ILMC/ LMS, Spa 1000kms - Post Race Quotes

Franck Montagny

“It was hard but with the Peugeot you can do anything!  Start from the back and reach the front, no problem.  It is really good to get this feeling, we have a positive attitude and we feel secure now with what we have.  We know now that we are in the game, and as well as the podium that is the big thing we take away from here." [On querying in relation to the apparent ease that Pagenaud could set the fastest lap and then another one immediately after, a full second quicker] “He was on new tyres and low fuel because it was so late in the race.  It was unlucky what happened to them and Simon is a great driver so it is a shame that he could not join us on the podium."

“The cars are so fast now, it is really hard to get through traffic.  We really have to push the performance all the time and it is hard out there.  We can’t touch anything with our cars because the body is so thin, the mounts are so precise, as we have seen with the Audi also.  We also have to run very low downforce everywhere now.  The other cars are so hard, we don’t just pass them anymore, we have to overtake and we have to brake hard all the time.   This is tough in a six hour race, over 24 hours this will be very tough on us.”

Nicolas Minassian

“We didn’t feel too downbeaten about the qualifying situation and I think we took it all well.  It was unfortunate and maybe we wouldn’t have had pole but I don’t think we would have been far off.  The Audi had the pace in qualifying, but not in the race.  I think they found their setup very quickly and we took a little longer, then we didn’t get a chance to show our potential in qualifying.  The #7 car had a perfect race, they drove brilliantly, great strategy and nothing broke.  We can all be really positive about that."

“Everything is changed now.  The 908 was so much faster than everything last year that Le Mans was always ours to lose, but this time Audi have done something very good.  If we are behind, it won’t be by much and I think this year will be a return to proper endurance racing.  The smaller engines and less power mean a different approach and the engineers will be working hard to get everything perfect, just like the Audi race last year.”

Marc Lieb

“It was quite a hard impact and he hit me right on the tyre so it was the worst possible place to be hit.  You can see on the replay that he was trying to pass but realised he wouldn’t make it so tried to hold back so it wasn’t deliberate or anything.  The real problem was the FLM car in front of Bell, it was slowing us all up so much that is why Fisichella tried to get past, because this guy was just so slow.  Now we have two bad results.  The FLM cars are ridiculous.  Yes, you get gentleman drivers in P1 and P2, but their cars have power and downforce so they can race away from our GT cars but FLM is just a joke."

“The championship is done now, gone.  The car was not 100% after the repairs but was still good considering the damage and allowed us to continue and survive.  This is not what we are here for, but it is just really bad luck.  We’ve had two good seasons, now we are having a shit one.  It is a good car, drivers, team and crew.  We’ll fight for the wins and podiums now for the rest of the season, we have nothing to lose.”

Julien Jousse

“We did all we could, we were fast and reliable and we are pleased with 6th position but of course it is frustrating that the best you can expect is to do as well as you can and hope others have problems."

“Now we wait to see what the ACO will do about equivalence before Le Mans but its not likely to be enough!”

Nicolas Armindo

“I’m delighted with the win – the season is back on track now – I’m even more pleased though for Raymond (Narac) He has put such effort into preparing for the Championship and he deserves to take the rewards."

“Le Mans is next and of course we’re looking forward to that too.”

Hugues de Chaunac

“In LMP1 you need reliability to win and our fuel pump problem meant we didn’t get it this time.

“At Le Mans reliability , and the team’s ability to deal with any problems will be the key if we want to come home with a good result."

“In LMP2 it was a fantastic result, the first win for the new car and whilst it is too early to say whether either team will be at Le Mans I hope that perhaps at least one of them might make it."

Adam Christodoulou

"That's a tough way to miss out on a podium.  Klaas was going really well and he looked to be on, perhaps even for second.  Sometimes there's no justice!"