Jun 11 2011

24 Hours of Le Mans

So a couple of weekends ago I talked about Lime Rock and I mentioned then that Sport Car racing is a little bit different from most other kinds of motor sports.

One of the differences is the length of the races.  Many of the events are timed rather than a fixed distance and some last quite a while.  This weekend is the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency commonly known as Le Mans.

It’s run on the Circuit de la Sarthe which at 8.5 miles is one of the longest still used for racing.  The Ligne Droite des Hunaudières (better known as the Mulsanne Straight) is 3.7 miles long though they added 2 chicanes in the ’90s when the FIA decided that no straight section of track over 2 kilometers would continue to be allowed.

Other safety changes include not letting any driver do a shift of over 4 hours or drive more than 14 hours in total.  You must have a team of at least 3 drivers.  The top 2 classes are Le Mans Prototypes 1 & 2 and the other 2 classes are GT 2s and GT 1s (for the last year) and GT AMs (their successor).

It really is an endurance race.  Cars are required to turn off their engines in the pits so there’s always the question of if you can start them up again.  It’s very hot which is tough on tires and the high speeds (over 200 mph in many sections of the track) put a lot of strain on the brakes when you want to change direction (say for a corner or something trivial like that).

Just as in the iconic movie Le Mans, interesting things can happen at any time, though in fact they rarely do.  Speed will have 18 hours of live coverage starting at 8:30 am with breaks for the Turn Left Pocono 500, Qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (at 2 pm), and Motorcycle racing from Mt. Morris.

This year they’ll be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 1991 Mazda win and the 44th of Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt spraying Henry Ford II and Carroll Shelby with champagne instead of drinking it starting the tradition of wasting good wine.

If anything actually exciting occurs feel free to make note of it below.

Update:  Now with Grid positions.

Starting Grid

Grid Number Team Drivers Car Class Tire Q-Time KPH
1 2 Audi Sport Team Joest M. Fassler / A. Lotterer / B. Treluyer Audi R18 TDI LM P1 M 3:25.738 238.5
2 1 Audi Sport Team Joest T. Bernhard / R. Dumas / M. Rockenfeller Audi R18 TDI LM P1 M 3:25.799 238.4
3 9 Team Peugeot Total P. Lamy / S. Bourdais / S. Pagenaud Peugeot 908 LM P1 M 3:26.010 238.2
4 8 Peugeot Sport Total F. Montagny / S. Sarrazin / N. Minassian Peugeot 908 LM P1 M 3:26.156 238.0
5 3 Audi Sport North America R. Capello / T. Kristensen / A. McNish Audi R18 TDI LM P1 M 3:26.165 238.0
6 7 Peugeot Sport Total M. Gene / A. Wurz / A. Davidson Peugeot 908 LM P1 M 3:26.272 237.9
7 10 Team Oreca Matmut N. Lapierre / L. Duval / O. Panis Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP LM P1 M 3:30.084 233.5
8 12 Rebellion Racing N. Jani / N. Prost / J. Bleekemolen Lola B 10/60 Coupe-Toyota LM P1 M 3:32.883 230.5
9 16 Pescarolo Team E. Collard / C. Tinseau / J. Jousse Pescarolo Judd LM P1 M 3:33.066 230.3
10 13 Rebellion Racing A. Belicchi / J. Boullion / G. Smith Lola B 10/60 Coupe-Toyota LM P1 M 3:34.573 228.7
11 15 Oak Racing T. Monteiro / G. Moreau / P. Ragues Oak Pescarolo-Judd LM P1 D 3:34.933 228.3
12 22 Kronos Racing V. Ickx / M. Martin / B. Leinders Lola Aston Martin LM P1 M 3:36.551 226.6
13 20 Quifel-Asm Team M. Amaral / O. Pla / W. Hughes Zytek 09 SC LM P1 D 3:37.393 225.7
14 26 Signatech Nissan F. Mailleux / L. Ordonez / S. Ayari Oreca 03-Nissan LM P2 D 3:41.458 221.6
15 24 Oak Racing J. Nicolet / R. Hein / J. Yvon Oak Pescarolo-Judd LM P1 D 3:41.908 221.1
16 42 Strakka Racing N. Leventis / D. Watts / J. Kane Honda Performance Development Arx 01 LM P2 M 3:42.615 220.4
17 48 Team Oreca Matmut A. Premat / D. Hallyday / D. Kraihamer Oreca 03-Nissan LM P2 M 3:43.098 219.9
18 39 Pecom Racing L. Perez-Companc / M. Russo / P. Kaffer Lola B11/40-Judd Bmw LM P2 M 3:43.223 219.8
19 49 Oak Racing S. Nakano / N. De Crem / J. Charouz Oak Pescarolo-BMW LM P2 D 3:43.479 219.5
20 41 Greaves Motorsport K. Ojjeh / O. Lombard / T. Kimber-Smith Zytek Nissan LM P2 D 3:43.802 219.2
21 40 Race Performance M. Frey / R. Meichtry / M. Rostan Oreca 03-Judd BMW LM P2 D 3:44.294 218.8
22 007 Aston Martin Racing C. Klien / S. Mucke / D. Turner Aston Martin AMR-One LM P1 M 3:45.918 217.2
23 36 RML T. Erdos / M. Newton / B. Collins Honda Performance Development Arx 01 LM P2 D 3:47.308 215.8
24 5 Hope Racing S. Zacchia / J. Lammers / C. Elgaard Oreca Swiss Hy Tech-Hybrid LM P1 M 3:47.691 215.5
25 009 Aston Martin Racing A. Fernandez / A. Meyrick / H. Primat Aston Martin AMR-One LM P1 M 3:48.355 214.9
26 44 Extreme Limite AM Paris F. Rosier / P. Haezebrouck / J. De Fournoux Norma M200P-Judd BMW LM P2 D 3:48.420 214.8
27 35 Oak Racing A. Barlesi / F. Da Rocha / P. Lafargue Oak Pescarolo-Judd BMW LM P2 D 3:48.665 214.6
28 33 Level 5 Motorsports S. Tucker / C. Bouchut / J. Barbosa Lola Coupe-Honda Performance Development LM P2 M 3:48.863 214.4
29 55 BMW Motorsport A. Farfus / J. Muller / D. Werner BMW M3 GT LM GTE Pro D 3:57.592 206.5
30 51 AF Corse Srl G. Fisichella / G. Bruni / T. Vilander Ferrari 458 Italia LM GTE Pro M 3:58.040 206.1
31 56 BMW Motorsport A. Priaulx / D. Muller / J. Hand BMW M3 GT LM GTE Pro D 3:58.426 205.8
32 74 Corvette Racing O. Gavin / J. Magnussen / R. Westbrook Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 LM GTE Pro M 3:59.519 204.8
33 89 Hankook-Team Farnbacher D. Farnbacher / A. Simonsen / L. Keen Ferrari 458 Italia LM GTE Pro H 3:59.519 204.8
34 73 Corvette Racing A. Garcia / T. Milner / O. Beretta Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 LM GTE Pro M 3:59.633 204.7
35 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton M. Lieb / R. Lietz / W. Henzler Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro M 3:59.662 204.7
36 59 Luxury Racing S. Ortelli / F. Makowiecki / J. Melo Ferrari 458 Italia LM GTE Pro M 3:59.901 204.5
37 75 Prospeed Competition M. Goossens / M. Holzer / J. Van Lagen Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro M 3:59.962 204.5
38 79 Jota S. Dolan / S. Hancock / C. Buncombe Aston Martin Vantage LM GTE Pro D 4:00.747 203.8
39 66 JMW Motorsport R. Bell / T. Sugden / X. Maassen Ferrari 458 Italia LM GTE Pro D 4:00.890 203.7
40 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports J. Bergmeister / P. Long / L. Luhr Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro M 4:01.024 203.6
41 58 Luxury Racing A. Beltoise / F. Jakubowski / P. Thiriet Ferrari 458 Italia LM GTE Pro M 4:01.176 203.4
42 61 AF Corse Srl P. Perazzini / M. Cioci / S. Breslin Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am M 4:01.282 203.3
43 88 Team Felbermayr-Proton B. Miller / N. Tandy / A. Al-Faisal Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro M 4:01.752 203.0
44 71 AF Corse R. Kauffman / M. Waltrip / R. Aguas Ferrari 458 Italia LM GTE Pro M 4:02.216 202.6
45 76 Imsa Performance Matmut P. Pilet / R. Narac / N. Armindo Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Pro M 4:02.548 202.3
46 63 Proton Competition C. Ried / H. Felbermayr Jr. / H. Felbermayr Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Am M 4:03.532 201.5
47 81 Flying Lizard Motorsports S. Neiman / D. Law / S. Pumpelly Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Am M 4:03.648 201.4
48 70 Larbre Competition C. Bourret / P. Gibon / J. Belloc Porsche 911 RSR (997) LM GTE Am M 4:03.918 201.2
49 83 JMB Racing M. Rodrigues / J. Menahem / N. Marroc Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am M 4:04.640 200.6
50 60 Gulf AMR Middle East F. Giroix / R. Goethe / M. Wainwright Aston Martin Vantage LM GTE Am D 4:04.825 200.4
51 57 Krohn Racing T. Krohn / N. Jonsson / M. Rugolo Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am D 4:05.211 200.1
52 50 Larbre Competition P. Bornhanuser / J. Canal / G. Gardel Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 LM GTE Am M 4:05.955 199.5
53 62 CRS Racing P. Ehret / S. Lynn / R. Wills Ferrari F430 LM GTE Am M 4:07.236 198.5
54 65 Lotus Jetalliance J. Rossiter / J. Mowlem / J. Hirschi Lotus Evora LM GTE Pro M 4:07.465 198.3
55 68 Robertson Racing LLC D. Robertson / A. Robertson / D. Murry Ford GT-Doran LM GTE Am M 4:08.208 197.7
56 64 Lotus Jetalliance O. Slingerland / M. Rich / J. Hartshorne Lotus Evora LM GTE Pro M 4:12.569 194.3

rustymancuso581

14 comments

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  2. Today is the anniversary of the tragic accident in 1955 that killed driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators.

    Photobucket

  3. It’s Pugeot v. Audi.

  4. It’s not just a camera trick.

  6. And evidently their engine isn’t very reliable.

  8. another Audi has crashed in the dark.

    Causes are not clear.

  9. Very nice Stadium, nice city to walk from place to place. The police were very polite, too. 😉

  10. I say damp because teams are debating between inters and softs.  There have been some spectacular offs and a few smokes but it’s hard to tell whom and for what.

    The bottom line is that the leaders are much closer than you have any right to expect in a 24 hour race (they’re on the same lap!) so it’s all very exciting.

    Really.

  11. Fuel, no tires or driver.

    Last Audi standing.

  12. Pugeot 1:30 behind Audi (down to their last car).

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