Petit Le Mans 2009. Preview 

Grudge match part two in Georgia or a powerboat race?

In 2008, we stated that the edition we were to witness was likely to be the high water (sorry – bad one) mark of sportscar racing for quite some time to come.  Were we right?  The race sure lived up to the hype.  The 2009 edition has all the makings of being another classic and in some ways could be even better than 2008.  16 prototypes (11 P1 and 5 P2) and 14 GT2 cars, on paper are likely the best and deepest field we have seen this side of Le Mans and there is an argument that this could be a more interesting and diverse field that was at Le Mans, especially in the GT class.  (If only Aston would have come out to play…)

Unfortunately there is something bigger happening in the area – massive quantities of rain.  Now the weather becomes a great wild card here.  The Atlanta area has been hit by mass quantities of the wet stuff, and while the forecast calls for the rain to be tapering off as the week goes on, it is still calling for thunderstorms and a 40% chance of rain.

Being an ALMS race, the first area of concentration should be the series cars and the championship battles that are being fought.  What is likely the most important championship is also the closest in the points and that is P1, where Patron Highcroft lead de Ferran in the Acura intramural battle.  The lead is at 17 points entering the last two races and finishing is of the utmost priority for both teams.  A dnf would be catastrophic for either of the teams, but with that 17point margin, Highcroft has a little more margin to play with.  Both teams add to their driving talent by bringing in Ganassi Indy cars drivers – Dario Franchitti for Highcroft and Sebring pole winner Scott Dixon for de Ferran.

Unfortunately this battle will likely be a battle within a battle, as grudge match part two will take place between Peugeot and Audi.  It’s difficult to see how the Acura cars can keep up with the diesels, especially in traffic situations, of which Petit is know to have lots of, but rain can be a great equalizer.

Petit in 2008 and Sebring earlier this year went to Audi.  In fact Peugeot has yet to beat Audi in North America.  Audi has dominated the Petit races, taking every win since the make made their debut in 2000.  They may not come out and say it, but under the surface, Audi would like to keep that record intact and get revenge from Le Mans, while Peugeot would like nothing better than to win at the race that Audi has literally owned.  This time, it is a 2 vs. 2 battle, at least of the writing of this.

Like at Sebring, series regulars Autocon (Willman/Burgess/McMurry) and Intersport (Field/Field) will continue their Lola B06/10 year long battle.

Also joining in the battle, fresh from victory at Silverstone is Oreca.  They’ll be having Olivier Panis, Nicolas Lapierre and Porsche factory driver Romain Dumas in the car.  Dumas took the red eye straight from the Grand Am race in Utah in order to get ready for an early Sunday morning test, which would be his first time in the car.  Another LMS team will also be featured in the race – this time with a different car.  Drayson Racing has dropped their GT2 class Aston Martin and instead will be debuting a new Lola B09/60, to be driven by regular drivers Paul Drayson, Jonny Cocker and LMS GT2 regular Rob Bell.  Being a brand new car, this will likely be an extended test, but if anybody can pull together a program quickly, it is team manager Dale White.

A surprise entry is ECO Racing with their Radical, down to be driven by Hideki Noda/Jose Manuel Balbini/Dion von Moltke.

In this group of 11 cars, it’s difficult to see anyone other that a diesel winning.  At Le Mans, the Peugeot had the pace over the Audi R15, but June is a long time ago in car development.  This is going to be an interesting battle, especially with the forecast rain.

Entering the event, Peugeot, Audi and Oreca are downplaying the importance of a race win, instead preferring to concentrate on race preparations for Le Mans 2010.  We’ll see how long that lasts…

P2 sees Fernandez Racing– P2 Championship winning – and their Acura again taking on the twin Dyson Mazda Lolas and the Greg Pickett Porsche Spyder, with Sascha Maassen joining regulars Pickett and Kaus Graf.  Ben Devlin joins Marino Franchitti and Butch Leitzinger in the No. 20 Dyson entry, getting Ben back in the car for race conditions with the team for the first since Sebring.  Also returning is the Van der Steur Radical, with Gunnar Van der Steur joined by the Pecorari brothers, Adam and Robbie.

Given the reliability of the Fernandez Acura all year long, as well as the speed, consistency and economy, it’s difficult to see anyone beating them.  The Dyson cars have had issues in the shorter races, and the fuel mileage is also lacking, while the Pickett team is still learning their car, while the Van der Steur Radical car is no longer a current spec car and just does not have the pace to compete.

Which brings us to GT2.  14 cars total.  4 Porsches, 3 Corvettes (1 Riley and 2 factory Pratt-Miller), 2 BMW’s as well as single Viper, Ferrari, Panoz, Ford GT and maybe a Jaguar.  Quite the field.

New or actually returning to the grid are Team Falken Tire.  They were last seen at Long Beach and will return with Bryan Sellers and Dominic Cicero driving.  They’ve been off testing in preparation for this race and the finale at Laguna, in anticipation of a full season next year.  Also last seen at Long Beach was the Lou Gigliotti Corvette.  The team has been rebuilding the car from the fire at that race, and return with Tom Sutherland coming in as a late replacement for Lou himself, and sharing the Vette with  Tommy Drissi and Matt Bell.  The new entry is supposed to be the Rocketsport Jaguar, but that entry is in doubt as of the moment.

How many of those can be counted on for possible victory?  Lets go with the 2 Factory Corvettes, the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche, the 2 BMW’s (No. 90 with Hand/Auberen/Priaulx and No. 92 – the M-car with Mueller/Milner/Mueller) and of course the defending champion and winner of the last four major endurance races they have entered – Risi.

To stay alive in the Championship, Risi will need to do well in the race and hope for mis-fortune to fall on the 45 Lizard.  One part they can control; the other is out of their hands.  Even with a win and no points for the lead Lizard, Risi would still be trailing in the points.

The emergence of Corvette and a much more competitive BWM effort can also be a help.  No longer is it possible to cruise into a top 5 finish – every point to be earned will be earned the hard way.

Among the others, the pace is just too much for them to be able to compete for a class win.  Podium – maybe, but win?  It’s doubtful.  But that’s not to say that they won’t be trying…

This race is many things to many teams.  For some, it is a championship chase.  For some, it is preparation for next year.  I look for it to possibly be the kick-start of a new era, which will see the major teams racing in the high profile events, with the results counting towards a “World Championship”, as previously announced by the ACO.  Whether or not it actually happens in this tough economic climate remains to be seen. 

That tough climate has created many questions concerning the sport, and it is hoped that the annual “State of the Series” address, scheduled for Friday will go along ways towards answering those questions.

DSC coverage will kick off in full force on Thursday Morning, weather permitting.

Gary Horrocks