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Le Mans: pre-testing
Le Mans 24 Hour Race, France, Pre-Test: Porsche RS Spyder fastest LMP2 car
Stuttgart. The premiere of the Porsche RS Spyder on the legendary race track of Le Mans (France) ran successfully. At the pre-test of the Le Mans 24 hour race, which will be contested on 14/15 June, both Spyder teams led the LMP2 class. Le Mans rookie Jos Verstappen from the Netherlands posted the fastest time in 3:42.191 minutes for his Van Merksteijn Motorsport team. The second best time (3:43.736) went to the 476 hp Weissach-built sports prototype driven by John Nielsen (Denmark, Essex team). Nielsen had won the world’s most important and gruelling long distance race back in 1990. In the GT2 class for near-standard sports cars, Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) secured the second quickest time in his 911 GT3 RSR. The traditional test day was plagued with changing weather conditions. In the morning the track was partly wet and partly dry, with a dry phase for an hour after midday where the top tim es were posted, before the rain set in again.
Holding 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The 13.629 kilometre race track, much of which runs over national roads, is regarded as one of the fastest circuits in the world. Almost 75 percent of one lap is driven at full throttle. To fit the track characteristics, a special Le Mans kit was developed for the RS Spyder, with most changes being made to the components that reduce drag. As part of this, the mudguards are now five centimetres longer and flatter. Correspondingly, the headlight glass was modified slightly. Additionally, the two flaps left and right as well as the wheel arch venting on the front guards were modified. A light attachment to the middle of the rear section also serves to reduce the air resistance.
“It’s really wonderful to be the fastest in class at my very first Le Mans outing,” said the ex-Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen, “but I was lucky enough to be the only one in the team to go out on a dry track. All in all the track conditions today were difficult. Our plan was not to take any unnecessary risks in damaging the car. With all this rain, we weren’t able to get as much practice in as we had hoped. But I’ll stay calm because I know from the Le Mans Series that the RS Spyder is a true racer. I can’t wait for my first ever Le Mans race!” Verstappen contests the race on 14/15 June with his Dutch team mates Peter van Merksteijn and Jeroen Bleekemolen, who recently celebrated an excellent flag to flag victory at the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup race in Monte Carlo.
The Danish Essex team has signed on a prominent third driver for the long distance classic. Sharing driving duties with Danish regulars John Nielsen and Casper Elgaard is Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen from Germany. “Sascha is a valuable addition to our team and brings a huge amount of experience with him.” The 38-year-old contributed to the development of the RS Spyder and won the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series in 2006 with the Spyder. “For me, every single lap of this pre-test was important. Up to now I’ve always competed on Michelin tyres so I had to familiarise myself with the Dunlops,” said Maassen. “The car reacts a bit differently with them. In this respect, we had hoped for better test conditions in order to work more intensively on the set-up. But we are satisfied with what we have achieved today. And to be one and a half seconds slower than the fastest over 13 kilometres is peanuts.”
In the GT2 class a total of three Porsche 911 GT3 RSR contest the Le Mans 24 Hours. The American Flying Lizzard team coped best with the pre-test track conditions. Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister posted a time of 4:05.590 minutes as the second quickest in his class. The German, whose career includes victories at long distance races in Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans (2004, GT class), was pleased: “The lap times are not necessarily indicative of anything, but one thing is certain. We are matching the pace of our rivals at Ferrari. This makes us optimistic for the race.” Bergmeister teams up with Americans Johannes van Overbeek and Seth Neiman.
The sixth fastest time in the GT2 class went to Porsche works driver Patrick Long (USA), who shares driving duties in Le Mans with works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) and Frenchman Raymond Narac for the IMSA Performance Matmut team. Competing for the German Felbermayr-Proton team are the two Porsche factory drivers Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Alex Davison (Australia) as well as Horst Felbermayr Senior. With seventh on test day, Davison is the swiftest of the trio.
Test times LMP2 class
1. Verstappen/Van Merksteijn/Bleekemolen (NL/NL/NL), Porsche RS Spyder, 3:42.191 minutes; 2. Nielsen/Elgaard/Maassen (DK/DK/D), Porsche RS Spyder, 3:43.736; 3. Barazi/Vergers/Moseley (DK/GB/GB), Zytek 07S, 3:43.920; 4. Hughes/Kane/Foster (GB/GB/GB), Embassy Zytek 3:44.166; 5. Erdos/Newton/Wallace (BR/GB/GB), Lola MG B05-40, 3:44.678.
Test times GT2 class
1. Salo/Melo/Bruni (FIN/BR/I), Ferrari F 430 GT, 4:05.561 minutes; 2. Bergmeister/Van Overbeek/Neiman (D/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 4:05.590; 3. Malcucelli/Ruberti/Babini (I/I/I), Ferrari F 430 GT, 4:06.894; 4. Bell/Sugdon/Mullen (GB/GB/GB), Ferrari F 430 GT, 4:07.090; 5. Vilander/Biagi/Montanari (FIN/I/SMR), Ferrari F 430 GT, 4:08.520; 6. Lietz/Narac/Long (A/F/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 4:10.898; 7. Davison/Henzler/Felbermayr Senior (AUS/D/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 4:12. 879.
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