2009 Le Mans 24 Hours Preview – LMP1 Part 1

Perhaps predictably we’re splitting this one down by petrol and diesel. It’s almost an even split too – 11 gasoline fuelled LMP1s this year are almost matched by 9 whirling derv-ishes.

Petrol first and the main unanswered question then is going to be whether the gap has been closed by a revised rulebook sufficiently to allow the petrol cars to be closer to the diesels?

We don’t think so, certainly not at Le Mans, but the crucial things here is that the Petrol cars will be closer; and , as we’ll see in part 2, the pressure on the diesels will be greater than ever, with more potential for mistakes and problems the petrol boys (and girl) could just feature.   

We’ll start with the cars that thousands of Brits will be travelling to see.

Aston Martin Racing’s tilt for the top has been a long time coming and they’ve chosen to field it as the factory celebrates half a century since their first (and so far only) overall win here.

It’s been a tight programme in terms of budget and timeframe, all the more so since Jos Verstappen’s heavy ‘off’ in a recent Monza test, but the team will be on parade with all three Lola Aston Martins at Le Mans.

Where do we start with this effort? Evocative Gulf paintjob? Check. Screaming V12 soundtrack? Check. Big name drivers? Check.

This effort will, no doubt, be a massive fan favourite and with a new ‘Evo’ direct injection V12 there should be benefits in both power and economy on tap too – if Prodrive have got their sums right!

The three squads look impressive too.

#007 is the Aston Martin Eastern Europe monikered car – getting around the ‘one team can only enter two cars’ nonsense – and features the regular LMS #007 squad of Tomas Enge, Stefan Mucke and Jan Charouz.  All three are quick, all three are capable of taking the fight to the rest but all three will need to reel in their final percentage point of racing driver aggression here.

#008 meanwhile looks set perhaps to be the hare in the team, Anthony Davidson has Le Mans experience with Prodrive in the Ferrari 550 but has been mired in the world of lower order F1 since. He’ll be welcomed here though with open arms, and is remembered very fondly from his previous sojourn.  Jos Verstappen is another man who stayed perhaps too long in F1 – his speed is unchallenged, his temperament sometimes perhaps questionable but his performance at Le Mans last year aboard the van Merksteijn Porsche RS Spyder was utterly faultless.  He’ll need to repeat that performance this year to keep the Lola Aston in touch.  Finally Darren Turner transfers from the #009 car.  DT has been an ever present in the AMR fold and his reward for an impressive introduction thus far to LMP racing is a promotion to this car.

#009 meanwhile initially looked to be the rear gunner on the AMR1 Lancaster bomber – but with the withdrawal of Miguel Ramos that status is now very much in question.

Harold Primat stays aboard from the regular LMS crew but the tall, affable and quick Swiss is now joined by ex dsc rookie of the year Stuart Hall; a man of course with near podium finishing form here (for Rollcentre Racing), a man blessed with the competitive instincts of a middle aged father and a man for whom winning (whether in a marathon, a casual cricket match or at the Le Mans 24 Hours) takes on an importance few outside elite sport would understand.  Finally we have the very late addition of Peter Kox, another long standing Prodrive favourite, available for recall after the withdrawal of the IPB Spartak Racing Lamborghini. Kox may be a year or three older than Stuart Hall but his competitive instinct hasn’t dimmed. His experience though will be invaluable in pulling together this squad.

If the diesels falter they’ll surely see at least a couple of these cars looming large 

There’s a fourth Lola Aston Martin of course and don’t underestimate the 2008 spec Speedy Sebah car, this the car that competed here last year in the hands of Charouz Racing Systems and, without an early race off and subsequent delay for Jan Charouz the car would have been in the mix for a podium finish at the end.

Nicolas Prost and Andrea Belicchi are back from the regular Le Mans Series squad but with Marcel Fassler on Corvette Racing duty the third slot is taken by another (very) quick Swiss – Neel Jani making his Le Mans debut. 

This combination promises plenty in terms of raw speed. What the team needs more than that though is a trouble-free run. They’ve worked very hard to achieve that aim, and in just over a week we’ll know whether they have made it.

OK let’s move on to the French petrol frontrunners.

Courage Oreca are first up. Hugues de Chaunac’s team produced a pair of new cars for the Spa 1000kms and they were quick, very quick.

The race ended though with one of the new cars heavily damaged after Bruno Senna stacked the #10 car on the run down to the Bus Stop in the closing stages, Aston Martin Racing aren’t the only team to have undertaken a rebuild in the last few weeks.

So the car is quick, the AIM V10 is strong and the Oreca team know how to race and how to win at Le Mans; but how about the drivers?

The #10 car is anchored by Stephane Ortelli and there are few more experienced endurance racers on the grid. An overall winner over a decade ago Ortelli still knows what it takes to bring a car home quickly.  There’s no accident that he’s been placed for the season alongside Bruno Senna – a man who has little to learn about making a car go fast but plenty to learn about feedback and traffic; the reason he’s here in the first instance is to learn all about that. If he’s learning, he’ll be a real asset; if not then he could be a liability.  This pair are joined by Tiego Monteiro, a man who, post-F1, has been plying his trade in WTCC aboard an Oreca-run Seat. Has he got what it takes in an LMP as part of a multi driver team?  We have our doubts but would be happy to be proven wrong.

The #11 car has Olivier Panis as anchorman – blinding speed and a racing brain, he’s a man de Chaunac wants to hang on to as long as possible.  His partnership with Nicolas Lapierre is coming along nicely, evenly matched and cool of temperament; an ideal endurance pairing?  Finally, they are joined at Le Mans by Henri Pescarolo’s least favourite French racing driver. Soheil Ayari has undoubted pace but he has made mistakes, and sometimes some big ones.  He’ll need to be squeaky clean and super quick to do the job here.

Signature Plus step up to endurance racing in 2009 in the top class and in the biggest race.  Their 2008 spec Courage Oreca and Judd V10 may not be quite as quick as the factory cars but it is a well developed and reliable package. The team though will need discipline to cash in on the opportunities they will no doubt get when others falter.

Pierre Ragues and Frank Mailleux have both impressed with their LMS pace, but both have made errors too – no place for that here.  Experienced hand Didier Andre joins them for the big one. This is an effort that needs to feel for their endurance racing limits and stick to them – but they could be a (very) dark horse.

And then there’s Pescarolo Sport. The factory team of course are fielding a Peugeot 908, but its joined by a 2009 spec Pescarolo Judd, a car that has already impressed with its speed and has seen a windtunnel since its track debut at Barcelona too.

Christophe Tinseau will be disappointed that he didn’t get the call to crew the team’s Peugeot, but will no doubt channel that frustration somewhere helpful. Amongst the very quickest men out there, he’ll add fire to the belly of the team already well stoked by the efforts of Bruce Jouanny and Joao Barbosa.  It would be no surprise to see the #16 car run and finish very well up indeed.

Three left and all three share some heritage

Creation Autosportif are first of the trio.  It’s been a seemingly quiet year thus far from Mike Jankowski’s team, now flying an American flag, a reflection of their South Carolinian base nowadays. The car though has been back in Europe and has been getting some subtle development behind closed doors.  Testing has gone well and the team feel they have a relatively quick, balanced and reliable package.

Jamie Campbell Walter leads the driver line-up, and its great to see JCW back. He’ll be a good man to have around for the whole team but in particular for the two other drivers; Vanina Ickx (the only lady in the field this year) being joined by Romain Ianetta.

Both are experienced hands but both will profit from a calm head and a wise word or three from the team leader.  Creation won’t win, and are unlikely to run with the leading pack. A reliability run beckons.

The last pair are both new for 2009 Ginetta Zytek 09S machines; both British cars with British Engines and all British crews.

Strakka Racing got everyone’s attention at Barcelona with Danny Watts scoring a pole position on the car’s debut.  The speed is there then but the team need consistency and reliability and they got neither at Spa. Wise heads though will have number crunched and problem solved and we have no doubt whatsoever that the beautifully turned out #23 car will be fit for purpose next week.

Peter Hardman is capable of good pace but needs to do it consistently. The challenges of a full house LMP1 should not be underestimated and testing and training will be helping him get there.  Nick Leventis meanwhile is adapting well to the new car. He’ll only improve with time in the car but needs to be disciplined in his approach – push but don’t shove. This is a car that could have a yoyo sort of Le Mans and the team will be hoping that the cycle falls their way. 

Team LNT return to Le Mans for the first time since 2007 with a very different looking car but a familiar looking team.

If ever there was a team that could rightly be described as a works entry then this is it – all three drivers work for the company!

First up is one of two men that already have class winning form at Le Mans for LNT (in LMGT2 in 2006 in the Panoz Esperante). Lawrence Tomlinson’s journey in motorsport has been a very interesting one indeed. He’s always made it clear that he wanted to race at Le Mans in a car that his company had built and, with the acquisition of a substantial chunk of Zytek Engineering, he can rightfully claim to have achieved that this year. 

His pace in testing was more than satisfactory and he’ll be well aware of just what this race takes out of a driver. He’ll have been training very hard indeed to offset the rigours ahead but there will be few on the grid more pleased to be there.

Ginetta Managing Director Richard Dean stood alongside Tomlinson on the Le Mans podium in 2006 and he’s the second of the company’s top table aboard the #6 car.  As comfortable in a business suit as a race suit these days, he still though has the dollop of raw racing passion in his psyche that is required at this event. He’s likely to be there or thereabouts on pace in the race, steadily quick rather than outright spectacular; but, as he and Tomlinson know well, that can, if things go your way, pay big dividends.

The final driver is one of THE stories of the 2009 race.  Nigel Moore is set to be the youngest British driver ever to start the Le Mans 24 Hours.  Blindingly fast in a GT car, this is a big step up in the very early stages of what looks set to be a long career.

He has a day job that involves building Ginetta G50s, a weekend job that involves driving G50s very fast indeed and a salary package that includes a drive at the Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP1 car. His very first test in the car saw him lap Snetterton just a second slower than none other than Guy Smith – if he can match that speed with control and discipline then we could see a very impressive run. 

GG