24 Hours of Le Mans official test (June 1st)

[Wouter Melissen]

This Sunday the 55 entries of this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans will take to the track for the offical test. For many this will give the chance to start working on the setup for the legendary and for the rookies it is the opportunity to get the mandatory ten laps in to qualify for the race.

The full list of entrants:

LM P1
1 AUDI SPORT NORTH AMERICA (DEU) AUDI R10 (5499T) F.BIELA (DEU) E.PIRRO (ITA) M.WERNER (DEU)
2 AUDI SPORT NORTH AMERICA (DEU) AUDI R10 (5499T) R.CAPELLO (ITA) A.McNISH (GBR) T.KRISTENSEN (DNK)
3 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST (DEU) AUDI R10 (5499T) L.LUHR (DEU) A.PREMAT (FRA) M.ROCKENFELLER (DEU)
4 SAULNIER RACING (FRA) PESCAROLO JUDD (5496A) J.NICOLET (FRA) R.HEIN (MCO) M.FAGGIONATO (MCO)
5 TEAM ORECA MATMUT (FRA) COURAGE-ORECA JUDD (5496A) S.PAGENAUD (FRA) S.AYARI (FRA)
6 TEAM ORECA MATMUT (FRA) COURAGE-ORECA JUDD (5496A) O.PANIS (FRA) N.LAPIERRE (FRA)
7 TEAM PEUGEOT TOTAL (FRA) PEUGEOT 908 (5500T) M.GENE (ESP) N.MINASSIAN (FRA) J.VILLENEUVE (CAN)
8 TEAM PEUGEOT TOTAL (FRA) PEUGEOT 908 (5500T) P.LAMY (PRT) ST.SARRAZIN (FRA) A.WURZ (AUT)
9 PEUGEOT SPORT TOTAL (FRA) PEUGEOT 908 (5500T) F.MONTAGNY (FRA) R.ZONTA (MCO) CH.KLEIN (AUT)
10 CHAROUZ RACING SYSTEM (CZE) LOLA ASTON MARTIN (5993A) S.MÜCKE (DEU) J.CHAROUZ (CZE) T.ENGE (CZE)
11 DOME RACING TEAM (JPN) DOME JUDD S102 (5496A) D.ITO (JPN) Y.TACHIKAWA (JPN) T.KATAOKA (JPN)
12 CHAROUZ RACING SYSTEM (CZE) LOLA JUDD (5496A) .
14 CREATION AUTOSPORTIF LTD (GBR) CREATION AIM CA07 (5496A) .
16 PESCAROLO SPORT (FRA) PESCAROLO JUDD (5496A) J.C.BOULLION (FRA) E.COLLARD (FRA) R.DUMAS (FRA)
17 PESCAROLO SPORT (FRA) PESCAROLO JUDD (5496A) H.PRIMAT (CHE) CH.TINSEAU (FRA)
18 ROLLCENTRE RACING (GBR) PESCAROLO JUDD (5496A) V.ICKX (BEL) ST.GREGOIRE (FRA) J.BARBOSA (PRT)
19 CHAMBERLAIN - SYNERGY MOTORSPORT (GBR) LOLA AER B06 - 10 (3997T) G.EVANS (GBR) B.BERRIDGE (GBR)
20 EPSILON EUSKADI (ESP) EPSILON EUSKADI JUDD (5496A) A.BURGUENO (ESP) M.A.DE CASTRO (ESP)
22 TOKAI UNIVERSITY - YGK POWER (JPN) COURAGE-ORECA YGK (3998T) T.SUZUKI (JPN) M.KAGEYAMA (JPN) H.KUROSAWA (JPN)
23 AUTOCON (USA) CREATION JUDD (5000A) M.LEWIS (USA) W.BRYAN (USA) C.McMURRY (USA)
24 TERRAMOS (JPN) COURAGE MUGEN (3997A) Y.TERADA (JPN) K.TAKAHASHI (JPN) H.KATOH (JPN)

LM P2
25 RML (GBR) LOLA MG B05 - 40 (1995T) T.ERDOS (GBR) M.NEWTON (GBR) A.WALLACE (GBR)
26 TEAM BRUICHLADDICH RADICAL (GBR) RADICAL AER SR9 (1995T) M.ROSTAN (FRA) Y.YAMAGASHI (JPN) B.DEVLIN (GBR)
30 RACING BOX SRL (ITA) LUCCHINI JUDD (3395A) A.CECCATO (ITA) F.FRANCIONI (ITA) F.GERI (ITA)
31 TEAM ESSEX (DNK) PORSCHE RS SPYDER (3396A) J.NIELSEN (DNK) C.ELGAARD (DNK)
32 BARAZI EPSILON (FRA) ZYTEK 07S (3396A) J.BARAZI (GBR) M.VERGERS (GBR)
33 SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH (CHE) LOLA JUDD (3394A) X.POMPIDOU (FRA)
34 VAN MERKSTEIJN MOTORSPORT (NLD) PORSCHE RS SPYDER (3396A) P.van MERKSTEIJN (NLD) J.VERSTAPPEN (NLD) J.BLEEKEMOLEN (NLD)
35 SAULNIER RACING (FRA) PESCAROLO JUDD (3395A) P.RAGUES (FRA) M.LAHAYE (FRA)
40 QUIFEL - ASM TEAM (PRT) LOLA AER B05 - 40 (1995T) M.AMARAL (PRT) O.PLA (FRA) G.SMITH (GBR)
41 TRADING PERFORMANCE (CHE) ZYTEK 07S (3396A) K.OJJEH (CHE) C.Y.GOSSELIN (FRA) A.SHARPE (GBR)
44 KRUSE SCHILLER MOTORSPORT (DEU) LOLA MAZDA (1997T) J.de POURTALES H.NADA (JPN)
45 EMBASSY RACING (GBR) EMBASSY ZYTEK (3396A) W.HUGHES (GBR) J.KANE (GBR) J.FOSTER (GBR)

LM GT1
007 ASTON MARTIN RACING (GBR) ASTON MARTIN DBR9 (5993A)
009 ASTON MARTIN RACING (GBR) ASTON MARTIN DBR9 (5993A)
50 LARBRE COMPETITION (FRA) SALEEN S7R (6997A) CH.BOUCHUT (FRA) P.BORNHAUSER (FRA) D.SMET (MCO)
53 VITAPHONE RACING TEAM (DEU) ASTON MARTIN DBR9 (5993A) A.MARGARITIS (DEU) P.HARDMAN (GBR) N.LEVENTIS (GBR)
55 INTERPROGRESSBANK SPARTAK RACING (RUS) LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO (5988A) P.KOX (NLD) R.RUSINOV (RUS) M.HEZEMANS (NLD)
59 TEAM MODENA (GBR) ASTON MARTIN DBR9 (5993A) J.MENTEN (DEU) CH.FITTIPALDI (BRA) T.BORCHELLER (USA)
63 CORVETTE RACING (USA) CORVETTE C6.R (6993A) J.O'CONNELL (USA) J.MAGNUSSEN (DNK) R.FELLOWS (CAN)
64 CORVETTE RACING (USA) CORVETTE C6.R (6993A) O.BERETTA (MCO) O.GAVIN (GBR) M.PAPIS (ITA)
72 LUC ALPHAND AVENTURES (FRA) CORVETTE C6.R (6993A) L.ALPHAND (FRA) J.POLICAND (FRA) G.MOREAU (FRA)
73 LUC ALPHAND AVENTURES (FRA) CORVETTE C6.R (6993A) P.GOUESLARD (FRA) JL.BLANCHEMAIN (FRA)

LM GT2
76 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT (FRA) PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) (3795A) R.NARAC (FRA) R.LIETZ (AUT) P.LONG (USA)
77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON (DEU) PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) (3795A) A.DAVISON (AUS) W.HENZLER (DEU) H. FELBERMAYR Sen. (AUT)
78 AF CORSE SRL (ITA) FERRARI F 430 GT (3996A) T.VILANDER (FIN) T.BIAGI (ITA) CH.MONTANARI (SMR)
80 FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORTS (USA) PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) (3795A) J.BERGMEISTER (DEU) J.van OVERBEEK (USA) S.NEIMAN (USA)
82 RISI COMPETIZIONE (USA) FERRARI F 430 GT (3996A) M.SALO (FIN) J.MELO (BRA) G.BRUNI (ITA)
83 RISI COMPETIZIONE (USA) FERRARI F 430 GT (3996A) T.KROHN (USA) N.JONSSON (SWE) E.VAN DE POELE (BEL)
85 SPYKER SQUADRON b.v. (NLD) SPYKER C8 LAVIOLETTE (4000A) P. DUMBRECK (GBR) R.KELLEMERS (DEU)
90 FARNBACHER RACING (DEU) FERRARI F 430 GT (3996A) .
94 SPEEDY RACING TEAM (CHE) SPYKER C8 LAVIOLETTE (4000A) A.CHIESA (CHE) B.LEUENBERGER (CHE) I. ALEXANDER (CHE)
96 VIRGO MOTORSPORT (GBR) FERRARI F 430 GT (3996A) .
97 BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA SPA (ITA) FERRARI F 430 GT (3996A) .
99 JMB RACING (MCO) FERRARI F 430 GT (3996A) A.FERTE (FRA) B.AUCOTT (GBR) ST.DAOUDI (FRA)

[Wouter Melissen]

The weather prediction is not all that good, but hopefully that means the race will be held under better conditions. We will be at the track on Sunday to get a first glimpse of the competitors and will next week publish a full preview for the most important sportscar race of the year.

[Dino Scuderia]

I had high hopes for the Risi team of Melo/Salo but they've had a monster horrible season in ALMS... and they are taking the repaired car that Melo demolished at Miller Motorsport Park to Le Mans.

[Wouter Melissen]

I had high hopes for the Risi team of Melo/Salo but they've had a monster horrible season in ALMS... and they are taking the repaired car that Melo demolished at Miller Motorsport Park to Le Mans.

Le Mans is fairly close to Maranello, and I am sure they'll be able to get their hands on anything they want. With the two factory drivers aboard. I think that the three top Ferraris will be the cars to beat.

[Kitdy]

Some pics of the cars in their Le Mans liveries.

[Wouter Melissen]

Some pics of the cars in their Le Mans liveries.

That Audi looks funky with the yellow accents.

[Kitdy]

That Audi looks funky with the yellow accents.

I agree.

I wonder if they are gonna have different highlights for each car like they did in the early days of the R8.

It looked crappy.

I am looking forward to seeing the Peugeot Sport livery.

EDIT: Did you see the headlights in the front air intake of the Lola Aston Martin?

What is up with that?

[Wouter Melissen]

I agree.

I wonder if they are gonna have different highlights for each car like they did in the early days of the R8.

It looked crappy.

I am looking forward to seeing the Peugeot Sport livery.

They did that last year as well with red, silver and dark grey. Peugeot will have blue, red and grey accents.

[Kitdy]

They did that last year as well with red, silver and dark grey. Peugeot will have blue, red and grey accents.

Ah, I was thinking more along the lines of when they had three very bright colours, was it red blue and yellow? That was hideous.

There is supposed to be a different livery on the Peugeot Sport entry though, yeah?

[Dino Scuderia]

They had red, yellow and black(Germany colours).

[Wouter Melissen]

Audi to use biofuel:

Ingolstadt – World premiere in motorsport: At the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours on 14/15 June, the three Audi R10 TDI prototypes entered by Audi Sport Team Joest will race for the first time with the next generation of Biofuel manufactured from Biowaste and promising a reduction in the emission of CO2 by almost 90 per cent when compared with traditional diesel. Britain's Allan McNish will race an Audi bidding for glory in a race he won 10 years ago.

Audi fields the 650-hp plus R10 TDI, which has already won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in sportscar races since 2006. Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel produced by development partner Shell has been used since the very beginning. It’s a particularly powerful and efficient synthetic fuel which is created from Natural Gas in a process called Gas To Liquids (GTL). Fuels with these components are already available at the pumps.

For the third appearance of the Audi R10 TDI at Le Mans, a small amount of Biofuel of the next generation is mixed for the first time with the previously well-proven GTL components: BTL (Biomass To Liquids), as it is officially called, is extracted from Biowaste that is unfit for use in foodstuffs, for example from waste wood. BTL promises a reduction in the amount of CO2 emission by almost 90 per cent compared to traditional diesel.

Although they are manufactured from different raw materials, the two alternative fuels BTL and GTL are practically Sulphur free and odourless. They combine quality and efficient combustion with reduced exhaust emissions.

"Audi voiced its support early for the use of next generation Biofuels at Le Mans," explains Michael Dick, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG with responsibility for Technical Development. "It underlines our philosophy that we view Le Mans as a tough test field for new technologies which will be available at a later date in production cars for our customers. The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) provides the opportunity to use alternative drive concepts and fuels, which we exploit to the full."

The V12 TDI known for its efficiency and fitted to the Audi R10 TDI has already been tested successfully with the new fuel on the dynamometer and during tests. The first public appearance follows this coming Sunday (1 June) at the official test day at Le Mans. It traditionally provides teams with the only opportunity to test on the 13.629-kilometre circuit of Le Mans before the race.

Practice is on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. All three cars of Audi Sport Team Joest and all nine drivers will be in action.

[Kitdy]

How can it reduce the CO2 by 90%?

[TS020]

It's most likely made from vegetable oil rather than traditional refined oil.

[Kitdy]

The Audis are rocking the German flag black, red, and yellow cars again. I prefer how they run in the ALMS/LMS.

[Matra et Alpine]

EDIT: Did you see the headlights in the front air intake of the Lola Aston Martin?

What is up with that?

It's not an intake and at night the driver will appreciate the additional light to drive fast by
Novel light layout also helps a team see there car from a distance - especially coming in to the pits