OAK Racing (FIAWEC)
Following the reveal of its striking Art Car on Saturday, everything went well on track for OAK Racing’s three Morgan-Nissan LM P2s, despite the changeable conditions.
By lunch, the team’s three drivers who had not previously raced on this track - Martin Plowman, Jean-Marc Merlin and Philippe Mondolot - had qualified. The pace was stepped up significantly in the afternoon, as conditions improved. The number 35 car, driven by Bertrand Baguette, Ricardo Gonzalez and Martin Plowman, began to impress, delivering consistency and good turn of speed before Alex Brundle grabbed the fastest time in the category.
However, as the session drew to a close, their team-mate Olivier Pla moved ahead of the rest with a time of 3:38.801. The no.24 Morgan-Nissan therefore ended the day at the top of the LM P2 category timesheets, ahead of the no.36 Alpine-Nissan. The number 35 car finished eighth and the no.45 car was 17th.
For more information, go to www.oak-racing.com
Photo: CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES (LE MANS, FRANCE), TEST DAY, SUNDAY 9TH JUNE 2013. The No.24 OAK Racing Morgan-Nissan was fastest in the LMP2 category.
Signatech Alpine (ELMS)
Signatechentered two Alpine Nissansin the LMP2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day in preparation for the 90th anniversary edition of the race will take place on 22nd and 23rd June 2013. The track remained wet during the first six hours of driving. Both Alpine A450s were then put on slick Michelin tyres for the last two hours of the test day. In the No.36 entry, Nelson Panciatici set the second fastest time in class with a lap of 3:39.642.
Thiriet by TDS Racing (ELMS)
Much like several other teams, Thiriet by TDS Racing had a busy schedule planned for the day. The reigning European Le Mans Series championships needed to give their two new drivers, Ludovic Badey and Maxime Martin, the chance to come to grips with the car and track alongside Pierre Thiriet.
"We were able to review everything we needed to," explained Xavier Combet, team manager. "First, the drivers need to re-adapt to the track, especially Ludovic who was headed to Spa in the afternoon for GT Tour. We didn’t go looking for a fast time on a track that had not been raced on for a year, and which will evolve in the coming days. Because of the changing weather, we were able to see how the different tires function in a variety of conditions. Pierre was very comfortable on intermediates, while Maxime did a good job in the dry. The drivers are happy with the car and have confidence behind the wheel. That’s encouraging."
While the two Alpine A450 chassis are in the top three, Thiriet by TDS Racing signed the fifth fastest time, behind the quickest of the two G-Drive by Delta-ADR ORECA 03s – the No. 26 of John Martin, Mike Conway and Roman Rusinov. The No. 25 sister car of Tor Graves, Shinji Nakano and Archie Hamilton also finished in the top 10.
Pecom Racing (FIA WEC)
Driving alongside Luis Perez Companc and Pierre Kaffer, Nicolas Minassian also came away with a positive feeling after the Test Day : « This type of weather was not simple to manage but we could encounter something similar during the race, so it’s actually interesting. We worked well on the Michelins, whether it was on the wet, drying, or dry track. We focused on simulating race conditions; the final classification doesn’t reflect our potential and I’m not worried about that. The Le Mans package seems to offer a better top speed and the balance of the car is still good. In addition, Luis has made good progress compared to last year’s times and, like Pierre and I, he had a lot of track time. We’re on the right path. »
Above information all thanks to ORECA at www.oreca.fr
Greaves Motorsport (FIAWEC and ELMS)
Greaves Motorsport enjoyed a successful day in France during the Official Test for the 90th Anniversary Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite changeable weather conditions that ranged from full wet to dry, the team completed their planned programme, acquiring valuable data for the forthcoming race and testing their latest aerodynamic developments.
In addition the drivers in the squad who will be making their debut in the endurance classic, Eric Lux, Jann Mardenborough and Alexander Rossi, all successfully completed their mandatory driver qualification laps.
For more detail go to www.greavesmotorsport.com
Jota Sport (ELMS)
Jota Sport completed a successful Test Day at the Circuit de la Sarthe on Sunday (June 9) as the British squad’s preparations for the 90th anniversary Le Mans 24 Hours on June 22/23 continued.
The event’s official Test Day is the only opportunity drivers and teams have to experience the particular demands of Le Mans’ part-public road, part purpose-built track outside of race week, making data acquisition the priority for everyone.
Fortunately drivers Simon Dolan, Oliver Turvey and Lucas Luhr spent plenty of time behind the wheel as the team concentrated on evaluating and honing the new aero package that its Zytek-Nissan LMP2 prototype will use in the race. While both Luhr and Dolan have experience of racing prototypes at La Sarthe, 2013 will be Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 Test Driver Turvey’s first appearance there. Despite his wealth of success in other forms of racing he, like all Le Mans rookies, was required to complete a minimum 10 laps of the circuit.
The ELMS regulars ultimately ended the day seventh fastest in class having concluded their programme early. An impressive lap from Dolan had been good enough for third before the team’s rivals ran qualifying simulations at the end of the day.
For more, go to Jota Sport's website here
