Wouter Melissen
04-26-2011, 01:48 AM
On Sunday the roads just south of the French city of Le Mans were closed to the regular traffic and opened to 54 sports racers for the official test. To ease the financial burden on the teams during the economic crisis, the annual test had been called off the last two years. It was a welcome return as many of the teams lined up with either brand new or heavily modified cars as a result of drastic rule changes. Among the new cars were the Audi R18 TDI and Peugeot 908, which are the most likely candidates for the victory in June. The test was the first opportunity to see how these two stacked up and as it turned out there is little to separate the two. Ahead of the season the only real rival from the petrol camp was believed to be Aston Martin Racing but their recent performances have put that hope to bed for now. In the GT class the battle is equally close but with more manufacturers vying for the same piece of the pie. The familiar BMWs, Porsches and Corvettes are joined this year by new cars from Ferrari and Lotus with the former looking the most likely to challenge for the top positions.
It was with great anticipation that we looked ahead to the 54 cars rolling onto the track at 9 am on Sunday morning. Eight hours later we were a little wiser and even more confident that the race will be another cracker. The result of a weekend's work in Le Mans can be found in this detailed report, illustrated by an exclusive 150-shot gallery.
In the coming days you can expect up close features of all of the new cars that will compete in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as a full report of the May 7th Spa Six Hours, which will feature many of the top runners.
Enjoy the links:
2011 Le Mans Test - Report and Slideshow (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/event/285/2011-Le-Mans-Test.html)
It was with great anticipation that we looked ahead to the 54 cars rolling onto the track at 9 am on Sunday morning. Eight hours later we were a little wiser and even more confident that the race will be another cracker. The result of a weekend's work in Le Mans can be found in this detailed report, illustrated by an exclusive 150-shot gallery.
In the coming days you can expect up close features of all of the new cars that will compete in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as a full report of the May 7th Spa Six Hours, which will feature many of the top runners.
Enjoy the links:
2011 Le Mans Test - Report and Slideshow (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/event/285/2011-Le-Mans-Test.html)