The opening hours of the 2013 24 Heures du Mans have been overshadowed by the tragic death of Aston Martin Racing LMGTE Am driver, Allan Simonsen. The popular Danish driver was on only his fourth lap of the race when his No.95 Aston Martin Vantage exited the track at high speed and impacted the barriers at Tertre Rouge. Very sadly the injuries sustained by the driver proved to be fatal. At the specific request of his family, the other four Aston Martin Racing entries will continue to participate in the race.
At the head of the field the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Treluyer-Fassler-Lotterer has led from the start, after the hybrid-powered prototype jumped ahead of its No.2 sister car at the start. Despite some strong early race challenges from Toyota Racing’s two TS030, Audi now holds the first three positions overall ahead of the two Toyotas.
Of the LMP1 Privateer entries, the No.12 Rebellion Racing Lola Toyota, driven by Jani-Heidfeld-Prost, holds the upper hand over its No.13 team mate and the No.21 Strakka Racing HPD ARX 03c which came through from mid field.
In LMP2, the class pole-position winning No.24 OAK Racing Morgan Nissan of Pla-Brundle-Heinemeier Hansson has maintained its position at the head of the category, despite the sometimes-heavy rain showers which have punctuated the first four hours of racing. Some 32 seconds behind is the hard-charging Russian-entered No.26 G-Drive Racing ORECA Nissan and the No.35 OAK Racing entry of Baguette-Gonzalez-Plowman.
The accident, which happened at 15:09h, caused the intervention of the safety car(s) for almost an hour while repairs were made to the barriers, but this unfortunately caused a split in the LMGTE Pro field – half were ahead of the safety car and half were behind it which put them over a minute behind their class rivals.
Aston Martin Racing is currently 1-2 in the class, with the No.99 Vantage GTE of Makowiecki-Bell-Senna ahead of its No.97 sister car of Turner-Mucke-Dumbreck. The two official factory Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSRs – No.91 and 92 – are the closest in touch with the leading pair, although the No.91 is almost three minutes behind.
The LMGTE Am class – rocked by the loss of a friend and, for some, a team mate – is now led by the No.61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Gerber-Griffin-Cioci. The Italian car heads the No.55 Ferrari, also from the Amato Ferrari stable, and the No.88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Both first and third in class are among the 29 FIA World Endurance Championship competitors entered in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Latest time sheets and classifications can be found HERE.
Fiona Miller
Photo: CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES (LE MANS, SARTHE), 24 HEURES DU MANS, RACE, SATURDAY 22ND JUNE 2013. The No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro leads the race at 4 hours.
