American Le Mans Series

Diesels quickest in Petit Le Mans free practice

© Julie Sueur

After unofficial testing over the weekend the 13th annual Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA 2 week got underway with a test session on Wednesday in which the Team Peugeot Total and Audi Sport Team Joest took the first four positions. Today the first official practice sessions took place.

At 10 am local time the 45 cars were allowed to go out again on the 2.54-mile circuit for the first session. The Libra Racing Radical SR9 IES was unable to take part in the session though. They had a new engine flown in overnight but did not have the proper engine management in place. Several other cars stayed in the paddock area as well.

A light drizzle greeted the cars in the first part of the session and after just over 30 minutes of testing on Thursday morning it was the Audi R15 TDI of Allan McNish that was quickest – in 1:16.957. Half a second behind was the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Marc Gené and a further six tenths of a second the Audi R15 TDI of Marcel Fässler. Pagenaud was the quickest in GT2, some six-and-a-half seconds behind the Audi. In GT2 Pat Long was the quickest in the #45 Lizards Porsche. Gavin and Ragginger were second and third, the gaps between the cars a couple of seconds.

As the track dried several drivers improved their lap times in the following minutes. At the front Pirro (Drayson Racing Lola Judd) bettered the fastest time a couple of times. With just under ten minutes left in the session it was Simon Pagenaud who went quickest, but soon the diesel-powered cars went quicker again and just before the chequered flag came out Marcel Fässler managed to put the #9 Audi R15 TDI in front of the #07 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Marc Gené.

In the end 27 cars took to the track. The Audi R15 TDI was quickest, setting a 1:09.579 with Marcel Fässler behind the wheel. Gené’s second best time was just .059 seconds slower, while the second Audi R15 TDI was third quickest at 1.156 seconds.

Simon Pagenaud was quickest in LMP2 – and fourth overall. The French Highcroft driver posted a 1:11.759. Meyrick was second quickest in the Dyson Lola (1:14.225), while Patrice Lafargue in the OAK Racing Pescarolo 01 Judd posted a 1:17.402. Kyle Marcelli’s Intersport Racing Oreca FLM 09 was the only LMPC car on track.

In the GT classes it was a Corvette 1-2 in the GT2 category. A 1:21.412 for Gavin was followed by a 1:21.567 for Olivier Beretta. Third quickest was BMW driver Andy Priaulx in 1:21.736.
Romain Dumas posted the fifteenth overall time in the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (1:22.684).

In GTC Andy Lally was quickest, ahead of Lawson Aschenbach and the Paul Miller Racing Porsche.

At 2:35 pm the green flag was shown again for the second session, but a steady rain meant most teams opted to stay. Rene Villeneuve in the #28 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was the first one out, followed by the Audi R15 TDI of Marcel Fässler. The Swiss driver posted a 1:49.443 and then returned to the pit again as it was still raining steadily.

© Julie Sueur

Rene Villeneuve kept lapping and a handful of other cars joined him. Marc Lieb in the #45 Lizards Porsche set the fastest session just before three o’clock, but then the Porsche Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid of Romain Dumas came out and soon the hybrid car was setting even quicker lap times. Thirty minutes into the session Dumas was quickest in 1:35.771. Dumas kept lapping before coming and handing over the car to Timo Bernhard. In total the Porsche Hybrid completed 27 laps – more than any other team this second session. It’s fastest lap time was 1:33.701.

In the remaining half an hour a couple of other cars joined, the Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the #04 Robertson Racing Ford GT and the Libra Racing Radical SR9 among them. Just a few minutes before the end of the session it was Rob Bell who stopped the clocks after 1:33.319, the best overall time. Magnus Racing ended the session in third place, 5.291 seconds behind Bell.

In a few hours the night session will take place in which all teams and drivers have to participate – regardless of the weather conditions. This session will start at 7:00 pm local time.