ALMS: Petit Le Mans (October 4, 2008)

[Kitdy]

The odd Acura ones? Their support was massive! The damn shirts sold out of all sizes but XL before the bloody race started! Brabham had fans everywhere as well..

I didn't recall seeing them really you know. I remember seeing at least one Porsche shirt - but there were several Porsches parked around and I figure that Porsche is a well supported team. Also I recall Audi hospitality area at the end of the front straight where there were tons of people waving Audi flags.

Corvette and Ferrari no doubt were well supported as well. Actually I remember seeing a bunch of people wearing Audi shirts they had bought from Audi's little store.

[Wouter Melissen]

Its very much the same approach Mazda have always taken in the international sports car program. None of their past cars were particularly competitive, 787B included. But its only because they kept going at it with what little resource they have had that they can sometimes get unexpected results.

I wouldn't call the 787B unexpected. The car certainly was not the quickest, but the Hughues de Chaunac ran operation made sure that everything else was perfected. One thing that they did was challenge the drivers to run as fast as possible while consuming as little fuel as possible. This made a great difference in the rest, although it might not have shown on the outside. I think Peugeot can tell you a thing or two about winning races with the fastest car on the grid.

[Zytek_Fan]

I wouldn't call the 787B unexpected. The car certainly was not the quickest, but the Hughues de Chaunac ran operation made sure that everything else was perfected. One thing that they did was challenge the drivers to run as fast as possible while consuming as little fuel as possible. This made a great difference in the rest, although it might not have shown on the outside. I think Peugeot can tell you a thing or two about winning races with the fastest car on the grid.

Yep.
When you put Hughues in charge of your program, you're going to win.

[Wouter Melissen]

Yep.
When you put Hughues in charge of your program, you're going to win.

Well I don't Chrysler can completely agree with that.

[RacingManiac]

they sorta did with the Viper....

[The_Canuck]

I didn't recall seeing them really you know. I remember seeing at least one Porsche shirt - but there were several Porsches parked around and I figure that Porsche is a well supported team. Also I recall Audi hospitality area at the end of the front straight where there were tons of people waving Audi flags.

Corvette and Ferrari no doubt were well supported as well. Actually I remember seeing a bunch of people wearing Audi shirts they had bought from Audi's little store.

Did you miss the two fairly large pavilions? One Sponsored by Patron and the other by them and Acura? The Acura one was near the Porsche one and the Patron bar was a little aways from everything else.

[Kitdy]

Did you miss the two fairly large pavilions? One Sponsored by Patron and the other by them and Acura? The Acura one was near the Porsche one and the Patron bar was a little aways from everything else.

I remember a Patron bar area - I think it was in the infield.

[RacingManiac]

Back to PLM....any particular info about Audi's recent upturn in form? At Silverstone they have weather helping them out, but even at PLM in the dry the Peugeot is no longer enjoying the speed advantage over the R10...have there been further update under the skin of the soon-to-be-defunct R10? Its hard to imagine the tire-pressure discovery they found at Silverstone to be contributing this massive increase in speed....considering how long they have been running this car....

[henk4]

Back to PLM....any particular info about Audi's recent upturn in form? At Silverstone they have weather helping them out, but even at PLM in the dry the Peugeot is no longer enjoying the speed advantage over the R10...have there been further update under the skin of the soon-to-be-defunct R10? Its hard to imagine the tire-pressure discovery they found at Silverstone to be contributing this massive increase in speed....considering how long they have been running this car....

Silverstone was dry apart from the second free practice on Friday. The race was held under sunny conditions. Peugeot lost the race, Audi did not really win it.

[Zytek_Fan]

Well I don't Chrysler can completely agree with that.

Chrysler was achieving good results, but they pulled the plug too early...

[Wouter Melissen]

PRUETT: Thursday/Friday Petit Le Mans Blog
Romain Briscoe, Wheels of Fortune, Lol-ana? ElanaLola?, A Gidley on the Prowl, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Gil de Ferran: Your Package Has Arrived, Special Delivery from England, and I ramble...
AUTO-RACING - The Online Motorsports Authority - NASCAR Racing Schedule - F1 - Formula 1 - Drag Racing - Motorsports - Indy Car - SPEEDtv.com

[Wouter Melissen]

PETIT LE MANS: Friday Photo Gallery and Wallpapers
125 photos are now online from practice and qualifying from Petit Le Mans now available, and a number of technical photos feature our first photo display from Road Atlanta.
AUTO-RACING - The Online Motorsports Authority - NASCAR Racing Schedule - F1 - Formula 1 - Drag Racing - Motorsports - Indy Car - SPEEDtv.com

Direct Gallery Link: SPEEDtv.com - Gallery

[Wouter Melissen]

Peugeot claims pole, but only just:

Friday's qualifying
1. Nicolas Minassian, France; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Christian Klien, Austria; Peugeot 908 (P1), 1:06.242, 138.039
2. Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:06.327, 137.862
3. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:06.818, 136.849
4. Helio Castroneves, Brazil; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:07.061, 136.353
5. Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:07.149, 136.175
6. Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Emmanuel Collard, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:07.401, 135.666
7. Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Marco Andretti, Nazareth, PA; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:07.486, 135.495
8. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:07.656, 135.154
9. Danny Watts, UK; Olivier Pla, France; Ginetta Zytek 07S (P1), 1:07.660, 135.146
10. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:07.784, 134.899
11. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Michel Jourdain, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:07.866, 134.736
12. Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:08.064, 134.344
13. Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:08.175, 134.125
14. Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:08.446, 133.594
15. Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Lola B07 46 Mazda (P2), 1:08.896, 132.722
16. Jamie Campbell-Walter, England; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Stephen Simpson, South Africa; Creation CA 07 AIM (P1), 1:09.402, 131.754
17. Johnny Mowlem, England; Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Zytek 07S (P1), 1:09.504, 131.561
18. Georges Forgeois, New York, NY; Ryan Lewis, UK; Luke Hines, England; Lola B07-17 Judd (P1), 1:09.785, 131.031
19. Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Stuart Hall, England; Dean Stirling, England; Creation CA 07 AIM (P1), 1:09.944, 130.733
20. Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Ron Fellows, Canada; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:16.542, 119.464
21. Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:16.589, 119.391
22. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:19.399, 115.165
23. Dirk Werner, Germany; Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Joerg Hardt, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:19.456, 115.083
24. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:19.795, 114.594
25. Wolf Henzler, Germany; Joerg Bergmeister, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:19.885, 114.465
26. Ben Aucott, England; Stephane Daoudi, France; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari 430 GT (GT2), 1:20.206, 114.006
27. Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:20.667, 113.355
28. Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Marc Goosens, Belgium; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (GT2), 1:20.743, 113.248
29. Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Darren Turner, England; Aston Martin Vantage (GT2), 1:20.940, 112.973
30. Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andreas Wirth, Germany; Panoz Esperante Ford (GT2), 1:21.419, 112.308
31. David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:21.438, 112.282
32. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Andy Pilgrim, Del Ray Beach, FL; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:21.616, 112.037
33. Marc Basseng, Germany; Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:21.876, 111.681
34. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (GT2), 1:22.302, 111.103
35. Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:23.096, 110.041
36. Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:23.589, 109.392
37. Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Lola B06-10 AER (P1), No Time
38. Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), No Time.

[RacingManiac]

Silverstone was dry apart from the second free practice on Friday. The race was held under sunny conditions. Peugeot lost the race, Audi did not really win it.

But regardless Peugeot did not enjoy the same advantage they've had all season, as McNish was right there with them on pace.....I think in an interview they mentioned that they did some change to the tire pressure and found it working better. But What I find curious about that is this is a car they've run for 3 years now, tested and race tens of thousands of KMs, to find a setup that works well now seems rather odd....

Whatever the case Peugeot should be sweating beads....since if they found speed now at the end of R10's life their new car would be very fast indeed....

[Zytek_Fan]

I'm really liking how little of Petit Le Mans is being shown on Speed