Le Mans 24 Hours, Race Preview - Part Four

The GTE Ams

#50 M Larbre Competition - Patrick Bornhauser/ Julien Canal/ Pedro Lamy - Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
#55 P JWA-Avila - Paul Daniels/ Markus Palttala/ Joël Camathias - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
#57 D Krohn Racing - Tracy Krohn/ Niclas Jonsson/ Michele Rugolo - Ferrari 458 Italia
#58 M Luxury Racing - Pierre Ehret/ Frank Montecalvo/ Gunnar Jeanette - Ferrari 458 Italia
#61 M AF Corse - Robert Kauffman/ Rui Aguas/ Brian Vickers - Ferrari 458 Italia
#67 M IMSA Performance Matmut - Anthony Pons/ Raymond Narac/ Nicolas Armindo - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
#70 M Larbre Competition - Christophe Bourret/ Pascal Gibon/ Jean-Philippe Belloc - Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
#75 M Prospeed Competition - Abdulaziz Alfaisal/ Bret Curtis/ Sean Edwards - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
#79 M Flying Lizard Motorsports - Seth Neiman/ Patrick Pilet/ Spencer Pumpelly - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
#81 M AF Corse - Piergiuseppe Perazzini/ Matt Griffin/ Nicola Cadei - Ferrari 458 Italia
#83 M JMB Racing - Manuel Rodrigues/ Philippe Illiano/ Alain Ferté - Ferrari 458 Italia
#88 M Team Felbermayr Proton - Christian Ried/ Gianluca Roda/ Paolo Ruberti - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
#99 M Aston Martin Racing - Christoffer Nygaard/ Kristian Poulsen/ Allan Simonsen - Aston Martin Vantage V8

13 cars and exactly the same marques as represented in the Pro class, the Pro-Am class offers similar promise of really close fought racing too.

The cars in GTE Am, of course, must be to no later than 2011 spec and must have no more than one Pro driver on the roster.

Last year’s race winners Larbre Competition return with a pair of ex factory Corvettes – The cars will, as always, be quick at Le Mans and Jack Leconte’s team will, as always, prepare them very well indeed.

Oddly the cars seldom seem to run at the front of the pack but rather let the race come to them, a tactic that served the team well last year.

With a pair of cars, and a pair of seasoned Pros to anchor the effort (ex Peugeot Man Pedro Lamy in #50 and Larbre regular Jean-Philippe Belloc in #70) it would be a good bet to suggest perhaps a potential Corvette win in both GTE sub classes once again might be on the cards.

Aston Martin Racing’s entry in the Am category is the chassis previously (briefly) campaigned by Young Driver AMR with the Austrian team having a hand in the running of this car again this year. It is, aside from the serviceability upgrades on the current car, very close in performance to the 2012 Pro car we hear – This could be a flier

Allan Simonsen anchors this effort together with ADAC GT Masters Aston drivers Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen in an all-Danish driver line-up.  Test day form suggests that there is real speed on tap here – If AMR have dialled out reliability issues that have blighted the Vantage’s efforts thus far this effort could spring a real surprise.

The numbers game between the Porsche and Ferrari runners is neatly balanced with five cars apiece for the old rivals – Ferrari in 2012 means the 458 Italia, the day of the 430 GT2 at le mans is past.

First up is actually a car built in 2012, but entirely to 2011 specification!  Krohn Racing field their predictably ‘Krohn Green’ 458 Italia and will be looking for one of those races where mistakes aren’t made.  Team Owner Tracy Krohn is one of those drivers that seems to either have a faultless run ending on the podium, or a disaster – Le mans, usually, produces the former!  He’ll be ably supported once again by Pro Nic Jonsson and fast Am Michele Rugolo, the team will be hoping that the Michelotto applied paint will stay pristine until Sunday afternoon.  If it does then you can guarantee this team won’t be far away from the silverware.

First of a trio of red Ferraris is the #58 Luxury Racing machine, the French based squad one of five teams with cars in both GTE sub classes.

Pierre Ehret has been an ever present thus far in the car and Spa saw the German joined by the US pair of Frankie Montecalvo and ex Panoz factory driver Gunnar Jeannette.  Ehret and jeannette (which sort of rhymes!) know all about the challenge ahead – Montecalvo will be one of around 40 newcomers – This effort needs to be error free, and needs the Luxury crew to be on their toes if the car is to stay in the hunt.

The #83 car from JMB Racing is a solidly commercial affair with the Raul Ricard based squad needing to line the coffers.  Alain Ferte is a name to conjure with, and he was a name to conjure with in 1983 when he himself was a rookie at Le Mans.  Expect the white 458 to run to a steady pace rather than a searing class leading one!

AF Corse completes a 5-car trick with a pair of 458s in GTE Am.  The #61 car runs under the AF Waltrip banner though the eponymous team co-owner is absent this year.

Rui Aguas is the pro driver and knows how to hustle a 458 better than most.  He’s joined by Waltrip’s business partner Rob Kauffman who’ll be keen to put the nightmare of last year’s race behind him, excluded after Mike Rockenfeller’s shunt for which many saw him as being pretty blameless he’s kept the faith, kept racing and has seen the accident inform opinion and tactics in both the GTE and LMP camps.

We may have no Waltrip but Brian Vickers adds a dash of NASCAR hot sauce to the mix – It’s early days in this sort of racing though for the Nationwide series regular – He’ll improve as the week goes on but is unlikely to come anywhere near Aguas’s pace.

The AF 458 most likely to feature across the full race distance is the #81 car Piergiuseppe Perazzini is the classic Italian gentleman driver and Nicki Cadei represents a younger generation of the same. Both are solid performers but Matt Griffing should have the punch to put the car into class contention.

It’s the Irishman’s Le Mans debut and, to say the least, he’s looking forward to it!  If Sunday morning sees this car in with a sniff then Griffin will keep it there!

So that’s five Ferraris – The five Porsches meanwhile look like a Eurovision Contest of GT Racing (with a US ringer!)

Stretching that metaphor to breaking point the #55 JWA-Avila car will hope for Congratulations and that all of the testing that the crew has been putting in at Snetterton will help them to get the best out of their Pirelli rubber.

That testing has also allowed them to give Paul Daniels plenty of seat time to help comfort and confidence levels – The fact that the Snetterton track has often been co-hosting LMP cars will have been massively useful too.

Joel Camathias will be looking to add a Le Mans trophy to his LMS title of some years back whilst team hotshoe Markus Palttala will be tasked with keeping the car in the hunt.

The French Connection for Porsche is provided, as it has been for several years at Le Mans, by IMSA Performance Matmut, the team though only have a single Am car on the list here for Anthony Pons, Raymond Narac and Nicolas Armindo.

Pons is a recent addition to the ranks of GT racers and only has a couple of years of one make racing behind him.  His form so far though seems to indicate that he has the level of consistency and surefootedness that can make the difference between success and failure.

Raymond Narac is widely known as one of the quickest of the gentleman drivers and his performance at the 6 Hours of Spa did nothing to undermine that reputation.

The team’s Pro though is the potential trump card – Time after time we have seen Nicolas Armindo in amongst the Pro cars.  He’s as quick as almost anyone in either GTE field here – All in all the Spa winning #67 car makes a convincing case as a potential class winner here.

Belgium’s Prospeed Competition are next up here, their #75 car is another that is being used with a degree of commercial opportunism, nothing wrong there of course, particularly as it has given Sean Edwards the chance for his first foray at Le Mans.  The young Englishman seems at the height of his powers and should go very well indeed in support of His Highness Abdulaziz Alfaisal, if the Saudi Prince is on form he could be a handy wingman.

Bret Curtis may be the least well known name here but he does have plenty of racing already behind him, including a podium finish (for Black Falcon) at the 2012 12 Hours of Bathurst and a 2nd place in ALMS LMP2 at Sebring (for Black Swan).  He has proved therefore that he can stay the course.

Flying Lizard’s AM car carries #79 this year and brings a tidy looking crew to the task in hand with team co-founder Seth Neiman is now joined by Patrick Pilet and a returning Spencer Pumpelly.

There’s little there to indicate that any sensible analyst would see the Lizards as anything other than a real contender – Just don’t mention luck!

And finally there’s the #88 Team Felbermayr Proton Porsche, already with a win at Sebring behind it this season the combination of team co-owner Christian Ried, double Porsche Cup winner Gianluca Roda and Pro Paolo Ruberti might not have the big names aboard but it has proven to be a very effective team.

The key here is consistency and consistency at a higher speed than some of the other contenders can manage – Here’s another that needs to be considered in a list of potential winners!