car though was out and running well before the session ended, it’s replacement oil cooler after yesterday’s incident delivered to the circuit by Sam’s brother Ollie.

Michael Waltrip was another man looking for answers that the conditions were making it tough to get:

“This is a bit off a challenge – I haven’t raced much in the rain at all and it’s a steep learning curve – back really to being a rookie!”

Waltrip and his business partner Robert Kauffman will be back for the Le Mans test day and Le Mans itself in an AF Corse GTE Am 430 with Imola and Spa also potential additions to the 2011 programme.

Steven Keating was thoroughly enjoying his time aboard the Neil Garner Engineering FLM Oreca “It’s great, just great.  I’m dropping ito it gradually, setting myself modest milestones and measuring my progress against those rather than other drivers out there at the moment.  This is a team with plenty of familiar faces for me but this is a new challenge and the guys are adapting to it very well.”

The session, and the test, ended with light but steady rain progressively wetting the track and a handful of cars running to the close of proceedings.

Top of the times was the Quifel ASM Zytek once again, with damp weather though the pace had slowed to a 1:49.189.

With engine dramas mid-session the TDS Oreca Nissan would do no better than a 1:52.282, still a second up on the #44 Extreme Limite Norma Judd.

GT2 was headed by the #76 IMSA Performance Porsche, a 2:00.987 just besting the Hankook Ferrari 430, Allan Simonsen again re-iterating how good the Hankook rubber is in changeable conditions “The next test though is how much progress we have made in the heat.”

FLM meanwhile saw the #91 Hope Racing car at the top of the times, Chinese driver Zhang Shan Qi has joined the test line up here but Steve Zacchia is believed to have set the fast time. 1:57.184 the best of the session.