Centenary Le Mans: Thursday Paddock Notes
Hyperpole field in LMP2 changed: Nielsen in, Racing Team Turkey out
DSC had to amend our report of Qualifying Practice accordingly – but if you missed it, there was a penalty after the chequered flag which impacts the cars taking part in LMP2 Hyperpole today.
Dries Vanthoor had finished seventh-fastest in the #923 Racing Team Turkey Oreca, enough to get him into the top eight.
But after the session, Vanthoor’s fastest time of 3:35.176 was deleted for a red flag procedure infringement. The Belgian was noted as not having slowed down within the required time. Vanthoor’s second-fastest time was not quick enough to stay in the top eight during a competitive session.
Nielsen Racing’s #14 Oreca, which was originally the first car below the cut line, has made it into Hyperpole instead with Ben Hanley setting a 3:35.453.
Either team would have been the first LMP2 Pro-Am team to advance to the Hyperpole session – that honour now belongs solely to Nielsen Racing.
Richard Dean’s 10th Le Mans!
It feels like it wouldn’t be Le Mans without the presence of United Autosport owner and co-founder, Richard Dean. As a driver, he won the GT2 class on his Le Mans debut in 2006, and competed again for the next two years. In 2017, United entered Le Mans for the first time and has been a perennial fixture in LMP2 ever since, highlighted by a class win in 2020.
“My class win in ’06 and the team’s class win in 2020 have been the highs, both were very different emotionally, while I suppose last year’s LM24 was my biggest low,” Dean reflects on his time at Le Mans.
“My 2006 win in the GT was a bit of a surprise. Back in ’06 my aim was to finish the race and that would be an achievement. Halfway through the race, we realised we might get in the top six – and then with a few hours to go, maybe the top three, and so it went on.”
But there was more to Dean’s ’06 win than what it seemed on the surface. “I would love to go back and make more of our class victory – as at that point I had actually set up Team LNT. I was team manager, I was commercial director, I was a driver – there was so much going on.”
“Each time I got out of the car I was in the hospitality, I had people to sort out, staff, et cetera, so I never really got to enjoy it.”
“These days, every time I have come here with United I have felt like we had a chance to win the race. So it’s always a disappointment when we aren’t on the podium.”
“But it doesn’t matter how competitive you are coming into Le Mans, it doesn’t guarantee anything. You need everything to be going for you. Take last year, when we were on the [LMP2] front row, and were pretty much out of the race with the #22 by the first corner, so if you are going to pick a low, leading a World Championship, which we have done now on three consecutive years heading to Le Mans – and effectively have the car’s race ended at the first corner, is heartbreaking.”
“With the amount of preparation the team had done, I could see the look on the faces of our team in the garage. The amount of effort on-event is huge but it’s nothing compared to what goes on back at base. Months of planning, the expense.”
“But we keep coming back, so we must enjoy it!”
Confidence quietly at Peugeot building after gearbox actuator fix, but more solutions needed
Team Peugeot TotalEnergies replaced the electric gearbox actuator with a hydraulic actuator as a fix to the team’s long-standing woes with reliability.
Gustavo Menezes told DSC that the fix has actually cured a lot of what has ailed the Peugeot 9X8 prototypes. “To be honest, a lot of the reliability issues we had at the beginning are gone,” Menezes said. “Definitely been a positive step.”
“But I don’t think anyone in the hypercar field sits down and says, ‘yeah, we’re one hundred per cent sure that the thing is gonna be bomb-proof to the end.'”
“We have some hope and some expectations that we can make it to the end without any problems, but there’s never a guarantee for anyone right now.
But the streamlined 9X8, which hasn’t really lit up the maximum speed rankings as expected with its wingless design concept, still has other issues to tackle.
“It seems like on bumps, it’s where we struggle,” said Mikkel Jensen, who qualified the #93 Peugeot on Wednesday but missed out on Hyperpole. “On the bumps and with traction is where we need to improve. Whether that’s damping or aero, I have no idea. The engineers know more.”
“We need to last 24 hours, which, it is a tough task for us. But I think in the night session in Qualifying, I saw some potential,” Jensen added. The Dane lost six-tenths in Qualifying just from catching slower GT traffic which he feels hurt his changes to get to Hyperpole.
“I think we’re getting there. The car feels better on this track. It actually feels pretty good through the Porsche Curves, through the Chicane.”
Hydrogen village opens
Yestrday Pierre Fillon opened the Hydrogen Village, a vast area devoted to the zero-emission energy vector at the Centenary of the great race.
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest president led an hour-long guided tour of the stands in the 2500m² venue at the heart of the 24 Hours of Le Mans enclosure.
ACO President Pierre Fillon remarked: “We are celebrating our centenary with an array of demonstrations of how this race has influenced technology throughout its history. Innovation is the essence of Le Mans, and the Hydrogen Village is tangible evidence of our continued commitment and pioneering attitude. It’s our promise for the future.”
“In 2018, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest placed hydrogen at the helm of the energy transition in transport and mobility. We launched MissionH24 to pave the way for a hydrogen class in endurance. Our partners, several of the manufacturers that compete in the race and other players who joined the effort more recently are here to show how they are contributing their expertise to advancing the hydrogen solution, from production to end use.”
Chevrolet unveils Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition
To celebrate the NASCAR Garage 56 project at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, Chevrolet unveiled a limited-edition version of its Camaro ZL1 sports car – the Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition.
Along with a blue and silver paint scheme similar to the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 racer’s livery, the Garage 56 Edition Camaro will also have special badging, the choice to add additional graphics, a unique interior, and special aerodynamics including dive planes at the front and a wicker bill spoiler on the rear, just like a NASCAR vehicle.
Only 56 versions of this car will be produced. This rare variant is likely to be one of the last iterations of the Camaro before it is retired from production, the last model scheduled to be completed in January 2024.
Corvette’s remarkable turnaround
After Nico Varrone’s off at Tertre Rouge in Free Practice 1, the Corvette Racing crew in the garage had a huge task list to get through in order to repair the C8.R for Qualifying Practice.
The list of changes needed included a new right side suspension, new right side brakes, a new floor, rear facia, rear wing, decklids, seat belts, right side front and rear fender, right side door (pause for deep breath) …right side rocker, and more!
In just a few short hours, the car was prepared with just enough time for Nicky Catsburg to take part and set a time quick enough to allow Corvette Racing to fight for Hyperpole today.
Tom Blomqvist confirms IndyCar interest, but remains committed to gruelling 2023 in Endurance
Tom Blomqvist’s recent success in endurance racing has drawn genuine interest from the single-seater world.
Blomqvist tested an IndyCar for his IMSA employer, Meyer Shank Racing, this past October – and there are rumours that suggest that MSR may pivot the Anglo-Swedish driver back into single-seaters with a move to the IndyCar Series next year.
But ahead of his third 24 Hours of Le Mans, Blomqvist is simply focused on getting through this race and a busy season of prototype endurance racing.
“For sure, I would like to give it another go with an IndyCar test,” said Blomqvist, driver of United Autosports’ #23 Oreca 07-Gibson in the World Endurance Championship. “But for now I am focused on the championship in IMSA.”
“It’s a bit more hands-on, there’s more sim work,” he added, “and much more travel involved.”
Blomqvist still lives in Europe and commutes across the Atlantic to honour his primary commitments in America.
Al Harthy: “I didn’t expect this circuit to be so hard”
ORT by TF Sport’s Ahmad Al Harthy spoke to DSC earlier today about his thoughts and feelings on the week so far, the car’s new bright orange livery and his first experience of the Le Mans circuit in a GTE Aston martin.
“The first time I came here I was blown away, now I’m here in the main event I am blown away ten times over. To be here in the 100th anniversary of the first race taking place is just incredible, I would never have believed it.
“It was a team decision to do something special with the livery, particularly as it was the centenary. Tom (Ferrier) is good at this sort of thing, but we all had an input. We all voted, and the majority was for this colour – not everyone wanted it, but it had to be different for Le Mans!
“The Bronze has to qualify in Hyperpole tonight, so it’s down to me. I feel the responsibility, although we know how this event works and we just want to have a good, clean race. Le Mans is very tricky to run at your own pace and to adapt to the pace of others so we have to focus on our own work. If we can keep to our own schedule I think we should have a good 24 hours. You can see from what happened yesterday how easily it can go wrong and we have to put effort into our own driving, and effort into interpreting others’ driving too; it’s practice.
“My experience in Spa was of a challenging track. But I didn’t expect this circuit to be so hard, so many bumps and little corrections on a long lap. It’s less physically challenging than Spa, but the mental challenge here is higher, because the speeds are higher too. This is what it’s going to be about. Long stints at night and you’re fighting the car, not because the car is difficult but because you’re pushing it to get the best performance out of it. It’s a constant sprint and the setup has to reflect that. We’re working hard on that. At the end of the day though, Charlie is a Le Mans winner so Michael and I have to do what we’re told!”
Frey (Iron Dames): “The race can come” to the Porsche teams
Rahel Frey from the all-female Iron Dames GTE Am effort also spoke with DSC today, and shared her thoughts on the team’s expecations ahead of Hyperpole and the race itself.
“It’s difficult to say whether we feel we are any better prepared for the race this year with the new car. Last year we felt good during practice and we were ready to race hard, but things did not go so well. The same again this year, we are happy with our pace and performance, we have gone through the test points we had with very positive progress. I just hope – because this race is just so unpredictable – that is will stay that way. But time will tell; we will know in Saturday morning warm-up what kind of car we have.
“The last few years the Porsches were not the quickest in qualifying, but as we have seen the race can come to them. We have raced so many times against the Porsches and wondered what it would be like to race one for ourselves. The car is very nice to drive – very settled, you just feel you can drive it all day. It feels faster because of that.
“We are growing fast as a team and we want to keep going upward: it’s just a matter of time. We already have Doriane in an LMP2 and she is doing really well. I am a racer at heart, so I always want a faster car, but I’m also realistic. I can see what input I can have for my GT crew and use my experience to push the GT crew further. We want to have females in every form of motorsports though, from karting to Formula 1; every Iron Dame plays her part but we all go for that big picture.”
New motor for the Garage 56 Camaro
The Hendrick Motorsports Garage 56 Camaro has had a new motor installed today, ensuring the car is fresh for the race. This change was planned in advance and not a result of any mechanical issues.
The previous motor was used at a Sebring test prior to the team’s trip to Le Mans, and through testing in the USA and France and the first day of practice and qualifying this week, DSC understands it racked up around 500 miles.
As #LeMans24 teams routinely do before the big race, it’s time to put a fresh zero-miles engine in the @TeamChevy @TeamHendrick Camaro ZL1 @NASCAR Cup car prior to Thursday’s running with the @nascarg56 program. #LM24 #NextGenG56 pic.twitter.com/EjgjJXhzRF
— Marshall Pruett (@marshallpruett) June 8, 2023
Garage 56 production image courtesy of Chevrolet, Hydrogen Village image courtesy of the ACO
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