24 Hours of Le Mans - News and Notes

Mid-night action in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (ACO photo)

Corvettes Lead GT1 at Six-Hour Mark in Le Mans

Routine Race So Far for Corvette Racing; Safety Cars Play Key Role in First Quarter of Race

LE MANS, France, June 13, 2009 – A quartet of Corvettes took control of the GT1 class in the first six hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell, and Antonio Garcia has led from the start at 3 p.m., completing 88 laps at the six-hour mark. The No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Marcel Fassler was second in the GT1 class, 2 minutes and 6 seconds behind its sister car. The No. 73 and No. 72 Corvette C6.Rs of Luc Alphand Aventures were third and fourth respectively with 86 laps completed.

The first quarter of the race was routine for the Corvette Racing squad, with scheduled pit stops for fuel, tires, and driver changes. Luck was not with the No. 64 Corvette, however. In two full-course caution periods, the safety cars split the factory team cars, twice giving the No. 63 an advantage in track position. (Race officials deploy two safety cars on the immense 8.4-mile circuit; in both instances, the No. 63 was in the queue behind the first car, and the No. 64 in the line behind the second.)

The Corvette Racing team is double-stinting both its Michelin tires and its drivers in this 24-hour endurance race. GT1 pole winner Magnussen started in the No. 63 Corvette and ran to the 1:40 mark. O’Connell replaced Magnussen, and was in turn replaced by Garcia at 3:25. Gavin started in the No. 64 Corvette, and was replaced by Beretta at 1:37. Fassler then took over from Beretta at 3:22 into the race.

The No. 64 Corvette had just made its first fuel stop when the first safety car period began after 42 minutes of racing. The No. 63 was then able to pit under caution and come out behind the first safety car, resulting in a lead of more than a minute. In the ebb and flow of the race over the next three hours, the No. 64 pulled to within 20 seconds of its class-leading teammate. After the second caution period at the 4:38 mark again separated the two Corvettes, the No. 63 emerged with a lead of 2 minutes and 7 seconds when racing resumed.

3 o’clock, it’s half distance and the #9 Peugeot is still leading on the 196th lap, despite the #2 Audi driven by Allan McNish, who is driving his 4th stint in a row, maintaining pressure. The Ingolstadt’s car is pursued by the #8 Peugeot driven by the pole sitter Stephane Sarrazin.

One of the greatest and longest fight for the lead is in LM P2 and on the 185th lap it’s now the #31 Essex Porsche RS Spyder ahead of the #5 Navi Team Goh Spyder, in third #33 Speedy Racing Sebah Lola Judd is still waiting for one of the Porsches to have a misfortune so it can improve it’s position on the podium.

The standings in the LM GT1 category did not change after the retirement of the #72 Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette which was pushed into the tyrewall by the #009 Aston Martin and only mechanical problems will stop Corvettes from filling the 3 podium positions in this class.

The 2008 LM GT2 class-winner #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT leads the category, 28 laps behind the overall leader. #92 JMW Motorsport F430 GT is second and #76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3 RSR is third.
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At 03.27 AM, the Portuguese drives into his pit when the 3rd Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP was 10th. The mechanics changed the skidplate, probably due to a vibration. The factory car rejoined at 03.37 AM.

On the 194th lap Allan McNish remained in the car for his 4th stint in a row

Whilst the #8 Peugeot driven by Sarrazin was trying to catch him, the Audi’s driver laps were averaging 3’30 and McNish is still a danger to the leading #9 Peugeot as Alexander Wurz is only one lap ahead of him.

Retirement of the #6 Ginetta Zytek

This 8th retirement, the car of the Team LNT driven by Nigel Moore has retired due to a fire.

The driver is the youngest driver this year, only 17, but he didn’t quite beat the record of Ricardo Rodriguez who is the youngest ever to compete in the race.

Aston Martin 12 hour report:

AFTER 12 HOURS: ASTON MARTIN REACHES THE HALFWAY POINT

Following 12 hours and approximately 2750 kilometres of racing at Le Mans, Aston Martin has reached the halfway point of its first participation in the endurance classic with an LMP1 car. Jan Charouz currently occupies fifth place overall in the 007 car, having taken over from Tomas Enge at around 2:30am.

Enge maintained a strong fifth position throughout his stint, which was problem-free. “Actually, I wasn’t as happy with this stint as I was with my first stint,” explained Enge. “I seemed to get a lot more traffic this time round for some reason, and when this happens it is really difficult to find a consistent rhythm. Towards the end of my stint I also began to lose grip: I’m not sure why. But generally speaking I have to be happy: the car has been really good and reliable, so we are right up there.”

Conditions remain dry and comparatively warm, although some rain could fall later on Sunday morning, potentially bringing the 77th Le Mans 24 Hours to a dramatic finale.

Following some repairs to fix earlier accident damage, Jos Verstappen took over the 008 car shortly after midnight. However, one of his first tasks was to serve a five-minute drive-through penalty that was handed to the team as the result of an earlier collision that caused the accident damage. After serving the penalty, Verstappen set some rapid lap times before handing over to Anthony Davidson.

Flying Lizard Le Mans 12 Hour Update

June 14, 2009 — 03:00 CET — Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France — At the halfway point of the 24 Heures du Mans, the No. 80 is fifth in GT2. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari is in the lead (which they have held for much of the race), the No. 92 JMW Motorsport Ferrari is P2, the No. 76 IMSA Matmut Porsche is P3 and the No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari is P4.
Over the last six hours, the GT2 field has spread out, with the top 5 cars now separated by nearly three laps, and a large gap between each car. The No. 80 has moved from sixth to fifth –- one of the few changes in the front of the GT2 field since hour seven.

Over the night, Darren Law and Joerg Bergmeister have traded off in the No. 80, each doing a double stint. The night session started out well as Darren took over from Seth Neiman, then Joerg taking over from Darren, and on fresh tires turning his fastest laps of the race.

The Lizards had hoped to make it through the night without incident, but at 00:40, just after midnight, Darren Law was hit by a slower Ferrari which turned into him as he overtook it in tandem with another car. The hit damaged the left front of the No. 80 Porsche, causing a tire puncture. By the time Darren made it back to the pits, he was down to a bare wheel and feared suspension damage. Luckily, there was no significant damage, and with new tires, he was able to rejoin. At 02:45, after a 2 hour and 30 minute stint, Law turned the wheel over once again to Joerg Bergmeister for one more double stint before Seth Neiman returns to the car for sunrise.

Tagged as: 24 Heures du Mans, Aston Martin Racing, Audi, Corvette Racing, Flying Lizard Motorsports, Luc Alphand, Peugeot, Porsche Motorsport

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