Le Mans Series

Planetlemans Nürburgring LMGT1 preview

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

All ingredients for the GT1 battle are back at the Nürburgring. Corvette, Aston Martin and Saleen are all aiming for the win. The American cars scored wins at Monza (Corvette) and Valencia (Saleen) but Aston Martin took victory at Le Mans this year. For the Nürburgring the smallest category of the four might become the one with the fiercest fight for victory.

During the last race at Valencia the Oreca Saleen was the best car out there, with the Racing Box Saleen second and the nr 50 Larbre Aston Martin finishing third. At Le Mans it was the other way around as Larbre finished ahead of Oreca.

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

The Aston Martin DBR9s from Larbre Competition received updates at Le Mans and were back on pace. Coming to the Nürburgring as the 2006 race winners the French squad has something to defend. They are currently second in the GT1 standings, but only one point behind the leading Luc Alphand Corvette. The nr 50 car has so far finished all the races on the podium in 2007 so a victory in Germany would not be a real surprise. The second Larbre car can not be seen as a serious podium contender.

At Valencia two Saleens led home the field. The Oreca Saleen dominated the race and took home victory. The team was then called an outright candidate for the GT1 victory at Le Mans, but never got close to winning it. Team Oreca has a fifty percent score this LMS season with a retirement and a win. If the French team can stay out of trouble they are a serious contender for the race win, but for some reason the Saleens tend to break down every now and then.

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

The Racing Box Saleen has so far had a consistent run in the series, but for the Nürburgring a podium finish is the highest possible for the Italian team, unless other teams mess up or the weather conditions will play a major role this weekend.

Another regular points finisher is Team Modena. The team finished both Le Mans Series races, but on both occasions it was outside the podium. They were robbed of a good classification at Le Mans after an incident with one of the LMP cars, but the team is ready to give a good show in Germany. Or as Team Modena’s Graham Schultz said: "We are going to the Nürburgring to win."
Current Le Mans Series GT1 championship leading team Luc Alphand had a great start at Monza, except for the pit fire, but then dropped back. They finished fourth at Valencia and were the third LMS finisher at Le Mans (7th overall). Last year they finished second in Germany, but this year it might be a bit harder to match that result. Nevertheless the Corvette C6-R is one to watch. The team’s C5-R should have a lucky day to score a podium; it will most likely be an also-ran.

Next up…the GT2 preview