Le Mans Test Day – Audi & Peugeot Focus

Stints & Lap Times
© James Goodwin

James, son of dsc Deputy Editor Graham, has similar powers of observation as his father, so he was the ideal man to spot patterns during the Le Mans Test Day. That involved two main tasks, while the Ed. pounded the pit lane for news and comment: James was tasked with following the progression in lap times, while also keeping a close eye on the stint lengths of the diesel-powered cars.

So it’s no surprise that the Audis and Peugeots will be the focus of many people’s attention come race week of the 75^th Le Mans 24 Hours – as they were at the test day. However, one thing that may not seem immediately as interesting as the ultimate pace (see below) of these five is the fuel consumption of these two very different types of (diesel-powered) LMP1s. With the increasing importance on all out speed over the whole 24 hours, the difference between coming in a lap earlier or later over a 24 hour period could be the difference between winning and losing. It was with this premise in mind that I went to the test day hoping to come to some conclusions about the possible stint lengths of the diesels in the race itself.

So let’s start with the first, four hour session on Sunday: it became obvious quite early on that Audi was going for longer runs, some of the time at least, and using the test as a race test, while Peugeot, running at Le Mans for the first time, was typically putting in shorter runs, and focusing more on set-up work. That’s not to say that Audi wasn’t looking at a different set-up from 2006: the track changes for this year made bumpier areas smoother, for example. The Peugeot effort saw the cars do an out lap, three fast laps and an in lap – almost all the time. Then the cars would be fuelled for the next ‘stints’, wheeled into the garage and down came the doors until the changes were made, then the sequence would start again.

Audi seemed a little more open to revealing their race plans. In the first session the number 1 car did one stint of 12 laps only broken by a red flag: however I made it that the previous stint had been an unbroken 13 laps. This was the longest any Audi completed throughout the day. The other two cars were perhaps a little less settled, in part perhaps because of their last minute driver changes. Only the #1 car had all Le Mans experience (in Audis) at the wheel – in the shape of the Biela / Werner / Pirro trio. However the data from the number 1 car would seem to suggest that 13 laps is a realistic race stint, although not necessarily at the start of the race, when the eyes of the world are focused on the early race for the lead. Remember Brundle and Schneider into the Dunlop Curve on lap 1 in 1998? Imagine Audi against Peugeot, perhaps McNish against Bourdais – tasty stuff, eh? Time to turn up the boost and use more fuel?

Peugeot seemed more interested in doing longer stints when Jacques Villeneuve was at the wheel, in order to get him dialled into the track one assumes. However even these stints only came in three batches of 10 laps. This is just enough laps to be starting to emulate a stint, but without the final lap (or two – or three?) that would reveal the true strategy / limits of the Peugeot’s fuel consumption.

Little is certain after this weekend but one thing is for sure, Audi can cover at least 13 laps on a thankful and included in these stints are quick (race pace?) laps, including a 3:30 for Biela and a 3:29 for Pirro.

The ultimate pace of the diesels warrants a lengthy investigation, but here’s a rather brief analysis of where the cars are now.

We know that the track is appreciably quicker this year. But how much quicker? Two, three or four seconds? Audi’s data (and their press release) reveals that the Tertre Rouge section alone is nearly two seconds quicker this year (perhaps 1.7). We know that Audi could have lapped in at least a low 3:29 last year, in qualifying (based on best sectors). That didn’t involve qualifying rubber – and the diesels didn’t use qualies at the test day. But while the R10s strictly stuck to a best test day lap of 3:28 (a best sector lap would have been 3:27.912) Peugeot – or at least Sebastien Bourdais – didn’t. The #8 car’s best sector best would have been a 3:26.314. There were big smiles, laughing really, at Audi when Sebastien dipped below 3:28….. as mentioned by the French commentator.

Bourdais even justified his 3:26.7 lap by saying that “I always try to give my very best and I was pushing as much as I could.”

This photograph (below), and comments from those watching / shooting out on the circuit, confirm that to be the case. Notice how different the stance of these two cars seem at the Ford Chicane.

We can be very confident that the R10s could have lapped faster at the test day – and we can also be fairly sure that the Peugeots, with similar track conditions, will be able to lap faster in qualifying than Bourdais’ test day best. But will the Peugeot and Audi managements want their drivers lapping ever quicker? Isn’t this more potential ammunition for the petrol-powered P1 boys? 3:28 was a neat, compromise ‘target’ for both. 3:26.707 rather gave the game away, Sebastien. But it will have added to the appeal of this event for local fans

Can Audi do more than 13 laps? Is ten laps Peugeot’s limit? Presumably not! If not, what is Peugeot’s plan? Logically, the flexibility of the diesel engines will result in different possibilities of stint length throughout the race.

The reliability of all five diesel cars was highly impressive – the three Audis covering well over 3,000 km in total. The Peugeots didn’t seem to have any problems apart from what looked to be a big puncture for Pedro Lamy. If they push each other too hard, well, the petrol cars may only be a lap or three behind, depending on the stage of the race reached – but the pace of the petrol cars at the test day does suggest, together with the above conclusions, that the battle is going to be as one-sided (two sided this time) as last year.

Jean-Christophe Boullion was in ‘Montagny 2006 mode’ yesterday, with two runs on qualifying tyres – and a best lap of 3:28.574. If that looks to be in touch with the 3:28 laps from Biela and Rockenfeller, do bear in mind that these Pescarolo runs were pure one lap fliers. Typically, the petrol cars, other than #16, set laps in the 3:34 to 3:36 range, and mighty competitive it looks to be here, too. We believe that the Charouz Lola best lap was a 3:34.8 rather than the 3:36.2 recorded officially, so bump that one up the order. But Jan Lammers was fastest of this group, proving that Valencia was indeed not at all suitable for the Dome – but Le Mans is.

Arena had a disrupted day (and a big accident), Creation’s car is so very new (“We are not “diesel fast” but I am pretty sure we have the potential to be among the best of the rest!” said JC-W), Swiss Spirit and Rollcentre didn’t go for balls-out laps, Courage lost its fast car in another big accident… and so it goes on. Qualifying will surely see petrol times come down from this 3:34 to 3:36 range – which is race pace, isn’t it?

Last point for now, and it’s an LMP2 one. The extraordinary timing screen showing the two Zyteks absolutely on the same lap time (3:39.016) masks the fact that the Vergers car could well have set a much quicker lap. Adding together its best sector times, a theoretical Michael Vergers lap of 3:37.289 was possible – which is astonishing. The 'sister' Lowe's car is available for sale: someone ought to snap it up soon.