Le Mans 24 Hours - Further Friday Notes

The #80 Flying Lizards Porsche had a few runs up and down the runway at the airport yesterday after the team installed the race engine.

The Lamborghini still seems somewhat under the weather – The team assure us that the car will start the race – How far they intend to run it is an entirely different matter.

Andrew Kirkaldy

“Actually we are very pleased to be only 1.9 seconds off the pole time – Several others seem to have run with softer qualifying rubber and we didn’t.

“More importantly though we have a really balanced car for the race – I think we’ll have an exceptional race car tomorrow.”

Paul Drayson

“Last night was the best motorsport experience of my life. 

“What can you say about this place?  In the dry the track seems fast in daylight but it seems so much faster at night, really exhilarating.

“As for Jonny’s performance last night – I think it mark’s his emergence into the top flight – It was a really brilliant performance.

Alan Mugglestone – Quifel ASM Ginetta Zytek

“We could easily have gone quickly enough to get third in qualifying – we simply  chose not to!

“We’ve changed the mentality here this time out – In recent years when the car hasn’t finished the mindset has been so intense that the guys have been physically and mentally destroyed when that happens – This time we’ve approached it very differently – Do the prep we need to do, get through the programme and then go back to the hotel – The boys come back fresh and we’re in far better shape.

“Our game plan for the race is simple – go as slow as we can, just enough to win!

“The Porsches are clearly VERY aero efficient, down the Mulsanne we just can’t stay with them. We’re hoping they go at it hammer and tongs between themselves.”

Timo Bernhard

“We feel confident and Romain and I feel very welcome at Audi – It’s a very new experience though.

“The car takes some getting used to – our reference points are all different, the sounds are entirely different – You get used to trusting different things though and can adapt pretty quickly.

“The closing speeds here, particularly on the straights, are unbelievable – We get some of that through the turns at Lime Rock for instance but this is another leap forward again.     

Dario Franchitti

“I’m here to support Marino of course but I’d love to be racing – It could easily have happened this year but I had a test at Iowa that I had to do.

“I’d love to do this race in a P1 car but I think it’s way tougher in a GT car.”