Backstretch Motorsports

Scrutineering is over, now to qualifying.

Sunshine is expected for this first evening of timed tests which should be blessed with a dry track. The teams will be eager to establish some fast times on Wednesday evening; rain having been forecast for Thursday. We have a great and beautiful spectacle in prospect in classic of automobile racing: Peugeot, Audi, Pescarolo, Courage-Oreca, Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche and others… All on track!

Harold Primat targeting best ever finish at Le Mans 24 Hours

Having seen the chequered flag at the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time in 2007, Geneva-based Harold Primat is raising the stakes in 2008 as he searches for his best ever finish in the 91st edition of the historic race.

A strong season in the Le Mans Series so far has reaped a podium at Monza and sees Primat and team-mate Christophe Tinseau lying sixth in the LMP1 championship race behind drivers from the works giants Audi and Peugeot and as the best-placed drivers of a petrol-powered car.

Last year at La Sarthe, while running fifth overall, an oil leak cost Primat’s #17 Pescarolo Sport 90 minutes in the pits and any chance of a podium, yet sterling work by the team and a defiant drive through the field brought them sixth in class and some very fond memories for Harold.

“I was in the car at the chequered flag and it was such a wonderful feeling,” remembered Primat. “To see the crowd cheering and all the marshals out on track applauding was incredible and made up for the disappointment of retiring with mechanical problems in ’05 and ’06. I want that feeling again this year, but hopefully this time we won’t have any issues during the race.”

The Pescarolo 01-Judd has shown solid reliability in 2008 and was sixth fastest overall, and quickest of the petrol-powered cars at the official test day, has shown the competitive pace of the car. “We’re pretty happy with the car and things are looking good,” Harold said. “There are still a few things the team are working on but I think we all feel confident going into the race. My target is always to keep improving so the aim is to finish in a better position than before. But with the strength of the grid this year, which includes three Audis and three Peugeots, another top six finish would be a great result.

“Le Mans is a very special race for me and the highlight of the season. I love everything about it and really enjoy driving here. The track is fast, but also has some challenging technical elements and is very rewarding for a driver. Add that to the atmosphere from the fans throughout the week and it’s obvious why this is such as special race.”

Harold is once again joined by regular LMS team-mate Christophe Tinseau and Nissan works driver Benoit Treluyer for the race.

Tinseau explained how he hoped the hard work at the test day will reap rewards for the race. “Everybody in the team was delighted with how things went at the test day, but we can go quicker than that. We are making a very small aerodynamic change around the nose of the car and I am certain that it will iron out any problems we have had in the past.”

Treluyer added: “I’m so happy to be back with Harold and Christophe. They’ve done a good job with the car since last year. I don’t think we can fight with Audi and Peugeot, but we can be at the front of the petrol powered cars and that has to be our target.”

Team Principal Henri Pescarolo explained the hard work in store for the team before the race. “We removed the engine, gearbox, suspension and other mechanical parts on both cars after the test day, then shook down new ones on Thursday. We’ll then rebuild the cars with the original parts for qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday of the race week, before dismantling and rebuilding again with the new parts for the race. It’s this rigorous approach which has seen us finish on the podium at Le Mans for the past three years.”

Former Le Mans 24 Hour race winner Guy Smith returns to Le Mans to contest this year’s legendary 24 Hour race next weekend (14-15 June).

Driffield-based Smith aged 33 last contested the world’s “blue ribband” endurance sportscar race in 2004 when the Yorkshireman finished second – one year after winning the French “classic” in a Bentley.

“It’s great to be racing at Le Mans again,” confirmed Guy. “The last time I was there was when I finished second in 2004. There have been some minor changes to the circuit since then so the recent test [1 June] gave me a good opportunity to familiarise myself.

“Driving at Le Mans is always a great joy – it’s a very magical place. No matter how many times you have been here and what you’ve achieved, it’s still a very humbling experience.”

Smith drives a British-built Lola, powered by a British-made AER engine, for the Portuguese Quifel ASM Team in the LM P2 category along with Olivier Pla (F) and Miguel Paes do Amaral (Por) next weekend which marks Guy’s fifth career Le Mans race.

Guy continued: “I’m contesting the LM P2 category for the first time at Le Mans so not fighting for an overall victory but a class win. Our aim is to make it to the finish and hopefully get on the podium.

“I drove this actual car in Istanbul in a Le Mans Series race two years ago and have a good history with this car. Allan Mugglestone, a well respected engineer from Doncaster, is at the helm – I’ve known him since I began racing.”

Smith’s Lola B05/40 LMP2 Sportscar chassis is manufactured in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, with the 2-litre turbo AER (Advanced Engine Research) engine built in Basildon, Essex. The ASM Team is based in Lisbon.

He continued: “Without stating the obvious it’s a long race which always throws up many surprises. I think particularly in this class it’s all about keeping going and keeping out of trouble. Hopefully that is what we will be able to do.

“The Porsche RS Spyder, a car I drive for Dyson in the American Le Mans Series, has definitely been the class of LMP2 both sides of the Atlantic. It’s typical brilliant German engineering. The car runs fast and reliably – I know how good it is from racing it in America.

“It’s always going to be difficult for us to beat it in outright pace. Our strategy has to be to keep going and spend the least amount of time in the pits. The Porsche has never contested a 24 hour previously so it’ll be interesting to monitor.

“I drove at Sebring for seven hours in total. What is interesting about Le Mans is it’s not actually that physical because you have got the long straights so you get time to rest. I think it’s more mentally tiring. Being awake for 24 hours and the concentration and the closing speeds it’s very tiring emotionally.”

Official qualifying for positions on the 55-car grid is staged on Wednesday and Thursday evenings with the twice around the clock race getting underway on Saturday at 2pm BST.

Jack Leconte on the Saleen S7R #15 Labre Competition

Larbre Competition helped Aston Martin put a second car on the podium in 2007, and this year Jack Leconte is back with a single car, this time a Saleen.

“We are going for quality, not quantity. our main competitors are Aston Martin and Corvette, and they are always to be reckoned with as they run cars on three continents. The race is going to be extremely tough as there are 4 Aston Martins and 4 Corvettes against a single Saleen. This is the kind of challenge I like, and we’re eagerly looking for our way to the podium.

We should have come here with two cars this year, but only one was invited by the ACO, so we had to pick our drivers. With Patrick Bornhauser, Christophe Bouchut and David Hallyday, we have a strong driver lineup I think. They all know Le Mans and the Saleen very well.”

The Lucchini (Racing Box n° 30) not allowed to take part in practice.

The Stewards of the Meeting have taken the decision not to allow the Racing Box’s Lucchini-Judd to take part in practice at the end of the second day’s scrutineering.

This car had already taken part in the test day on 1ST June after the constructor supplied the ACO (30th May) with a document stating the car’s chassis complied with the one tested by the F.I.A. in 2004.
This situation changed on 6th June when Mr Lucchini informed the ACO that this certificate was no longer valid with the following clarification. “A certificate could only be drawn up after an in-depth inspection of the car in the Lucchini workshops.”
Without this inspection and a new certificate the Lucchini no longer meets the requirements of the scrutineers, and thus is not allowed to take part in qualifying practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The Stewards of the Meeting will debate the possibility of calling on a car on the reserve list to make up the complete grid of 55 cars.

CONG FU CHENG MAKES HISTORY

On June 14th, 2008 Cong Fu Cheng is going to make history as the first Chinese driver to ever race Les 24 Heures du Mans. The 23 year old may be young, but his name is already well known in his home country and Cheng, Frankie to his mechanics, is ready to race.

The Beijing native made headlines last April as a bearer of the Olympic Torch in Greece, but currently Cheng is fully focused on Le Mans. “I’m looking forward to my first race in Le Mans with Saulnier-Reaing and I am hoping for a good result. Of course it’s not easy starting on a racetrack that’s new to me, and a legendary circuit as well. But so far, I’ve always been a very quick learner, so I’m optimistic.”

Since his last A1 season where Cheng scored the first A1GP podium for China on home soil at Zhuhai in December, the slim, dark-haired Chinese driver did not have a lot of time to think about the future of his career. At the A1GP race at Brands Hatch the team manager for Saulnier Racing approached Cheng to ask if he would join the French team for the Le Mans test session and, as Cheng puts it, “the deal was done. As I was a fan of Le Mans it did not take long to convince me.”

At last weekend’s Le Mans test session, Cheng proudly sported China’s red, yellow and white colours on his helmet sharing the French team’s LMP2 “Pescarolo Judd” with Matthieu Lahaye and Pierre Ragues, but qualification was far from easy. At 3pm sharp on May 31st, Cheng left the street circuit of Pau in southwest France where he had been racing in the Formula 3 Euroseries, arriving at Le Mans at 11pm that night. The next day he completed his mandatory ten laps in heavy rain at a circuit he’d never visited before. Then on Monday, he boarded a plane from the Le Mans airport back to Pau in time for the second race of the Euroseries.

Cong Fu Cheng successfully came through Les 24 Heures du Mans test session despite this incredibly hectic schedule, which could have easily shaken another driver. The name of the game for “Frankie” was to follow the team’s instructions to the letter and to complete his laps without mistakes while also setting a promising best lap time according to the official Rolex timing. “I learned that Le Mans is a very fast circuit _ it is not easy to concentrate on every corner in the car and I have to be very careful for that. The car is reliable and powerful. It is easier than expected to drive but you need to be highly focused. I felt at home in a prototype even though it’s very different from an F3 car.”

Cheng says he has always dreamed of racing at Le Mans and hopes his appearance will help the continued growth of the popularity of motorsport in China. “Motorsport is getting more and more popular there and I hope I can help the public to understand racing more. I’ve always wanted to do this Le Mans race but never thought it would come this early in my career. It’s a real honour.”

The weekend of June 14/15th Cong Fu Cheng will line up with the other drivers in front of the Rolex countdown to the start of the 2008 24 Heures du Mans, one of the greatest endurance tests in the world. Rolex is the Official Timekeeper for Les 24 Heures du Mans and the Le Mans Series. In North America, Rolex has been a partner of the Rolex 24 At Daytona since 1959.