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24 Hour ADAC Nurburgring 2011.
Expressions of the biggest race of the world: 24 Hours Nurburgring, track for big boys.
Stuck brothers take championship lead, first Mercedes victory on Sunday
Larbre Comp Corvette - A new chapterPhoto : Arnaud Cornilleau - ACO/Nikon
Jack Leconte, owner and team manager of Larbre Competition says:" I am very proud that a manufacturer has trust in us, the best recognition of our know how, after many years in French GT's Patrick Bornhauser joined us on the international scene, along with Gabriele Gardel who has been a pillar of the team for many years alongside Julien Canal - Gardel and Canal of course winning LM P1 in 2010 with the Larbre Saleen for us"
He went on to say: "We have many sponsors - Michelin, McDonalds, BSI, Charmant Z, Demeco who have joined with us in this ambitious project. We started at the ILMC at Sebring, but we had an electrical problem and had to retire early in the race, but we had a better result at Spa where we finished 3rd in class, we are still running a Porsche 911 RSR #70 this year alongside the Corvette, so we will be very busy!"
lemans.org
| ROUNDS 7 & 8 - BUDAPEST QUALIFYING REPORT |
| MENU BACK ON POLE AFTER TWO YEARS Q1 - Javier Villa posted the fastest lap of 1:57.166 midway through the session and only Robert Dahlgren was able to threat his leadership. The Swede lapped in 1:57.207 securing his first trip to Q2 so far in the season. Q2 - Alain Menu settled the pole position matter on his first flying lap, becoming the first WTCC driver to break the 1:57 wall at the Hungaroring. The Swiss driver's 1:56.546 was not to be beaten. |
Mazda will demonstrate the 787B June 11 at 12:30, lifting the curtain on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car will also take part in the drivers' parade on Friday, 10th June in Le Mans city centre.
Since 1991, the Mazda 787B Mazda has been exhibited at the museum in Hiroshima, Japan. In preparation for its demonstration at Le Mans, Mazda has carefully restored the car to run for the first time since his post-race inspection in 1991. This work was entrusted to employees of Mazda that had participated in the Le Mans 24h at the time. The restored 787B was tested by one of the most experienced drivers of the marque, and its performance has been confirmed by former Mazda factory drivers, Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino.
As part of the celebration of this 20th anniversary, various 1991 Mazda team members will also return to Le Mans. The winning driver Johnny Herbert (Britain) will be joined by David Kennedy (Ireland), Pierre Dieudonne (Belgium) and other team members.
Julien Hergault - From Mazda press release.
Photo: MINE CIRCUIT (Japan). The Mazda 787B was specially restored and tested for its exhibition at Le Mans.
Photo : - Mazda France
Info: lemans.org/acreditated media press.
Vincent Beaumesnil, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s sports manager, explains the reasons in a question and answer session.
“Vincent, why has the Automobile Club de l’Ouest decided to adjust performances between cars in the same category?”
VB: “2011 has seen the introduction of new technical regulations. If, in theory, things were evaluated beforehand, it is important to analyze what really happens on the track. When the 2011 petrol/diesel equivalences were announced last year, they received almost unanimous approval. Teams entering petrol-powered cars said that the new regulations gave this type of engine a real boost compared to the 2010 equivalences. To evaluate the results on the track, the ACO bases its calculations on the performances of the cars in the race only: qualifying and free practice don’t come into the equation. Performance is an overall concept that takes into account all the factors that can influence the results of a car. Thus, not only lap times, but also everything that contributes to the final result, power, torque, aerodynamics, cornering speeds, pit stop times, fuel consumption tyres etc, are evaluated.”
“Why have these adjustments been introduced after the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms and not before?”
VB: “In the regulations it was laid down that the ACO would analyze the situation after two races. Thus, it was necessary to wait for the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms (second round of the ILMC) to have two areas for comparison. The Sebring 12-Hours race alone would not have been enough. In addition, all the types of engine technology such as diesel power did not enter for the Le Castellet 6 Hours (LMS event) or the Long Beach race (ALMS) to enable us to calculate all the adjustments necessary. By making these adjustments after the Spa-Francorchamps race, the ACO has accumulated enough data, and it gives the teams sufficient time to carry out these modifications before the Le Mans 24 Hours.”
“What data were taken into account?”
“All the factors that determine the performance of a car, which the ACO can then use to adjust performance.”
• Temps au tour
• Temps sectoriels
• Phases d’accélération
• Vitesse de pointe
• Autonomie / Consommation
• Temps de remplissage du réservoir
• Consommation de pneus
“What decisions has the ACO taken?”
“They have to be explained category by category.
“In LM P1, (Le Mans prototype 1 : Audi R18, Peugeot 908, Pescarolo-Judd, Rebellion-Toyota, Aston Martin AMR-ONE etc).”
• “Let’s look at article 19 of the technical regulations, first of all: an analysis of track data (including the timing measuring acceleration - confidential data not given to the entrants at Spa) and the information collected by the ACO data acquisition systems have enabled the club to define a compensated engine performance figure between diesel and petrol technologies. In this context, only the engine performance has been assessed and taken into account, not the lap times. On this basis the ACO has applied a modification to the fuel refuelling nozzle (+ 10 mm for petrol-engined cars, - 3 mm for diesel-powered ones).”
• “We then took into account Article 1.3 of the ACO sporting regulations, usually known as the 2% rule. According to this article only the cars that have raced in two events can take advantage of the adjustment that allows the performance level of the quickest car in a slower technology (petrol in this case), to be tweaked by 2% maximum compared to that of the quickest car in a faster technology (diesel). This additional adjustment complements article 19 where necessary (if the adjustment of article 19 does not give the 2% gap then an addition is granted). In the present case: + 0.3 mm for the engine air restrictor and - 10 kilos for petrol-engined cars eligible for this modification. Or + 0.5 mm in the case of a car whose weight cannot be changed.”
“Can you explain each of these measures?”
“Let’s start with the modifications to the refuelling nozzle, particularly the slide, which can be adjusted in a consistent fashion. Changing a simple component in the hose can increase the difference in refuelling times by over twenty-two seconds, the equivalent of two seconds a lap over the Le Mans 24-Hours race. It’s a simple and inexpensive measure for the teams. But don’t be misled, it’s not because the diesels will take longer to refuel that they will use more fuel than the petrol-engined cars. The maximum quantity of fuel on board is 65 litres for the diesels and 75 litres for the petrol-engined cars. The number of laps between two refuelling stops should be the same for petrol and diesel engines. The latter should spend more time at their pits because the fuel flow will be slower.”
“Weight of the cars (-10 kgs) and air restrictors (+ 0.3 mm or +.5 mm). These relatively low figures are an addition to achieve the aims defined by the study of the performance data. Certain manufacturers were unable to exceed these figures (because of engines already at the limit of their development t or due to the tricky problem of weight reduction, particularly complex with no ballast), and the ACO did not want to create an imbalance between teams.”
“The modification to the fuel tank for petrol-engined cars was also excluded as it implied too big a job for some teams.”
“What results are you hoping to achieve on the Le Mans circuit?”
VB: “Overall, these adjustments will be more noticeable on the distance covered at the finish, rather than the seconds gained over a lap as we’re acting mainly on the pit stop times. It may translate into a gain of four or five laps during the Le Mans 24 Hours.”
“Why have you modified the petrol-engined cars in priority?”
VB: “That’s what’s laid down in the ACO regulations which state: “the cars with the slowest technology will be adjusted.”
Why have you reduced the weight of the Oreca-entered Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (2010 car) by fifteen kilos?”
“Article 19 also provides the possibility of adjusting the performances of the 2010 LM P1s compared to the 2011 cars while giving the latter a slight advantage. As the 908 HDi FAP is just outside the 2% bracket in relation to the quickest 2011 diesels, this weight reduction is easy to achieve as the car already carries thirty kilos of ballast, and it helps reduce what is a big gap.”
“What about the LM P2s (Le Mans Protoptype 2): Oreca–Nissan, Honda Performance Development, OAK-Pescarolo etc).?”
VB: “As the ACO gave an undertaking that all cars not meeting the capped price ceiling should not be quicker than those complying with the 2011 regs (max. price: 345 000 euros), an adjustment has been made to the refuelling nozzle (+ 3.5 mm for the 2011 cars). Concerning the engines we’ve seen that the Juud seems slightly down on performance, so we’ve adjusted its power as we did for the Honda Performance Development engine.”
“And finally, what about the LM GTEs (Le Mans Endurance Grand Touring Cars): Lotus Evora, Ferrari F 458 Italia, BMW M3, Corvette, Porsche)?”
“Article 19 of the LM GTE technical regs (performance adjustments) has been applied mainly to the Lotus Evora, which had a difficult debut, and the Doran Ford GT to which we’ve applied the performance balance it has in the United States.”
Lemans.org
Photo : Jean-René ROGER - ACO/Nikon
The Northern Spanish circuit of Navarra will be the host for the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series and teams will have their final chance to fine tune their cars before the Blue Riband event, the Total 24 Hours of Spa in July. While Monza was opened in 1922, and is one of the best know circuits in Europe, Navarra is brand new, only opening in 2010, but the Spanish circuit has already established a reputation for providing exciting racing whatever the category or championship.
Last month Monza hosted the first ever Blancpain Endurance Series race and fittingly it was the Italian team AutOrlando Sport and Italian driver Paolo Rubeti who took the chequered flag to record the first ever Blancpain Endurance Series win. Ruberti was joined by Gianluca Roda and Raffaele Gianmaria on the top step of the podium. The second placed car was the nr32 Belgian Audi Club Audi R8 LMS of Stephane Ortelli, Bert Longin and Filipe Albuquerqe, which finished 58 second behind the Porsche but led the race before it had to pit for a splash and dash pitstop 10 laps from home. An early puncture also delayed the Audi but they fought back to claim a podium place in the first race of the season. The Marc VDS Ford GT of Bas Leinders, Maxime Martin and Markus Palttala was third.
The class winners were Marc A Hayek and Peter Kox in the Blancpain-Reiter Lamborghini (GT3 Pro-Am Cup), with Hayek bringing the car home in 4th overall. Georges Cabannes and Gregory Guilvert were the GT3 Citiation Cup winners in the Ruffier Racing Lamborghini Gallardo and the GT4 Cup was won by the Lotus Italia team with Edoardo Piscopo, Leo Mansell and Greg Mansell holding off the challenge of the RJN Motorsport Nissan to claim the first GT4 Class win of the new series.
Navarra hosted its first international sportscar event last September when the Spanish circuit hosted the final European round of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship. While GT1 will visit in July, the Blancpain Endurance Series will be the first international GT endurance event the track has staged.
Fourteen cars will compete in the GT3 Pro Cup class, with title leaders Paolo Ruberti, Gianluca Roda and Raffaele Gianmaria looking to extend their lead in the AutOrlando Sport Porsche against the Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Audis, Fords and BMW of their rivals. Reigning FIA GT1 World Champion Michael Bartels will be hoping for better luck than he and teammates Frank Kechele and Nico Verdonck had in Monza in the Vita4One Ferrari 458. All three drivers drove in the GT1 race at Navarra last year and will be hoping their experience will pay dividends. Navarra will see a new entry by the Faster Racing by DB MOTORSPORT with the BMW Z4. The Dutch team tasted success on the international stage in the FIA GT3 race in Portugal with a third place for Jeroen den Boer in Round 1. The team will be hoping to build on their FIA success in the Blancpain Endurance Series in Spain.
Nine cars are entered in the GT3 Pro-Am Cup with Mark A Hayek and Peter Kox arriving in Monza on a high note after taking maximum points in Italy. However the Blancpain sponsored Reiter team will not be resting on their laurels. The Gulf Racing First team will be making their first appearance of the year, with Frederic Fatien, Jean-Pierre Valentini and Andrea Barlesi lining up to drive the United Arab Emirates teams Lamborghini Gallardo. The two Lamborghini teams will be joing by the Rhino’s Leipart Lamborghini and they will face stiff opposition from the three Ferrari 458s run by AF Corse, SOFREV Auto Sport and Vita4One, a GPR AMR Aston Martin DBRS9, a De Lorenzi Racing run Porsche 997 and a Ferrari 430 Scuderia prepared by the French Sport Garage team.
In the GT3 Citation Cup Championship leader Georges Cabannes’ teammate has yet to be announced but the Ruffier Racing Lamborghini will be once again challenging for top honours against Ferrari and Porsche.
The GT4 Cup features six entries but what it is definitely a case of the quality over quantity. The Lotus Italia Evora of Edoardo Piscopo, Leo Mansell and Greg Mansell was the top car in Monza but the RJN Nissan 370Z, The GPR Aston Martin Vantage, the Lotus Driving Academy Evora, the De Lorenzi Racing Ginetta G50 and the Gentle Swiss Racing Maserati MC Granturismo will all be hoping to take the honours in the final test before Spa.
The weekend will feature two 60-mniute Free Practice sessions; three 15-minute qualifying sessions, one for each driver, with the fastest time determining the grid for the 180-minute race on Sunday. The three race will include two mandatory pit stops, with tyre and driver change. Points will be awarded using the FIA system in each class, with the winners receiving 25 points, second 18 points, down to 1 point for 10th place.
All the latest information can be found at www.blancpain-endurance-series.com where visitors can also watch the races, which will be streamed live on Sunday.
Info: Blancpain Endurance Series/Acreditated media press.
Aged 34, Tiago Monteiro will share his seat with Guillaume Moreau and Pierre Ragues. The Portuguese driver participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999, 2000 and 2009.
Matthieu Lahaye is slowly recovering from his injuries after his crash in qualifying for 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps on May 6. The driver from Rennes left the hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtriè in Paris, where he was transferred to undergo extensive examination of his vertebrae, hand and knee. Wearing a brace for three months will be sufficient to consolidate his two broken vertebrae. Knee and hand surgery are scheduled for Wednesday.
Francois Sicard, Directeur Général : "Tiago is united in his career both on a sporting level as on a human one. He is a remarkable driver, fast, reliable and a very engaging person, who is in the spirit of endurance. This finish gives a real boost to the team shot which really needed. "
Tiago Monteiro: "Le Mans is a very special race and do with Oak Racing is fantastic! There is not much time to prepare but I'm up to the task. I hope Jacques Nicolet and Francis Sicardl will be proud of me, especially Lahaye, to whom I extend my best wishes for a speedy recovery. "
Julien Hergault
Photo: PORTIMAO (PORTUGAL), 1000 Km of Algarve, 1st August, 2009. With Bruno Senna, Tiago Monteiro finished third in the national event at the wheel of the Oreca AIM.
| Hexis Aston Takes the Spoils in Germany |
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| Andrea Piccini and Christian Hohenadel took their Hexis Aston Martin No.4 to victory in the Championship Race at Sachsenring. The Hexis pair started from fifth on the grid and stayed clear of a spate of early incidents to secure their first win of the 2011 season. Second place went to the No.37 All-Inkl Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini of Dominik Schwäger and Nicky Pastorelli while third was the Young Driver Aston Martin No.8 of Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner.
The nr 41 Marc VDS Ford of Maxime Martin led the field into the first turn with Stef Dusseldorp in the nr3 Hexis AMR Aston Martin on the outside of the Ford as the pair vied for the lead. The nr3 was pushed wide and onto the gravel by the Ford, allowing the nr8 Young Driver Aston of Stefan Mücke to nip through and take the lead. At Turn 2 the nr5 Swiss Racing Lamborghini of Karl Wendlinger and the nr7 Young Driver Aston Martin of Tomas Enge collided, tipping the Lamborghini into a spin. The unfortunate Max Nilsson in the nr6 Swiss Racing Lamborghini t-boned his teammates car and was left stranded on the circuit with severe front end damage. Both the nr5 and nr7 cars pulled off the circuit into retirement two corners later and the safety car was deployed to recover the stricken Nilsson car.
The race was restarted at the end of lap 5 just as rain began to fall on to the circuit. Christian Hohenadel in the nr4 Hexis Aston was challenging the nr8 Young Driver Aston for the lead. However it wasn't until lap 10 that Hohenadel took the lead into Turn 1 but as soon as he was free he opened up a gap to Mücke's car.
Meanwhile the nr41 Marc VDS Ford slowed with a punctured right rear tyre, with damage to the bodywork. Martin pulled into the pitlane but the car retired and took no further part in the race.
Mike Hezemans was making progress in the Exim Bank Team China Corvette from 14th on the grid, moving up to 8th and challenging the nr21 Sumo Power GT Nissan of Jamie Campbell-Walter for 7th.
On lap 11 Stefan Mücke lost another place as he was passed at Turn 1 by Dominik Schwäger in the nr37 All Inkl.com Lamborghini. Meanwhile the rain had stopped and the teams put away their Michelin wets and prepared for the pit stop window to open. The leaders came in and went back out in the same order, with Andrea Piccini now leading in the Hexis Aston from Nicky Pastorelli in the All-Inkl Lamborghini and Darren Turner in the Young Driver Aston. The main beneficiary of the pitstops was the nr3 Hexis Aston of Clivio Piccione, which emerged in 5th place in between the nr20 and nr21 Nissans.
Piccini had a comfortable lead but Pastorelli was under pressure from Turner for the first few laps after the pitstops but the Italian started to pull away from the British driver by lap 23. Championship leader Marc Basseng's weekend finished on a low note when the nr37 All-Inkl.com Lamborghini went straight on at Turn 8 with a problem with the rear tyre.
Back at the front of the field Piccini was managing to maintain a comfortable gap to Pastorelli's Lamborghini, who in turn was a comfortable two seconds ahead of the third placed Aston Martin of Darren Turner. Further back Nicky Catsburg in the nr11 Exim Bank Corvette was challenging David Brabham in the nr20 Sumo Power Nissan but the Australian just held his line and his position until the chequered flag.
At the flag it was Andrea Piccini who took the first win for the nr4 Hexis AMR Aston Martin DB9, taking the lead in the Driver's Championship for himself and Christian Hohenadel in the process. Hohenadel and Piccini now have 61 points to Marc Basseng's and Markus Winkelhock on 57. Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke are third on 56 points. The result also means Hexis AMR extend their lead in the Team Championship to 17 points over All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport.
Christian Hohenadel also becomes the first FIA GT3 European Champion to win an FIA GT1 World Championship race. 2008 FIA GT3 Champion James Ruffier won a race in the FIA GT Championship at the wheel of a GT1 class Corvette in 2009 but Hohenadel is the first GT3 Champion to win a GT1 World Championship race.
The next race is at Silverstone on the 3-5 June when the drivers in the FIA GT1 World Championship will compete for the world famous Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy. The Championship will also be the first to use the new pits complex at Silverstone, which will be officially unveiled on Tuesday 17th May.
CLICK HERE for the result of Round 4 CLICK HERE for the Race Facts CLICK HERE for the Championship Positions after Round 4
Christian Hohenadel "I saw that there was a bit of a mess at the start and I ended up second. The car was very good and I was able to push a lot to get passed the No.8 (Young Driver Aston Martin) and then when I got the lead I pushed again to open up the gap as I was quicker than him. It's my first win in GT1, I didn't expect it so soon. To win in Germany with all my friends here is just fantastic."
Andrea Piccini "It's never easy when you are first because so many things can happen, and the weather was unpredictable. Christian did a good job and he did most of the work for me. The car was OK, the tyres were fine and the pit stop was fantastic. I just got the car to the end. It's very nice to be leading the (drivers') championship but there is still a long way to go."
Dominik Schwäger "At the start I just focussed on staying out of trouble, not hitting anyone but still making up positions. It's not that easy, you can see on TV that our starts are much closer than GT3 starts because everybody is really on it and its sometimes millimetres between being kicked out of the race or getting a good start. Under braking, I made two or three positions, then I had the two Astons in front of me. I made a move on the Young Driver car and it worked out perfectly. I was quite happy that the rain didn't come too heavy because with the slightest mistake in the wet and you're off on this track. I am happy that we finally have our podium. We missed so many I can't count them anymore. I'm not jumping for joy but it's a start, we collected decent points and I'm really looking forward to the next race."
Nicky Pastorelli nr37 All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV "It was easy because I didn't have to fight with any cars behind or in front of me but it was difficult because I had to really push on the limit to close the gap to the car in front (Hexis Aston Martin No.4). Some laps I could close a little some laps not. In the end we are happy with this result after all the bad luck we have had. Hopefully we can continue like this now."
Stefan Mücke "At the start, I tried to stay on the inside to avoid any contact. Initially the Ford (Marc VDS No.41) missed its braking point so he locked up his front tyres and he went a little bit wide and I was able to overtake both of the cars ahead (the No.41 Ford and the Hexis Aston No.3) and take the lead. After the safety car it was a struggle to get the tyres up to temperature. It was quite a tough race because we had some success ballast (20kg) but we are happy to be here on the podium and score some important points."
Darren Turner "We know that the Lambo (No.37) finds it quite difficult to warm up its tyres so I was pushing quite hard on the first lap out of the pits. But after that he was able to pull away. We could both see the Hexis car ahead but we weren't able to close it down but it was only really a car-length at a time. Being a German team, we had a lot of guests here. It certainly seemed quite active in the box, it was a busy place. Hopefully they all had a good day."
Jamie Campbell-Walter nr21 Sumo Power Nissan GT-R “It’s nice to have a result, and while it’s not a win or a podium I think it’s a great result for the Nissan GT-R, the Sumo Power team and the JRM team to have all four cars in the top ten. Realistically it isn’t a great track for us so we’ve pulled out a really good result for ourselves. I’m personally really happy: Brabs has driven amazingly, the pit stop crews have done a fantastic job and we’ve produced a nice result and a good haul of points.”
David Brabham “We knew coming in that it wasn’t going to suit us, especially with the extra weight we got from the Algarve. We had a few issues in Qualifying, but in the races we kept going, the guys did a great job in the pit stops and we gained a few places. The team has improved massively: they’re a brand new outfit for this year, but they have just got better and better and it’s been great to see. I think we got it right today, and Jamie did a great job towards the end. For Sumo Power, fourth and fifth is a great result.”
Mike Hezemans “The race was good, the car was good on new tyres but then towards the end we struggled with understeer on new tyres – like a lot of cars. We were a little bit quicker than the Nissan, especially at the beginning, but you cannot pass, it’s too difficult on this track. The pace was really good on new tyres and quite good on old. I should have been on pole (yesterday), and then the weekend looks a lot different – that’s the main problem.”
Bas Leinders “We should have been on the podium today, but we got hit on the first lap which completely knocked the suspension geometry on the right rear and made the car very tricky to drive. Actually we were quite lucky to finish the race because it made the tyre wear so badly. There are some positives: for us it was easy this morning to finish fourth fastest, and the No.41 car was fast all weekend. This track suits the Ford quite well though, and even here we had trouble fighting with other cars. Everything that could go wrong seems to – I just hope our luck changes soon.”
Stef Dusseldorp “We lost 25 points today. I had a good start and was on the outside, but then I don’t know what (Maxime) Martin did – he just pushed me off big time. After that we didn’t really have a chance: the car wasn’t straight and we had bad understeer. It was not easy, so I just tried to keep the gap and then we had a perfect pit stop, really fast so we went into P5. Then we had the puncture, which was caused by the first corner collision, and that was that.”
Tomas Enge “I had a pretty good start, and going into turn one it was pretty tight. I think as Johnny Herbert says we are like a magnet to accidents. It was unfortunate, I didn’t know Karl Wendlinger was there and there was no space for two cars: he touched me once and then spun, and hit me on my rear wheel which completely broke the rim. It was a bad weekend for us, so now we just look forward to Silverstone, a track I have been fast at last year. I hope I can repeat that.”
Jeff Carter Media Delegate, Fotos: DPPI/Fia GT1. |
