24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans 2010 – LM GT1 Preview
© Planetlemans – Gerlach Delissen // Matech Competition Ford GT
In 2009 there were six GT1 entries at Le Mans. Four Corvettes, one Aston artin and a Lamborghini that completed just one lap. This year the GT1 grid will have eight car form five different manufacturers. No Nissan or Maserati this year at the Circuit de la Sarthe but we will see Ford, Aston Martin, Corvette, Saleen and Lamborghini.
Ford GT
(#60 and #61 Matech Competition and #70 Marc VDS Racing Team)
The new GT1 regulations bring back a familiar name to Le Mans, albeit in a modern version…the Ford GT. Three out of eight cars in the GT1 category are Matech-built Ford GTs. Matech Competition will run two cars, while Marc VDS Racing Team will run the third car.
Even though there are strong doubts that the cars will be able to last the full 24 hours they have shown their strength in the most recent Brno FIA GT1 race as well as the 1000 KM of Spa last month.
The #60 Matech Competition Ford GT will be driven by FIA GT1 World Championship leaders Thomas Mutsch and Romain Grosjean as well as Jonathan Hirschi. The second Matech Competition entry is a 100%-female lineup; Cyndie Allemann, Rahel Frey will be rejoined by Natacha Gachnang, less than two months after breaking her leg in the FIA GT1 opener at Abu Dhabi.
Bas Leinders, Markus Palttala and Eric de Doncker will be racing in the #70 Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT. The team already raced in the Total 24 Hours of Spa last year and won the dress rehearsal at Spa-Francorchamps last month. If they cars will stay out of trouble a repeat of the podium cleansweep at Spa will be possible at Le Mans.
© Planetlemans – Gerlach Delissen // Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9
Aston Martin DBR9
(#52 Young Driver AMR)
The only Aston Martin DBR9 at Le Mans this year will have a strong line-up. Aston Martin Racing works drivers Tomas Enge and Peter Kox will share the car with Young Driver AMR protégé Christoffer Nygaard. Given the drivers the Young Driver AMR should be regarded as one of the favorites for the GT1 class victory. Kox and Enge need no further introduction; the team’s weakest link could be Nygaard, as he already wrecked one chassis at Spa, but let’s hope Le Mans will be none of that.
© Planetlemans – Gerlach Delissen // Luc Alphand Aventures Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
(#72 and #73 Luc Alphand Aventures)
As there are no works Corvettes in GT1 Luc Alphand Aventures is the only Corvette team in GT1 this year. The French squad will enter two C6.Rs again, the Mad-Croc Racing Corvettes from FIA GT1. In the #72 Corvette Dutchman David Hart will join Jérôme Policand and Stéphane Grégoire. The #73 should be considered as the team’s lead car. Luc Alphand Aventures regular Patrice Goueslard will be joined by 2009 GT1 runners-up Xavier Maassen and Julien Jousse. An ECU issue caused a lot of troubles for the Corvettes this year, let’s hope it will not affect their race at Le Mans as the #73 could do quite will in the battle for GT1 victory.
Saleen S7R
(#50 Larbre Competition)
Not there in 2009 Larbre Competion returns to Le Mans with its Saleen S7R again. The Saleen is the only car racing at Le Mans that is not racing in the FIA GT1 World Championship. Jack Leconte’s team will enter one car for Roland Berville, Julien Canal and Gabriele Gardel in the #50 Saleen S7R. At Spa-Francorchamps Larbre Competition finished in fourth place, behind the three Ford GTs. The Saleen is certainly capable of running 24 hours and if any of the other teams hit trouble it should be able to go for the win.
© Planetlemans – Gerlach Delissen // Larbre Competition Saleen S7R
Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV
(#69 JLOC)
The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009 went disastrous for JLOC. Only a handful of laps were completed in practice before a mechanical failure stopped the team. The car was repaired just in time and took the start, only to come into the pit after a single lap and retire. The Japanese team won an automatic invitation for this year by winning the Asian Le Mans Series at Okayama. The team has already announced it will run a 2010-spec Lamborghini Murcielago, but it remains to be seen what Atsushi Yogo, Koji Yamanishi and Hiroyuki Iiri can do.
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As much as I like the looks and the organization of the GT1 World Championship, this grid doesn’t fill my with enthusiasm or confidence in the competitors. Even in the one hour races these cars suffer from reliability problems and from what I gather, there is an ECU issue that the teams are facing. None of these contenders seem serious enough to meet the high standards of the event and the cars don’t appear to be up to the task.
My prediction is a severe race of attrition for 2010, I think the winner will be more than five laps down on the GT2 winner, and that the cars still running at the flag will be guaranteed a class podium. I’ll put my money on the car that is most durable and is slow and steady, an approach which tends not to work at Le Mans anymore because of the intense competition and superbly developed cars.
I’ll take a punt on the AMR Young Driver DBR9, but I don’t expect much of a race or a spectacle for year one of the 2010 regs GT1 class.
Considering the depth and quality of the GT2 field, and only a perfect race will get a car to the podium, I agree with William’s assessment.
I disagree wholeheartedly.
Matech with a car very similar to the GT1 Ford GT won the 24hrs of Spa. Are you saying they do not know how to run a 24hr race? As was said by a US Congressmen not too long ago “You can have your own opinion but you can’t make up your own facts”
The reason by PL picked Matech and the Marc DVS to likely sweep the podium is because of this fact. Also the fact that this is version 1.2 of the FIA GT1 spec Ford GT with support from Ford directly and engines from Roush/Yates in all three cars.
I highly doubt they will have reliability issues. The Saleen (Ford powered) was unable to challenge the Ford’s at Spa and it seems at long fast tracks only the Aston Martin stand a chance.
But I believe the two quickest drivers in the GT1 field are Enge and Grosjean, both will qualify ahead of the entire GT2 field and will rocket away from them at the start, gap them and you won’t see them anymore, at least the GT cars won’t.
Handling is important at Le Mans but the GT1 cars do have a 100+hp advantage, without major attrition, they will finish ahead of the GT2 cars. The only cars I can see finishing ahead of them is the JLOC driven Lambo…
GT1 has more horsepower, but more weight, performance saping ECUs, and no traction control.
Given that almost all of GT2 has factory involvement, so much that solid privateer, Team Modena quit, the factory teams better drilled pit crews and equipment can make the difference.
Not all of the GT1 podium will finish ahead of the GT2 winner.
@ Bamba,does the GT2 have traction control? If so, I think it’s pretty stupid.
I believe GT2 does have traction control, but, obviously, its a race system and still makes a spin very easy in the event of a mistake. GT2s are now very technologically advanced, this year I’m pretty sure they even have live telemetry.
As for the GT1s, I hope to be proved wrong, but 6 and 24 hours are very different, and the car that finished the 24 last year didn’t have that ECU. Perhaps I was harsh, but for a Le Mans class, there is no real works-quality team or car that you know will finish without a hiccup and be totally on the pace.
Given the metronomic consistency and pace of the current GT2 contenders, plus the fact they are always running above 95% pace, I stand by my prediction that the GT2 class winner will finish above the class winning GT1.
Incidentally, when did the Ford win the Spa 24? You may want to review your Congressman quote on that one? ;)
GT2 has traction control.
The GT1 regs are made by the FIA and the ACO chose to adopt it as well. Since FIA GT had a stronger GT1 field the ACO figured they were doing something right.
It definitely made GT1 cheaper. But not as technologically advanced enough for manufacturers to use it for research.
I too believe none of the GT1′s will finish in front of the lead GT2 cars. Full factory backing for BMW and Corvette,the heavy involvement of the Porsche factory with some of the 997′s is enough to blow these still not fully developed and quite new GT1′s in to the weeds…
Well I’m not really an expert on this topic but I think a race car without traction control is better. I believe, that without traction control and all other kinds of electronic driving aids, racing comes more down to the guy behind the steering wheel. Although I do understand that traction control is interesting for manufacturers, since most cars have it nowadays. Its purpose is to prevent your grandma from making donuts in that Honda Civic from your grandpa ;)
Besides, do LMPs also have traction control?
Yes,they do. As said,these froms of traction control are very far before actually being activated. This mostly happens when accelarating out of very slow corners on a wet track. Since the chances of rain at this years Le Mans are increasing by the day,I think these ‘aids’ ‘ll be very usefull.
The GT1′s will be very spectacular with big powerslides out of Arnage then…mmmh,I can’t wait ’till the Saturdaynight when we’ll be standing there!
@Bamba: I herd somewhere that Team Modena didn’t wanna upgrade there Ferrari’s for 2010, because Ferrari would be switching GT2 cars in 2011 (458 Italia)
Team Modena felt like, why race in 2010, and spend alot of money for that upgrade package. When Ferrari is getting a new car for GT2 in 2011. Also Ferrari is putting most, if not all of it’s focus on Risi and AF Corse this year.
You might be right. But they also have no prayer against the GT2 armada.
The FIA is syncing GT1 rules with F1. Traction control cuts out one part of development.
In sportscar racing you need TC since road cars have it. But the lack of it makes it easier for privateers to run in the rain, and on cold tracks with cold tires.
But you can’t use all of the car’s power if you’re not going in a straight line. Going flat out in the Porsche curves will be tricky.
In my opinion the ACO should have run only one GT class (GT2) this year. Under these conditions, GT1 is pretty meaningless in Le Mans, and most of the GT1 teams are just following the “Olympic idea” that being a part of the 24h race is already enough success.